Reliance [COMPLETED]

Chapter 6

"Alannah!"

  Someone is shaking me awake. My eys open reluctantly to find Cordie hovering over me.

  "Harlan's gone, I don't know where he went."

  I sit up and see Harlan's empty sleeping bag. Cordie's eyes are round and wide.

  "Where do you think he's gone?" she asks, helping me up.

  "I don't know, maybe to hunt some more game." I search around his bag. There's nothing. Then I remember the letter.

  Rushing over to the stone, I relax upon seeing it. As long as it's still there, that's all that matters until I solve the case.

  "Should we go exploring too?" Cordie asks curiously as I return with some bark.

  "We should head out for a bit, we both need the exercise. Besides, by the time we come back, Harlan's sure to be here."

  We both leave, covering the new tarp over the hollow. As we walk, I continue to look all around for any signs of Harlan. There's nothing.

  Cordie is frightened, and as we sneak through the forest, she keeps grasping for her gun.

  "I thought you'd be used to the whole predator and prey thing," I say. "I mean, you had been living on your own for how long."

  "Yes but, that doesn't mean I'm confident." Her cheeks are flushed with embarrassment. "I never like being exposed."

  "Who does?" I say gently, "we're all exposed, we're just so eager to hide ourselves, we don't  even realize the real purpose of Salan."

  Cordie doesn't speak for a moment.

  "What's the purpose of Salan, Alannah?" she asks.

  I pause in my tracks. To be honest, I didn't know. Death maybe? Murdering innocent people such as Cordie?

"I don't know," I say aloud, "killing people, when instead, we could be living in peace. So why don't we?" I ponder this aloud, my head spinning. Why don't we all live in peace?

Cordie brings me back down to earth.

  "I don't see Harlan," she says softly, "and I'm really scared."

I look to her and sigh.

"Well, we'll head back. I shouldn't have frightened you like that, I'm sorry Cordie."

We turn and sneak back to the hollow. Luckily, I had left a trail of stones behind us, so we easily made our way back. It was a short search, but at least we could get our exercise in for the day.

When we make it back to the hollow, Harlan still hasn't returned. I start to wonder if he'd left us permanently, which I was okay with. His medical bag was still here along with his book, so I can easily learn how to become a medic.

Cordie stretches out on my sleeping bag, looking defeated. She still must've been shook from yesterday.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asks, her blue eyes round.

I hesistate before I answer. No one has ever trusted me enough to keep a secret before. Then again, I've never been with anyone before. Kenton, yes, I have stayed with, but most of the time he was either drunk or busy with the bar.

"Sure."

Cordie scoots over towards me.

"Well," she says, "I was the one who bombed the market place."

I blink in shock. Staring at her, jaw dropped, I register again what she said.

"You?" I say in disbelief. "You blew it up? Why?"