The Oath of an Oxblood

7

"Not so close," I said gently. I took the pitchfork from Roach and moved it an inch further back. "If it's too close, you'll pierce the carrots," I explained. She nodded slowly. She had yet to look me in the eyes.

"We're falling behind, Cricket," Beetle complained.

"One second," I said. "If we can get Roach to do this, then we can move faster. Teaching takes time, but it'll be worth it."

Beetle rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up," she said.

I turned back to Roach. "You think you've got it?" She nodded slowly. I gently touched her shoulder. She was only bone beneath. She was horribly weak—I hope this task wasn't too difficult for her. I looked over to some of the young boys who could managed. "Watch some of the boys—see how they do it. You'll need to put all your weight on it. Almost jump in it, okay?" She nodded slowly and began to do as I asked.

To my surprise, she jumped on it and loosened the dirt enough.

"Great," I encouraged, "Do that all the way down the line, okay?"

She nodded and heaved the pitchfork out of the dirt.

I raced over to Beetle and joined her in the dirt as we began pulling carrots out of the dirt.

"Why did you have her start so far down?" Beetle complained, pulling up another bunch of carrots and heaving them into the wheelbarrow.

"Well," I said, pulling my own bunch. "I figured she's probably going to be pretty slow, so we should have her down the line, so she won't slow us down."

"Too late," Beetle muttered. "How's your face?" she asked, looking at the reddish bruise that had flowered overnight.

"Fine," I lied. "No big deal."

"It doesn't look fine," she muttered. "Can't you heal any faster?"

I grimaced as I remembered her accusation a few nights ago. Did she know?

"I can only heal as fast as the next person," I shot back sharply.

"Don't give me lip," she returned angrily, yanking up a bunch of carrots too hard, leaving a few in the ground. I began to dig them up, dirt grinding deep under my nails. "I didn't mean to get you hit. It's not my fault—"

"You!" a foreman called, interrupting Beetle. We both stiffened and I looked to see Tuck staring at us.

"Me?" Beetle asked.

"No, the other bug," he said. "C'mere," he said. I obediently stood up and walked over to him. Beetle stood up, but he sent her a harsh look. "Back to work," he commanded, placing a hand on the whip at his hip. I swallowed, and Tuck beckoned me to walk down the row with him.

I took a quiet, deep breath. He was at least a foot and a half taller than I was. His arms looked like tree trunks. We stopped once we were out of earshot.

"Why is the little bug working with you?" he said, crossing his tree trunks across his chest.

I swallowed.

"Answer me, bug," he said loudly. "Three of you versus two in other groups? That's hardly fair."

I jumped, "Uh," I stammered. "Roach is only six. Beetle and I can hardly keep up with grown men. She's helping us just while she's here. We are working hard and hopefully she will help us produce even more carrots," I said, starting to trail off, anxiously watching his face to see if I had convinced him.

He spit on the ground. "Explain this to me, bug. Why the hell aren't you and the other pretty lady warming someone's bed?" he cut out. I tensed at the sudden topic change. "You've been fertile for...how long? Seven years? Longer? That's time you should be pumping out the next generation or taking away the stress of us hardworking citizens." He was accusing me, as if I was personally responsible for not fixing the population problem.

I grimaced, trying hard not to let it show on my face.

He leaned in and sniffed me. "Maybe the south had it right. They take women they want and use them like they want. If we started using women in the north the right way, we wouldn't have a population problem." He turned his attention to me, and his eyes lingered on my hips. "You wouldn't make a bad breeder," he said, lifting his hand to caress my face. "Maybe I'll see you tonight."

I flinched back, and he smirked, obviously pleased by my reaction.

I turned on my heel and sprinted back down the row, panting in fear. He didn't follow, but just stared after me with a wide grin across his face.

I quickly went to the ground and began franticly pulling carrots out. My nails dug into the fresh dirt as I tried to wipe his words from my mind.

"What'd he want?" Beetle asked from next to me. I jumped, forgetting she was there.

"Asking about Roach working with us," I said, glancing down the line.

She was gone.

My muscles locked up. She was gone. Did they take her? Did Tuck take her?

Not again.

I stood up unsteadily and took a few steps down the row before whirling to Beetle.

I glanced at the wheelbarrow and saw that Roach was hiding under its cover, gnawing on a carrot with unfocused eyes. I almost collapsed with relief. Then, fear flooded me, and I dove down toward her. Without thinking, I lashed out and smacked the carrot from her hand, franticly looking around.

"Stop! If they catch you eating, they will kill you!" I whispered in a panic. My head was throbbing, and I felt like a thousand eyes were watching us. I was back at the traders' shoppe. Roach's eyes went wide, and she began to tremble, pulling her knees up against her chest.

"What the hell?" Beetle asked harshly, snatching the half-eaten carrot off the ground. "I gave it to her. She's starving."

I blinked, realizing she was right. Beetle handed the carrot back to Roach, but Roach jumped back from the food, refusing to take it. Beetle threw it in front of her as Roach jumped up and grabbed the pitchfork and ran down the line with it dragging behind her.

Beetle sighed loudly.

"Good job, Cricket," Beetle muttered.