Chapter One
Marika
I run as fast as I can, ignoring the branches that snag at my face. My brothers race ahead of me, weaving in and out of the trees as we flee our pursuers. They are faster than I am, more agile and focused on the path ahead.
Explosions erupt behind me, seeming to get closer as we run.
My eldest brother, Malachai, glances behind him as an explosion louder than the rest echoes through the trees. He sees that I’m lagging, and he casts me a warning glare.
“Hurray, Marika. We need to get out of here.”
I can’t run any faster than I already am. I want to tell him that, but if I talk, I’ll have less energy for running, and he’ll chastise me even more when we get back, so I stay quiet and try to follow his track. A track that seems to avoid most of the low-hanging branches.
I curse silently to myself, frustrated at my lack of speed and spatial awareness. If I’d been able to keep up with them, then I would have taken a better path, and I would have avoided the branches that scratched my face.
Blood trickles down my cheek where a particularly sharp branch managed to snag the skin. No doubt he will scold me for that when we get back too. I can already hear his voice echoing in my mind.
If you were more focused on what you were doing, then we wouldn’t have to use our scarce medical supplies on you for something that could have easily been avoided.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother; I love both of them, but I just wish sometimes that Malachai would cut me some slack. I know he won’t, though. If he did, everyone would say it was favouritism. He’s the second in command of our encampment, so he has to treat me the same as everyone else, although sometimes I think he’s harder on me than some of the others, just so there is no doubt in their minds.
Thoughts of how Malachai will chastise me on our return evaporate as another loud explosion rends the air.
The trees behind us seem to explode before falling to the ground with a loud crash.
A small cry escapes my lips as I feel a sharp pain in my side. I stumble forward and fall to my knees.
As I press my hand to my side where the pain is worse, I feel it; something sharp, the slightest touch causing the pain to ripple through my whole body.
As I pull my hand away, I feel the wet sticky substance as it trickles across my fingers.
I don’t need to look to know what it is, but looking just confirms it. Blood; my own blood.
Nathan is the first to look behind him, and he stops in his tracks when he sees me kneeling on the ground.
“Marika,” he hisses.
Malachai is the next to stop, and when he turns his eyes go wide.
“Marika? Come on.”
I shake my head.
“Go,” I groan.
Both of them come running back to me.
Malachai looks down at my shirt, which is now stained red. A large piece of wood sticks out from the wound in my side.
“Fuck,” he hisses, before lifting me to my feet.
I shake my head.
“I’ll only slow you down. If they catch us, it will put the whole camp in danger.”
Malachai shakes his head, a look of resignation on his face. He knows what I’m saying is the truth.
He looks up, glancing around. I wince as he picks me up.
“What…?”
He shushes me.
“I’m not leaving you out in the open for those bastards to find you,” he huffs.
Malachai walks into the treeline, closely followed by Nathan. That’s when I see it—a ramshackle old cabin. The roof has collapsed on one side, and the whole thing seems to be overgrown, except for an old door frame and the remnants of one of the walls.
Malachai ducks under the door frame and places me on the floor just inside.
“Stay here and stay quiet, Marika.”
He rips a piece off his shirt and presses it against my side.
I clench my jaw and swallow down the cry that threatens to erupt.
Malachai takes my blood-stained hand and presses it against the cloth.
“Keep the pressure on. When it’s safe, we’ll come back for you.”
I nod my head, but can’t help the tear that spills down my cheek.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a quick run to the storage silos on one of the outlying farms. Farms controlled by the aliens. Did we get too confident? Or become slipshod and take stupid risks? Or perhaps we were betrayed by someone? But who? Who would want a person that they lived alongside to be enslaved by a foul alien beast? If we wanted to be slaves, we wouldn’t be scraping an existence in the wilds. Fighting just to put food on the table and take care of the ones who are unable to take care of themselves.
I try to push the thought from my mind because it really doesn’t bear thinking about.
“You can’t be serious, Malachai? She’s our sister. You cant just leave her.”
I reach my hand out and touch Nathan’s arm.
“You have to, Nathan. If I don’t make it…”
I swallow down the groan of pain that threatens to escape.
“Better that you lose one person than put the whole camp at risk.”
Nathan sighs. He looks at me with sadness in his eyes and a hint of pity. We all know what happens to anyone that the aliens find.
I glance over at Malachai.
“You have to make plans to move camp. If they find me…”
I leave the sentence hanging in the air. Both my brothers know what will happen. It will end in my death, but not before they’ve tried to extract every ounce of information out of me. Information that I would never give willingly.
Malachai pats Nathan on the arm and gestures with his head towards an uneven path through the woods.
“We have to go. We’ll take the back way in.”
Nathan’s shoulders sag as he leaves, not glancing back because if he did, he wouldn’t want to leave me.
Malachai cups my cheeks in his hands and tilts my head up, so I have to look him in the eye.
“Stay safe, little sister. I will come back for you, I promise.”
He presses a gentle kiss to my forehead, and he removes his hands from my face.
I watch him as he leaves, and fear grips my heart. I’m alone now. I’ll either die here from my injury, or the aliens will find me.
I don’t hear their footsteps as they track through the less-travelled path because it’s drowned out by the explosions that continue to rain down on the main path. When those sounds cease, it’s worse because they are replaced by the sounds of heavy footfalls and deep voices speaking in a language I don’t understand and have no wish to.
