Nameless (on hold)

Chapter three (Zeb)

Zeb

Zeb was on the watch today. Usually one of the younger boys, Josh or Nathan would do it, but today he volunteered. As an older boy in the tribe, he had more freedom.

Most boys his age in his tribe used that freedom to flirt with girls from other tribes or sit around and play cards. But Zeb wanted to learn.

The tribe elders always talked about the great fence or in their Rostum language, alfesi. People told stories about a hidden society of people inside the alfesi. One where people were called by strange things called numbers.

Zeb knew these stories weren't true, but he wanted to know what was really behind the fence. The story his tribe believed was; the fence was grown from the ground where a giant snake, Aflesian, killed himself after a great battle against his brother, Vasnatta the wolf. When Alfesian bit his tail and sucked his own venom and died, he trapped people inside. From those people, a small village was born.

The main conflict in the tribe was what kind of people were inside the fence. No one had ever seen a person inside the fence, and no one dared to venture inside.

This is why Zeb volunteered for the watch. Because he dared.

Making his way to the fence, he heard a strange noise, like someone shoveling the earth. He looked through the netting of silver and saw a strange color popping out of the ground.

Zeb didn't know of any moles that big, and certainly not that strange lavender color. He walked closer and heard a sound like breathing, no, panting.

"Who's there?" he called out. The creature lifted it's head and Zeb saw that it was a girl. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she quickly scrambled out of the hole.

"Who are you?" she asked, staring at him wildly. Zeb didn't answer. He looked her over, examining her strange clothes. Most girls he knew hardly covered themselves, wearing scraps of cloth and ropes they made themselves. His eyes drifted to her arms, the only patch of skin exposed, except for her head and neck.

He stopped when he saw something. They were on her arm, like a tribal markings he didn't recognize. Her eyes followed Zebs and she pulled her sleeves down quickly over the markings .

"I'm not unnamed yet." She said, almost prideful.

"Who are you?" He asked carefully, as if he was talking to a wild animal.

"Who are you?" She snapped back.

Zeb raised his brows in surprise. Back in his tribe, if a woman spoke back to a man, he could throw a stone at her. But this girl didn't seem like a girl he would throw stones at, and besides, alfesi was blocking them.

"What were those markings on your arm?" Zeb asked. She pulled her shirt down further and backed away.

"You don't know?" she asked. Zeb shook his head and she looked at him with amazement in her eyes.

"Are they your tribe markings?" Zeb asked.

"Tribe?"

"I'm Zeb" Zeb said, taking a step closer to the fence. The girl matched his step.

"I'm 10-30-99-8:11" she said.

"That's a strange name."

"It's not a name."

Zeb paused. "Is it a..n- number?" He asked, saying the word number like a child.

"Yes, It's my number."

They stared at each other, not knowing what to do. Zeb knew this girl was from the village trapped inside the circle Alfesian had made. He wanted to know more.

"Do you need help?" Zeb asked, examining the hole that she had dug.

She picked up a stick with a metal plate at the end, gripping the handle tightly. "I only have one shovel." she said.

"Shovel?"

"To dig with."

Why did the girl need a stick to dig with? He would be much more efficient with his hands.

"I use my hands." Zeb said, getting down on his knees. He began to dig the dirt up, already making a space under the fence.

After a few minutes, Zeb had already dug a tunnel, connecting the two holes, big enough for the girl to slide through.

"You can come now." Zeb said, motioning for her to slide under.

"No. Not enough room." she said, still digging. Zeb stared at her. She was tall, but skinny and the hole was flat enough for her to slide under without touching the fence.

"Yes there is!" he exclaimed.

She looked up from the hole. "No." She said, and then she started digging again.

He threw his hands up in resignation. "Fine! I guess you'll dig forever."

She stopped and climbed out of the hole, scowling. She walked over to a pile of things a grabbed something. Standing over the hole, she attempted to slide it under the fence.

One by one, she moved everything she had to the other side. Then she got down in the hole and slid under the fence without touching it.

Zeb smiled and helped her up. "See." he said. She only scowled at him and began picking some of her stuff up. "Why did you want to big a giant hole?" He asked.

"Easier to get under the fence, and easier to transport my things."

"But you did both of those without having to dig more." he said smugly.

She didn't respond. In her arms, she carried a pile of stuff.

"Why do you have all that?" he asked.

"I need it! and besides, I don't know how long I'll be here."

"You don't need that." he said. "My tribe has everything you need to survive." she looked at him skeptically. "And if you need something, you can come back and get it. There's no need to take what you don't need."

She shrugged and placed the stuff on the ground, holding on to a knife. this girl was always trying to make life more difficult, He thought.

Zeb turned and began walking towards his tribe, the girl ran up beside him.

"Can I see those markings on your arm?" he asked.

She paused and then lifted her sleeve up, revealing her marks. Zeb reached out slowly and ran his finger over them. He was surprised to feel how soft her skin was. He was expecting to be able to feel the marks, but instead it was just smooth skin.

The two walked in silence for several minutes before Zeb started to see his tribe. The small huts were hidden behind trees, but Zeb knew they were there.

"My tribe is close"

"Where?" the girl asked, looking around.

Zeb was silent and they continued to walk until they were through the trees, revealing the brown huts. The huts were big enough to house a family, but small enough not to be easily noticed. The sun was setting and the fire, was reduced to only smoking ashes.

The Rostum tribe was wise with fires. They knew the time to start one, when the sun was begining to rise and the smoke would not be seen, and they knew when to let it die.

"Welcome to my tribe." Zeb said, motioning around him.

The girl looked around in amazement. Zeb walked over to a smaller hut by the fire.

"This is mine." he said, opening the flap and showing her inside. Zeb showed her some of the things inside his hut before walking back outside.

When they stepped out, the whole village was waiting for them.

Eager to see the numbers.