Saber (a post-apocalyptic fantasy)

4 - The Oracle

I gasp for breath. It's over. I'm alive. I can't believe it. Where did these two girls come from?

The little one takes my hand. "It's all right, Saber."

My chest is heaving with frantic breaths. "H-how do you know my name?"

"The same way I knew you were in trouble with those Shades." The little girl's voice is sweet and calm. Her gray eyes shine in the moonlight.

The two Shades lie dead in the dust. Their red eyes have gone dim. The phantom buildings of the Hollows cast long shadows, making this place seem even more terrifying.

The blade-wielder heaves the door of the storage house shut and stomps over to us. In the moonlight, I realize she's a girl my age, maybe a little older. Her hair is long and as dark as the night. A bandana holds her thick dreadlocks back from her face. She sheathes her blade and tosses mine at my feet.

"You wield a blade like a child." Her voice is gruff, and her eyes are as dark as her hair.

"It was my f-father's. I've always been b-better with a bow," I stammer defensively. But my breaths are slowing as my body slowly acknowledges that, for now, I am alive and safe. "Thanks for —"

"Saving you," the blade-wielder finishes. "Yeah, we know. Come on, Shasta." She turns to the little girl. "We saved him. Now, let's go."

"Wh-who are you?" I demand. I try to raise myself up from the ground, but a searing pain shoots up my arm, and I collapse.

"Vega," the blade-wielder says, glancing away unsympathetically. "And you've met Shasta. And now that we all know each other's names, we can go. Come on, Shasta. There could be more Shades hiding in that cellar."

"There aren't," Shasta says defiantly. "And we can't just leave him. He's hurt."

She's right. My shoulder is throbbing. When I try to move it again, it hangs limp and shoots more pain up into my neck.

Vega stomps over and begrudgingly takes a look at my arm, stripping away my jacket and shirt. The movement sends another wave of pain washing over me. The arm hangs limp and useless. I can't even move it.

"Is it broke?" I ask fearfully. A broken arm could mean death on the Waste.

Vega runs calloused hands over my shoulder. "Nah. Looks like it just popped out."

"What does that mean?" I say, clutching my arm to my chest.

"Means this is gonna hurt." And Vega holds down my shoulder with one hand, and with the other shoves my arm back into the socket.

For a moment, my whole world is terrible, white flashes of pain. Tears fill my eyes, and I feel like I might pass out. But then, the pain ebbs into a dull ache. It hurts, but I can move the arm again. My fingers are tingling.

"There, he'll be fine," says Vega. "Now, let's get the hell out of here."

"We're not leaving him," says Shasta, who sits down beside me, cocking her head up toward the skies.

"What?"

"We aren't leaving him, Vega." The little girl's voice goes quiet. "I... I've seen him before."

"What are you talking about?"Vega demands angrily.

"Yeah," I say. "What are you talking about? I've never seen either of you before."

"But I've seen you," says Shasta softly. She points to her skull. "In here. That's the only way I see anything."

"What?" I say.

"She's blind, you idiot," says Vega.

I think of how she saved me. How she killed that Shade with her throwing knife. "B-but, how could she —"

Shasta touches my arm. Her skin is soft. Her grip is clumsy as she finds my hand. "I have dreams..." she says. "About the future."

"How the hell is that possible?"

Vega shrugs.

"When I was little," says Shasta, "I got separated from my parents' caravan. I got caught out in the scorch. I lost my eyes then."

"But you didn't turn?" I say warily. Getting caught in the scorch is what turns people into Shades.

"Obviously," says Vega.

Shasta smiles and shakes her head. "Our clan kept me locked in a carriage, waiting for me to turn. But I never did. My burns healed. I was blind, but I was okay. It was a long time before the dreams came. And even longer before I realized they were more than dreams."

I must be hallucinating. Maybe one of those Shades bit me, and I'm turning into one of them. Maybe I'm going crazy, and these girls are death visions. A girl who sees the future? What the hell?

Vega's tone lightens for the first time. "I thought I was going crazy, too, when I first met Shasta. But it's real. We're both real. I don't know how it's possible, but she does see the future."

Shasta squeezes my hand. "A few days ago, I saw you in this dead place, being attacked by Shades. When I described my dream, Vega knew where to go."

"I scavenged here about a year ago," says Vega. "Wasn't enough of a dumbass to open up that storage room though."

"Right," I say.

"We journeyed for three days to find you. I've had other visions of you, too."

"Others?"

"But they haven't happened yet. Which is why we can't leave him here, Vega."

"Why didn't you tell me you'd seen him before we came here?" Vega demands, glaring uselessly at the little girl.

Shasta smiles. Her eyes glisten, and I realize they aren't gray. They're glazed over from her blindness. "Because I knew you wouldn't want to save him if you knew we'd be taking him with us."

"With you?" I say.

"Yes, you're important for the things to come."

Vega mutters curses under her breath, but she concedes. "All right, you win. Like always. But I don't want you hiding your visions from me anymore."

"We'll see," says Shasta wryly.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I say. "Where are you going? Who says I even want to go with you?" I've been alone since Papi died. I've hardly spoken to another human being in months.

Rule #1: Trust No One!

"I know you do," says Shasta. "Deep down. You're all alone. Vega and I are survivors, same as you, wandering the Waste. You need us. And we need you, more than you could know."

"I'm a loner," I say. "I... I don't need you."

Vega huffs. "Says the boy we just saved."

"No one should be left all alone," says Shasta. She looks sad.

I look into her vacant eyes in the moonlight. Something about her makes me feel strangely at home. Somehow, I'm reminded of Mami, the way her eyes seemed so filled with love and hope. Mami always held onto the hope of a real future someday. Paradise. Someplace beyond the Waste.

My instincts tell me to run while I can. But something in my heart longs not to be alone anymore.

"Where are you going?" I say again.

"The Good Place," says Shasta. She rises from her seat. "Please, come with us."

I fear I'll regret it soon enough, but these girls saved my life. I guess I owe them something.

"All right," I say. "I'll come."

Thank you so much for reading SABER!

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Discussion: What do you think of Vega and Shasta? Do you think Saber should go with them?