The night was quiet, Adlai even taking the chance to snatch a few hours of sleep. He regretted it however. Over and over again, the same horrible dreams renewed themselves in his head. He dreamed of watching Averi slipping from his hands into a dark chasm, falling until she landed and shattered like a broken doll. He dreamed of staring into her slowly paling eyes as her lifeblood slowly dripped away. He dreamed of Shawna, of her being torn to pieces by the hunter, her bloody hand outstretched yet somehow still alive. She stared at him accusingly, blood dripping down her chin. You left me here. You left me to die. He dreamed of his parents burning alive, their screams dulled by the wall that separated them from escape. Their flesh charred and their limbs shrank, the fire sucking them dry. They stared at him, begging him to let them out. He couldn’t do anything, was forced to watch silently. He could only stare in silence as the people he cared about died in front of him.
He woke from his dreams with a gasp, breathing rapidly. Hyperventilating, he staggered over to the nearby stream, and he dunked his head in the cool water. The pounding of the water and the cold shock provided some relief, but when he closed his eyes, he still saw Shawna staring at him with hate-filled eyes, her torso horribly ripped. He rubbed his eyes furiously, wishing the pressure would somehow erase his memory of her, of everything related to her. If only she hadn’t existed, he wouldn’t have to feel like this. If only he’d never met her. He shook the water out of his now overgrown hair, and he stared at himself in the flickering reflection of the water. Adlai could scarcely recognize the haggard boy who stared at him, dark circles under tired eyes. His stomach grumbled with hunger, and the boy rose. He’d have to find something to eat soon. He walked over to the sled, finding Alex on Averi’s snoring chest, head under wing. He briefly debated eating it before discarding the idea. He would never be able to talk to her again if he did. Besides, he did have a secret fondness for the little alien, although he’d never admit it to the younger girl.
He rummaged through the pack, searching for the hatchet. Once he found it, he started looking for a stick. He held his lantern outstretched, now fully charged thanks to their foray in the desert. A flash of purple flickered across his vision. Adrenaline rushing through him, he held the axe up. More purple, and a glimpse of limbs. He crouched down, still holding the hatchet at the ready. If he could sneak up on whatever those were, he bet he could kill it. Something unfamiliar began to fill him, his senses heightened; his heartbeat became calm and slow, and his mind clear. Step. Step. Rustle. Bit by bit, he edged closer to the now stationary alien. Pushing closer he saw the full form of the alien. It looked exactly like the hoppers the professor had described, the front two legs scrabbling at something in the loose soil, the back leg folded against the ground.
Creeping closer, Adlai lowered the hatchet. He wasn’t sure if he could throw it with enough accuracy to even hit the alien, let alone with the blade. Taking off his sweat-stained jacket, he held it in front of him like a net. The alien raised its head. Adlai froze, a single drop of sweat hanging from his eyelash. He watched the drop as it fell, holding his breath. The alien turned its head, tracking the movement. Lungs burning, Adlai held back the urge to jump towards the alien. The alien stared in his direction, the fused pupils searching. Lungs screaming, he closed his eyes, his heart providing a base beat to the spots that flickered across the darkness behind his eyelids. It finally looked down, proboscis extending out, searching for something it had been digging for. Adlai slowly let out the stale air, holding back the urge to suck in another deep breath. He took in a slow breath, felt his muscles tighten, and jumped.
The hopper screeched, hissing as it kicked at him, scrabbling with dull claws. Adlai wrapped the jacket around it, and then laid on top of it. It hissed and wriggled, kicking out with it’s powerful third leg. He tried to hold onto some section of the alien that wasn’t hissing or struggling, and settled on the neck. He tried to lift it up, and nearly dropped it after it kicked his thigh. Adlai cursed, falling back to the ground, hopper in tow. He hauled the squirming beast over, still wrapped in the surprisingly durable jacket, and he sat on it. He grabbed the hatchet and flipped it blunt side down, and began to hammer at where he assumed the alien’s head was. A few brutal swings and it was still. Poking the jacket with the dull end of the hatchet, Adlai carefully unfolded the jacket around the animal. It’s head was intact, but it’s eyes had glazed over. It’s third leg twitched a few times, then fell still. Blood leaked out of the proboscis and eyes, a result of the blunt trauma. He shook his jacket off, grimacing at the blood stains, and threw the clean side down over his shoulder. Grabbing the hatchet and lantern in one hand, the dead alien in the other, he walked up the hill to the campsite.
Averi was awake and standing, somewhat. She leaned heavily against the side of the sled, only her prosthetic leg touching the ground. The other leg, stiffly splinted, was held up slightly. She impulsively waved to him, before nearly losing her balance and falling over. Alex hopped over to him, squeaking.
Averi slid back into her sled, calling out to him. “Hey Adlai, look!” She turned to the small mimic. “What’s your name?”
Alex stared at her, head cocked to the side.
Sighing, she asked again. “What’s your name?”
This time, she held out what looked like a small fruit which had been growing around the clearing.
The mimic hopped excitedly, its throat ballooning. “Alex!”
“Good boy! Come here!”
It hopped over, flapping its wings. The feathery tongue extended out, wrapped the berry up and retracted into churning mouthparts. Adlai was glad she had found something to do, he had been worried about her state of mind after breaking her leg. She never did well with having to sit still; she had to have something to work on, either mentally or physically.
“ADLAI!”
Adlai sighed, almost wishing he hadn’t told the little girl his name. “What?”
Averi pouted dramatically. “I’m bored.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do about it?”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“Find something fun for me to do!”
Adlai glanced at the barely furnished house his parents had left to him. She wasn’t alone in being bored, even he was. He pulled out his chess board, and started laying out the pieces.
Averi, hanging upside down from a chair, groaned. “You always win in chess, can we play something else?”
Adlai stopped laying down the pieces. “Like what?”
“Can we play house again?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Cause it’s boring, and I don’t like being the baby.”
Averi sighed loudly. “You’re so boring.”
Adlai remembered a party trick his dad had taught him. Pulling out a worn coin from his pants pocket, he laid it on the table. He grabbed a cup, and filled it with water, and a small towel. Plopping the coin into the cup, he covered the top of it with a towel. He sat back, satisfied.
Averi stared at him. “What are you doing?”
“I have a game for you, if you can drink that water, and get that coin into your mouth without touching the towel, you get the coin, and we’ll play house. If you can’t and give up, we’ll play chess.”
His victory guaranteed, he left Averi to figure out his impossible puzzle. As he began to start counting the cans of food that he had left, he heard her call to him. He walked over confused as to what was happening.
She stared up at him, a smug smile on her face. “I did it.”
“What?”
“I drank the water.”
“There’s no way!”
“Lift the towel up, you’ll see.”
He folded the towel up to see the cup as he had left it, coin still inside.
“What do you mean-”
Averi reached over, grabbing the cup, guzzling the contents.
She swallowed and smiled, holding a coin between her teeth. “I win!”
That day of playing house was especially humiliating, and Averi had rubbed her victory in his face many times. He missed playing chess. Shawna. His mind was flooded with their chess game, her laugh, the escape, the dream. It hurt, it hurt so much. He just wished he could ball up those feelings and burn them, stop them from coming. Gritting his teeth, he forced his mind to clear, to stop thinking of her, anything but her. The more he tried to stop thinking about her, the more he couldn’t. He felt trapped. He missed her, he hated her.
Averi’s voice cut through his turbulent thoughts, like a clear headwind through a dark fog. “Adlai? Are you okay?”
Averi was still here, she still needed him. She needed him. Mustering a smile, he nodded. He dragged the alien carcass to the center of the camp, placing it on a rock-turned-table. Avoiding Averi’s worried gaze, he raised the hatchet above his head. Thwock. The alien’s bloody head rolled off the table, cleanly seperated. Averi stared at his hand, eyes wide. Adlai looked down to see the hatchet only a few centimeters from where his hand was. He cursed, checking his hand for any damage. He looked back up at the girl, her eyes scared.
He smiled at her again. “I promise, I’m fine, I just need some time.”
She stayed quiet, her earlier smile gone. He could tell she was worried about him, and he hated it. If only there was something he could do, something he could say to stop her from worrying. He was fine, he just needed to think, to process through it. He continued hacking the feet off the alien, paying a bit closer attention to where the axe landed. It finally came time to separate the third leg, and Adlai carefully worked around the cartilage, separating whitish meat from yellowish matter. His hatchet was slightly dulled, but still sharp enough to cut through the meat with relative ease. He’d have to sharpen it soon, but that bridge would be crossed when he got to it.
He broke down the rib cage next, crushing through the delicate basket like structure, splitting the front of it in half. He reached a hand in, pulling out various insides, coating his forearm with purple-blueish blood. Alex hopped over, screeching, tongue flickering, pushing at Adlai’s bloodied arm. Adlai pushed him away, with the alien coming right back, screeching again, tongue stretching towards the entrails. Getting the idea, the boy set down the entrails, and chopped a piece off, handing it to the alien, who grabbed it with its arms and hopped away, savoring its prize.
Thirty minutes later, the alien was now bite-sized pieces of meat, bones tossed to the side. Adlai grabbed another flat stone, throwing it onto a fire that Averi had started using the flint and steel. She had taken the time to gather some kindling as well, giving her something to do. He waited for the stone to heat, plucking at plant fibers rising from the bare rock. Averi was trying to build herself a set of crutches, all the while being harassed by Alex for more berries. Once the stone sizzled when water was dripped onto it, he threw the meat on. A delicious, fatty smell filled the air. The chunks of meat oozed whitish fat as they cooked, which rendered into oil, adding to the flavor. Adlai flipped the meat with his fingertips, carefully grabbing a cool edge and tossing the lump on its side. A few minutes later, the meat had shrunk, and had turned a tannish white.
The meat tasted delicious according to Averi, but Adlai barely tasted anything. He ate slowly, the food was just bland nourishment. Fuel for him to get his sister to safety. The cave grew darker as the biolum zone began its sleep cycle, separate from the outside world. The glowing plants retracted, their blue/green glow winking out. The aliens stopped their calls and foraging, ready to sleep. Yawning, Averi sat down next to Adlai, her lower leg still held out stiffly. She leaned her head against him, her red hair mingling with his brown.
He stared ahead quietly, debating if sleeping was worth the nightmares.