The Roar (The Roar Series Book 1)

by A. M. White

  “I don’t want to kill you. What use would that be? As far as I know, there are millions of moles lining up for the chance to kill all of us. What am I going to do against that?” I asked.

  “For one, you can at least put up a good fight,” she raised an eyebrow. “Get up and fight me.”

  I took the hilt of the knife she held out in my hand. Cara offered a hand to me and hoisted me up.

  “Time to get to work,” she grinned.

  The knife dragged into the dirt as I stood. I saw it carve a distinct line, like the ones on Timothy’s arms. The irony of me being its new owner crossed my thoughts.

  “We will only work on stance and slicing,” she announced. She positioned my hands on the base. “I want you to be my reflection. Do exactly as I do, ok?”

  I nodded. She stepped back in front of me. Cara spread her legs a little and planted her feet. I copied her movements. She raised her arms and thrust them down. I did the same.

  “Good, put a little more strength behind it,” she advised.

  I slashed the blade down again this time with all my might. The knife made a whistling noise.

  Cara pointed at the knife. “That is the sound you want to hear every time you bring it down.”

  I grit my teeth and repeated the motion several times. The length of the blade felt balanced in my hand. It felt like an extension of me.

  Cara looked pleased. “Why don’t we move over to the bushes and see how she cuts?” My back stung as a reminder that I knew how this thing could cut.

  I raised the knife and released my hatred on the bush. The blade sliced through the twigs easily. I did it over and over until I couldn’t lift the knife anymore. “Now that is how you trim foliage, folks,” Cara teased. We laughed together. “I am not sure how to make this better,” Cara confessed. “I can only tell you that I will fight against my own people to keep you alive. What they are doing isn’t right. It goes against everything they indoctrinated in us. Preserve the world and its inhabitants.”

  She took my hand. “We are the same misguided society that you have known. Take what you believe belongs to you. Kill for that if need be. I don’t agree with that brainwashing.”

  “Listen, I get that we humans make mistakes. I admitted the other night that I haven’t met a decent one since the end of the world. We screwed up our planet and your people felt the need to put us in our place. At least, that’s how I see it, but I have too many good memories of my people to think our extinction is necessary.”

  “Tell me some,” she begged. “Please, I don’t have many pleasant memories from where I come from or here either.” She sat down and pulled me to her.

  I studied her face, to make sure she meant it. Her eyes became glossy and pooled around the edges. I kept her hand in mine.

  “I remember my mom tucking me into bed at night. She would kiss me on the head and I knew she loved me,” I started. Cara squeezed my fingers. “Holidays were the best. My family would all get together, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It was so nice to see everyone all at once. We played games and caught each other up about what had been going on in our lives. My favorite part was listening to stories about things that had happened a long time ago, when the older people reminisced.”

  “We don’t have older people down there,” Cara explained. “We were always told that they were sent to a far section to be taken care of, but I knew better.”

  “I am sorry that you didn’t get to know them. The old people can be wise; they have seen a lot,” I told her.

  “My people always focused on the future. That is why we didn’t stay with our mothers very long,” she said.

  “That’s funny, because when I think about it, most of us tried to learn from the past and worried about the present. Not many lived for the future,” I realized that this may be the main difference between our thought processes.

  Timothy emerged from the tree line. I hadn’t noticed the sun was setting. He carried a slab of meat at his side.

  “Is everything alright?” He asked when he spotted us together.

  “Yes, we were contemplating life and our existence. That’s all,” Cara told him.

  “I don’t know if I can handle anymore life epiphanies today,” he sighed and helped both of us to our feet.

  “Me either,” I agreed. “When do we eat?”

  “As soon as I can get this cooked,” he gestured to the meat.

  “Let’s get a fire going,” Cara said. She cracked her fingers.

  They started a fire in no time. Timothy rolled over a few stumps left from building the treehouse. It was cozy near the warmth of the fire. The smell of our dinner tugged at my stomach. I was still ravenous from my days without food.

  Once dinner was prepared, we huddled together to eat. The boar had been a luxury bestowed to us. Every bite was savored by moans and grunts. I ate until I was uncomfortable and had to prop myself back for my stomach to not hurt.

  The firelight danced between us and reminded me that we are all in this together. There was no them or me, it was “us”.

  Cara excused herself to bed shortly after the meal ended. There was an awkward feeling between Timothy and me. It had to end, I hated it being there. We had gone too far together for a kiss to ruin our comradery.

  “I shouldn’t have kissed your arms; if it made you upset I am sorry,” I offered.

  He squirmed, “Trust me this has nothing to do with how it felt, Alex. I shouldn’t have kissed you for a millions reasons, you kissing my arms isn’t one.”

  That surprised me. “Then what is it?”

  “All of this is difficult. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about you. I have always been so good at separating what I do, from feeling. You have blurred that line,” he confessed and closed his eyes.

  “I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it either,” I admitted. “It seems every day I learn something that should make me more nervous about you. For heavens sakes, your people are committing genocide against mine.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know. It’s ridiculous, yet it happened.”

  “We have to do what we have to do. Let’s make a pact,” I announced. I held out my hand. “We won’t kiss again.”

  He laughed at me, but shook my hand anyway. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and in the most regal voice; I could muster asked, “So now that’s done, would you mind taking me to bed?”

  Timothy smirked, “Of course.”

  He tossed me onto his back and scaled the tree trunk with ease. Cara was already breathing softly, asleep. He laid me down next to her.

  I mouthed, “Thank you.” He winked at me and went back below.

  “Is everything better?” Cara scared me. I had thought she was asleep.

  “Yeah, but we decided no more kissing. We have too much to be worrying about romance,” I crinkled my nose.

  “Sounds good to me,” she yawned and curled into a ball.

  Chapter Twenty

  The smell of bacon tickled my nose. My mouth watered before my eyes even opened. I moaned and stretched. My head didn’t seem as foggy as it had since the injury.

  “Come on lazy bones! Breakfast is ready!” Timothy called from below.

  I scratched and shuffled to the trunk. My hair stood out in all directions. I tried to smooth it down.

  Cara and Timothy looked up at me.

  “I’ve had enough, Alex you are getting a bath today!” Cara teased.

  “Is it that bad?” I asked.

  Timothy nodded at me with a look of apology.

  “Do you need help down?” He asked and walked to the tree.

  “Nope, I’m going to try it today,” I said proudly.

  “Just take it easy, I’ll be right here,” Timothy cautioned.

  I carefully plotted my route before leaving the platform. I stepped on to the first set of notches and eased my foot down until I could feel the next. My arms and legs shook from lack of strenuous use. It must have bothered Timothy, too, because he p
ositioned himself directly below me.

  At the second to the last wrung, I pushed myself off the tree. I dropped about five feet and Timothy caught me. He gave me a stern look. I slapped at him smiling.

  “Geez, how dramatic of you two,” Cara muttered. I blushed. “Eat then we are going to train. I think you should be fine for traveling tomorrow.”

  “I’m ready to get moving again. I think if I stay here much longer, I might never want to leave,” I admitted. It seemed like the safest place I had been in a very long time.

  The bacon was amazing. I ate more than my share. Timothy even got tired of waiting for me. He excused himself to start pooling supplies. I wondered when my insatiable hunger would cease. I couldn’t keep up with it on the move.

  “Ok, so today, we are going to work on different ways to defend yourself,” Cara explained. “For now, if you can buy one of us some time to get to you in an emergency, you will be fine.”

  I agreed.

  She lined up with me again. “No weapons first, I want you to come at me.”

  “Like how?” I blushed; it seemed silly.

  “Like you are going to try to hit me,” she was beginning to get irritated with me.

  I charged and swung my fist at her face. She caught it and twisted. The pain brought me to my knees.

  “Your turn,” Cara said and let me go.

  I rubbed my elbow.

  She sprang at me, her fist propelled at me. I snagged her, but her fist still clipped my jaw. It was enough to catch me off guard. I let go, before directing her to the ground.

  “Again,” Cara demanded.

  We went over the movements several times, until I mastered subduing her. Then we went on to the next defensive tactic. I was winded so we stopped frequently for water. I was a fast learner and Cara was pleased with my progress.

  “That’s enough of that,” Cara put her hands on her hips. “I think we both earned a bath.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “To the pond and I bet I’ll beat you there!” She yelled over her shoulder and took off.

  I giggled and ran as fast as I could to catch up. My body was strong even if my lungs hadn’t caught up from inactivity. I ran through the thicket to Cara kicking her boots off. She pulled off her top with no modesty.

  “Are we going in naked?” I asked.

  “I honestly don’t care but we can leave on our undergarments if it makes you feel better,” she chided.

  Her pants were thrown over a log. She ran straight in to the water and dove in once the water was deep enough.

  I shed my clothes as fast as possible. I wanted to hurry and get in the water. It was still chilly out. No doubt, the water would be cold.

  I hung my pants next to Cara’s. She had already made her way out to the middle of the pond. I sprinted in so I couldn’t change my mind once I found out how cold it was. The water was dark and ominous. I swam out to where Cara was laying on her back.

  Timothy came into the clearing. He folded his arms across his chest and watched us floating.

  “That has got to be freezing,” he laughed.

  “Yes, it is,” I said.

  “Get in here! Stop pretending like you don’t want to,” Cara joked and splashed in his direction.

  He pursed his lips, “What if I’m chicken?”

  “Stop being a wuss.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

  “Meh, I won’t make you beg me,” he peeled off the layers of jacket and shirts.

  I couldn’t help but notice that he was well built. He was strong and his body reflected that. His muscles pushed and pulled under his skin as he undressed.

  Cara splashed at me. ”Yoo-hoo, Earth to Alex?” She called.

  My face flushed. I dove under the surface and swam under Cara. I pinched her leg and I could hear her muffled yelp. She submerged and wrestled me under the water.

  Timothy jumped in from a nearby rock. The waves rocked Cara and I. Timothy joined us. We splashed, played, and acted like normal people for a while.

  Timothy put his hands on my waist. My skin pricked from his touch. He tossed me into the air; it was exhilarating. I hit the water and swam back to him. We shoved each other playfully.

  Cara made her way out of the pond. She wrung out her hair. “I’m going to get a fire going!” She called.

  Timothy raced me to the rock he jumped from. We climbed up and took turns making silly poses as we jumped. It was so good to laugh and enjoy things. I smiled at Timothy and spit the water from my mouth.

  I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He held me as he treads water. I placed my head on his shoulder. My hair fanned out around me with the waves.

  “We should get out before hypothermia sets in,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Besides we might end up doing something dumb, like kiss again,” I swallowed.

  He poked me in the ribs. “We wouldn’t want that would we? Let’s go,” he said jokingly.

  He took my hands, put them on his shoulders, and swam to the shore. His skin was warm even in the frigid water.

  Luckily, Cara came back just then with a blanket for us to wrap around us. It was another good excuse to get close to him. He rubbed my arms and back drying them, at the same time as giving me heat. When he made his way to my legs, he paused at the line along my shin. He ran a finger along it and looked up at me.

  “I know it looks bad, but I don’t even remember how I got it,” I shrugged. “It bothers me though.”

  His brow furrowed as he studied it. “I saw it before, but you disregarded it. Cara should take a look at that sometime. Maybe she has something that could help it,” he proposed.

  We made our way to the fire in tandem. Cara had taken our clothes to wash them. Our undergarments would have to dry with us by the fire. It was time that I got over my issues with indecency. When it came down to it, in the scheme of things, it was nothing.

  The flames danced to the tune that Cara hummed. I recognized the tune as the same from last time she hummed. It seemed to be a lullaby of sorts, meant to soothe the listener. I picked at the meat and sparse greens Cara had prepared. The song and warmth made me drowsy.

  The sun had set and the sky burned with the colors of the fire. It reminded me that the moles hadn’t taken that from us. I smiled to myself in defiance.

  “So, are we ready tomorrow then?” Cara asked abruptly.

  “Yeah, we should start early. I was thinking maybe we could try to get to the river by tomorrow night?” Timothy said.

  She nodded, “Hopefully.”

  Timothy handed me my knife.

  “One more time, against me?” He prompted.

  I looked to Cara. She waved at me to go. The long knife was heavier in my hand because I was so tired. Cara handed Timothy her knife.

  “You two, be careful, though. I don’t need to get stuck patching one of you up again so soon,” she huffed.

  There we stood in our underwear trying to look serious about sparring. Instead, we were ridiculously bare.

  “Let’s go, sweet cheeks,” he winked at me.

  With a groan, I attacked lunging forward. He deflected the knife and immediately disarmed me.

  “What have you two been doing? Exchanging cookie recipes?” He mocked.

  My face went hot with embarrassment.

  “Again,” he demanded.

  I picked up the knife and in the same movement wheeled at him. He parried the blow away from him, but did not make me lose it. His face filled with amusement.

  Timothy bent down and swept my feet from under me. I landed on my back with a thud. He stood over me, knife aimed at my chest. I kicked just above his knee and brought him down.

  Swiftly, I rose to fighting stance. He scrambled back upright. He dropped the knife and charged. I tossed my weapon, just before he jumped upon me.

  I used my hips, like Cara taught me to, so that he couldn’t pin me with his knees. I pressed my feet into the ground and rolled him off. Instantly, I rolled in the opposite direction until I was
out of reach.

  “Good job,” he acknowledged. “You’ve come a long way.”

  Cara beamed at us, “Alex is a good student. She learns fast.”

  I brushed myself off and bowed at them. They both clapped for me.

  “If we run into trouble, do you think I can buy you time?” I asked.

  “I would rather not put it to a test, but I do believe so,” Timothy grinned. He was proud of my progress.

  “Okay, kids, I’m going to take my clothes and head upstairs,” I announced. I took my clothes from a stump and made my way up the tree.

  “Night,” they called after me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A noise startled me out of the nightmare where I am at the beach with a line of moles waiting for me. I lay in sweat and panting. No one was in the bed with me. I sat up and quietly padded to the entrance of the room, careful to not step on loose boards.

  I heard voices below. They belonged to Cara and Timothy, I relaxed a little. Curiosity got the best of me, so I stayed to listen for a minute.

  “You really like her, don’t you?” Cara whispered.

  From the noise of leaves crunching, Timothy had to be pacing.

  “I do. I know it is stupid and careless,” he grumbled. This could be good, so I listened further.

  “She is pretty and smart. It makes sense, however, I’m not sure how it is going to fit in with our plans,” Cara pointed out.

  Timothy confessed, “I don’t know. Like I said, it is stupid and completely illogical.”

  “Welcome to life, brother. Nothing has ever made sense. We keep running from the logical. I mean, do you really think we are going to make a difference against them?” She paused.

  “I don’t know. We would’ve died fighting them below. At least now we have a chance,” Timothy explained.

  “I never put it together, that they were going to use people for energy. I swear,” she promised.

  There was silence and more rustling in the leaves. I leaned against the door frame.

  “I hope we are doing the right thing by taking her back to him,” Timothy worried. “I’ll kill him if he tries to hurt her.”

  My stomach knotted. Timothy did know who I was being taken to. Why didn’t he tell me?