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

He gave my hand a little squeeze, leaned in and gave me a soft chaste kiss before leaving. I wanted more than that and almost made myself go after him. Instead, I snuggled deeper into the blankets. I tossed and turned for what could have been an eternity before sleep claimed me again. That night, my dreams were a tortured mosaic of memories from my time in the compound thrown together with vague disturbing images of my family and friends.

When I awoke again, I found myself alone. Pale yellow light filtered through the old white curtains on the window, signifying morning. I threw back the covers, and stood, stretching my muscles as I grimaced in distaste that I still wore my clothes from yesterday. I shrugged it off. My stomach was grumbling, so I headed for the kitchen.

Much to my surprise, I found Cami and Dhamon sitting at the table enjoying breakfast. Dhamon looked a bit better, the bruises covering his face had lightened in color, and the swelling had started to recede, though he still looked like a ripe plum. Cami was back to her usual self, laughing and flirting with him as she shoveled food into her mouth. This however, ceased as soon as I entered the room.

“Good Morning,” I said, “What time is it?”

“Just a little past eight.” Cami replied.

“Anymore food?” I asked.

“No, but I can whip you some up if you like.”

“I’m not really hungry.” I plopped down in a chair at the table, eager to pick Dhamon’s brain for information. “Dhamon.”

“I know I know, tell you everything. I was at least hoping I would get to finish breakfast.” His voice came out with a wheezing sound through his swollen disfigured nose. “What do you want to know first?”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning, that tends to be a good place.”

He rolled his eyes, “Well everything was normal after you disappeared. Enforcers showed up at your house though, told your parents you were Wylder and had been taken. I didn’t believe it for a second.”

“I am Wylder, at least according to everyone else. I don’t have any powers though.”

He looked hard at me, and then nodded. “Yeah Nali says you are.”

I looked around the room confused, “Wait what?”

“Oh that’s right, you’ve been out of it. Um well, Nali is kinda stuck. We aren’t sure how, but she seems to have merged with my spirit or something. We aren’t sure how or why or what it even means yet.”

“Wow. Anyways.”

“Well about two weeks ago. Mrs. Davenport.”

“The headmaster at the Academy Davenport?”

“Yes her. Are you gonna let me tell the story or not?”

I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up in a defeated gesture, “Go ahead.”

“Well she made a big announcement to all of Nashboro. She told everyone that a secret Enforcer training base had been attacked and ransacked by a vicious group of Wylder, and that because intelligence said we were the next target that they were instituting marshal law. She also went on about Wylder sympathizers within the city and that the enforcers would be rounding them up.”

A knot formed in my stomach, I nodded I think, but said nothing. Had I caused this? My mind was reeling. The compound of enforcers, the attack, or escape, since that’s what it was, had all been a result of my actions.

“I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think they are rounding up sympathizers. Seemed to me more like they were taking everyone that had ever had a relation that was Wylder." Bobby told me being Wylder is a genetic thing. I was worried what Mrs. Davenport might do, so I tried to slip through the walls to come find you. I ran into a couple of enforcers near the wall with no way around them. I got the jump on them, but they still managed to work me over real good. If your friend Binala hadn’t found me, I don’t think I would be alive.”

“I’m sorry Dhamon, this is all my fault.”

“Don’t blame yourself. That lady is crazy, like cat lady crazy.”

“I can’t help but feel like this is all my fault, if I hadn’t run off after Cami, then none of this would of happened.”

“Nah, they would’ve figured out you were Wylder right? Then you would’ve gotten taken. Who would have saved Cami then? You did the right thing I think.” He said.

I didn’t feel like I did the right thing, but who knows, Maybe I had. I pushed myself from the chair and left without a word to them. In silence, I left the house, heading for my room. I had been staying at Sesha’s with their tribe, and didn’t want anyone, Tarin included, to stop me. So, I snuck in the back filled my back with what little I could gather without being noticed, and snuck back out.

Traipsing through the woods during the day, not that hard, I just used the sun as a guide and set off in to the southeast knowing that I’d hit the wall soon enough. I spent most of the day doing just that. Though, I stopped for breaks and to eat. The going was easy, even pleasant. A few times I stopped, thinking I had heard something crunching around in the underbrush, and then dismissed it as a squirrel or rabbit. I doubted anyone from town noticed I left. Even if they had, they couldn’t know what I intended to do. How could they when even I didn’t know?

After a daylong trek through the woods, the sun started to go down. Strange shadows shifting in the pale crescent moonlight played tricks on my eyes. Nervous adrenaline coursed through me as nocturnal creatures came out to play, their cries echoing all around me. My foot snagged the root of a massive gnarled old tree and I fell to my knees. A sharp shot of pain ricocheted through my leg, forcing me to sit for a few minutes.

After a few minutes, I forced myself back to my feet. I needed to get to Nashboro, and sitting around nursing a hurt knee didn’t help me get any closer. I limped for a bit, but soon the pain eased and I was able to continue without too much effort. The movement of the moon overhead was the only indicator of time passing that I had. I didn’t know how long or far I had traveled that day. Miles upon endless miles I thought. I had hoped that I would have reached the outer wall of Nashboro by now. I didn’t want to be stuck out in the Old World longer than was necessary.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue much longer tonight. After going all day, and into much of the evening, my body screamed at me. Pain from bumps and bruises, my slowed pace from exhaustion, everything about this trip had started taking its toll on me, and I needed sleep. I searched as my progress slowed for somewhere to camp for the night. With the sun down, the October chill had set in full force, and while dressed warm enough, the wind was beginning to bite through my clothes.

I found a rocky outcropping on a huge hill. It shielded me from the worst of the wind, but provided little comfort. I dropped my bag and started collecting wood from nearby; the work was tedious but the reward of a warm fire made the effort worthwhile. A cold meal of jerky and bread, washed down with water brought little relief to my stomach. I stretched out wrapped in a blanket I brought for the chill. Winter’s icy hand didn’t have a good grip on the land yet, so I wouldn’t freeze. I lay there, staring at the fire, watching it crackle and hiss, spitting small bits of red embers skyward. Why can’t life just be simple like this I wondered? Simple and easy is how I wanted it, instead of this constant worry about the fate of those closest to me.

At some point, I must have dozed off. I woke, startled from my sleep by the sound of branches breaking. I sat up, the sky had just started growing lighter far to the east, and the light of my fire had long since died away. I scanned the pale darkness, and saw them. Three figures, picked there way through the brush, making there way to my camp. A vague flash of metal sent my adrenaline pumping hard. Should I run? Was I in danger? My brain screamed at me to run, but my body refused to listen, and I sat, paralyzed as I watched them make their way to me. By the time I recognized the uniforms of enforcers, I had no time to run.

“What have we got here?”

“Oh, you know, just your typical Wylder heading for the city.” I said.

They reacted just as I had anticipated, weapons drawn, pointed right at me, “Come on guys, there’s no need for all that. I’m just one young girl all alone. Surely you aren’t afraid of little old me?”

My humor did little to lighten the mood, gaining me nothing but dubious looks. “What are you doing headed for the city? Wylder aren’t welcome there, especially now.”

“I’ve heard all about the drama Mrs. Davenport started. In fact that’s why I’m going, seems she’s holding families against their will. Seems my attack on the secret enforcer base has gotten everyone riled up.”

In hindsight, ragging on them about their base, and everything I knew, on top of claiming responsibility and giving the impression that I was dangerous, didn’t turn out to be one of my better ideas. I blinked as I heard the electronic click of the trigger. Then I felt the stinging bite as the metal prongs bit into my flesh. The sensation was thrilling, all of my nerves alive, on fire, seizing. I think I smiled as I lost consciousness.  

I awoke in terror. My dark metallic surroundings reminded me of my time in the compound those weeks ago. Plain polished surfaces reflected my figure back at me in the dim florescent lighting. The numbness I felt, a result of the electrocution or my own abject horror, I didn’t know.

I sat there in silence, running through the events of the past few days. I needed assurance that I had escaped the compound and hadn’t only been dreaming it all. I concentrated on