I clamped down on the inside of my cheek to keep from asking what they had done with her. My facade would be ruined since I knew the words would come out shaky and emotionally charged. Instead, I gave a brief nod.
Dae wasn’t around. A quick scan of the small camp in the morning light didn’t help me locate him. My gaze searched a little more earnestly. Where was he? How would he look at me today after what I’d done?
I cleared my throat. “Where do I relieve myself?”
The woman scoffed at my question. What, would she rather I pissed near her tent? The idea was starting to sound tempting. It seemed animals weren’t the only things to run away from this forest, apparently their manners did too. She waved her hand to the thickets a few feet away.
How my bladder had anything in it from sweating and crying so much yesterday was a mystery. I buried myself in the woods until I couldn’t see or hear anyone and relieved myself. When I emerged, I saw him. His brown skin nearly glowed with a renewed zest, not as pallor as it’d become yesterday. His steps weren’t as fractured, a clear sign he’d found some treatment. I blew out my relief.
Approaching the one person I held any sort of affinity for, my body turned weightless when his stare fell upon me. His dark brown eyes scanned me from head to toe, and suddenly I became self-conscious. What did he see when he looked at me? A cold-blooded murderer? A liar? A threat? Was I those things?
He extended his muscle-defined arm my way, black sleeves rolled up, displaying a small pile of nuts sitting on a cloth in his palm. “It’s all we’ll have until the next outpost. Unless we catch something,” he said.
His tone was even, and his eyes didn’t reveal anything else. I came closer and went to take the offering. He closed his hand around it. “Not all of it,” he said, serious as ever, before allowing me to try again.
“Won’t catch me sharing shit,” one of the men garbled. Another snickered in agreement, crossing his arms across his chest and sizing me up.
I took a few nuts and fought my reaction to thank him. These people were lethal, and niceties would probably be perceived as weakness. So I popped them in my mouth without a word. I wasn’t the one to break our stare as Dae pocketed the rest and strode past me.
They all disassembled their sleeping areas, depositing their bedrolls and tents in an area tucked in the trees. Then they kicked leaves and branches over their spots to cover their tracks. Next, they deconstructed the firepit, tossing the hefty rounded rocks toward the slope of the ridgeline and scattered the logs used for seating.
Only that blood touched pole remained, mocking me by becoming something immovable. A permanent reminder staked in the ground, the only evidence of an outpost left. What had they done with her? Horror leached into my very bones when a dark thought crept into my mind. These people were out here, hunting, with no amount of success…
There was no announcement. They simply shouldered their packs and ascended the hill northward. We were leaving, and I would never know what they’d done, never get to bury my friend or say goodbye. Never tell her how sorry I was that I left her alone.
Consumed in the phantom image of her strapped before me, I hadn’t realized Dae waited back. I jumped when he spoke, pulling me from my trance.
“I took care of her,” he said, a gentle softness in his voice as he leaned in to tell me.
My gaze whipped to meet his. “What do you mean?”
“She’s buried to the east, about two hundred yards from the poll. I used your arrow as a grave marker. You’ll be able to locate it if you choose.”
I stared through the trees, as if I could see it. A piece of my soul had been torn from me last night and it would forever haunt these woods. At least it would remain with Alba. I’d gladly leave the rest of it behind if it meant she wouldn’t spend eternity alone.
“Let’s go,” Dae said, placing his hand on my lower back and nudging me from the spot I’d rooted myself to.
I walked without intention, my eyes unseeing. Rote movements from my body were all I could manage. We walked side by side at the tail end of the group for quite a while. He didn’t interrogate me despite there being enough distance to remain unheard from those ahead.
Secrets and silence accompanied our trek that morning, constant companions until midday, when we stopped by a stream. We filled our skins, Dae sharing his with me, and let our overheated bodies cool before they discussed the game plan for splitting up.
“Let the new girl come with me. I want to see these so-calledskills,” the man Dae addressed as Harlson last night said, a lopsided grin baring his teeth. I resisted dropping my gaze to his hip that perfectly framed an excessively large hunting knife.
No part of me thought this would end well.
“Considering you’ve tried and failed for the past two weeks to track something, I’m not going to waste our chance sending someone who possesses actual skill with you, Harlson.” Dae stepped to my side, crossing his arms. Not close enough that wetouched, or even that it looked like we were on friendly terms, but I appreciated the backup, nonetheless.
Harlson sniffed loudly, wrinkling his nose, puckering his lips in anger.
“Dae’s right. If we can still pull off a catch, we won’t have failed. Nothing we’ve tried for weeks has worked. Even Dae hasn’t been able to find something. Our greatest odds for success won’t be splitting up the two best hunters,” the redheaded man chimed in from where he casually leaned against a tree.
Even though I was in it now with no way out, being paired with Dae still felt like a relief.
“Just try not to get shot with another arrow today, how about?” The woman smiled smugly. Something about that look in her eyes told me she’d be pleased with that outcome.
“Come on, let’s go.” Dae gestured for me to follow, not sparing me a glance.
“Thank you,” I finally said after we made some headway from the others. His back was still turned to me as he made his way through the woods.
