Broken Lines |✔|

4.

The night is dark.

They have chosen a time when the moon is covered in the sky. We are left in a complete black abyss.

I look around at the surroundings. The forest is full of sounds at this time.

I hear the rustle of the leaves. Above or below?

They were coming.

I close my eyes, knowing they could betray me if I let them.

They had formed a group. They were coming for me.

I reopen my eyes then. Dried mud cakes my head and face.

The moon may be gone on this night, but the features I carried still could give me away.

The color of red would alert them of my presence. It would be like a beacon of light to draw them near. So I had used whatever means I could to hide my hair and skin.

I lower myself to the earth, camouflaging in the foliage that surrounded.

They are whispering. The fools. This was a test.

The numbers might have given them a false sense of security. I knew they were looking for me.

They were bitter and angry about my growth. How many years now has it been? Most of the females had dropped. I felt anger at my own sex for being so weak, but I had to let that emotion go when I realized they did not have a motivation that I did. If I had been in their place with their peace of mind, I would have done the same thing.

Years of training. How many? Almost two. I was nearing the age of fourteen and every year they presented us with a new test to see if we had really grown in our year of endurance.

Where is she? I hear their whispered question.

There is only one she they can be talking about. Only one girl left in the group of warriors who had lasted this long.

I crawl forward, taking in their numbers and gritting my teeth. Five. Why five of them would group together was beyond me. The test was one of survival against the instructors who were sure to attack.

My excitement had grown when they presented the leader and said he also would be hunting us through the night.

I'm the hunter, Vera, he had whispered to me in passing, make sure you remember that for this test.

It had made me see red at how easily he had seen through me. But now I had more than just the instructors hunting me down.

I can smell her.

I wince at their words. Even with the layers of mud caked to my skin, I could not hide what any male would be able to figure out. A female was near.

I count it down in my head, watching their steps come near.

One...

I would not go silently into the night.

Two...

I would not cower at their feet.

Three...

They had a reason to fear me.

I launch myself at them, my teeth finding one male's throat and ripping at the flesh without thinking. I throw myself off his body, my nails digging into the face of the next one that is closest. Their screams rise into the air and a thrill runs through me when I think of the instructors pausing midstep, becoming confused because they were not the ones attacking.