The shortage

Chapter 3 - Men and Boys

My jaw fell wide open. 

A man... he only looked to be 16. He looked very frightened as he looked around the group of women. I could only imagine what this must be like for him. Small of a sudden they were around him, forming a circle and throwing a net around him. I was about to cry out when I realised what they were doing... they were going to kill him! He was innocent! I watched, my eyes wide open as they dragged him to our makeshift prison house. I could not believe it, he had not tried to hurt us, not tried to attack. Yet they would kill him tomorrow... Maybe we weren't as good as we thought. I walked over to the spot and saw something shining on the ground. A necklace. The boy must have dropped it. I was about to look at it when I heard voices approaching, I tied it around my neck and ran away.

I ran back to the house, disgusted with ourselves. Of course, some had to go, the truly evil and selfish. But him? He was my age. He was not a threat... but aren't all boys bad? That's what we were taught... It was all too confusing. Too much. I lay in my room thinking about it all. "DELTA!" My mom's strong voice echoed off the walls, "BREAKFAST TIME!" I walked down for breakfast. I wasn't hungry, but my mum had some explaining to do.

"Mum," I asked, "why do we kill these men?" My mum stared at me as if I had a chicken head. "Whatever could you mean? They are nasty, trying to sell us. Using us." She replied, her American accent more explicit in a worried tone. I didn't want her to know I had seen the boy but my Brian and my voice weren't connected currently. "I mean, the boy this morning," I said. "He did not try to hurt us. He did not do anything, he was only a boy!" I shouted. My mother stared at me for a long time. "You're not meant to be there. Don't do it again... They are all bad, he will be killed." I took a sharp intake of breath. "But why-" my mother cut me off. "DELTA." It was a name my mother had chosen specialty. It was a Greek Name that meant triangle of water. I knew she was serious. "I need vegetables for lunch" she handed me a list. "Off you run now." I could tell the conversation was over. I got up and ran to the fields. I had to do something... but what?

After I had the vegetables on the table I ran outside, past the fields, past the houses and sat by the edge of the river in the woods. I reached under the stone and pulled out my guitar and bow. I was quite good at both, my mum decided when I was little I needed to defend myself and the guitar always cooled me down. I started to play. It was a long, soothing melody, classical. I sounded like a bird singing. A free bird, unlike that tied-up boy. I thought about him for a moment, he had brown scruffy hair and a tattoo of a bird right by a long red cut. He had clearly been... limping. The boy had been limping. Maybe... he had been injured and sought help. Not tried to attack! I had to tell the council! I started to stand when I heard a voice.

A man's voice. 

A grown man's voice. "Nice guitar you got there." His voice was deep and felt like a punch with every syllable. I grabbed my bow, dropped my guitar and spun around. He looked to be thirty, dirty blonde hair covered his face, thick with grease, and he had a wild look about him. He took a step forward. I raised my bow, "Don't come another s-step nearer!" My voice was shakier than I would have liked but all the same, it was a threat. "You wouldn't have the guts." He replied, snarling slightly. He was probably right. But he didn't know that for sure... my hands sweated and I had never been more scared in my life.

"Wh-who are you..." my voice was more of a whisper than a command and my heart pounded in my ears. "Me? I think we should be more focused on you... young Lady." His voice dripped with venom, pronouncing each word with confidence like he had been doing this for years. He probably had. He had ragged ripped clothes that looked like he had come out of war, I decided to call him Blondy. "I mean, such a pretty girl like yourself should not be wandering these woods... unless..." his eyes drifted to my chest and then to the boy's necklaces I had on. "Where did you get that?" His voice became sharp and vial, if possible, even scarier than before. " WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT?!" I stumbled back, shot an arrow in his leg and tripped over a tree stump as I walked further away, alarmed. He swore, blood dripping from the wound. "You'll regret that." He seemed to regain himself. Realising how loud he was, preparing to grab me... he was too late.

The sound of feet running was audible and I saw people sprinting towards me. Good or bad though? I wasn't sure so I started running, shaking while fat tears slid down my cheek. He was probably long gone by the time I stopped. I couldn't go back, for one thing, I wasn't sure that they were part of my village or part of Blondy's group. I'd go round, that's all.