A small fire danced over the pile of sticks, crackling and spitting sparks occasionally. Its warm light stung the darkness of the cave, which was fairly sizable, about fifteen paces across. The ceiling hung high enough that it wasn't uncomfortably cramped inside. This place was a home. But not for the cave dwellers of prehistoric times. It was the twenty- first century, somewhere out there.
Diamond's narrowed brown eyes were locked on the flames, observing their mystical movement. Rain, her only companion, who was currently out hunting, always told her that she appeared angry when she concentrated on anything. But he said it was a good thing, a trait that made her unique. And she wasn't a bitter person. It was just a habit.
Diamond had been sullen at some point. Rain and she had once lived in the normal world, in a filthy, crowded city. They had lived bleak lives of suffering, each of them experiencing their own anguish. Somehow they had met, but it was now buried underneath forgotten memories of pain and tears and hurting. They had bonded over a shared dream to escape from the urban life and live in the forest, away from everything, and just forget. It had seemed childish and unrealistic at first, but after many years, it became reality. Rain and Diamond were aged somewhere around seventeen now. But they weren't sure. They closed themselves off from the human world.
When they first arrived at the cave that they called home now, they chose new names. Diamond had seen the way the brook flowed so clear and sparkling, like her memory would be soon. A clean slate. Rain said that when his troubles and ghosts of the past were gone, it would be as if they were washed away by rain, and he named himself after the concept. And after years, they forgot, and grew closer than what they thought was imaginable.
Footsteps at the cave opening tugged Diamond out of her trance. She didn't startle though. She knew it was Rain. Dragging some slain animal, he called out, "Hey, Diamond."
Diamond smiled broadly at the return of her companion. Even companion wasn't a strong enough word to describe the bond between Rain and Diamond. It ran deep like the roots of the trees that surrounded the cave for miles. It was never ending, like the wide stream that collapsed into a waterfall right outside the cave entrance, serenading them with a melody of rushing water every second.
She stood, and she could see Rain's skinny form through the darkness. Making her way across the cave, she asked, "So what's this?"
"Deer. I shot it myself." His voice was cool and deep. Rain wasn't just his name. It somehow fit his whole being. Diamond wished her name was that perfect. But then again, who was here to judge her?
She rolled her eyes. "Who else would have shot it, smart one?" Rain just laughed and tossed shaggy hair the color of a crow's feathers out of his pale face. His leg had been messed up as a kid, and they had both forgotten how, but he walked with a slight limp that didn't actually slow him much. He wore the same outfit he did every day- jeans and a solid black shirt they brought from the city when they ran away. Diamond had always thought he was strangely beautiful. He leaned his dark, slender hunting bow against the stone wall.
"Alright. Help me bring it to the holes." The two of them buried food to store it, so that animals couldn't find their catches.
The sky was darkening, and the forest was bathed in shadow. They both grabbed the deer's legs, which were stiff and smooth with honey colored fur. It was bulky and heavy, but they lugged it easily across the bare rock to the pits and dropped it in. Rain jogged carefully back to the cave to retrieve a shovel, and together they pushed dirt over the dead deer. Diamond shivered and zipped up her brown leather jacket. She hated the cold, but Rain didn't mind it.
When the job was finished, they glanced up and their gazes met. Rain smiled, and Diamond grinned back. Her lips stretched wide and her brown eyes lit up. Moments ago she had been glaring a little, as she always did when she was focused. But that was gone.
Diamond and Rain were not in love. It was a friendship, but a deep one. Their comradery was beautiful, just like everything in this part of the forest. The gentle brook ran through the forest, then crashed onto smooth, worn rock, in front of the cave. Then it divided into little tributaries and flowed away across the stone, meeting again later on. A bit farther on, trees started up again. The rock sometimes grew slippery but Rain and Diamond were accustomed. An assortment of birds were always harmonizing, and the sunset could always be seen from the cliff above their cave.
Rain asked, "What's prepared for dinner?"
Diamond brushed that undulating blonde hair behind her shoulder. "I cooked that rabbit from last night."
That was his least favorite meal. He told this to Diamond, and she smiled. "Well you shot it!" she exclaimed with a laugh. He shook his head, heart glowing from the sight of her smile.
"You can't hunt. You can't criticize," he replied calmly, like always. They began to make their way nimbly across the rock, back to the cave. He saw Diamond's slight shiver. She had always carried no tolerance for cold weather, and tonight was brisk. To him, it felt good.
They sat on the rock floor of the cave, by the fire, and ate, talking and chatting as always. There was always something to talk about. Every day, they worked to survive, and they played in the stream like children. It was such a perfect life. And the way they felt around each other was incredible. It was better than love. Similar, maybe, but more powerful. They were like one person.
And then that night, something terrible happened.
At first they were silent, listening closely, frozen mid conversation. Diamond began to stand slowly. Her boots didn't make a sound on the rock.
"Footsteps," breathed Rain. They felt alien and threatening. They weren't his or Diamond's. His heart had found a place in his throat and he shuddered. For years they had not contacted the outside world. What if that was broken? What then?
Diamond slipped a shimmering knife out of her jeans pocket. It shone with reds and oranges from the fire they had been sitting around. She began to creep forward, and Rain followed with the same agility. He had stood without even knowing.
The invader walked at a fast and sloppy pace, not even trying to be quiet. Rain and Diamond knew the woodland so perfectly by now, they sensed all the birds panicking at the new presence and their melody changed drastically. The whole forest was holding a collective breath. Dread weighed down Rain's whole body. He and Diamond moved forward.
Whoever was approaching them didn't know the wilderness. It stomped as it moved and splashed through the stream. Rain felt a wave of anger. How dare it infect their peace, that they had successfully kept all these years?
And what if they remembered everything? What if the pain came back?
Rain reached the opening of the cave. He picked up his bow and slung the quiver across his shoulder without making a sound. It was dark, but he could see perfectly. The invader was advancing towards them, and then he stopped. Rain could sense him directly outside the entrance, about ten paces back.
Diamond was more of a fighter, so she stepped silently past Rain to lead them. His heart thumped, and he could hear blood rushing in his ears. Fear forced his muscles to move. As they inched forward, he slipped an arrow out of the quiver and knocked it with a barely audible twang. Diamond glanced up at him, and there was a look in her eye that Rain couldn't place, but he somehow knew what she was trying to convey.
He nodded, and Diamond held up three fingers. Then two. Then one. Rain and Diamond sprung forward, and were out of the cave in an instant. Then they stopped short.
Standing before them was a man, but he didn't resemble one much. He wore what appeared to be some kind of mechanical armor, that covered most of his body. It whirred and clicked slightly, constantly making slight adjustments of some sort. Waves of panic crashed down on Rain. Their perfect lack of contact with the outside world was shattered.
Then the armor over his face lifted. "So you're real?" asked the man, breaking the silence. His voice dripped with authority. But he had no place out here.
"What are you talking about? This is our place. You aren't supposed to be here." replied Diamond hotly. Her firm response comforted him. He claimed a sense of pride over her confidence. They were the authority out here.
"You're a legend," said the man. His eyes were wide and ignorant. He stepped towards him, a bit of wonder in his eyes. "I have to say, I didn't believe there were really people out here."
"They know about us...?" An icy chill like drips of water from the brook slipped down Rain's back as he said that.
"Yes," responded the man. "And I'm here to take you home!"
Diamond and Rain tensed. Hands tightened around weapons and feet were planted firmly. And Diamond replied without emotion but with overwhelming meaning, "Never."
The man wasn't phased. "Oh, you want to come home, trust me. There is fame awaiting you." Terror seized up Rain's whole body. All he and Diamond wanted was to be alone. The idea of fame sickened him.
"We don't want that. We want to be alone," Diamond spat. It was as if she read his mind. Even though she was angry and defiant through and through right now, Rain could see her trembling slightly. She was also afraid like him.
"Why?" The man was so stupid and naive.
There was a tense pause. Something invisible passed between Diamond and Rain.
Then Rain said calmly, "We have bad memories. We forgot them. And we will fight to keep it that way."And in a flash, Diamond rushed forward. The man leaped into action, raising a metal and flesh arm, but Rain's arrow had already left the bow and was swishing through the air. With a sickening thunk, it found its place in the man's head. He collapsed in a pile of machine and man.
For a second they were silent. Then Diamond smiled at Rain. "I think we need to hide this body," he said with a returned grin. Avalanches of relief were pounding down on him. They were safe now.
"Yes," laughed Diamond, taking a deep breath to calm herself from the anxiety she was experiencing seconds ago. "Now let's forget this ever happened."Author's Note: This fictional short story was written in honor of myself, the girl I was in the past. One of my dreams, besides being a writer, was always to live in the middle of the forest, alone. I decided that, instead of one person, I would create two inseparable companions. Personally, this was one of my favorite pieces to work on. All humans yearn for a utopia like Diamond and Rain's, and maybe some of us will find ours. But is anything truly perfect, and does anything truly last forever?
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Death and Other Fun Stuff (#Wattys2015)
Short StoryA collection of short stories and poems- science fiction, horror, and fantasy- gathered from the depths of my notebooks. From chilling to electrifying, from thrilling to gruesome... this is a sneak peak at the different corners and crevices of my mi...