Dark as the Night

33

"I will kill you." Odessa awoke, panting and sobbing, to the sound of her own voice. It was the dream about her mother again. She knew she'd been having it repeatedly since the other day with James, but she could never remember anything about it other than intense sorrow. Until now.

The words she had just spoken were still ringing in her ears, and they kept the memory of her mother jumping out and taking the bullet meant for her fresh in her mind. She had looked up at the man's silhouette in the doorway. Though she couldn't see his face, she felt a mixture of familiarity, betrayal, and fear toward him.

She had told the man that she'd kill him, and she had meant it with every fiber of her being, and that scared her. Not the words exactly, or even the heartfelt intent behind them. What scared her was calm assurance that she would follow through. There was no question in her mind then or now that she would kill the man and feel no remorse.

That begged the question, had she actually done it? Had she ever killed anyone? She needed now, more than ever, to know what lay buried in the dark depths of her mind. Some part of me is hiding, she thought nervously. And hidden things could not be trusted.

She rubbed her temples and began to piece together what she knew. She remembered her mother fighting with a so far unidentified man, and that man punching her. Later, she jumped in front of Odessa and was shot in the head by that man. She had protected her daughter and it finally killed her. All of this was too much. Her head was beginning to pound, but she knew that sleep would not come again tonight.

She climbed out of bed and groggily looked at the clock: 5:32 a.m. She got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and walked out the door.

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Tai looked at the sidewalk for the telltale sparkle of ice. Not seeing any, he carefully slid his foot over the concrete, but it stuttered, affirming that it was ice-free. It even appeared dry, even though the grass next to it was shimmering with dew, A dense layer of fog had settled upon the ground, making it difficult to see more than about ten feet in front of him.

As soon as April had rolled into May, the frosty mornings had been replaced with dewy spring, his favorite time of year. There was nothing like a cool, early morning run in the park. The soft sounds, sweet smell, and chill air helped him clear his mind and straighten his thoughts.

He took off on a soft jog and began regulating his breathing. He would increase his speed gradually with every lap around the park until he was just shy of sprinting, then ease back down. This was his favorite workout; the rhythm of his breath and ease of running created a sort of Zen calm for him.

Tai needed to figure out what to do with himself today. It was Tuesday, and since he'd successfully finished all his work in time for the craft fair three days before, his work load had plummeted to almost nothing. Other than two custom orders placed at the craft fair, he had nothing lined up. He'd finished one, a simple storage bench, the day before, and the other, an ornately-carved jewelry box, wasn't due for two weeks.

Why is it always busiest right around exam time, then completely dead during school break? He wondered, not for the first time. Life was just that way. May was always quiet work-wise, and was also one of the three months when school was closed in order to give the students a break while the teachers graded exams.

Although the real reason for the school break was that it was a peak agricultural time for the camp. Every able-bodied person was needed to help plant crops and the high school students were added into the master schedule for mandatory farm work during May. Everyone who didn't already work on the farm was expected to fulfill twelve hours during the month, split into three four-hour shifts. This amount of time was so negligible compared to what he usually pulled at the Woodshop though, that Tai barely even thought about it. His first shift wasn't until the next week, anyway.

The sudden burst of down time always made him antsy, like he should be filling it with some sort of activity. No one had ever accused Taiomah Adohi of being lazy.

Tai completed a lap and began to speed up. His mind turned toward Odessa and he wondered if she would be expected to meet the requisite farm time. Had Leila claimed her as "able-bodied" yet? He supposed so, since her injuries seemed to have all healed, though she didn't appear to have gained much weight. She would begin survival and combat training soon as well, although perhaps her skill in herbalism would count as a survival skill and exempt her from that requirement.

He smiled at the realization that his thoughts always turned to Odessa, no matter what he was doing, or what time of day. He always wanted to see her, to be talking to her. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her. It hurt him to see her in pain, and made his heart clench when she smiled. All of this was a very new feeling for Tai, but he'd already guessed what it meant. He enjoyed it for its novelty as much as for how good it felt, but he had no intentions yet to act on it. He wanted to see what happened and where it all would take him.

Tai's heart rate began to increase with this train of thought. He increased his speed to match, even though he hadn't quite made another full lap. He was nearing the playground when he saw someone else jogging a little ahead of him. She was just getting to the bend in the path, but she wasn't turning with it. Just as he realized who it was, her foot struck the wet grass and she slipped and fell sideways toward the pavement.