by Tom Harem
"I'll take the one on the right," Emma said and licked her lips, "This is going to be fun,"
"I'll take the one on the left," Vic said before I could add anything.
"Well, I'll take the middle one then," I said, trying to sound confident even though I was afraid of dying there, "Do we attack or do we expect them to do it?
"Wait. Look at your opponent's feet. See which way he's going to attack you. Turn around and punch him right in the chin. As soon as you put him down, don't let him get up," Emma said to me, "this will be easy.
I looked again at the three men before us. They were taller than us and the bodies were twice as wide. They were covered with scars, some deep and some superficial. They also had two red stripes on each of their cheeks. I couldn't even tell if that was blood if it was ink. They took three steps forward. One of them dragged the metal bat on the floor while the other two carried it along the leg.
"We haven't eaten so well in a long time," one of them said.
His words were received with grunts and smiles.
They all had yellow teeth. One of them had a whitish beard, another sideburns up to the jaw and the last one had a glass eye. It was as if they had just come out of my worst nightmares or even some of the stories my father had written in his diary. He too had experienced moments like this, between life and death, but he had always managed to escape. I could not lose on my first time. I had to make him proud. I had not run away from home to perish in the first battle I had against a single man, even if he was twice of my size.
"Don't be afraid," Emma told me, and slid the knife across her tongue until the blade was covered in blood.
She didn't even seem to feel the pain. She smiled, the blood slipping down her chin too. One of the men, the one in front of Emma, lost his patience and threw himself at her. She dodged and hit him with the butt of the gun while he was still up in the air.
I was watching everything when pain spread around my shoulder. Damn it. The man in front of me had knocked me over. We both fell to the ground and he started punching me repeatedly until I couldn't even move. I had my hands protecting my face and the pain escalated. I had to get out of there somehow. If that continued I would lose in an instant.
His saliva ran down his chin and dripped all over my clothes. I kept only one hand in front of my face while I used the other to look for the knife I had in my pants. One of those moments when it seems like the more we look for something, the harder it gets to get it. It took me a while to find it. With all the pain in my body, everything seemed the same to me. Even my vision was already blurred. But no, I couldn't give up there. I could not. I grabbed the knife and stabbed it in his flesh, sticking it as deep as possible. Honestly, I had no idea where I had landed it. I only knew that I could not stop. He groaned in agony and the punches stopped. I gathered the little strength I had left and punched him right in the chin as Emma had taught me. He fell back, his eyes half closed, the blood spreading through the brown tissue. I looked at my knife. It was covered in a thick light red, with a couple of tiny bubbles popping. The man wriggled on the ground, his fists clenched, screaming that he would kill me as soon as he got up.
"You must kill him first," Emma said to me, "He wouldn't have pity on you if it were the other way around."
I looked at her. A man was dead in front of her and she had her foot on his neck. His clothes were completely sliced; dozens of deep cuts in his belly and some in his legs. As she raised her foot, blood sprouted from his neck. Emma kicked the man in the shoulder and the body turned around. A pool of blood came up under his face. I looked at the man in front of me again. Damn it. No, I couldn't. I didn't want to kill anyone. Much less a person who could not defend himself. That was not who I was.
"You kill him if you want to,' I answered her.
"Okay," Emma answered me and approached him. The man still tried to escape but could not get away in time.
"Kane, sooner or later you'll have to conform to the world you live in," Emma told me, looking at me as she stuck the sharp end of the knife in the man's neck.
The blood sprinkled on his face. The man's fingers stopped moving. She wiped herself with her fingers, licking them slowly, savoring them until there was absolutely no evidence.
"Nice, I walked away from a crazy place just to be saved by a lunatic," Vic said.
"At least you admit I'm saving you," Emma said.
"You got lucky," Vic replied, "Is the whole crew like that?"
"Not really. You don't have to worry," I said to her, "let's just get going,"
"We better hide the bodies," Emma told us," we can drag them off to somewhere remote. If there's any around here,"
"Only if we go back to where we slept," Vic answered her.
"Again?" I asked her. I was tired of walking in circles. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Dust was clinging to my clothes and skin, to the point that every time I frowned, little grains of sand stumbled down my face.
"We might as well take care of this now, rather than let them know we were here," Emma said, "Don't forget. This is my domain. If you want to survive, do as I tell you. Each one carries a body,"
"Where have you ever seen a princess carry a body?" Vic grumbled.
"If you don't want to be a princess, you better get used to the life of ordinary mortals," Emma replied with a slight mocking grin in the corner of her lips.
"She's right," I added, "no one will do your job for you anymore. But, you know, you're still in time to get back to your planet. We'll take you there.
"No. No! I know all that. I was just getting it off my chest. You must understand, Kane. Carrying bodies across the mountain must not have been your first thought when you ran away from home," she said.
"No, but..." I started but was interrupted.
"See, I knew it," she said and held onto my arm.
"Come on, let's hurry up. The sooner we do this, the sooner we will get out of here," Emma said.
Chapter III
We ended up grabbing the dead by the collar and carrying them across the battered earth until we got to the hidden place where we had spent the night. Emma was right. I felt much safer knowing that the bodies were hidden there than having them halfway along the way, indicating where we were going. However, I did not tell her that. I couldn't forget that she was still a serial killer and I didn't know how reliable she was. Even if she had saved my life, she could have done it only to have a chance of getting off the ship. I couldn't risk it.
"What now?" I asked her.
"We followed the same path as before. Let's try to make less noise this time," she said and her eyes hovered over Vic.
"Don't be looking at me. I survived here all by myself."
"It doesn't matter. Now we are more, we have to be more careful. And when you were here alone, you didn't make any noises talking," she said.
"How do you know I don't talk to myself?" Vic said as she wiped her blood-covered hands in the waterfall.
Emma didn't answer her. She was satisfied with casting a fierce gaze towards Vic. Half-closed eyes, the color behind them fading. Vic just cleaned her hands and walked away, heading for the entrance. I still tried to tell Emma to calm down but all I got was the same angry look. Damn it. It wouldn't go well if we continued like this. There could be no discord among us. My father had taught me that; that if there is a problem in the group it must be solved before the seed of evil spreads to others.
Still, it wasn't the best time to stop and talk either. Now the best thing was to get out of there as soon as possible and afterwards we could solve the problems between them.
We went back to the place where we had bumped into the three men. The place was empty. There was still dry blood in the center of the place but Emma quickly rushed to put dirt and thick grains of sand on top. She even stomped on the mixture with her boot to make sure it all looked natural. Vic and I watched as she took care of it. She was a professional. It was definitely not the first time she was in
such a situation. There was still a lot to know about her and I was hoping that one day she would feel comfortable sharing her life stories.
"Let's continue. Vic takes the lead. We are right behind you. Kane, watch our backs. I will keep an eye on what's above us. A sign like pebbles falling down can save our lives," she said.
This time, no one said anything for most of the way. We kept going in circles across the mountain. The dried-up yellow-roasted and orange walls, a few with drawings that seemed to be dozens of years old, with the colors already fading, never changed all along the way. The sun was at its peak and yet the rays that struck us were few and far between. My body had never been so dirty and so limp. With every step I took, the sand seemed to leap from one member of my body to another. Even my head was aching and I found it difficult to close my hands.
"How much longer? I asked Vic, "Maybe we should have come at night.
"Not a little, but not much either. And, believe me, during the day it's better. Most people avoid the hottest hours. Especially in the desert."
"I have yet to see how we are going to get out of here and get to the ship," I told them. It wasn't that I didn't believe we were going to make it, but I was starting to get saturated.
"Nothing in life is easy. Now silence," Emma commanded.
Neither Vic nor I were willing to ignore her orders. Not only because we were afraid of her but also because we knew she was right. Silence was important there. We walked for an hour, two hours, maybe even longer. It was impossible to know the time on that end of the world and the clocks and communicators did not even work. From the way Vic looked everywhere every time the mountain broke into different sections, it seemed she had no idea where we were. And yet Emma said nothing. We followed her wherever she decided to go.
"We're being followed," Emma said, "don't look. I only saw part of his shadow. Maybe the men from before were not alone or this boy is with another group," she said.
"Boy?" Vic asked, as quietly as possible.
"Yes, he doesn't look very tall. He must be about 20 years old. He's thin."
"He must be an observer. They usually wander around, spying the area, looking for victims. They're fast and they're usually imperceptible,"
"I know. I was once one of them. Not here, of course," Emma added, "He could have called for help but he didn't. Most likely he's checking where we're going. Maybe they're waiting for us on our way out. Kane, save the few bullets you have. They might be needed," she told me.
"Don't worry. I wasn't thinking of using them," I said to her, "but do we keep walking anyway?"
"Yes, act as if nothing had happened. Let's not draw attention," Emma said, "so far this is going well for us,"
"Well?" I asked her.
"We are still alive, aren't we?', she answered me and, truth be told, I could not deny it, 'now silence. The sun will soon be out. We have to take advantage of it in order to escape as soon as the night sets".
"Yeah, we're closer now. We'll make it," Vic said and smiled, seconds before an arrow struck one of her toes.
She screamed loudly enough to ward off some crows that had hung over the naked grey bushes. Emma readily covered her mouth and whispered to her to control herself before any more groups approached.
Suddenly, another arrow landed on the ground in front of her. Whoever it was had failed on purpose this time. We looked up. A girl with a brown cloak and short hair of the same color had another arrow pointed at us.
There was no one else around. The silence descended on the mountains. The girl was standing in front of the sun and the rays of light spread to the remaining cracks.
"Who are you and what do you want? Emma asked her.
The girl did not answer. She stayed in the same place, still with the gun pointed at us, some strands of hair sticking to her forehead, sweat acting as glue.
"I'm talking to you!" Emma screamed, with her right hand already on the knife.
"Put your hand down," the girl in the bow said, "I won't ask twice,"
Emma obeyed. No matter how rebellious and courageous she was, she also knew when to stop. Her desire to die, or her lack of fear of dying, seemed to have faded since she had joined us. Although only a few days had passed, she seemed more at ease. Maybe it was just an impression, but something told me that she was happy to have a group by her side. I didn't think she ever had people willing to help her. Obviously the rest of the crew didn't like her yet, but in time I wouldn't be surprised if they did. And I know that Emma knew it too.
I was still wondering when a man showed up. He had black hair up to his shoulders and green eyes like emeralds. Besides, he was probably 5'2" and about 80 pounds. He alone could cover the whole rift around him, making it impossible for us to get to one of the two exits we had. We could turn back but most likely one of us would die on the way. The man had an axe in his hand, covered in dried blood at the edge. He smiled at us. Yellow and rotten teeth, some missing at the bottom of the front.
"Where do you think you're going? He asked. A strong, razor-sharp voice.
"We don't want any trouble. We are leaving," Vic told him.
"Are you leaving? I don't think so. You have youthful bodies. I can sell you as slaves."
"Slaves? I asked him.
"Of course. We are not as wild as people think we are. Deep down, we live in a society. A little out of control, yes, but it exists. There are large groups who are looking for slaves or even people who they can eat," he said.
"But everyone here is a cannibal?" Emma asked, raising her voice.
The man laughed. He spat on the floor next to him and stepped forward, "You shouldn't speak so loudly. Jenna, confirm that there is no one around. If there is, kill them," he ordered the girl with the bow, "Everyone makes sacrifices to survive here. There is no other way to do it. But you were lucky. You don't look too hurt. I don't think you've found any big groups along the way. Unfortunately, for you, this is where your journey ends," he said and took three barbed wires out of his pocket, grabbing them by one of the ends.
"Are you going to tie our hands with that?" Emma asked him. She was looking upwards to confirm that the girl had already returned.
"It will only hurt in the first few hours. Then you will become desensitized to them," the man said, walking towards us.
We had never dealt with anyone so big, let alone someone who seemed calm despite where we were. I'm sure he'd been there for years.
The girl with the bow returned before Emma could act. We had no way out of there. Emma looked at me, glancing down at the gun I had concealed. Damn it. I didn't even remember. I could use it. One shot at the girl with the bow and everything would be fine. The problem wasn't shooting, the biggest problem was hitting her at that distance, especially with her body shrouded by the sun. I could never do it. But... but I had to try. It was better to try and die there than to end up as a slave or eaten by savages. I placed my hand next to my leg, the cold of the metal freezing my fingers for a few seconds. I couldn't hesitate. I was about to do it when Vic spoke.
"Jenna, is that your name right?" She asked the girl.
"Yes." She answered.
"Don't answer them! I told you not to talk unless I tell you," the man said, looking at her.
"What if we give you a chance to get away from here? With us? Don't you want to leave this planet?" Vic asked the girl. She didn't reply.
"What are you doing?" Emma asked her.
"What do you think I am doing? Trying to find a solution. If you want to come with us you just have to hit him with an arrow. We'll take care of the rest."
The man laughed, "Do you think the little kid's going to betray me? She knows what happens if she does. She belongs to me and only to me.
"You have a chance here to become your own person. Are you going to take it or waste it and remain at the mercy of someone who doesn't care about you?" Vic said, insisting on it.
"It's not working," Emma told her and nodded, looking at me. It was time for me to shine. I was going to save
them.
"Wait, look at her," Vic screamed and pointed at Jenna.
The girl had changed targets. She was now pointing her bow at the man, her hand shaking and the bow wire trembling as well.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked her, with his fist clenched, "Don't you dare to shoot at me. I will punish you for your boldness." He said, for the first time losing his composure. Now that he had lost his trump card, he wasn't so calm anymore.
"Shoot him! Vic shouted.
And yet, Jenna didn't do it. Her arm was still shaking. She was lost, not knowing what to do. I had already been in that situation several times. I stepped forward. I looked at her and asked her if she really wanted to leave.
"Yes,' was her only answer.
"What are you waiting for then? Come on, let's get out of here," Emma said, removing the knife she had hidden under her clothes, fastened to her belt.
"Give her time" Vic said, "It's not an easy choice. I didn't decide to run away overnight either," Vic said.
"But we don't have time," Emma said and looked at the girl again, "we promise to get you out of here if you help us," she added.
The man's eyes grew and the veins in his arms emerged as luminous strings. The girl hadn't made up her mind yet and time was running out. I still had my hand beside the gun. I was willing to use it if it came to the point where it was needed. I couldn't hesitate. This was one of those moments like the one that had happened in the ship. A second of hesitation and someone could get out of there hurt or even worse.
"You have to decide now," Vic said to Jenna.
"Jenna, my dear, I saved your life and this is how you are repaying me? Can you do it? Can you do it while you look me in the eyes?" The man asked her, "I'll treat you better. Forget what I said before. I can get better. Everything will be..." The man was saying when an arrow landed between his eyes.