“It’s getting late,” Lilly said, pulling her arm away. “Elisabeth is very hungry, and I have to submit my report to Brian. I need to go.”
“Lilly, you can’t leave like this!” Kai growled. “Answer my questions!”
“The past is the past for a reason,” Lilly said. “This is our life now. Accept it.”
And with that, she turned around and walked away.
Chapter 7
“You bitch!” Kevin shouted and a second later Lilly felt a sting of his slap on her face. “I can’t believe you didn’t make fucking dinner. What do you even do all day?”
Lilly clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to fight back. For years Kevin had abused her like this, and for years she had withstood it. Even though she was physically strong enough to retaliate, she never did. Violence was never the answer, and as long as Elisabeth was safe, that’s all that mattered.
“I had to lead the squad-” Lilly started to say, but Kevin stopped her with a punch to her stomach. She gasped in pain, doubling over.
“You whore. You spend the entire day pretending that you are doing work, but all you do is whore around, you slut!” Kevin shouted. Lilly knew the shacks were so close together that the neighbors could probably hear everything. Lilly stood up, still breathing hard as pain shot through her body. She knew Kevin was drunk and that he would soon pass out. Then, she could finally find some reprieve until the morning.
“That stupid piece of shit is crying again! Does she never fucking stop?” Kevin roared, and Lilly ran off to pick the baby up.
She hugged Elisabeth close to her chest as the baby cried. Lilly dried her tears and handed her a piece of candy, which instantly calmed her down.
“Mama,” the baby gurgled and Lilly laughed. She was almost three, and was starting to talk and walk on her own.
Kevin started cursing as he collapsed on the bed, another bottle of beer in his hand. Whatever money Lilly earned, Kevin spent it on gambling with other villagers or buying alcohol. Lilly didn’t even know where he got the alcohol, considering how they barely had any resources.
Lilly sat on the floor, allowing Elisabeth to crawl around. She watched as her daughter stood up and started to walk shakily around the small shack. As Lilly relaxed, memories of what happened that day flashed through her mind. How could Kai ask her questions like that? After he betrayed her so cruelly and thoughtlessly?
She allowed her mind to wander as she imagined how her life would have been had Kai never betrayed her. They would have been married, and she would have been happy and safe. She wouldn’t have to worry about money or food, and she wouldn’t have to worry about the constant physical abuse.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise of the alarm.
“The enemy!” she heard a voice shouting. “We need to evacuate right now!”
Lilly instantly grabbed the baby, running outside. Kevin, even though he was drunk, managed to keep up with her as she ran. Lilly made her way to the conference room and found the council already assembled. It took her an instant to notice that Kai sat there too in the corner, a crutch lying next to him.
“How many?” Brian asked, turning to Kai.
“I can sense at least ten,” Kai said. “They are at the northeast end of the forest.”
“They have already killed five of our men!” Helen said. “They are attacking the northeast part and they have all shifted into bears.”
“Then, there is nothing we can do,” Brian said. “To arms! Let no bear go back alive; otherwise, they will reveal our location! Kill them all!”
Lilly ran toward Abigail, who was an old woman who often babysat, and handed her Elisabeth. She then ran toward the small weaponry they had, grabbing some more guns and daggers. Her squad was already there, assembled and awaiting orders.
“To arms!” Lilly shouted, and they all repeated her chant before running toward the northeast area. Soon enough, the destruction and the death came into view. Ten bears ran through the forest, destroying what shacks they found and killing what humans stood in their way.
“Fire!” Lilly shouted, drawing out her gun and aiming. She was one of the best marksmen in the resistance, but the bears tended to move so fast that it was rather hard to hit them. Long ranged combat was their best chance, though, because Lilly knew they could never survive a close-range one.
She took aim and shot, and as expected, the bear managed to dodge the bullet and dart toward her. Lilly maintained her calm and took another aim before pressing the trigger. The bear managed to narrowly dodge, and Lilly gave a frustrated sigh before grabbing the shotgun. Made for close-range combat with high damage, it was usually the best weapon against bears. A careful aim to their hearts and they would be dead.
The bear lunged at her, roaring as it did. Lilly cursed as she was forced to jump back, not having enough time to shoot. The bear was fast. It jumped once again, and Lilly almost failed to move away in time. The bear landed where she had been a second ago. If she had been any slower, the bear would be sinking its teeth into her neck right now.
She tried to get up, but the bear was already standing up on its two legs, roaring as it got ready to come crashing down on Lilly. She took an aim and shot, the bullet rushing through the muzzle of her gun before hitting the bear in the chest.
The bear collapsed and Lilly managed to move away just in time. She instantly got up, turning her attention toward her squad. Two of her men were already injured, while the rest of her squad was struggling.
“Carlos!” she shouted, realizing that the bear hunter was about to be crushed by a bear. She ran toward him, managing to pull him away. The bear narrowly missed Carlos, who fell back on the floor. Lilly realized too late that she would never be able to run away in time. The bear roared as it lunged toward her, and a horrified Lilly turned around to run. A second later, the bears claws pierced through her back.
