“I’ve been here for an hour. I haven’t seen or heard anything. Unless you’re worried about the trees.” August sniggers as I sit tensed up.
“This is serious.” I say, maybe in a way too hard then what I meant. August stops his smile and then looks back into the forest. Then we hear it. A snap of a branch in the forest near to us. I shoot straight up, and August doesn’t hesitate to follow. He automatically puts his arm in front of me as to protect me. When he notices, we both look away with red faces.
“That was probably an animal.” he says, but I can hear the fear in his voice.
Then we see it. A flickering light from the direction we heard the branch snap. I focus my eyes then see at least five Hunters. Walking this way. Laughing like a bunch of teenagers.
“The Hunters!” I whisper, not hiding or stopping the cracking in my voice. “Come on! Help me wake Bella!” I run the barn and shake Bella more violently than I had intended. She moans and smacks my hand out of the way.
“Bella!” I whisper loudly. “The Hunters!” After I say the name, Bella shoots straight up with wide eyes.
“What?” she asks groggily.
“The Hunters! We have to go!” August says, gathering my spear and Bella’s bag.
“Oh, gosh!” she takes her bag from August a little roughly from my perspective. I get a small shot of anger shoot through me quickly when I see how she acted towards August, but the anger soon fades.
“We should go out the back door. They won’t see us there.” I say and run to the back.
“It won’t open!” Bella says, trying to thrust the door open.
“There’s a lock, stand back.” August kicks the fragile wood and pieces of the door fall down, making a small gap for us to get through. He lets Bella and I go first as he stands guard.
When we’re all out, we stand against the back wall. I look out over the field and forest as we stand here.
“Shouldn’t we run?” Bella says with terrified eyes.
“The Hunters might see us running. If we stay here for a few minutes to make sure they won’t see us, we’ll be safer.” August replies.
“That’s so stupid! If the Hunters come in the barn and find that we were recently there, they’ll defiantly find us! We have to run! NOW!!”
“We can’t, Bella! It’s safer if we just stay here for a few more seconds. Still and quiet!” August says.
Bella bites her lip hard and looks around angrily. Her hands are balled up in tights fists, clenching her bag. She mutters under her breath, and I don’t think I want to know what she said. I kneel and peer through the gap in the door. I see nothing. Or hear anything.
“They’re gone! Can we go now?!” Bella doesn’t whisper. She looks at August with an expression of anger mixed with irritation and fear. August doesn’t look at her. He looks down at me as I look up from the gap. I stand back up and look at how far the distance is between us and the forest. If we were super quick, we could make it without the Hunters noticing.
I look back at August. He shakes his head and mouths the word “no” as if he read my mind.
A laugh echoes somewhere in the barn's front. We all freeze. Should we run for it? Or just stay here until the Hunters leave? Bella shakes uncontrollably, and a few tears fall down her cheeks and onto her shoulders. I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her.
“It’s okay.” I barely whisper in her ear. I hear the Hunter’s full words now, and I also hear a machine that’s not like the scanners they use. This machine sounds more electronic. I let go of Bella and look through a crack in the wooden door. The Morph Hunters hold a flat gadget with an antenna in the front of it.
“They were here just a few minutes ago, at least the tracker says they were,” someone says. I hear the clinking sounds of the buckles on their shoes. “They’re still here too.” The tracker makes a loud siren noise. I hold my breath. They know we’re here. They know it. “There’s around five of them.”
Five? There’s other Morphs here too? I look at August, but he just shrugs his shoulders.
“Just bomb the place. Mayor Zara would be furious if we let them go.” a bored voice calls out. We have to get out of here. They’ll be distracted from blowing up the barn. They won’t see us running in the forest.
I look to August. He has the same expression as Bella. Terrified blended with anxiety and fear. I mouth the word “run” to him and he nods without hesitation. I hear the Hunters leaving the barn. We have little time to escape now. August comes over to me.
“Take out your explosion packs and throw them on my order.” I hear their voices off in the distance now. They must be a few yards away from the front. My heart is racing like the gazelle. I point to an area thick with trees. August and Bella nod.
“Come on.” I whisper and sprint down the field. I swing my head back to see if the Hunters can see us, but I see nothing but the barn. August is right beside me with Bella on his other side. I look up at his face and see it’s trying to ignore the pain of his leg.
“One,” I hear a Hunters call out. It echoes through the trees. “Two.” We’re halfway there. I look back again and see a small tip of a glowing dome. The Hunters must have a new technology that protects them from the explosion. Don’t know why they can’t run. Maybe they’re not fast enough with all their stupid gear on.
I don’t hear the word “three,” but I know they said it. It happens in a millisecond. Maybe even quicker. A blast like never before erupts behind us, lifting us in the air and throwing us into the forest. Heat burns my back. A few sparks and pieces of barn fly with us. I land on my stomach, knocking all the breath out of me. I cough as smoke wafts towards us. My elbow stings from hitting it on a rock beside me but that’s the least of my problems. Everything seems blurry, and my hearing seems hazy. I lift my head and only see a large orange glowing blob not too far away. Maybe where the barn was? I can’t tell now. Where am I? I think. I was running to the forest, but then what? Why do I feel heat? Why are my lungs and throat burning? Where’s August? I look around blankly and see a few small glowing spots on the tall things beside me. I think they’re trees. I set my head down for it aches and close my eyes. As the rest of my mind fades into nothingness. If I’m dying, at least it’s painless. Well, except for the stinging pain in my elbow. And my head. And the heat. Ok, so it’s not exactly painless. I lose my thoughts and see nothing but black. I try to call out August’s name. My soul mate. My true love. Where is he?
When I open my eyes, I can hear a low crackling sound. I’m still confused at where I’m at. And how I got here. I lift myself up and a mild, sharp pain shoots in my left arm. I can hardly notice it though. I look around and see a few charred pieces of red wood lying about. When I look back to the barn, I see only a pile of rubble burning from a mellow fire. A few pieces of grass around the field are black too with a few flames here and there.
“Are you okay?” a voice asks from behind me. I feel an arm wrap around my back. I look around and see August. Well, my hearing’s back.
“Yeah. I think so. You?” I feel fine. But I can’t be sure right now.
“I’m fine.”
“How long was I out?” I ask, sitting straight up. August helps me.
“Maybe an hour or two. Once the barn exploded, I landed a few yards away from you. I didn’t pass out, but I hit my head hard. I came over here five minutes ago.” He puts on his smirk and says, “You were talking about me when we landed, you know that right?”
“What?” I ask horrified, going red in the face. “What was I saying?”
“Oh, just stuff like I was your true love, soul mate, nothing personal.”
Oh gosh! I’m so embarrassed! I feel the pulse of blood rush through my cheeks.
“It’s okay.” August laughs.
I try to smile and laugh too, but the embarrassment hasn’t left yet and sits on me like a thousand-pound weight.
“But I haven’t seen Bella. Have you by any chance?”
“What? No, I haven’t seen her.
Was she with us when we were running over here?” I probably know this question, but my head is still foggy from everything.
“Yeah, she was on my left side. I think she landed not too far from me. But I could be wrong. I was kind of out of it when the explosion happened. I think all of us were.” He looks at me with his smirk again.
I nod and feel worry cover me like a thick wool comforter. It’s hot and suffocates me a little. Where could Bella be? I hope she didn’t get caught by the Hunters.
“We need to go look for her.” I get up and feel so dizzy that I nearly fall over. Colors blind my eyes but go away quickly. I’m startled to see August right there when my eyes go back to normal. Apparently, he had caught me before I collapsed.
“You should rest first.” he says with deep concern, setting me on the ground.
“I’m fine,” I say, shaking him off me. “We need to find Bella before the Hunters do.” I find my spear a few feet away and walk west. At least I think it’s west. August follows me, mumbling under his breath. I catch a few words, but don’t dare tell him I can hear him.
“She’s fine,” and “The tweedy bird can protect herself,” are all the words I can hear. I can’t help but give a smile even though I know he’s criticizing Bella, my only friend. But I admit August’s personality is growing on me. I look around and call out Bella’s name once. Not too loudly though.
“You said she went this way?” I ask, looking around with no luck of finding Bella.
“Yeah.” August sounds almost bored. But I can tell he’s searching too. Maybe for me? I look around more but see nothing. My lungs still sting from the smoke every time I take a breath. But at least it’s not as painful as when the blast threw me into the forest. I mess with my hair a little and run my fingers in it. It’s too long. It smells like coal and is possibly black too. But I don’t take the few seconds to look at it. Bella is my main concern.
Chapter 18
“Bella!” I call out, loud enough for Bella if she was close.
“I’m starving. How about you?” August asks not too far behind me. “I feel like having salmon.”
“What? You’re hungry? We have to find Bella!” I don’t miss a step as I talk. The branches snap under my feet but that is the only sound that comes from me. I’m silent in all other aspects.
“Well, we would probably find her better if we ate. Just saying.”
I comment in my head. He still seems too new to have a real conversation with. But he’s a Morph, so it helps me to talk to him more. And remember the special connection? If he was a normal person, I would have said maybe one word and just smiled and nodded the rest of the times he’d spoken to me.
The weather is gloomy. Dark clouds cover the sky like cotton. They hang low and almost look like they’re touching the treetops. Smoke lingers around. Occasionally puffing up from the barn fire. No animals are anywhere in sight.
“You know, the little bird can fly to find us. Why are we looking for her?”
Seriously? We hardly know each other and he’s complaining already?
“Stop calling her ‘bird’ for one, and two, if she got into a trap or the Morph Hunters got here, she can’t exactly come find us.” But I can’t help but smirk to August. He seems so calm through all of this.
“I call her ‘bird’ because she called me ‘bear’. And I’m starving.” This time a laugh comes out. August too. We laugh for a few moments then I go serious again.
“Okay,” I say through a gasp of breath. “We need to find Bella now.” Why are we even laughing? I guess I just started laughing at August’s most random comments.
“Fine. But you are so fun to have fun with though!” I roll my eyes and keep walking. Never letting the smile fade off my face.
I haven’t realized how far we had come until I realize I can hear a Meadowlark singing above our heads. A few others join in off in the distance. I guess the melancholy feel of the day is not stopping them from bringing joy to themselves. I also hear no more of the crackling sound of the fire. But I hear a slight sound of something, but I block it out of my mind. I smile at the Meadowlarks and do my best to block out any negative thoughts about Bella. I’ve only known her for less than a week now, but in my head, it feels like years. She seems to know me. And I her. Even though we hardly ever show it, I feel like we are the perfect match to a friendship. The friend I never had. August on the other hand, let’s just say he can be funny and sweet. I’ve only known him for a few days less than Bella, but he’s easy to get along with. Bella is too, but with August, there’s something about his humor that’s hard to ignore. Even his sarcastic or casual comments. And the special connection I can’t seem to get out of my mind!
I look around and think more. We should have found her by now if she would have landed over here. She wouldn’t have gone far. Unless the Hunters got her. That thought is pushing its way in my mind more now. It’s getting to be the last idea we’ve got for her. If she wasn’t anywhere over here, where else would she have gone?
“Look!” August jogs over to the river. It’s near to us. It’s the calmer part of it. The part by the city. This part has no rocks on the bottom. Only white sand. It’s silent. The reason I didn’t hear it very well at first. By the time I get over to the river, August is already knee deep in it, looking around in the water.
“What are you doing?” I ask giggling a little, trying to sound like he’s not crazy.
“Looking for food. Salmon maybe.”
I don’t want to sound rude, but I want to tell him that no salmon has ever swam in this river.
“Maybe it would be better if we find some plants or berries,” I suggest. But then I think of the city and Bella. “The city will have food. We can go there after we find Bella.”
“Ugh.” August moans, then walks out of the river. I turn around then walk a few yards from the river. August drags himself along behind.
“You can go to the city. It’s only a half mile from here. You don’t have to keep following me.” I suggest, but I hear no response from him. I guess he’s staying for some odd reason. Good thing too, because I really don’t want to separate from him. He seems too special to me.
A few minutes later, August asks, “Can we rest for a minute? My leg is bugging me.”
I bite my bottom lip. “Sure. Only a few minutes though.”
He nods then leans against a thick trunk. I look around desperately hoping for a movement in the vegetation, but I see nothing as usual. Then snap! Someone’s coming! My heart speeds up like the gazelle just saw its predator. I take a breath, ready to fight. August jumps in front of me, ready to fight off whatever is coming to us. I see a few bushes move a few yards away and slowly walk to them, but August just pulls me behind him again, not letting me get any closer. My head must still be foggy from smoke. Because in my normal head, I would never walk towards the danger. But there’s something pushing me towards the bushes. Something that makes me feel like no danger is there. Something that is even good. I hope it’s Bella! I raise my spear up a little just for pre-cation and we get to the bushes. What jumps out of them surprises us.
Chapter 19
The girl who had jumped out of the tangle of bushes is small and lean. Her face is narrow and pale. Her eyes, full of terror. Her short brown hair tangled all around her pretty face. I let my spear down and smile at her. There’s a sense of comfort around her. August lowers his arms and lets me walk past him to the girl.
“Hi,” I softly say, the girl looks at me as if she was frightened but soon calms down a little. “I’m Calico. Are you a Morph?” It seems like a bit of a weird question to ask to someone who I literally just met. But what else would I say? “Oh, hey! You seem like a Morph to me! I’m a cat and I’m not afraid of you!” Just seems like a little off to me.
The girl nods from my question and then looks at August. I turn my head to see what she’s looking at, but she looks at me again.
“We’re both Morphs too. You don’t need to be afraid,” I smile and try t
o be brave. Normally I wouldn’t talk so much. Normally I would have just smiled a reassuring smile and left. “What’s wrong?”
“The Southern City,” the girl takes a breath. “They almost got me. In my Morph shape.”
“What do you turn into?” I ask, trying to get the conversation away from fear.
“A red fox.” Something turns in my stomach. Something like déjà vu. I shake the feeling from me and take her hand and walk her over to August.
“I know we’ve just met, but have you seen a girl around here? She has-”
“Blonde hair, a pink shirt and jeans?” the girl finishes my sentence for me. Her voice is so delicate and quiet. She looks better than before, but seriousness fills her tone of voice.
“Yes! Have you seen her?” obviously, she has. Why else would she know exactly what Bella looks like?
“Yes. I ran into her as she was running from the Southern City. She got away, but I wasn’t sure where the Southern City people were, so I ran but they caught me.”
Bella’s okay! I let out the breath that I was holding since I found out Bella was missing. Now the next step is to find her without being worried she got caught.
“How did you get free?” August asks. I nearly forgot he was standing by us.
“Another Morph came along and attacked the people. It was a buck, but once he turned human, the people killed him. I was so scared, but I turned into a fox again and ran, then I met you guys.”
Another Morph down. Another Morph lost from this world. But at least they’re all in a better place. Free from these Hunters and atrocious times.
“Do you want to hang with us? We’re going to the city after we find that girl.” August says.
“No, no. I’m okay. I really don’t want to go back there. But is the city nearby? The Western City?” The fox girl asks.
“Yes. Only about a half mile from here. Just go across the river and straight. You can’t miss it after you’ve walked for a bit.” I say and point in the river's direction.
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