Chapter Ch 9 - dont turn your back.

-Kora-

“Don’t you dare come any closer!” I snapped at the man, clutching the arrow tightly in my fist.

He drew his pistol, pointing it at me. I froze, afraid he would shoot me, but he just held his ground. “Woah, now. Thats, quite a dangerous blade you’re holdin’ there, girly. Relax, I’m not gonna hurt you. Put the poison arrow down, lass.”

Poison?

I glanced at the arrowhead, which was coated in an unnaturally glossy black shimmer. If he was worried about poison, then that meant I wouldn’t even need a fatal stab in order to kill him. The arrow was the only weapon I needed.

I stood my ground and eyed his moments, ready to rush him if needed. He took note of this, glancing between me and his gun.

“Hey now, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but fighting will only end badly for both of us. A gunshot will draw every savage native in the area. I’m not gonna shoot you, so I’d appreciate it if you drop your arrow.”

“That’s not happening.” Kora scoffed. “I’m not stupid, I know I shouldn’t trust you. Only convicts who commit horrible crimes are sent down here…that means you could be a murderer.”

“True, but that also means you could be one, and I’m not so sure I’m willing to take that chance with that arrow in your hands. A simple graze from that could kill a man in just a few hours,” he responded easily. I narrowed my eyes as he smiled. “But I’m also not keen on the idea of shooting you and drawing the savages this way.”

We remained at a standstill, and I struggled to come up with any ways out of this. “What do you want?”

He seemed a little surprised by my question as he lowered his hands.

“I’m just looking for my partner. That’s it. We were both sent out here but got separated by some natives. I’ve been a bit lost since, you see, because he was the only one with a map of this area.”

“Sent out here?” I asked skeptically, and he smiled.

“Yes, by our camp leader. You must be the new fallen from a week or so ago. I’m impressed you’ve made it this long on your own.” He chuckled. “We thought you might’ve kicked the bucket already!”

Camp?

?

Just how many convicts were living down here!?

His smile widened at my shocked expression. “You’re wondering what I meant by ‘we’, aren’t ya? Well, the truth is that most of us fallen have banded together to form a camp. We’ve got food, shelter, protection from the natives and wild animals out here, everything you need. We all work together to survive this hellhole.”

My mind was reeling with even more questions than before.

I lowered my arrow but kept a close eye on the man as he also lowered his gun.

“What’s your name girly?”

“Kora,” I answered warily.

“Ah. Well Kora, I’ll tell you what, if we can find my partner, all three of us could go back to camp and you could join our group! You ain’t gotta worry about no filthy savages, or starving out here in the forest! Seth–our leader–will take real good care of you. How does that sound?”

Suddenly, being near a convict didn’t seem so horrible. Maybe it was the loneliness, or how hard it had been to survive the past several days, but I didn’t want to be on my own now that another option had been presented. There were terrifying creatures all around me, and while being in a camp full of convicts wasn’t ideal, it beat getting caught by the monster that had torn that deer apart. And what was that saying?

I stared at the man, still skeptical, though I relaxed a bit. “Sure…”

“Great! We just gotta find Benny boy then head back to camp. You wouldn’t happen to have seen him around here, have ya?”

My immediate thought went to the dead man I’d scavenged from, and I winced.

“Sorry to say, but I think your partner is dead. I saw him get chased down by a couple of natives a few days ago. He didn’t make it.” I shook my head. “There was nothing I could do.”

The man’s mood soured as he cursed to himself. “Well that’s gonna be a problem. Without Benny’s map we are gonna be stuck out here…not to mention it’ll be night in a few hours, and I’m not looking forward to sleeping out here again.”

Digging through my bag, I pulled out the notebook. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

The guy’s eyes lit up at the sight of it as he stepped closer. “It is, in fact!” He reached for the book and reluctantly, I handed it over, watching as he flipped it open to the map. “Perfect! Now we can get back to camp and out of this fucking forest. But not tonight, it’s too dangerous to travel in the dark. We stick out too much compared to those savages; they blend in with the dark, making it harder to see. We will have to leave in the morning.” He eyed me appraisingly. “You wouldn’t happen to know where any shelter might be, would you?”

I nodded after a tense pause, and started leading him back to my temporary home. As we walked, he noticed the markings I made on the trees to find my way around, and complimented me on that idea.

“I’m surprised you’ve managed to survive out here this long. Most folk don’t learn fast enough to survive.”

“I lived in the slums of the Red Zone, so I’m used to struggling.”

“Ah, but the forest is a bit different from the concrete and glass buildings, isn’t it? The forest has rules that everyone must abide by.”

I looked over at the man in curiosity. “What do you mean by rules?”

“Well, one rule is to avoid the natives. They aren’t fond of humans and often hunt us down if they get the chance. Those savages are worse than any of the psychopaths that are around here. Especially at night; their dark skin makes them nearly invisible in the shadows of the forest, and that’s when they are most dangerous. We tend to stay inside while it’s dark out because most of us have lighter skin and are easy targets, not just for those savages, but for any bloodthirsty creature prowling in the dark!”

I stayed silent, listening closely to what he was saying. I already knew how dangerous it was at night, and after my muddy night in the burrow, I’d suspected that covering my paler skin would conceal me. Turned out, I was right.

“As for the other rules, it’s mostly just keep away from the north river, and stay out of any savage territories! Don’t make a bunch of noise, don’t eat or fuck with any fruits or plants that are brightly colored. Stuff like that!”

As he went on, a thought came to mind. “If the savages are so bad, why and how does your partner know so much of their language? He has a few pages filled with translations in the notebook.”

He merely scoffed and shrugged nonchalantly. “That buffoon managed to come across a couple of savages who weren’t as hostile as the others. They ended up trying to communicate and that idiot traded them some rope in exchange for dumb pots and shit.” He rolled his eyes. “Benny was a fool; he thought it was possible to get along with them. I’m not even surprised he got his ass hunted down and gutted by the savages in the end.”

My opinion of my new companion soured upon hearing the way he was talking about his partner. It was clear that he didn’t care about the poor dude, and didn’t seem all that bothered by the fact he was dead.

Was his entire camp like this? Were they all living on the idea of fending for yourself?

Soon enough, we arrived back at my cave, and I revealed the entrance to let the convict in.

“Ah,” he uttered. “So this is where you’ve been. Not bad, making use out of one of those savages hunting caves. They usually only use these during the winter.”

“A hunting cave?” I glanced around at everything before placing my bag on the ground and sitting next to the firepit. That made more sense as to why this place seemed abandoned. It was merely a temporary shelter. There had to be more of them all over the forest.

The man inspected the tools and pots before quickly growing bored. He didn’t seem to find anything I had interesting.

“So why are you carrying around a single arrow, anyway?”

I shrugged. “I thought I could make myself a bow to hunt with. I haven’t really been able to get any proper food out here.”

He was silent as he walked back toward the center of the cave, sitting across the fire from me and getting comfortable on my furs. “Well, tomorrow morning you can say goodbye to this bloody forest and won’t have to worry about food ever again.”

He smiled, leaning back and laying on the furs. I eyed him suspiciously before adding some sticks to the fire, bringing it back to life. Silence filled the small cave as I held up my hands, warming them near the flames as the smoke funneled up to the makeshift chimney in the ceiling.

“If your camp is away from the forest, why were you guys sent out here? You don’t exactly seem prepared to stay long, nor do you even know the area without the map. What could possibly have you wandering around blindly?”

He pursed his lips. “Well…that’s a bit complicated, you see. We have some, uh, what do you call ’em? Sponsors, so to speak, up on Krosa. They give us supplies in return for our services down here.”

I should’ve known that Krosa had some kind of contact with the people down here. Knowledge about Xanadis was sparse among the populace, and I had my doubts that they were sharing everything with commoners, especially after finding that notebook. But even then, some of the things they did share seemed odd. It didn’t make sense that they’d learn all of that stuff just from the transmitter pens given to us.

I furrowed my brow, disliking this guy even more. Who would work with the very people that condemned them to death by exile? “What kind of services do you provide? I’m guessing that’s how you obtained the gun and the rest of your gear?”

“Y-yes,” he stammered, sounding nervous. “They send us pods full of supplies if we give them what they want, such as scouting out territory or, uh, spying on the natives!” he finished, letting out a deep, relieved breath.

My eyes narrowed slightly. “I see…”

“Well, it’s getting late,” he stated. “We should probably rest. We have a distance to travel in the morning. I’m gonna take a piss first.”

“Right.” I laid out my blanket and set my bag down to use as a pillow, discreetly making sure that the pistol inside was loaded when he wasn’t looking. “In the morning, I’ll see if I can find some water for us before we head out.”

“Sounds good to me!” he exclaimed before getting up to relieve himself by the entrance.

I laid down, turning away from the man, not wanting to watch him as he did his business. I tried to get some sleep, closing my eyes.

After a few moments, I heard him walk back toward the firepit, but his steps stopped a few feet from the furs he’d been resting on. Something felt off. Why did it feel like he was hovering near me? My eyes shot open, fingers tightening on my bag.

“I forgot to mention something,” he said darkly as his voice came from right behind me. “There’s another rule that all creatures have to abide by in this forest.”

There was a sound of a single click of a gun before he spoke once more.

“You really shouldn’t trust anyone…”

A gunshot rang out through the quiet of the forest.