Page 73 of Ruby
There are more trees here and it’s harder for something big to travel through the thicket. However, a chill runs down my back as I stare harder at this new cluster of trees. There’s somethingdangerous in there, I can feel it in every single bone. But if I can feel it, they can too. It’ll be safer to go in that direction.
I go back for Ani, quickly finding the hollow I hid her in. I do not find her immediately and my heart sinks. I turn around, desperately hoping they had not taken her away. Just before I can run back to the camp site, something tugs me back. Ani pokes her head out, her hand grabbing an arm.
I fight the urge to rest, holding my tiredness at bay. I can still feel the tremors from the rampaging hunters a distance away. They will soon catch up, so we need to leave. I cannot hope for them not to find her the second time.
Tucking her back into my arms, I start running again. My body is heavier, but my pace is unchanged, and my vision is focused. I find my way back to the denser part of the forest, running straight into it.
It is a tight fit but I make it through. Running is impossible, but I make it a fair distance before the tremors approach. We hide in a thicket and observe the approaching hunters. Their gurgling carries over to where we’re hiding and I can clearly see that they are covered in scratch marks and guts, making them even more disgusting.
The biggest one barks orders at the rest, hands on its weapons. They disperse, probably in search of us. They stand directly in front of the thicker trees, but they do not go in. No sane creature will wade into the territory of a bigger monster.
We hide in that territory for what seems like the longest time before they disperse. We wait for many long, bated breathsbefore the tremors fade into the distance and I release the wind I did not know I was holding. Ani collapses into my body, letting herself breathe.
“That was amazing!” she chirps excitedly.
She seems to have forgotten that I abandoned her and was overwhelmed by our escape. For now, I am content to see her safe.
“How did you do that?” she asks, looking at me with wide eyes.
“I ran,” I respond simply.
My entire body is screaming in exhaustion and pain, but I cannot let Ani know that even carrying her feels like several trees have collapsed on my hands.
She seems to notice and climbs out of my arms, pushing me to sit. She leans against me, careful not to rest on my sore legs. We have to find a better place to hide before night approaches. But for now, I need to rest.
“Szhe’ka, you very smart,” she sings, leaning into my arms.
My chest swells and it brings with it a longing for more praise. I want to ask her if I can continue to hold her hand forever and run toward our freedom, a life for ourselves.
I want to give everything up for her. But it is a dangerous idea. What I want may not be what she wants. Then I decide it doesn’t matter. I will do anything she wants, as long as she’s here with me.
But can I keep her safe?
“Not strong,” I sang back, panicking again when I think of how close we came to being killed.
30
Ani
After a calming night, I thought the best thing the universe would give me is a calming morning. I was hoping for too much, it seems. Being left alone in that hollow was possibly the worst thing Szhe’ka could do to me.
I would rather die with him than leave him. No matter how much I try to convey that to him, he keeps putting his safety over mine. It’s driving me crazy. But rather than hold it over him and letting the Bitch tear into him, I take a long breath and hold on to being patient.
New feathers, I remind myself.
One therapist, long ago, said it was impossible for me to form healthy attachments; I can finally prove him wrong with Szhe’ka.
I will be different. As we huddle in the trees, I keep saying it to myself as a way to distract me from just how terrible this place is.
All that running and the high stakes has me exhausted. I can only imagine how tired Szhe’ka is. He’s doing so much and here I am, damsel in distress. It feels uncomfortable, like a million ants dancing on my skin but in this situation, there is absolutely nothing I can. Except itch myself, of course.
Ever since I woke up, it has felt like I’ve been attacked by bees.
It itches like crazy. While one hand desperately holds on to Szhe’ka, the other hand roams my neck, lower back and my torso, scratching in order to restore my sanity. It’s hard to think straight but I’ll be damned if I give Szhe’ka one more thing to worry about.
“We move. Hunters…”
He’s even slurring his song now. I stand, trying to help him up but there isn’t much I can do to pull his weight. He rises by himself, sweeping me into his arms before I can protest. We make it out of the thick trees together and I can finally get a sense of what went down. It is on a scale that I cannot fathom.
