Everyone tells a different story.
The hunt was so successful they needed help to bring back the kills.
Someone was injured.
Someone is dead.
The aliens attacked everyone and have fled.
That could all be true, and they could all be lies.
Yva explained that hunting was dangerous because no animal wants to be killed and eaten. But he also explained how they do it, and that hunting in a group was much safer than trying to hunt alone.
I’m sure he’s fine, but my argument with Brett this morning has left me unsettled. My own doubts and fears have made me snappy.
I return to the laundry and throw myself into work. I don’t want to think.
There’s no point in guessing what the problem is, or if there even is one. Perhaps they had a good hunt. Yes, they caught extra so more people can join the feast. That makes sense.
I’ve almost convinced myself that is the truth when Sunif steps into the laundry. There’s blood on his shirt, and his face is streaked with dirt. “Harper.”
My stomach lurches and I want to vomit. “No.”
He’s here to tell me Yva is dead.
I step back. I don’t want to hear what he has to say. Because if I hear it, then it will be true.
“Yva is alive, but he is wounded.”
It takes me forever to understand what he is saying, even though he spoke in English. “Alive? Then why isn’t he here?”
“He is in the hospital. I am here to take you to him.”
The longer I stare at him, the more damage I notice. His shirt and pants are ripped and there are scratches on his arms. “Are the others…”
I can’t say it. I can’t be glad that Yva is alive while others are dead.
“One guard died. There was a stampede.” He offers me his arm.
I don’t remember taking it, but then he is walking me outside. His body hums, then his voice is in my head.Yva said the guard attacked him. We are calling at a stampede as his attacker was trampled to death.
Was he attacked because of me?
Sunif doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to. His silence says everything.
If I wasn’t seeing Yva, he wouldn’t have been hurt. This is my fault.
It may not have been Brett who attacked, but there are plenty of human men who are unhappy that there are two more men in the colony. Twoalienmen who mate for life and who will doanything for their mate. There are three women for every man, but that isn’t enough for some of them. Or perhaps they don’t like the way the Honey warriors make them look like flaky fuck boys.
I stop walking. “If it was because of me, I should stay away.”
“It is not your job to protect him.”
“Yes, it is.”
Sunif shakes his head. “Do you not want to see him?”
“Of course I do.” Tears prick my eyes. I don’t want to lose him, but I don’t know how to keep him. “Does he want to see me?”
