The Stolen Bride

4 - Beneath The Surface

The Six. That was how everyone referred to the girls who had been taken as wives – to Kira and the others.

The next morning, however, Kira learned that the six had become five. She overheard some of the native women talking about it, when they didn't know she was hiding under the house with Lobo, listening.

"She was the second youngest," one of the women was saying.

"How did she do it?"

"Hanged herself. Wove together a few blankets and did it right there in the house."

"What an awful sight that must have been."

"I feel sorry for Nils, the poor boy."

They felt sorry for the devil of a husband and not the girl who had killed herself?? Kira gritted her teeth in fury. A girl she knew had taken her own life. A girl she knew was dead. The Six – or the Five – were into their third day, and there was still no sign of rescue.

Kira remembered the treacherous climb up, and her already-low hopes plunged further, like a stone tossed over the cliffside. Somehow, The Five would have to find a way to help themselves. But how? They were not even allowed to talk to each other.

She looked over at Lobo, who was just done with his meal. Lobo...

She had just gotten an idea. She clambered out from her place of hiding, brushing dirt off her dress. She crept back into the house, stealing a bit of charcoal from the kitchen. Going into Drev's room, she picked up the smoothest rag she could find and began drawing a picture of the white rocks at the edge of the terrace.

It was crude but legible enough. She took another minute to write, 'Tomorrow night', then bundled up the rag and hid it inside her sleeve.

Taking care to stay out of sight, she went back outside, finding a suitable fallen branch. She tied the rag around it and called to Lobo. "Come on. Come on, boy. Let's play."

Unfortunately, the silly dog merely sat and stared at her. "Don't you know how to play fetch?" She waved the stick before his eyes, then tossed it aside. The stick landed not far from Sylar and Derri's house.

She turned back to Lobo, but his backside remained rooted to the ground. "You are one lazy dog," she complained. "Can't you do this for me just once??"

He yawned, looking away from her.

Kira hurried over to retrieve the stick. She held it out before Lobo's nose, and he sniffed it, but that was all. Annoyed, she ripped off the piece of cloth and was about to get rid of it when Lobo miraculously got up. He came over, then sank his teeth into the rag.

"What the – ?" Kira started pulling, but so did he, starting a tug-of-war. A few kids stopped to watch and laugh, until Kira finally gave up. "Fine, keep it, you silly dog."

She watched, disheartened, as Lobo trotted off with the rag dangling from his jaws. She'd just have to get it back and destroy it later. As she headed up the stairs, the mother appeared with two buckets in hand. She held them out for Kira to take. "It's time for you to go on a water run."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Don't give me that lip."

Kira sighed.

"And no sighing either!" She turned, looking off into the distance. "Alix!" the mother called, and a minute later, Alix came running up, her brown braids bouncing at her back. "Show Drev's new wife where to get water, would you?"

Alix nodded. "Alright. I can go get some too." She hurried off to get buckets of her own before returning. Kira hated how eager and happy this girl seemed just to go on a simple errand. "Alright, let's go."