Savoirs

Adam

Jason killed the man after Jaclyn had collapsed. He just let the arrow fly and the man fell dead a few feet away from Jaclyn. It was stunning, how easily he killed someone he knew. It made me wonder if he would kill us like that one day, if for some reason we turned on each other would he be able to kill us with as much ease and mercilessness as he had killed Harper with? He was the first to move. He went to Jaclyn, who was coughing on the ground, a bruise starting to form around her neck and he gathered her in his arms and held her as she coughed. I sat next to the fire and stared at the ground as the others talked and sometime after Jason laid Jaclyn gently down on the ground near the fire and sat next to her.

"You care for her." Serena states and Jason looks up and ghost of a smile touching his face.

"Yes." He states and she nods.

"I can't see why." She says and we look at her. 

"She has a quiet kind of courage. Its there she just can't show it." He says and I look at her. She was sleeping peacefully, her hands touching her forehead, creating a barrier around her face and hiding most of the darkening bruise from sight. Her head was bent slightly and her hair fell around her. She was laying on her side and her legs curled up under her and at first glance you would think she was younger than she really was. A small smile touched her face and the shirt she wore revealed part of the bandage that wrapped around her middle.

"She's learning." I say and Jason nods, tugging the shirt down so it hid the bandage and his hand touched his own bandage around his middle.

"She'll be able to hold her own when we get to our destination." He says quietly and I see the anger in his eyes.

"You don't want her to fight." Lia says and he looks up.

"I don't want any of you too. War...it's something that alters you permanently. It teaches you that you might never be safe. It shows you the worst of you and never leaves you. It follows you if you live through it." He says and I nod.

"We are doing this because we chose to Jason. We all have our ghosts but we all hate to remember them. It's a weakness we need to keep in check." I say and he nods.

"That's the bitter truth." He says and we fall into silence. Serena and Lia were the first one's to go to sleep. Then Adam. Then Jason and myself when it was only a couple of hours from sun rise.

***

Dawn brought a silent breakfast and then more walking. The bruise around Jaclyn's throat had become much darker over the night and she didn't talk much using the excuse that her throat hurt too much to speak too often. I walked with Adam as Lia and Jaclyn walked together and then Serena and Jason. It was a silent walk until we arrived at a lake. It was mid-day and we had covered more ground than we needed to for the day so we decided to make camp there for the day. It was Lia who decided it was a good time to wash our clothes. She and Jaclyn washed the dresses they had brought with them in case they needed to blend in and Serena stretched out on the bank. I hear Lia giggle and look over to see her splash Jaclyn who retaliated with a splash back and suddenly there was a war going on between the two. A smile appeared on their faces and a poorly aimed splash hit Serena who sat up and watched the two exchange mischievous glances and then sent a barrage of splashes in her direction with drove her to attack back and the three of us watched, amused, at a safe distance from the flying water. Adam rose an eyebrow and looked at us questioningly.

"Are we sure those three are the same girls we have been traveling with for weeks?" He asks loud enough for them to hear and suddenly they were silent and watching us from where they stood, waist deep in the water, the two dresses they had been cleaning tossed over a low hanging tree branch. They all were dripping wet, their hair hanging in strands across their faces and grins plastered on their faces.

"Why of course we are mister!" Serena calls and the other two laugh.

"Why don't we believe you?" He calls back and they shrug.

"If you don't believe us, why not come find out?" Lia calls and Jason laughs.

"And get soaked while you three wage war against each other? I don't think so, miss." He calls back and they pout.

"We promise not too." Serena says and the other two nod. We laugh and get to our feet.

"Why should we believe you?" I ask and Jaclyn grins.

"Well, mister, we haven't come up there to hug any of you yet but we could if you wanted." She calls and we exchange a glance. Adam is the first to start walking and we follow close behind. We stop just out of range of their attacks and they smile sweetly at us.

"Why not come in for a swim?" Lia asks, walking backwards slowly.

"They are sirens!" Jason exclaims and they laugh.

"Why yes! You have finally figured it out!" Jaclyn calls and we laugh.

"If you want us to join you then why not sing us into a trance?" Adam asks and they exchange a glance.

"We are not the best of singers unlike the rest of our sisters. We lure our men by acting like helpless women who are stranded but alas now you know our plan! That cannot be allowed." Lia says and they rush us. We run back to camp and turn around to see the three girls laughing at the edge of the water. They were holding their sides and laughed until they couldn't breath. When they finally stopped they stretched out on the bank and let their clothes dry. The sun was setting when they joined us again, their skin warm from the sun and they had a childish glee about them.

"Alas! You have caught us!" Jason says and they smile.

"It seems like we have." Jaclyn says and Lia grins at Adam who grins back.

"Run while you still have the chance lads!" Jason exclaims as Jaclyn hugs him and we scramble to our feet and dart around the fire as the other two try to catch us. Lia catches Adam with ease and then Serena is catching my wrist and laughs triumphantly. I grin and everyone sits and we stay quiet for several beats until the girls start laughing hysterically and we watch them with mock concern.

"Why can't it always be this easy?" Jaclyn finally asks and Jason shrugs.

"That depends on what you mean." He says and she looks up at the darkening sky.

"This. Laugh like we do." She asks and no one has an answer for her.

"I don't know." I say and a smile passes over her face.

"Good." Is all she says and Serena looks at her confused but Jaclyn doesn't notice, just watches the sky and I notice how calm she is. Normally she's on edge and wary but right now she seemed to be at home.

"At this rate we'll get there long before we need to." Serena says and Adam nods.

"It'll give us time to plan how to go about fighting an army." Jason says and Jaclyn lays down on the ground.

"Keep them confined." She says and we give her a surprised look. "If they are clambering to get out of a corner there's not many fighting back is there? So we cut them off as they come out of the gates and make our stand then." She says and Jason nods.

"Surprise and ground. Its good but not a guaranteed win." He says.

"There's not much else we can do. I say we try it. At this point anything is better than nothing." Lia says and Jason nods.

"Then get some sleep. We'll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I say and we settle down for the night.

"May we wake to find the sky alive and our fears dead." Someone mutters and then we are falling asleep.