Feral Heart by Duron Crejaro (distant reading .TXT) 📕

It was late afternoon now; the days had already started growing shorter with the coming of fall. Though it was just a little after seven, the sun was well on its way to dipping below the horizon for the day. The little town was already winding down for the evening, and only a handful of people were out and about. As I approached Bobby’s place, I felt a bit uneasy. All the lights were off and the curtains were drawn. What was a place I had come to know as open and inviting now looked dark, withdrawn and forbidden.

I stalked up onto the porch quite as a mouse. There was no noise coming from inside. I checked the door, it was ajar. My heart started beating even harder than it already had been. I was terrified something awful had happened. I should go get help, the thought popped into my head. Instead of listening to reason, I pushed the door open and stepping into the darkness expecting the worst.

All of a sudden, all the lights burst to life. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack as all my friends yelled “Surprise” in unison. Lining the walls were streamers and balloons. Where on earth did they find balloons? Some music I had never heard before played throughout the place.

Cami ran over and wrapped me in a strong hug. “I figured you had forgotten, but I never will!” She exclaimed. “Happy Birthday Eliza.”

I felt a wave of relief wash through me. Was it my birthday? The last month had been such a torrent of strange and sometimes miraculous events. My birthday had faded from conscious thought. It would have slipped right past without a second thought from me if it hadn’t been for Cami. I hugged her back tightly, “Thank you so much.” It almost came out as a sob of joy.

Everywhere people were laughing, smiling, and enjoying life. It was wonderful. I mingled, talking with friends, and familiar faces, as well as making friends with a few Wylder that I didn’t know. There was cake, with homemade frosting and everything. It had to have been the best party I’d ever had. I was elated. There was even dancing to the strange music from the Old World provided by Bobby. Rees was dressed to kill, in a pair of form fitting jeans and a T-shirt that though large, still seemed snug against his muscular frame. He seemed more relaxed I noted, at home. He was smiling talking with Binala, but more than once when he thought I wasn’t looking, I saw him staring at me.

Absent from the party was Tarin. I asked around about him. Several people swore they had seen him, but had no clue where he had run off to. I felt like he was ignoring me on purpose. It made me more than a little sad. I wandered out the back door, heading for the solitude. As the door clicked shut behind me, the sounds of merriment died away. The air was brisk, but not cold. The faintest breeze blew, tossing loose locks of my hair around. I leaned on the railing of the porch, taking a deep breath of the fresh autumn air. That’s when I saw him, standing under the bare branches of a grisly old oak tree out on the back lawn. The moon was out now, and the light was catching him just right, giving him an ethereal appearance. He reminded me of a dream I’d had weeks earlier.

I snuck down to him, “What are you doing all alone out here?” I whispered.

He didn’t jump or bat an eye, as if he already knew I was there, “Why aren’t you enjoying your party?” He asked, ignoring mine.

I swished my foot around in the dirt, unsure of what to say, “I dunno. I felt like being outside.” I offered leaning my back against the tree. “You didn’t answer my question.”

He turned then, looking into my eyes. There was a fire there. “You know you’ve caused us, me, a lot of problems.” His voice carried a fierceness to it I hadn’t expected, “Before you came along everything was so simple.”

I looked away feeling ashamed. I had battled with these same feelings, thoughts within myself all to often as of late. Just like when dealing with my inner monologue, I had no answer for him either. “I know, I’m sorry.”

I thought I might cry in that moment. I guess he isn’t as fascinated with me as I thought. I willed my legs to work, to turn and walk away. Nothing happened at first, then a shift, I started to turn away. Turn and walk back to the house, rejoin the party I didn’t feel I deserved. I was stopped by a warm hand on my cheek, it held me, turned me. I found myself staring into Tarin’s light brown eyes, the green flecks barely noticeable in the darkness. My breathing stilled as he moved closer, my eyes closed on their own. I felt the warm silk softness of his lips as they brushed mine. It was a gentle kiss, full of longing. It grew in urgency as he pressed them harder to mine. There, under the oak in the moonlight I let myself float away in the kiss I’d been dreaming of.

Two weeks had passed since my birthday, and the unexpected kiss with Tarin. I was getting into a groove in the community. Already I knew most of the town’s residents by name, and would greet them each morning. Everyday I would journey with many of the other citizens without permanent roles within the city and see what volunteer work I could find for the day. Everyone was expected to lend a hand and I was no exception.

I found a variety of jobs, from helping to tend fields, to orchards, general labor to help with ongoing construction projects, or even helping for the day some of the few elderly that lived on the generosity of those around them. My favorite daily task though, was also to scavenge in the Old World for things the growing town needed. Several times, I had volunteered for this task, and would continue as often as I could.

Not Surprising, Tarin more often than not would lead these expeditions. He would pick a particular area on the outskirts of Nashboro and lead a team there. Then we would separate into small groups, and go looking for things that we could repair or scavenge for things that could be remade into something useful. A lot of the time, we were looking for metal. Boren was a well-trained metalworker. He was one of the few Wylder that was old enough to remember the world before it burned. We were always stripping old buildings, vehicles, and anything else we could get our hands on for raw metal. Boren would melt it all down with the help of his apprentices and churn out useful things for the community. Most of the time he created tools, things that would help us build a bigger, better town for our growing population. After recent events however, he had begun to experiment in making weapons as well. It was new territory for him, and he was relishing in the challenge, drawing on memories of ancient weaponry and trial and error to fashion implements of death for those that needed them.

Having no abilities, at least none that have manifested, I was the first recipient of his new foray into weapon-smithing, a long thin bladed weapon. It looked like a knife to me, but he called it a stiletto. I had it today, hanging on a special loop he had fashioned for my belt.

Everyone on today’s mission had separated into various small groups. As usual, I was tagging along with Tarin. Ever since our kiss, we had been inseparable. We were in a small abandoned town well to the north of Nashboro, a small place that used to be known as Gallatin. So far, things had been uneventful. We had rode into town in an old beat up truck, parked in a run down lot of some long forgotten giant store. We sat for a bit, talking about the differences we had experienced growing up. What life was like in Nashboro; how different his life had been growing up outside of humanity, living only amongst the Wylder. Then we got to work, entering the corpulent building. It was massive on the inside, an endless sea of empty rusting shelves. A large hole rotted into the ceiling provided a shaded dull orange illumination all around, giving the place a haunted feel. Almost an hour later, though it felt like more with the grueling, backbreaking work we were doing, we had filled up half the bed of the truck.

“I need a break.” I stated after hurling a huge spool of stripped wire into the back of the truck. “Not all of us have unnatural strength and endurance.” I ribbed Tarin with a smile; he had yet to break a sweat.

“Fine, but the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back to town and chill.” He had a strange mischievous look.

I sat on the tailgate breathing a little heavy. Without a word, he plopped right down next to me. The silence was intense; I could feel him staring at me. My cheeks started to burn under his gaze. “What?” I asked exasperated.

He was silent a few moments before answering, “Just thinking about the first time I saw you, and how different things would be if I had chosen anywhere else to forage that day.”

I grinned a little without thinking, “Ohh? And what did you think the first time you saw me?”

“That you smelled weird!” He replied enthusiastically without thinking.

My mouth dropped open in shock and I gave him a playful shove, “You should never say that to a girl.”

“Why not? You did smell strange. It was,” He paused letting his voice trail off, “Intoxicating.”

I almost laughed, “Well, that’s a little better I guess. I thought maybe you meant I stunk.” I gave him another push for good measure.

He grunted and fell off the tailgate with a thud and grabbed his injured leg while groaning. I jumped up, kneeling at his side, afraid I had hurt him worse. I had forgotten about the injuries he had suffered helping me. “Are you ok?”

He laughed and pounced at me with an agility I wasn’t prepared for. The next thing I knew I was laid out on my back, pinned down under his muscular form. I felt my heartbeat quicken, the fluttering in my stomach. The brisk October wind on my cheek, the gentleness of his fingers stroking my hair. It was near perfection, or at least as close as I thought I’d ever come. Then just like under the oak tree, he kissed me. This time there was none of the shy timidity of before. It was long, deep, filled with passion and yearning. It spoke a thousand words to me, whispered of longing and desire. I never wanted it to end.

“Hmm, should I come back?” A voiced surprised us, Tarin scrambled off me, a sheepish grin plastered on his face.

I sat up,