Unknown Blood

Chapter 2

The white twinkling of the stars shone through the maple leaves, allowing Anya a moment of peace. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head upwards , and could almost feel the starlight brushing her skin. Steeling her resolve, Anya left the comfort of the stars and faced Jackob. 

"Its time." Jackob looked up from his crouched position, confusion plain in his eyes.

 "Time for what exactly?" 

"Time for me to go." Standing up, he rolled his eyes. 

"And wherever you go, I go. So, if its time for you to go, where are we heading?" Anya knew this is what he would say. She knew it would be difficult, no impossible, to leave Jackob with him knowing. In this new life they've been forced into, they've only known each other. The thought of one without the other was incomprehensible, but for Anya, the thought of not having her brother was even more unbelievable. She knew Jackob loved him too, but for him he was gone. There's no one to go running after if they're dead. 

When the attacks happened, chaos had broken out throughout their little town. Everyone loves to imagine little towns as the perfect, helpful community where everyone loves everyone. The truth is that when the world began to crumble, neighbours turned their backs on one another. Saving your own skin became vital, and that didn't involve lending a hand to the other families. Anya's dad seemed to have known the attacks were eventually going to happen. He had sat Anya and Jackob down one day, telling them to have a backpack ready to go. He told them to fill it as if they were going hiking and leave it in a place easy easy to grab. He wouldn't let us go anywhere without Durban and to never be too far from the house. Of course, mom rolled her eyes at him. But still, she never disagreed with him. And then, it happened. In the middle of the night, Anya had been woken up by a sound she had only heard in movies. It was as if a gun was shot. If the gun was the size of the CN tower that is. Anya knew it was time. She had grabbed her bag, grabbed Durban's hand and ran, with her parents screaming to not look back, to not wait. As they had sprinted by, Jackob met them and they all ran together. At some point, they realized the bombs they were hearing were really the ringing of their ears and that their legs ached more than they ever had in their lives. Anya looked around at their little group of three and knew this was her only family now. Staring into Jackobs clear blue eyes that night, she knew he knew it too. 

Staring into those same clear blue, Anya felt a bit of her heart shatter. She wasn't sure if she would ever see him again if she left. Leaving could be a death sentence to them both. At that thought, she began to feel like each breath she was taking wasn't really going into her lungs but just passing air through her mouth. Fear bubbled in her stomach. She couldn't do this. She closed her eyes, spots shining through her eyes still. A hand pressed against her arm. 

"Hey deep breaths! It's going to be okay, there isn't anything to be afraid of." Jackob had seen her panic attacks before. They happened daily after the raid, and then after Durban was taken. Nodding, Anya stood back up and opened her eyes. Blue. That was all she could see. She never realized how close he was. His breath blew strands of her hair, tickling her face. Anya knew right then she wouldn't be able to leave him. No, she would have to somehow lead them both towards her brother, and then.. well she would figure it out from there. 

"Yeah. Yeah I know it'll be okay. I've got you." Anya gave Jackob a slight grin, which was enough to break his face out into a beautiful smile. Anya hoped she wasn't just going to be sacrificing one loved one for another. 

As night began to fall, they decided to stay put. The area was quite secluded and easy to keep watch with one person. With Jackob dozing peacefully beside her, Anya stared vigilantly into the trees. Movement sparked her attention to the left of her. Crouching, she grabbed her hunters knife from her belt and nudged Jackob with her foot behind her. Again, there was movement in the trees. A blackness that was just a bit darker than the trees. Jackob shifted beside her, scanning the forest for what she was looking at. Ears straining, Anya heard a slight rustle of leaves to the right. They both tensed and waited. Directly in front of them, a twig snapped shooting their attention forwards. As they got into a fighters position, they saw it again. A shape the size of a man began to emerge. Stepping into the clearing, Anya saw what she thought was a man. Grizzled, dirty, but yes it was a man. About 50 years old judging by the grey in his hair and wrinkles around his eyes. He had his hands up as if surrendering himself to these two teenagers, surely he would have more experience than them in fighting in this world? But here he was, stepping out, as if he were a deer making its way through the forest trying to not let any predators know its whereabouts. 

"Steady there folks. Hey! I said steady. I'm on your side." The gruff voice fit perfectly with the man's rough appearance. Jackob and I shared a look. There aren't any sides anymore; everyone was on their own. The man stopped ten feet away from them. He was smart, he could see Anya and Jackob shifting uncomfortably the closer he got. 

"Unlikely." Anya growled, pushing herself up to be level with the man. She was fairly tall for a girl and was able to stare straight into the man's sharp dark eyes. 

"I've been travelling alone for quite some time now, my son and I were separated on the other side of the forest. I'm looking for him." No emotion cracked the man's voice as he talked. Anya's eyes narrowed at the lack of concern emitting from him.

"What's your name?" Jackob's strong voice carried past Anya. 

"Irvin. My son is Owen. He has blond hair, about your height. Please, he is all that I have." Finally, worry was heard in his voice as he talked about his son. 

Anya and Jackob shook their heads. No one was spotted and he wouldn't have been that girl they heard screaming the other night either. 

"Do you mind if I stay with you until morning? I'm dead tired and you are the first group of people I've stumbled upon in two days." Anya turned to Jackob. No one joined their party, it was an unspoken rule. They couldn't trust anyone; Anya doubted she would even be able to trust her parents anymore if they came waltzing out of the woods. But Anya could see something in Jackob's eyes. He was sympathetic to the man with the lost son. If Jackob trusted him, so would Anya. She was the suspicious, brave one, he was the thoughtful, caring one but only if there was something there to care about. Jackob smiled briefly at her as he saw her agreement on her face. 

"Okay, Irvin. You may stay the night. But one of us will be keeping watch all night." A smile broke out on the old man's face. He wasn't expecting them to say so easily to a stranger. 

As they settled down for the night, Anya kept watch again. She knew she wouldn't be able to rest with Irvin, if that's what his real name is, so close to them. He had laid down to her left again, with Jackob on her right. 

"I know where you're wanting to go." Irvins hushed whisper reached Anya's ears.

"Oh yeah? Like you know anything about me."

"I was there that night. I recognized you the minute I saw you. I know you chased after him but weren't able to catch up." Anya's breath got stuck in her throat. How could he know about her brother if he hadn't seen him with his own eyes? 

"Judging by the way you chased after him, I'm guessing you aren't someone to just carry on. I'm guessing you've been trying to figure out how to get to where he was taken, only problem is no one knows where that is."

"Even if you are right, you just said it. No one knows where those things take us. We don't even know if they kill the people or not. It's a losing battle." Anya shot back at him in a whispered tone. She glanced at Jackob and saw him sleeping peacefully beside her still.

"But I do. I've been there. I can take you there." Anya's head shot towards Irvin with those words.

"How?"

"My son and I are from the city where their base is. We escaped just before the raids began but we saw them beginning to take people in before those began. I don't know what they're doing, I just know the where." 

Anya could feel hope begin to build in her. Her heart felt a little bit lighter. Possibilities danced in her mind as her plan began to form.

"If this is true, you came at the perfect time." Anya looked over at him, cracking a small grin.