Uncontacted 2.0

Chapter 24 Alex

Katavia wassleeping when I got to her room.

Perfect. I couldcome and go without having to talk to her.

Curtains were drawnaround the windows so the room was too dim for a good picture and Iopened them with as little noise as I could. In the bath of sunlight,I could see more of her.

Nothing had changedovernight. She was still ashen and small in the hospital bed with herhacked-off hair spread in a dark mess around her pillow. Her chestrose and fell in time with the hissing, but it looked difficult.Katavia was in serious condition, just like Cami had said, but it wasunreal.

I wanted to reachout to smooth her hair. She'd smoothed mine once.

We'd been huntingpeccary.

"Walk like this,"she'd said, gliding across the forest floor in silence, her spearheld in a loose grip at her side.

I imitated hermovements except I crashed through the brush. It was almost louderthan when I wasn't trying to be quiet at all. I'd swear that eventhings I wasn't near made noise when I walked.

Katavia looked atme for a minute, swallowing the things she could have said andinstead said, "Good. Let's go."

I was thirteen atthe time and keen on learning how to hunt. Maybe it should havebothered me that she knew how to do everything I couldn't, but it wasmore like she had skills straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Sheclimbed trees until you were dizzy looking up at her. Katavia wieldeda knife like it was an extra hand and her spear throws were RobinHood accurate. I'd seen her stare down a caiman at the beginning ofthe summer and her animal calls were unbelievable. Like, seriously,when she did her bird calls, they answered back.

And then shetracked them down and killed them with her bare teeth.

Just kidding. Shejust killed them and dismembered them. She even ate these spiders thesize of dinner plates, holding their hairy bodies over the fire tosinge the bristly hair off and then using its fangs to pick her teethwhen she was done.

Back home, Curtiswas wetting himself with jealousy that I got to come here everysummer and hang out with her. Every kid in his right mind wanted afriend like her and the fact that she was a girl was even better.Except that the only thing she wore was a woven grass rope around herhips. That was a little weird.

Distracted by mythoughts, I hit my head on a low branch. "Ow!"

Katavia looked backat me holding my head and laughed.

"Not funny. Am Ibleeding?" I checked my fingertips where I had pressed them to thespot. Nothing.

"Blood buildscharacter," she said and smoothed my hair down. It was something mydad would have said, but there was no undertone of disapproval so Ididn't mind.

Holding her hand toher mouth to communicate silence, she turned back to the trail andglided away in silence. I stumbled after her.

Blood buildscharacter. So. Cool.

Looking at herbruised face now, I wondered how much character she'd built in thelast few weeks. I'd built enough for a lifetime since the last time Isaw her standing alone in the forest.

I held out my phoneso her face filled the screen and snapped a picture. I'd forgotten tosilence my phone, so it made the cheesy camera noise as I pushed thebutton. You know the one. The noise that cameras used to make whenthey had actual shutters and film and they couldn't help it. However,the noise from my phone was fake and its tones grated against thehissing of her oxygen supply. It was like the sound ricocheted offthe walls and echoed into eternity.