by Ruby Dixon
Hassen, however, does. He stalks toward me, that predatory look on his face, and comes to put the rope around my waist. I cling to Maddie’s arm, trying not to be scared. This is what the leader wanted, right? There must be a reason for this. It’s a safety precaution of some kind, I realize. Like the climbers on Everest. Except when he starts to tie the other end of the rope to his waist, I panic.
I don’t want to be tied to this one. I realize now that’s what Rowdan was trying to argue about - he knows I’m scared of Hassen. I guess he lost the argument, because he moves to Maddie’s side with his own length of rope.
“No,” I squeak out and cling to Maddie. “No! I don’t want to be with this one.”
Maddie says something back to me, brows furrowed. You’re babbling. Is ok, Lila.
Oh sure, it’s okay for her - she’s not going to be strapped to this guy. I shake my head again and then try to rip my gloves off so I can signal to my sister in private that he makes me uncomfortable and I don’t like him. But Maddie stops me and shakes her head. “We need to go,” she mouths.
I stare at her.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
The itch to extend my middle finger at her heightens, but I ignore it. Am I being ridiculous and babyish by not wanting to be tied to this guy? Maybe, but I’m scared. I’m allowed to be a baby. I look around and everyone’s watching me, waiting. There’s impatience stamped across more than one face.
I have to remember the Yes Plan.
Shit. I already hate the Yes Plan.
I sigh and put my hands down. This time, when the scary one - Hassen - ties the rope around his waist and points for me to start walking, I do.
Because I guess the only thing worse than being tied to the scary guy would be being left behind.
4
ROKAN
My ‘knowing’ feeling is rumbling in my chest. Something is about to go wrong. It sets me ill at ease. My feeling is centered around the soft one - Li-lah - but I am not entirely certain of what it is I am feeling. I do not feel she is in danger. I am not resonating to her. And yet, …I do not like this.
I eye how close she walks to Hassen, and the protective looks he gives her. Is this jealousy, then? Am I envious that he has staked his claim on the same female that intrigues me? Or is it something more? Normally my ‘knowing’ is clear, but this time, it is as muddy as the churned snow at our feet. I want to say something to Haeden, to call off this hunt, but I am torn. Until I know why I am troubled, it is foolish to end the hunt. The humans are already out in the snow, and moving slow. The trek back to the cave would take as long as moving forward, and they need khuis to warm them and heal their bodies. Li-lah needs a khui most of all; as others have pointed out, she is not strong, and the fact that she cannot hear worries everyone. Her hand words are fine in the cave but in the wild, when she cannot hear the scream of a sky-claw as it rips through the air, or the growls of metlaks as they emerge from a cave? She is in danger.
Perhaps this is what makes me uneasy. If so, all the more reason to get to the sa-kohtsk and bring it down.
“Are we close to there?” The one at my side says. Mah-dee. “I’m tired and I’m sure Lila is too.”
“Soon,” I tell her, and it is clear that my vague answer irritates her.
She snorts and mutters under her breath. “Been saying that for the past hour.”
I steal another glance at Li-lah and Hassen. The human’s steps are slowing, and as I watch, one corner of her fur cloak falls off her shoulder and drags on the snow behind her. Before she can recover, Hassen scoops it up and tucks it around her body.
And my gut burns once more.
That is what this is, then. It is not my knowing. It is envy that he gets to keep her close and I do not. I am ashamed - Hassen is my friend and a good hunter, if hot-headed. If he resonates to Li-lah, I will be glad for him and their happiness. I have no claim on her. I cannot, because resonance decides. Reluctantly, I tear my gaze from her and point in the distance. “Do you see the trees? The tops have been shorn. That is because the sa-kohtsk was here recently. We will get to those trees and there we will find our prey.”
Mah-dee puts a hand to her forehead, squinting in the distance. “Those are trees?”
“They are. Do they not look the same in your world?”
She laughs loudly. “No!”
As we walk, I see Li-lah’s arms flail and she grabs at Hassen for her balance. I fight the strange envy in my gut at the sight of that, and the sight of his arms going around her.
Then, I feel it a moment later - the ground vibrates. A second later, it vibrates again. It is the heavy footfalls of the sa-kohtsk, and it is near. I sling my bow off my shoulder and look over at Haeden. “Our prey is near.”
He nods, jogging over to us. “I feel it.”
We cluster as a group to discuss the set-up of the hunt. One of the hunters will stay behind, all three human females tethered to his waist so they cannot be lifted away by a sky-claw. The worry is still present even though the skies are clear at the moment. They will hide in the safety of the trees while the rest of us bring down the creature. When it is safe, they will be brought forward again. All of this is said in the human language so Mah-dee can follow along. I try not to watch Li-lah but I see her studying our faces as we speak and I wonder what it is she looks for.
I am a selfish male, because I want her hearing to be fixed. I want to speak to her. I want to hear her laugh.
“Can we have weapons?” Mah-dee asks, and gestures at her sister. “Me and Lila?”
Hassen crosses his arms over his chest and scowls down at her. “Why? You will not be hunting.”
She flattens her hand and pushes it in front of his face. “Talk to this.” Then she turns to Haeden and repeats her question. “Can Lila and I have weapons?”
The look on Hassen’s face is incredulous and he pushes Mah-dee’s hand aside. “I said—“
“You do not decide for the humans, Hassen,” Haeden says in a weary voice. Raahosh just rolls his eyes, annoyed with Hassen and the rest of us. “If they will feel safer with blades, we will give them weapons.”
“Ha!” Mah-dee says triumphantly and smirks up at Hassen. “Suck on that, Smurf.” She wiggles her fingers at Haeden. “Now gimme a knife.”
“Is this wise?” Hassen demands, switching to sa-khui. “We should not arm them!”
“Why? Do you not think you can take them?” Bek counters. He is no happier with Hassen than I am for being selfish with the dark-haired female.
“Hey, speak English,” Mah-dee interrupts, frowning. “This is rude!”
Hassen ignores her. “I do not want the females to hurt themselves,” he says, and looks at Taushen and Aehako for support. “Remember when the other human females were given their khui? Some of them fought out of fear. And now you wish to give these two blades? They will not hurt us but they can easily harm themselves.”
“He is right,” Raahosh says. “My Leezh is strong like this one and she fought hard against the placing of her khui. We do not need to give them weapons.”
Haeden considers Raahosh’s words, then nods. “It is decided, then. Unless someone feels strongly that we should do otherwise?”
Kira raises a hand, and then sighs. “I’m outvoted, aren’t I?”
Aehako grins and presses a kiss to the top of his mate’s head. “You are.”
“Okay, but you guys break it to them, then.” Kira raises her hands. “I absolve myself of this conversation.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Mah-dee asks. “Why—“ Her mouth opens and she goes silent.
The sa-kohtsk lumbers into view in the distance, all legs and shaggy gray fur. Even from here I can see its four eyes glowing.
Li-lah whimpers.
Mah-dee’s gaze remains locked on the creature. “Fuck, that is hideous.”
“That is what we are hunting,” Haeden says.
“Where’s the parasite?” Mah-dee asks.
“Gross.”
“Yup.”
A snow storm grows overhead, the skies darkening to an angry gray. A few of the others eye the clouds with worry, and glance over at me. It is well known in the tribe that I am good at understanding the weather, but this particular storm is not what is making me anxious. Even if it is, we must continue.
It is more important to hunt and get the khuis for the females.
The sa-kohtsk is not in a herd, which means it is a young male. It is alone and because it is young, is swiftly brought down by our group of experienced hunters. Raahosh’s arrow hits it in the eye and it tumbles to the ground in a crash and an explosion of snow. The females are hurried forward even as Hassen and Bek pry the rib-cage apart, exposing the still-beating heart and the glowing khui threads within.
The women look faint. Mah-dee turns to Li-lah and pulls off her gloves, moving her hands frantically. I watch them, curious to see if I can understand the words. But Li-lah just shrugs. “We do it,” she says, words soft and slurred. I am surprised - and strangely pleased - to hear her sweet voice. “There’s no going back.”
Maddie throws her hands up in exasperation. “Fine.”
“Are you ready?” calls Raahosh. He looks at me and Taushen. “Keep your spears on alert. The smell of blood will draw metlaks.”
“Or sky-claws,” Haeden adds.
I nod and ready my bow while Taushen jogs away a short distance to keep watch. Bek and Aehako do so as well, and Kira ushers the females forward. “The sooner we get this done, the better, ladies,” I hear her say. “It’s starting to snow.”
Kira is right - fat, slow flakes are appearing in the air, and within moments, the skies are white with falling snow. I turn and scan the darkening skies, watching for sky-claws. Visibility is decreasing by the moment, and my job grows ever more important. I want to watch the females - Li-lah especially - but I am a hunter and I have my duty to protect. There were shadows hovering on the horizon and I watch to make sure they do not come closer.
I must ignore the swift intake of female breath, the soft whimpers, Kira’s encouraging murmurs.
Focus.
I want to see her, though. I want to see Li-lah’s strange green eyes flooded with comforting, glowing blue. I want to know she is safe and she will be strong. I—
A shadow swoops in the distance, barely visible in the heavily-falling snow. I squint, not sure if it is my imagination, and then I see it again, circling closer. “Sky-claw,” I warn, raising my arrow higher. “Be alert!”
“Get them up,” someone shouts. “Get them protected by the trees.”
I glance backward and see Aehako scrambling towards his mate. The two new humans are sprawled on the blood-spattered snow, unconscious. This is normal when one accepts a khui, but they do not have hours to recover. Not with sky-claws in the air. Another shadow flits overhead and I look up. Not just one sky-claw, but three. “Be alert,” I shout again, loosing my first arrow when one dips low. “Look to the air! Get the females to safety!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hassen scoop up one of the females and run for the tree-line. Bek scrambles past me, and I hear him arguing with Haeden over another female and who should carry her. I nock another arrow and let it fly, and then I see Raahosh at my side, his bow raised. We loose arrow after arrow. Two hit the thin, veiny-wings of the sky-claws and one hits low in the belly. The small wounded one gives a high-pitched scream and whirls away, and then a second breaks off and chases after it. As I watch, the larger one attacks the smaller, and snaps its neck. Before the body can plummet from the air, the victor scoops it up in its claws and carries it away.
That just leaves one. It circles around the sa-kohtsk corpse, and I turn, shooting my last arrow before tossing my bow aside and picking up my spear. It snarls and snaps at Bek, and I rush forward with the other hunters. Taushen’s spear slams into the creature’s lashing tail, and then it is pinned. Bek, Taushen, Raahosh and I stab it over and over with our spears, avoiding the dangerous, grasping jaws. Bek’s arm is scored by the teeth, but he side-steps and is out of danger quickly.
Then it is nothing but a corpse, bloody and reeking next to the discarded sa-kohtsk. I pant, wiping blood from my face.
“Is anyone hurt?” Haeden asks, storming forward, his spear in hand. “Do you need a healer?”
Bek rubs his bleeding arm. “There is no healer, so it does not matter. And the wound is not deep.”
Haeden hands Bek his waterskin. “They have dirty mouths. Wash it well and see Maylak when we return.” He looks around, a frown on his face as he stares out into the driving snow. “Where is Hassen?”
I look as well, but my gaze is seeking someone else, someone with long, dark hair and a pale human face. Mah-dee rests under a tree, unconscious. Kira is at her side, and Aehako protects them both. Li-lah is not with them.
My knowing sense shoots through me with force, and I realize that I have been wrong. I am not jealous of Hassen. My sense does not surge when I see him because I am envious of him.
He is the danger. It is not the storm. It is not the sky-claws. It is Hassen. “He has stolen her,” I say aloud. “He has taken Li-lah.”
Hassen is going to try to force resonance. The thought fills me with helpless fury, and my hands curl so hard that my bone blade cracks in my grasp.
5
LILA
I stifle a yawn and burrow deeper into the blankets. For the first time in what feels like forever, I’m warm. My toes aren’t frozen under the furs and I…oh.
It’s because I have a parasite. The coo-ee. I rub my chest, eyes closed, but I don’t feel any different. Just warmer.
I roll onto my back and open my eyes.
A blue face is inches from mine, glowing eyes wide. Fangs jut from the grinning mouth.
I shriek and fling myself backward, desperate to get away. My head cracks into a hard wall and I groan, pressing a hand to the back of my head as I stare in alarm. What the—
Hassen reaches for me and I slap his hand away. I look around me in shock, because I’m not entirely sure where I am. In fact, I have no clue where I am.
It’s a cave…I think. There’s a small fire burning a short distance away in a dugout fire pit that is lined with rocks. I’m sitting in a bed of furs, and there’s rock under the bed, not metal. So, I’m not at the ship. Okay. I rub my eyes, trying to think. My memory’s a bit blurry but I remember the big, leggy creature that they pried open and the glowing-spaghetti-noodle-things that they handed to me and Maddie. I remember someone cutting me with a knife, at the base of my throat.
My fingers go to my throat. If there was a cut there, it’s healed over already. Wow. Either I healed fast or I was asleep for a really long time again. I’m trying not to think about that year and a half I lost in the pods, or the fact that it could have easily ended up being so much more. What if I was in there for longer than I thought? What if I thought it was only a year and a half and it was more like ten, or twenty?
I lick my dry lips. I guess it doesn’t matter. The moment I saw those twin suns, I knew I was never going home. It could be a hundred years and it wouldn’t change anything. I feel a pang of loss for my old life, but I have Maddie. It’s always been just the two of us, and as long as I have her, I know I’ll be good.
I glance around for my sister, ignoring Hassen’s too-intent face and the fact that he’s practically crouching over my bed. I don’t see Maddie, though. In fact, I don’t see anyone. It’s just me and creepster here. “Maddie?” I call out gently. “You here?”
Hassen gestures and when I look over at him, I realize he’s talking. He seems rather pleased with himself, and his tail - yeah, it’s weird - thumps on the ground. He sweeps a hand out, indicating the cave.
I have no idea what he just said. His lips move all wrong for proper lip-reading. Not for the first time, I feel completely overwhelmed and isolated, and I reach a hand back to my ear, feeling for the cochlear implant that isn’t there.
“Maddie?” I say again. I’m starting to get uneasy.
Hassen says something again. He taps my blanket-covered knee and then pulls out a waterskin, offering it to me.
Where is everyone? I look around the cave again. The fire is very small, with no meat roasting over it. The cave itself is tiny, with me and Hassen squeezed in, and there’s no room for more blankets on the floor space. In fact, I get the impression that this is not more than a two-person cave. So why am I here with him?
Maddie wouldn’t let this happen.
I slowly get to my feet. Hassen stands, also. He’s close, but not so close that he’s in my personal space, yet. I avoid the eager look on his face, and the water skin he shoves in my direction. I’m thirsty, but I want answers. I step out of the blankets and try to go around Hassen. The cave entrance is a short distance away, neatly covered with a stretched hide that acts a bit like a tarp.
Hassen steps in front of me and puts his hands up. Even though I can’t read his lips, his message is clear. I’m not supposed to leave.
That’s when real panic sets in. Have I been kidnapped?
“Maddie,” I scream, hopefully loud enough to rattle the cave. “Maddie! Maddie!” I start to hyperventilate. “Maddie!”
He grips my arms and gives me a little shake, as if to calm me.
It has the opposite effect. I’m in full-blown hysteria at this point, screaming my sister’s name and pounding my fists against his chest. There’s devastation on his alien features as he realizes just how upset I am.
Good. I want him to know how it feels. I slam my fists on his chest again and when I realize how ineffectual it feels, I fling myself away from him again and throw myself down on the blankets, crying.
This is the worst thing that could have happened to me. I’m here completely and utterly alone, with a guy who looks at me like he wants to own me.
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