Left Alone

The Truth

Chapter Sixteen

"You can't be serious," I protested. They were wrong. They had to be. "That's not possible! I can't do Magic!"

"What do you think Magic is?" Hue said patiently. Sal and Minny stared at me silently, their expressions unreadable.

"Hostiles rip eyes from people's skulls and steal the hearts from their chests! I have never done something like that!"

"Wrong," Sal said, smirking at me.

"No," I argued. "That's what Magic is. Everyone knows that."

"Everyone is not a hostile," Minny shot back. "Who better to tell you the truth than a real hostile?"

"Alright," I allowed, my head spinning. "What do you suppose Magic is?"

"Magic is a part of who you are," Hue jumped in. "You feed off of the energy of people, their essence."

"But hostiles are murderers," I informed them, feeling stupid.

"Haven't you ever killed someone?" Hue asked. "If you've been alive for this long, you have to have killed someone. Everyone does. Agents do and desperate humans. It's just how things are right now. Life doesn't mean as much as it used to. Besides, you don't have to kill. You can take a little bit at a time. If you don't have a regular diet, it can throw you off and you'll get sicker faster." That explained why it hadn't taken long for me to need to eat again.

"I'm a hostile?" I said out loud, starting to accept it. It made so much sense. The government created propaganda to create panic and animosity towards the hostiles. They created them, us, in a way.

"We don't really call ourselves that," Minny laughed. "It makes it sound like we hate our kind. We call our kind Animaphagists. Soul eaters."

"Soul eaters?" I wrinkled my nose. "That doesn't sound much better."

"Well, it's not any different than calling yourself a meat eater or a vegetarian or anything like that."

"How did this happen?" I asked them. They exchanged apprehensive looks. "Hey, you've told me everything else so far."

"Yeah," Minny agreed. "But I think you should let Jesse explain that. It's his story anyway."

"But he's asleep!" I pointed out. The group laughed.

"Looks like you'll have to wait," Sal taunted. I glared but said nothing. After finding out that Jesse saved my life, I didn't want to disturb him when he was weak.

As the group filed out, I walked to the next room where Jesse was sleeping. Taking a chair, I sat next to his bed, wanting to be here as soon as he woke up. I took the time to study him. His dark hair was patted down from tossing and turning in his sleep. Though his dark eyes were hidden, his eyelashes were clearly visible, reaching down to touch his cheeks. His nose was slightly crooked, meaning that it had been broken before. My gaze continued to travel down, despite the alarm bells ringing in my head. I was curious about this boy. Despite how arrogant and annoying he had been, I could tell there was more to him. The other kids speak highly of him and trust him with their lives. He treated them like they were his own kids. I could relate to that. Star was my brother, but I raised him since he was a baby. I made sure that he had food. I was the only one there when he took his first steps, said his first words, shot his first gun. I felt a maternal affection for him more than a sibling affection. If I didn't want to respect our mother, I probably would have claimed him. I remembered when he used to call me Momma and I would shush him as if Mother was lurking around, judging me for allowing it. So I never allowed it. Eventually, when he was old enough, I told him the truth. He took it better than I thought he would.