THE HUNT

Eight

I haven't seen Kylo Ren in eight weeks.

For days he would come in and watch me, leaning against the wall.

Then he stopped.

The only interaction I've had with anything in the past two months is with a droid that brings me food every day.

That's it.

At first I spent hours screaming at him in my mind, but there was never any answer.

I still try sometimes.

That's what I'm doing now.

Liar.

I don't know why, but that's what I've been saying over and over again.

Liar. Liar. Liar.

"I never lied to you." I gasp, nearly falling off the bed, startled. "I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order. I have responsibilities." After a moment, he speaks again. "Did you miss me?"

No. I hate you.

"But you were lonely?" I don't answer, and I hear him chuckle softly in my mind. "I've been on the front lines of the war. I could have used your help."

In your dreams. I stand, as if he's in front of me.

Doubt tugs at me, though. I've given it some thought, and realized that the Resistance doesn't value me.

But the supreme leader of the First Order is different.

"You will give me your answer at dinner." He says. "It will just be us."

Where are your precious knights?

"That's none of your concern."

Are they dead?

"No. Very much alive."

    That's a shame.

    "For you, I'm sure." I can almost hear his smirk. "Your escort will be arriving at your door shortly." He tells me. I scoff.

    I''m not going anywhere with anyone.

    "That's a shame." The door slides open, and there he is, standing in front of me.

    He looks the same, but there's a dark bruise that's formed on his cheek.

    "Nice bruise." I blurt, not knowing what else to say after so long. He lifts his fingers to it with a short breath that could pass as a laugh.

    "Thank you. One of your friends gave it to me before I killed them." My stomach twists, and I look away.

    Monster.

    "Creature." He offers his arm to me, and I reluctantly take it.

    "Why are you doing this?" I demand, face heating as he leads me through the halls. My hair must be a mess, clothes must be wrinkled from weeks of wearing them and switching from outfit to outfit throughout the day in an attempt to keep myself from smelling rancid.

    I don't even know if that worked.

    "I told you, I need your skills."

    "You have a whole army with my skills."

    "No, I have a whole army of idiots with blasters." He leans down closer to me as we walk into the dining room. The table is set for two. "You, though. You are a talented spy, and equally as talented at combat."

    "Flattery." I scoff. "What do you really want?"

    "I want to defeat the resistance, Hunter." He pulls out my chair, and I sit. "And I want you at my side as I do so." He presses his lips to my ear. "You and me."

    I must admit, It's tempting.

    It's tempting to be offered more than I ever thought I would be able to obtain.

    Value. For a spy.

    "And if I say yes-"

    "Then you become my right hand." He moves to sit in his own seat. "You will be provided with elegant clothes, food, weapons, and anything else your heart desires."

    "I could just say yes and then betray you."

    "You forget I can see inside your mind."

    No, I didn't forget. I'll never forget it, and he knows that.

    "Yeah," I take in a deep breath. The memories of the first twenty two years of my life flash inside my mind. Laughing with the other children, training with a blaster, learning to fly a ship, training in melee, all of it. "I'll do it."

    For the first time, he smiles a real, genuine smile.

    "Good." He picks up his fork. "Now eat." Reluctantly, I do the same.

    Survival. I tell myself. It's just survival.

    Still, I wonder if it truly is that, and not just a need to be valued.

    Because isn't that what everyone wants most?

—

   Guilt tugs at me as I lay silently in my bed, watching the empty ceiling. Ren provided me with a pillow and two blankets before bidding me goodnight, promising to return in the morning.

    I betrayed my people. My family. My friends.

    They left you for dead. I tell myself. You're nothing to them.

    Again, memories twirl in my mind.

    I was never able to beat anyone in combat for the first several years of my training. My mother hated me for it. Said I could do better, even when she knew I was trying my best.

    I truly excelled in sneaking around and making trouble with Imrie, my only friend. The only one who would risk associating himself with me, the resistance member who wasn't fit to resist.

    Imrie.

    I wonder if he thinks I'm dead. If after we stopped sending transmissions, he cried and screamed for troops to be deployed after us.

    If he tried to go after us. After me.

    My heart beats a little faster.

    There was a time when I imagined my future being filled with adventures, him by my side. It was my wish for us to serve side by side on the front lines of the resistance, but that didn't work out.

    He's a soldier, and I'm a spy.

    And now we're on different sides.