The Garden of Heathen

Newbie

He woke up with his name stuck in the back of his throat and Thena pounding on the door.

"Rise and shine, newbie! Time to come out," she called.

He really didn't like her. He pushed himself up off the tiny bed and opened the door. Thena immediately pushed her way inside, dragging a sleepy looking Aussie with her and followed by another strong looking girl with a long face.

"Did you sleep ok?" Aussie asked him, a small smile under her puffy eyes, marks on her face from whatever she'd been sleeping on.

He nodded as he eyed the rope in Thena's hand.

"Listen," Thena piped up. "You get to go to breakfast before we have our big meeting about how we're going to deal with you."

The way she said it so begrudgingly made him think that it was Aussie's doing.

"To do that, we took a vote," Thena went on. "And the only way the girls agreed to it is if you were somehow handicapped for their protection."

The way that sounded made him nervous, he squared his shoulders out of reflex.

"Relax," Thena said when she noticed. "We're just gonna give you a hundred and twenty pounds of dead weight to slow you down."

Aussie's brows furrowed now.
"Wait, that's how much I weigh," she said, her raspy voice cracking.

"Yep," Thena said as she grabbed her left wrist and wrapped the rope around it.

"And Newbie here is your responsibility. I didn't want to do it since he already tried to kill you," she looked pointedly at him. "But none of the other girls would take your place."

He looked at Aussie, finally seeing the bruises on her neck, four fingers on one side and a thumb on the other. He felt a knot somewhere between his chest and his gut. Had he done that to her? Images flashed through his mind of the bright sun light and screaming, and something soft and warm in his hand. He was so surprised by these memories returning that he barely felt Thena grab his wrist and tie the rope around it as well. There was about a foot and a half of slack between the two of them. He looked down at Aussie by his side, at his handprint on her neck, and wondered why on earth she'd stood up for him so aggressively.

She felt his gaze and looked up at him. She mistook his expression for annoyance and gave an apologetic smile. When he didn't respond to that she looked away, wincing to herself.

"Come on you dumb snits, let's go," Thena said, ushering them out the door behind Joan.

His fist clenched involuntarily and so did his jaw. He really didn't like Thena. But he looked down at Aussie by his side and remembered she would be punished for anything he did. He slumped his shoulders and did as he was told.

They walked across the clearing in the early light and made their way to the biggest structure. He noticed Aussie trying to time her steps so her arm would swing in time with his and not jerk the rope. He lightly shook his head before taking a good look around the place.

"I'll show you around later," Aussie assured him.

"Doesn't look like there's much to show," he stated blandly.

"Well, it may be small, but it's what we've made of it that's worth showing," she said with a bit of pride in her voice.

They were walking under a tree now with dozens of glass bottles hanging from its lifeless branches. They caught the sunlight just peeking over the top of the wall and spattered it over the Garden. He found himself staring up at it and slowing down to do so. Aussie paused so she wouldn't yank on him, and allowed him to look. Thena wasn't as patient.