"I don't know," he repeats. His voice seems calm, but he falters slightly. His pale blue eyes drift rapidly from side to side. He remains on the ground on all fours with his palms dug deep into the earth. His knuckles turn white as he stares pointlessly at the ground. I step back and pull the dagger away from his neck. He begins to gasp for air more freely.
"What do you mean?" I ask in a firm tone that masks my real feelings of confusion. He begins to lift himself up and I immediately step back. Instinctively, I hold the blade up, in front of my face for defense. His hand is still covering his bloody wound. "I-I don't remember anything," he softly admits with a certain pain in his voice.
He's lying. The first chance he'll get, he's going to grab his dagger and slice my throat wide open.
"I can only remember images, nothing more," he says while I stay silent. He shifts his eyes and stares out into the forest aimlessly. "There's a blank space, an emptiness in my mind. Help me, please," he says while focusing his gaze back towards me.
"Don't trust him," a voice in my mind whispers to me. I don't even know this man, and our supplies are becoming scarcer by the day. Helping him would mean an extra mouth to feed. He almost slit my throat minutes ago. My eyes shift down towards his stomach and I can barely make out a patch of yellow pus. He may not even survive. The wound is severely infected, even worse then dad's arm. What would dad do? What would grandpa do? Memories of my grandfather flowed into my mind like a stream of water. He cared for people, he was selfless, but he would always tell me "The world is not a forgiving place anymore Amber. You have to be determined, intelligent and most of all selfish to survive." Of course 5 year old Amber was far too busy playing with her toys or games, but he repeated the phrase so often that it eventually was engrained into my memory. Grandpa would've never helped anyone else if we were low on food. If he was here he would've killed him by now, in order to ensure his family's safety. I should do the same. He would be proud if he was here...but he isn't and I'm not grandpa.
"You hit your head on the rock, hard," I say with the same sternness in my voice. "Follow me," I command.
He jerks his head up and seems surprised. His bright blue eyes gleam and he mutters "Thank you."
We begin the long walk up the slope and back to the cabin. I brush off the leaves and dirt that litter my once clean shirt. He walks behind me in unison as the leaves crunch under our shoes. He looses his footing once or twice and I silently laugh in my mind. As we walk the eerie silence of the night is no more, and we can see the small, but bright rays of the sun starting to rise.The hummingbird's are singing their melodies and the trees rustle in the wind. I spot an apple loosely hanging to an old tree whose leaves have mostly fallen off. I walk off towards the tree and tug it right off. The greenish-red color makes my mouth water. I bring it towards my mouth and take a bite into it. The sugar and sweetness fills every corner of my mouth. "I never caught your name," he suddenly says as we begin walking forward once more. I turn my head and reply "Amber," with a comforting smile. I turn my head forward and realize I forgot something. I jerk my head back and face him once more. "McQueen, Amber McQueen," I finish. The stress and confusion that spread across his face is no more. He sticks out his hand and says "It's nice to meet you, Amber McQueen."
"It's nice to meet you to, L.W." I say with a grin. A smile begins to spread across his face. He lets out a sigh and whispers "I guess I'm L.W."
By the time we see the cabin, the sun is awake and shining upon the earth. As the cabin comes into our view, I notice the front door swung wide open. I told Jonas not to go anywhere. He probably got worried when he couldn't find me. I pick up my pace and enter the cabin almost out of breath. "Jonas!" I call out in the living room. I wait for his response, I wait for him to call my name back. No response. L.W enters the cabin and says "What's the hurry?"
Suddenly, a connection of strings attach in my head like a spider's web. "What the hell did you do to Jonas?" I yell at him menacingly. He doesn't answer and stares at me blankly. "You have 5 seconds or else this dagger is going through your skull," I say viciously while pulling out the dagger. I feel anger flowing through my body like an ocean. The normal Amber wouldn't say that.
"Wha-I don't know what you're talking about," he says. I point my dagger forward, it's point inches away from his chest. His pupils expand and he puts his hands up in the air. "What did you to my brother?" I ask. No response comes from his lips and I push the blade forward until it is pressed against his bloody shirt.
He gulps hard and frantically says "Calm down, I have no idea who your brother is. I didn't see him when I entered your home. Please just put the blade down." I press the blade towards him faster and he back up until he is against the large wooden wall. My free hand is grasping his shoulder against the worn down walls. "Then where's my brother?" I ask while clenching my teeth.
He whispers again "I don't know," in a short breath. We are inches away and I can smell the dried blood on his shirt. He's almost a head taller then me. I release the tension in my left hand and slowly hand him his blade. He lets out a large sigh of relief and says "Let's look for him."
Suddenly, I feel a surge of pain in my left ear and a sound of wood being penetrated. My ear stings and I raise my hand to feel it. A bright and red substance is on my fingers. I look up and see a knife stuck to the wooded wall of the cabin. Blood colors the silver metal.
"Amber, duck!" I hear a voice yell, but it is drowned out in my thoughts. That knife isn't mine.
YOU ARE READING
A World Reborn
Ficção Científica(Rank #149 in Sci-Fi) In the year 2041, the first bombs were dropped. Countless nations engaged in total warfare and the end result was the destruction of everyday life. Riots and looting became common as people began to loose trust in one another...
