Behind the fence

Chapter two

It is a relief to feel the peaceful quiet and security of the forest around me. I walk along the forest floor, stepping over fallen trees and litter, my tread soft on the pine needles beneath my worn leather boots. 

He taught me how to make the darts, and make them poisonous, and even how to make a makeshift version of the fukiya itself! It is a really wonderful sight. The tube is about 1.2meters long, and the darts are about 20cm. 

I stop and stare up at the forest canopy far above my head, and smile. I must have a few hours till the execution to hunt some food. I here a faint clucking to my right, and walk towards the sound, 

"Lizzy!" I exclaim. Lizzy the chicken, my faithful friend in the forest.

"Not today, Lizzy" I tell her, "sorry girl, but I'm in a bit of a hurry now, besides, I wouldn't want your head chopped off too if I were to be found"

Instead I give her a few pats, and wrap the 5 collected eggs from her nest in the spare fabric mum gave me, and sooner rather than later, I'm on my way again.  

After a while, I reach my destination. It is a very old, but tall and strong tree. I make my way to the back of it, and pull back the vines that grow up the tree, and pull out my weapon.

It's a long rough tube about 1.2m long,  and it has darts approximately 20cm in length.

My fukiya.

It's a Japanese weapon that my dad taught me how to use. Even if a simple blow dart weapon may seem fairly harmless,  especially when a 12 year old girl is using it, it can be deadly. I even know the best ways to make the darts poisonous! 

I continue walking another hour into the woods, my fukiya resting on my shoulder protectively. That's when I see it, the plump Juicy squirrel up in the tree to my left. Silently, I remove my fukiya off my shoulder, and position a dart in the tube. 

With my mouth positioned over one end of the long tube, I aim it up at the squirrel. It doesn't move the smallest bit, I have gone unnoticed as usual. Good as a hunter, and good as a hunter child in a strictly forbidden forest to be roaming around the town without a care. I always go unnoticed.

I think about this for a moment, what would it be like to be noticed in a different, safer world? Would I be famous? Would I be hated, I don't know, but I know there is a squirrel waiting ubove me to be my dinner. 

I blow, and the squirrel falls from the tree, the dart puncturing it's eye. Bullseye!

I manage to shot down a bird and two squirrels, but the woods seem a bit quiet. 

When I reach my best hunting spot, I notice that all the birds have stopped singing, and there is not a sight nor sound of any animal life. 

I start to back away, here in the forest, I trust the animals for my life. Anyway, it's probably time I head back to prepare for the execution. Then, I hear branch's snapping, leaves crunching, footsteps pounding heavy on the ground, and I start to run. As I run, I through my sack containing the meat as far as I can into the forest. I see a pile of vines to my left, and trusting they will conceal it, I drop my precious fukiya, and it satisfyingly falls into the layers of think, blankety vine. 

Suddenly, out of the foliage to my right, topples a heavy being. I get bowled over, my stomach pressed against the forest floor. I struggle to breath. And that's when I notice the ugly black fabric pinning my arm down...