Surprisingly, after some time, Kasia stands and says, “I’ll go get us something to eat.”
Nea stares at her in disbelief, “You can hunt?”
Kasia starts to laugh. “Hunting? No, I was thinking of a few berry bushes. I am a vegetarian.” Nea looks at her face dumbstruck. She continues, “I know you think I am stupider than you, but I do not care.”
She does not wait for an answer and runs deeper into the forest. Nea does not follow. In fact, she is still mad at Kasia, but at the same time she admires the fact that the girl is still alive, if she really survives without eating meat. Without meat, Nea would have starved after the past few days. Maybe Kasia owes her survival less to her own survival skills and more to those of others.
After some time, Kasia comes back.
“Did you find anything?” Nea asks, not sneering, not trying to expect a positive response.
When she answers in the affirmative, Nea raises her eyebrows quizzically. Kasia holds her dress up at the ends so that it forms a bag of sorts. When she sits down, Nea sees that on Kasia’s lap is an assortment of berries.
“But, you know that you cannot eat every berry you find in the first, right?” Nea asks incredulously, which is met with a glare from Kasia.
“Of course I know that. Do you think I’m stupid? If I didn’t know that I would have died by now.”
“Well, some people have more luck than judgment.”
Again she looks angrily at Nea, but then sighs resignedly.
“We really have to stop arguing with each other. It helps neither of us. I have nothing against you, actually, I’m totally glad you’re here with me. Without you I would be lost.”
Nea is surprised by the confession, but is not ready to give in to something so small. “It’s great that you know that, but you have a funny way of showing it.”
“It is probably a stupid excuse, but it’s probably the hormones, really. I suppose you’ve never been pregnant, but sometimes it’s really terrible. There are moments when you would laugh about something one minute, and then in the next moment feel like you’re broken. The worst thing is to be alone.”
Nea feels sorry for her. “What about the father of your child?”
Kasia’s face seems to solidify. Apparently she does not have good memories of the child’s father. Maybe he died. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Nea can understand only too well. She also would not want to talk to anyone about Miro. Kasia has her child as a reminder of the child’s father. Nea does not envy her.
Kasia stretches her hand out, inside are some berries.
“Here, try them, maybe you’ll become a vegetarian.”
It is not hard to see that she is trying to be nice. Nea also knows that berries are not particularly filling and Kasia is having to eat for two. Therefore, Nea only takes a few of the berries that Kasia holds out to her. She has never had berries before, but finds them deliciously sweet. Kasia is not as useless as Nea first thought. Although it still annoys her that Kasia lied about knowing the way.
Hours later they still remain at the site near the path. It is more important for them to rest than to continue following the path as Kasia is unsure it will lead to their destination. She lets her head fall exhaustedly against Nea’s healthy shoulder.
“Thank you for being you,” she whispers softly before falling asleep. Nea is sure that they are not friends despite Kasia’s words, for they are much too different. Kasia reminds Nea in some ways of the terrible girls who always clung to Miro. They were all dependent and without their own opinions. The batted their beautiful eyes at Miro in the hopes that he would protect them, but for Miro they were just a nice pastime. Nevertheless, Nea had developed a kind of sympathy for Kasia. Maybe it was her sense of duty, that the girl is alone in this world, just like Nea.
Ten
Nea wakes up from a nightmare. A flash of lightning with a loud roar illuminates the outlines of the trees in the forest. Something to Nea’s left behind the trees moves violently through the forest, Nea follows it with her eyes. Soon, the stranger is standing between two trees, not five feet away from them. The man is holding a large sword in his hand, watching her. The man somehow reminds Nea of a pirate, he has a scruffy beard and unkempt hair as well. But the man’s clothing has nothing of the charm of a pirate from the old movies. The man’s clothes are several dirty, gray and brown rags. He must have finally seen Nea as his eyes light up and he grips his sword tighter as he grins maliciously. His teeth gleam in the dark.
“Do not worry,” he says softly. “I’ll be nice to you if you’re nice to me.”
While remaining as quiet as a mouse next to the tree, Nea wraps her hand firmly around the campaign staff. The stranger creeps closer with his sword drawn. When lightning flashes again, Nea sees that he is holding a big stick in his other hand. She is briefly blinded by the lightning and when she sees him again, he is just two steps away looking down at her. His grin is gone and is replaced with a suspicious mask. He looks at Kasia and when he sees her big round belly, his gaze wanders to Nea.
“I will not hurt you,” he says, walking in front of the girls. He raises his sword. His sight does not leave Nea for a second. His eyes wander down her body and linger on her breasts. His eyes sink deeper between her legs and then returns to her upper body. His eyelids are heavy. He parts his lips with his tongue and licks his lips so that they shine in the semi-darkness. He holds his sword high as he bends down to Nea. Kasia pants anxiously and slides away, leaving Nea alone with the terrible man. Nea waits until he comes closer before punching him with all of her strength in his abdomen. Air shoots out of his lungs as he writhes in pain. Nea waits for a second before hitting him in the head with the campaign staff right between his eyes. She hears a faint cracking noise and immediately blood gushes forth from his smashed nose. With adrenaline flowing now, she kicks him in his chest and he sways backwards. She pulls the dagger from her boot and immediately dives after him intending to kill him while he is dazed. But he seems to have been through worse, because no sooner has Nea readied the knife, he has righted himself and raised his sword. He has lost his stick and now grabs his crotch with his free hand.
Lightning flashes across the sky. The thunder shakes the forest. Nea rushes toward him because she has no other choice. When his eyes fall on her small dagger, he replies with a smirk on his bleeding lips, “Now you’re going to attack me with silverware? I’m annoyed enough as it is.”
In response, she clutches the dagger tighter. “Find yourself another victim,” she hisses at him, but the man just laughs. He knows that he is bigger, heavier, and stronger than Nea and she barely has a chance against him.
“Come on, let’s get this behind us. The sooner we start, the sooner it’s over.”
Again, lightning flashes through the sky. The man uses this moment to begin his attack and sets out to rush Nea. Instinctively, Nea attempts to throw the dagger at waist level, but the stranger grabs her arm before she realizes what is going on and drops the dagger. She is not yet beaten and defends herself with all her might against him. She kicks and bites whenever he offers her the chance. He finds it is not easy to tame her, but then he grabs Nea’s hair and pulls her head back, forcing her to her knees. His fist thunders into her face and steals her consciousness for a brief moment. When she is back with clear senses, the man is on top of her, holding her down with all of his weight. With one hand he holds her heard down, while with his other hand he tries to tug her pants free from her body. Nea struggles and tries to throw the man off of herself, but his body just pushes her to the ground. Just as she believes herself to be lost, a figure comes out of the darkness and brings down a big stick upon the man’s head. The man’s body immediately relaxes. A flash of lightning illuminates the forest again and she realizes it’s Kasia, armed with the man’s stick. Together they roll the attacker off Nea. Kasia gives Nea her hand and pulls her to her feet.
Nea’s whole body trembles and tears roll down her cheeks as she t
hrows herself sobbing into Kasia’s arms. Reassuringly, Kasia strokes her back for a few moments. Then she takes Nea’s hand in a firm grip and says, “Come on, we have to get out of here.”
They rush back to the path and follow it until the sun is behind thick gray rain clouds and Nea’s strength is sapped.
She sits on a heavily weathered and overgrown ivy bank by the roadside. Her calf feels as if it would tear at each step. Her injured shoulder burns and she sees fresh blood seeping through her ragged bandages. And if that is not enough, ever since the man knocked her unconscious briefly, she has had a pounding headache. Her left eye is swelling. But worst of all, is the feeling of helplessness. Had Kasia not been there, she would not have been able to fight the man off, she was too weak. Even in a healthy state she knows she would not have stood a chance against the attacker and that makes her really scared. She never wanted to get into such a situation. But with as tired, injured, and groggy as she is, she would be an easy target for anyone, she could not even defend herself against a child.
Kasia stands before her, looking at her worriedly. “You look really bad,” she says, plucking leaves and small branches from Nea’s disheveled hair.
“Your face is very pale and your whole body is trembling.” She places her soft hand gently on Nea’s forehead. “You also have a fever.”
She looks up at Kasia and gets back on her feet. “It’s no good. We cannot stay here. We’re running out of time.”
Kasia is already carrying the backpack, but now she puts her hand on Nea, “Come on, lean on me, this may relieve your shoulder a little.” Nea looks at her doubtfully, after all, she is pregnant and already has enough to carry.
“Come on, I’ll tell you when I can’t continue supporting you. You actually should have noticed,” she adds with a grin and put’s Nea’s good arm over her shoulder, the campaign staff in her free hand. “If need be, I can be stronger than you think.”
Nea’s lungs felt as if they would burst at any moment, but Miro dragged her incessantly behind him. His hand reminded her of a vice, their feet slammed against the asphalt. Behind her, she heard their pursuer.
This time it was not Miro’s problem, at least not his alone. Together they had crept into a warehouse in which they knew a group of young men lived. The day before, Miro observed them carrying in several boxes of food and then drunk themselves to sleep. He was convinced that they would be so woozy in the morning from their intoxication that in their slump they would be unable to stop them. But he was wrong. Nea and Miro did not have enough time to grab anything before having to rush out the door again.
The men searched for them halfway across the village. Without Nea, Miro would be faster and would have certainly given them the slip by now, but Nea slowed him down.
But it was Miro who overlooked and stumbled over a wooden crate that was lying in the middle of the road. Nea tumbled down with him. When they got up, the men were already upon them. While they carelessly threw Nea aside, Miro was already being punched. He had no chance to fight back, as he was being held by two men, while two others beat him mercilessly. Nevertheless, he was able to dodge a blow, causing one of the men holding him to be punched, who then faltered. Miro was able to pull himself free, but landed on the floor and the men began to kick him.
Nea could not take this any longer and jumped on the back of one of the men. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He tried with all of his might to shake Nea off, but she squeezed even tighter when she saw the two other men continuing to beat up Miro. Miro kept trying to get up, but could not. Nea was surprised when the man collapsed unconscious beneath her. Immediately, she reached for the crate on which Miro had stumbled and struck one of the other attackers with it. The crate shattered on his head, but unfortunately did not knock him out. Instead, he lunged at Nea. She tried to escape from him, but he pulled her back by her hair so that she cried out in pain. His first fist went into her abdomen and she doubled over in pain. Next he kicked her in the knee, so she slumped to the ground. Before he could strike again, Nea threw a stone in his direction. This hit him on the head, and he went down on the ground, bleeding from a gash the stone made on his face.
The last man removed himself from on top of Miro and stepped toward her. His fist thundered on her nose and she felt and heard immediately as something broke. Blood shot out and ran down her lips. The metallic taste made her gag. Her vision went black and she hit the ground hard. From far away, she heard the cries of the man when she was suddenly grabbed from under both arms and lifted. Everything was spinning. Strong hands wrapped around her battered face and when she opened her eyes, she looked right into Miro’s beautiful sky blue eyes.
Over his right eyebrow was a large gaping wound, he tried to blink away the blood that ran down his face. His lips were split open and also covered in blood. He clothes were torn, but he smiled as he looked at Nea.
She could hardly stand on her feet, but she knew she was safe because she was with Miro.
“You surprised me. You’re much stronger than I thought,” he told her admiringly as he carried her away.
“Nea nestled her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat. “I was so worried about you,” she whispered back.
“In order to protect the ones you love, you grow beyond yourself,” Miro told her, grinning. This time she did not protest. Let her think that he loved her. At least for one day.
They continue to follow the road and just as the first drops of rain begin to fall from the sky, on the right side of the road they see the outlines of a large timbered building behind some trees. Upon closer inspection, it is revealed to be a barn. People wearing red robes are also scurrying about, so the girls take shelter behind the trees.
“This is the farm,” Kasia whispers joyfully to Nea. “I told you that I was familiar with this area,” she adds proudly.
“Now what?”
“A little further down the road is a crossroads where we will have to turn left, and then it is not far off. Actually, we might be able to see my friends today.”
Nea’s view from the forest prevents her from being infected by Kasia’s euphoria. From her viewpoint, she can see a large open field, and beyond that is the crossroads, but in the field is a large amount of red robes. Neither of them can run fast enough to outrun the Carris when they are discovered. Kasia seems to read Nea’s thoughts for she suggests, “Let’s hug the forest a little to the left and ease our way to the crossroad. At least then we’ll be a bit further away from the farm.”
Not a bad idea. Nea wonders why she didn’t think of it, but it is obvious. She blames it on her massive headache. It’s hard for her to concentrate on anything, not even the direction her feet are traveling in. She tries to pay more attention, but she stumbles so Kasia has to help keep her on track.
Nea can barely keep her eyes open. The only thing she can do is put one foot in front of the other. It is hard due to the rain that pours constantly around them. She could not tell if they were walking for ten minutes or ten hours. Any sense of time is lost to her.
Suddenly, she feels like she is sliding down onto the ground and falls onto her butt. But Nea does not care. She hears in the distance Kasia grumbling and swearing to herself somewhere in the distance. Nea just wants to sleep and forget the pain. Warm hands close around her face. A loud clap and a burning pain disturbs the peace.
“Nea, look at me,” she hears Kasia's angry voice.
Nea wants to open her eyes, but they do not obey her. One more blow to the face startles her and she sees Kasia leaning over her. Her blonde hair dripping wet. Nea does not know if it’s rain or sweat. Kasia looks ready and anxious.
“Listen to me, it’s not far, but it is already getting light out, we have been going too slow, so I’m going alone and getting help. I will cover you up with twigs and grass so no one will see you. You have to wait here, okay?”
Nea heard these words, but her mind was too slow to nod or to move her head or mouth or if she should even say anything. N
ea is so terribly tired; she would just like to close her eyes.
But Kasia begrudges Nea this calm and shakes her shoulders, “Did you hear me?”
Nea finally manages to nod. The next moment, her eyes close again and rain falls onto her broken body. The rain is the only thing she perceives. No cold, no pain. Soon, she does not even feel the rain, but is received by an all-encompassing darkness and drifts away.
Somewhere near, Nea can hear the gentle patter of a fire. She can not only feel the heat on her cheeks, but she can feel it all the way down to her toes. It is a pleasant feeling. She keeps her eyes closed and tries to will herself back into restful sleep when she perceives a faint sob. Who is that? What happened?
Slowly she remembers the previous few days and with tear-stained eyes she startles herself awake. He head meets the jerky movement with a sharp pain. Groaning, Nea presses her hand against her head.
She tries to see, but her vision is blurred, all she can make out is a fire in the darkness.
“Very slowly,” she hears a strange voice whispering. It is too dark to see, she cannot tell if it is Kasia or another person. Frightened, she thinks of the man who attacked them in the night, but Nea is sure this is not that man. She forces herself to take a deep breath in and breathes it out. Carefully she opens her eyes again and this time her vision is clear.
She sits in her sleeping bag wrapped around a fire in the middle of a forest. Kasia sits opposite her leaning against a tree. Her cheeks shine moistly in the light of the flames. The sobs must have come from her. From the corner of her eye, Nea perceives movement and turns to the side. To her right sits a man who reacts slowly. Long black hair falls into his face, so she cannot recognize him. However, this must be the one who spoke to her.
“Who are you?” croaks Nea. Her neck hurts when she speaks.
Nea cannot see the stranger’s face, so Nea cannot see what he looks like. He is silent. Kasia speaks.
“This is Arras. He found me...” she breaks off and begins to cry again.
Promise: The Scarred Girl Page 11