2.2
After dodging the falling trunk, I wiped the blood and debris off of my burning hand. Yeah, I'd probably snapped a few bones, but it was well worth it. Thanks to the element of healing I'd consumed (as all soldiers did), simple injuries like this one would be healed in only a minute or two. The pain was just as severe, but that was something I could deal with.
I turned around to find myself face-to-face with Nikki, whose mouth was gaping open in an unbelievably large O shape.
In a low, dramatic whisper she uttered, "That… was godly."
Now in a fantastic mood–perhaps the best I'd ever been in–I placed my hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"Thanks, Nikki," I said, forgetting the fact that we were complete strangers. In fact, at that moment, I felt like I was talking to an older sister, or some kind of lifelong friend.
"Woaaahh, you're soo cool!" she exclaimed, suddenly leaping forward and pulling me into a tight hug. Her slender fingers gripped my shirt, and I remembered that she was definitely not my sister.
As I stood awkwardly in Nikki's embrace, Blake's voice once again broke the silence.
"Welcome to the squad." He spread his arms as if encouraging me to come hug him next.
I ignored Blake's cringey comments and took the opportunity to look around at what appeared to be their campsite.
We were standing in a small clearing with a flattish ground of dirt, needles, small rocks, and weeds. The mid-morning sun shone down powerfully, illuminating the little bushy plants that stuck out of the gravel, which made them look like emeralds among the colorless brown and grey that surrounded them.
Then I noticed the small brown tent. I tried to imagine everyone fitting inside it, but there was no clear solution. When I remembered that I would, theoretically, have to sleep in there too, my concerns grew considerably. If anyone was going to be forced to sleep outside, it would be me.
Whatever, I told myself, shrugging off my concerns. I've done this before, and it's really not so bad.
I also saw a few backpacks lying around near the tent. Blake had taken the element out of one of those the night before, and I assumed that they traveled with all their supplies in the packs.
In most cases, it would have been the perfect spot for a campsite, but, considering that the government was flying helicopters over these woods in search of rebels, it seemed a little exposed for their purposes.
At that moment, Nikki released me and exclaimed, "Let's all play a game!" as she whipped out a deck of cards.
I wasn't even surprised to hear it. They'd been attacked the day before, and masses of soldiers were surely still hunting them down, but it looked like they had no intentions of freaking out about it. As a matter of fact, this really did feel like a family camping trip.
"Aren't we in danger?" I asked, unable to let this slide. "I was one of like a hundred-fifty soldiers trying to kill you yesterday."
"Well, yeah, but we're good for now," Nikki replied as she fingered the box open.
Blake added to her explanation by saying, "Don't worry about it, Jelani. If we were in danger right now, we wouldn't be sitting here and doing nothing."
I watched absentmindedly as Nikki shuffled the deck. She riffled cards back and forth with hypnotic perfection…
I shook my head, snapping out of it. This can't be calculated, I thought. They're way too cozy.
"How long have you guys been doing this?" I asked casually.
"Hey," Nikki said without looking up from the cards, "don't doubt us. We're experienced."
Woah, could she tell what I was thinking? "Experienced," she says…
"We got together around four years ago," Blake said, answering my question before I even asked it.
"What?" I asked in disbelief. "Four years?"
I'll be honest, I was thinking under a month.
"That's right," Blake replied. "It looks like you're wondering how we've pulled it off, but don't you remember what happened yesterday?"
He brought up a good point. I hadn't thought about it since then, but the reality was that we'd attacked them with one hundred fifty soldiers and lost. We may have had a terrible plan, but there was no denying that these four had something good going.
I had become one of them, I guess, so it was only natural I wanted to get a better understanding of their situation.
"What are your goals?" I asked. "Actually, what about rebels in general? What's their motivation?" Every civilian in Hoodsdale would be beyond envious of my top-quality information source.
"It looks like we're under some tight scrutiny," Blake said with a knowing smile. "The truth is that most people rebel simply for the freedom it offers. Civilization is, and has been, very restrictive, so it makes sense that many would want to escape, especially when you consider the allure of the elements. It seems like it's become a bit of a trend as well, but that's just my guess."
He continued. "What I'm saying is that, in general, rebels have no interest in power. I, on the other hand, do have some interest in such a thing. I used to have a high position in the government, and I hated how everything was done. I'd like to go back and change things for the better."
"Woah," I interrupted in surprise. "You're telling me some good stuff. But why are you here? How does living in the woods help you?"
Blake paused before giving his answer. "I got involved in a bit of an incident. After that, there was no longer any place for me, especially not in the government. You see, they can't think clearly because they're all terrified. They're desperately hanging on to what humanity has left, hoping it can be preserved."
He looked silently into the distance. "I haven't quite answered your question, though. I lead our squad, so, naturally, the things we do as a group are geared towards my goals, but each individual here has a different reason for rebelling."
"Yup. I just wanted to get my spirit in connection with nature!" Nikki chimed in.
She was looking right at me, so I felt like I had to respond. "Ahh. That's great," I said, smiling a little at her proud proclamation.
If only everyone could be so carefree, I thought.
However, I was beginning to wonder if there was anyone else quite like Nikki. Of course, I'd initially thought of her as no more than an energetic naturalist, but any sane person would be absolutely freaking out if they were in her shoes, not knowing when the next gun would be aimed at their head. Nikki, meanwhile, had fully shifted her focus to a deck of cards.
I glanced at Eve and the scary dude. I assume they won't be telling me anything about themselves.
In response, Blake walked over to me and whispered, "If you want to know anything about Eve and Corvus, you're going to have to ask them directly. I'd rather not share things without their permission."
Corvus. It was an unusual name, so of course I remembered it. One of the names on the wanted list I'd been shown before my mission: Corvus Comminutus. He was one of the ones who'd only been pictured as a child, but his bounty was higher than almost anyone's.
It was over $100,000, wasn't it? I concluded after searching through my memory. Easily enough money to last someone a luxurious lifetime.
I recalled Corvus's picture. He was young, but already somewhat grown up. I'd guess he was around 15 when it was taken. Contrary to the Corvus slouched over in front of me, the boy had short, neatly combed hair and a wholesome expression of happiness.
The image had been modified to only include him, but, as I recalled, it had almost looked like a family photo. Next to his own, I'd easily imagined the smiling faces of his parents and siblings, although they'd long been scratched away by the hands of the government.
He doesn't want to share things without their permission? The tone in which Blake had said that indicated that I should tread carefully around those two.
After all, Blake and Nikki looked like they couldn't have possibly been involved in the fighting the day before, which would have made it two against one hundred and fifty.
I was brought back to reality when someone started whistling loudly. Not surprisingly, I turned my head to see Nikki happily dealing out the final few cards.
"I don't want to play," Eve said upon seeing the pile in front of her.
"Too bad," Nikki shot back. "You've gotta go at least one round. Or are you scared Jelani will see how bad you are at cards?"
Eve stood up and looked down on Nikki as if she was some kind of hideous bug. "I'm only not good because I never play, and I don't care if anyone knows about it."
I thought it was pretty obvious that she didn't want to play, but Nikki kept badgering her about it until she finally turned around and walked off into the forest.
"Aww, crap." Nikki grabbed Eve's cards and reshuffled them into the deck. I noticed that there were now only three piles, which meant she was intentionally leaving someone out. It wasn't hard to figure out who.
I wonder how he would react to getting dealt a hand… So far, Corvus hadn't shown a single sign of life. Maybe he's still asleep?
Nikki resumed her whistling, but she only made it a few notes. Not only did her mouth cease its movements; her entire body locked up, practically turning to stone.
I furrowed my brow as goosebumps rose across my entire body.
Why? I wasn't sure, but whoever was inhabiting Nikki's body didn't belong there.
She was frozen, and the smile had been wiped from her face. Her eyes were blank and cold, and the cards that she'd been holding in her hands were scattered about on the ground beneath her.
Closing her eyes, she lowered her head. The only sounds I could hear were the woman's deep breaths and a repeated shrill chirp coming from a single bird above us.
In a dry, hollow voice, she muttered, "Someone's here."