The Smi

19: The Wilderness

I had gouged his throat by then. He was on the brink of death when he gave up.

I had chased him up the steep slope at the back of the cave. He groaned, and spat out a mouthful of blood, then another. Now he was drooling blood as he attempted--and struggled--to stand. Blood was flowing out of his throat too, as he gasped for air, mouth gaping open.

I had some battle scars of my own; Lots of shallow scratches on my face and one large gash on my left temple. My arms and hands were coated with blood (I am glad to say that it was mostly his). I was just about to leap at him for a last time, when he held up a violently shaking hand and coughed with blood.

"Please....." He managed a whisper. "I...surrender..."

I didn't drop my fists. His once-white-blond hair was now drenched with scarlet liquid.

He let out an eerie exhale and dissolved into dust.

I watched and thought for a moment, then walked over to Rien and Aaron.

"Guys? You okay?" I slung the branch over my shoulder.

"Um, no..." Rien muttered. He walked over to Ambur's body. I couldn't bear to look. He knelt down, examining her. I looked at Aaron from across the room. He ran over to me and pulled me into a hug, my hands over his shoulders, broad and strong, his hands on the belt of my ripped jeans. I turned my head toward him. He suddenly pulled me into a kiss. My eyes widened with surprise, but I soon closed them and pressed myself up against him. His warmth felt wonderful for someone who had witnessed so much horrific-ness.

Rien was staring at us. Aaron suddenly pulled away to look at Rien.

"What?" He asked innocently.

Rien snickered, "Nothing.", he then broke into a fit of laughing.

My hands were on Aaron's chest.

"What's so funny?" He walked away.

"Oh, you have no idea." Rien laughed.

I walked over to Ambur's body and willed myself to look. Aaron walked back over to me and held my hand, comforting me.

I began to sob quietly into his shirt.

He held me and rocked me back and forth and kissed my forehead, which I loved.

Oh my god, I thought, what have I done?

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A few days later, we ended up in a forest.

Rien seemed really sad. I wondered if it was because Aaron and I were in love, and he was the third wheel.

We stopped around midday at a stream to camp for a while. Plus, Rien needed to go.

Yeah, I know, I mean like go-to-the-bathroom-go.

We stopped and I used my knife to cut through the branches of some trees to make room for shelter. A few hours later, it was done. Very spacious, too.

So Rien headed off, leaving me and Aaron alone. I began to talk to him about how this mission/journey thing was going.

"Well, maybe it's good we stopped. Maybe something's supposed to happen."

I nodded, "Maybe."

"So..." He paused, looking up awkwardly, "You have magic powers. Kinda weird, huh?"

"I don't know," I said, hoping not to sound like an idiot. "I think I kinda like it."

"Me too." He stood up, grabbing me by the arms. He swung me around and pulled us down off the tree. He then kissed me, pulling me into an embrace, we rolled along on the ground, hopelessly in love. I thought to myself, WAIT, but reluctantly ignored the thought. He finally settled down, hands resting just below my pockets. However, I stayed, obediently waiting. We suddenly began to roll down the hill. We both laughed. I wrapped my legs around him to keep myself from flailing off and rolling down the other edge of the hill.

"Uh, hey, guys..." Rien stood a few feet away from us and Aaron and I flipped away from each other startled. Aaron and I blushed.

"What's going on?" He raised an eyebrow and posed a mischievous smile.

"Nothing." Aaron blushed and trudged quickly away.

Rien walked away and said sarcastically, "Uh huh. Sure." He laughed as Aaron and I scrambled up the hill and into the tree.

Seemingly jolly, he climbed up the tree and laid on his back, stomach sticking straight out and laughed. He shook as he chuckled, filled with delight and joy.

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At dawn, I was the first to wake. I trudged outside and was nearly blinded by the pink and orange sunlight. I held my hand up to my eyes. I ran off into the distance with the 6 inch dagger tucked into my short sock from my pack. I ran further into the forest, minding that the further I went, the more noise I made; the more twigs I snapped. I stopped, realizing how far I had really gone into the woods. I crouched down and got really quiet, searching for any sign of an animal I could hunt. I heard a scamper to the left and turned my head quickly, whipping strands of the hair from my ponytail around.

A squirrel whipped away from my gaze, now nearly behind me. I slowly, silently pulled out the dagger, still keeping watch. Unbeknownst to me, Aaron crept up behind me, with a smile on his face.

"Hey. How you gonna gut that when you kill it?" He chuckled loudly.

"Damn it!" I swore at him as the squirrel scampered quickly away. I couldn't help it. I was too overwhelmed. "What the hell, Aaron?!" I stood up, pissed at him.

He laughed. "Seriously? How are you gonna kill that?"

I groaned. "I was gonna stab it in the spine and cook it, so Rien and us could share it." I swore again. "Damn you."

He backed off, holding his hands up. "Woah. Don't kill the witness." He laughed again.

I shook it off and threw my hand back at him, gesturing for him to go away.

Thankfully, he left. "Fine. See you later." He paused and half-turned around toward me. "Oh, and there's a bunch of robins and nests and eggs in that tree there." He pointed behind himself, to a peeling beech tree. I shuffled through the dead leaves on the forest floor, over to the tree.

I slowly looked into the nest. There were no birds, but plenty of eggs. I gasped and scooped them out. I gently tucked the solidly shelled eggs into my bra, hopeful that they wouldn't break. I climbed the tree, a few feet, and saw a robin and a starling. I carefully moved the dagger closer, and finally SLIT!, I cut their spinal cords. Two birds and six eggs was the final kill.

I wondered if this was how we would live the rest of our lives. On the run, outlaws, living outdoors for the rest of our lives. I kind of liked the idea.