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

I approached the lip of the behemoth, stepped up upon the ledge, and gazed out towards the horizon in awe. Dusk was approaching, yet still a ways off. the fading angular light cast a deathly pallor over the land as I stared dumbstruck upon it from my perch. No, that is wrong I thought, it looked more as something half alive with the sun’s life, on a slowly steady march towards death. I stood, lost in the beauty, watching as the shadows slowly placed their claim on the earth. The distant baying of some mournful creature broke through my serenity and I made my way home. Chapter 3: Wylder Days

The next day at school progressed not unlike the first. Minor lessons were giving in each respective subject. I guess they didn’t want to start off overwhelming us with work. It was all in all a rather uninteresting beginning to what I was sure was going to be a lackluster school year. Soon, though not soon enough for my liking, lunch came. Somehow, even though it was only the second day of school, Cami was already in the know about all of the happenings at school. She went on and on during the first half of lunch about who liked who, which boys were cute, which girls were on the do not date list and who was hated. To be honest though, I was really listening. My mind had drifted back to the breathtaking scenery of the rooftop from the day before. Even when Dhamon plopped down next to me with his tray of food, I barely noticed.

 

“Ugh,” Cami groaned at him as he shoveled food into his mouth noisily. “Can you be more of a slob?”

 

Dhamon grinned, his mouth still stuffed with food. “I could try if you like,” He said, allowing crumbs to fall from his ajar mouth.

 

Cami was never given the opportunity to respond to his uncouth manners. A loud slamming noise crashed through the cafeteria as all the doors slammed shut and clicked, locking. At the far end of the room, a single door remained unlocked, and a stream of enforcers began to pour through it. All of them were armed, with weapons drawn. They were scanning through the crowd of students urgently, looking for someone in particular. The student body was silent; staring at the unfolding scene in abject fear, unsure of what was going on.

 

Just then, a solitary figure stood at a table off to the side, some twenty feet away from us. She was tall, nearly six feet, definitely one of the tallest girls in our class. Her skin had a caramel color to it, with hair pulled into a neat topknot. She looked graceful, and unafraid, as if she already knew what was going on, even if no one else did. She was not mistaken, for the enforcers surrounded her, weapons leveled. After a few seconds, it came to me that I knew this girl, Gloria Hatfield. She had been in our classes for years, though we weren’t close friends, we weren’t enemies either.

 

A single enforcer stepped forward, some object in his hands, cuffs I realized soon enough. He made a move to restrain her, and all hell broke loose. Gloria let loose a guttural sound that could only be described as a roar. Shocked screams and panicked cries resounded through the room and her face contorted as if in pain before changing into something I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. I’m not quite sure what to describe it as; it almost looked animalistic, but resembled no animal I had ever seen. I am however positive that she wasn’t done with whatever she was changing into, because in that moment, the enforcers tazed her into unconsciousness. A stifled silence descended over the room as they cuffed her inert form and carried her limp body from the hall. The lockdown ceased and a calm voice played over the intercom, telling everyone to return to their normal activities. I laughed a little to myself as the message played, as if anyone could pretend this was normal. That was the day I saw what I could only assume, was a Wylder.

 

Classes resumed of course, and everyone ignored the events of the cafeteria. Even I was silent about it, though my head was racing with thoughts. It was all I could think about as I ran laps around the track during my Phys Ed class. I remembered Gloria, not overly well, but I knew her. We had lived only a few blocks from each other our entire lives that I could remember, and she was a Wylder? Was she one the whole time and just been hiding it? Was it something that happened to her recently? What did it really mean to be one? I mean we all heard the horror stories about them, but what did I know? Just that they were to be feared above all else, and they lived outside the walls. I wondered what would become of her now that the enforcers had taken her. Would she be killed? Imprisoned? Exiled? I sighed to myself as I tried to control my breathing. I just didn’t have the answers. All I had was more questions.

 

The bus ride home whirled by in a haze. Cami took advantage of my dreamlike state to flirt with Dhamon, which I candidly ignored. Once home I knocked out the light bit of homework that I had for the day, and then found myself alone with my thoughts. My parents of course were still working and wouldn’t be home for a few hours yet. I wandered aimlessly around the house. Today it seemed small, inconsequential, confining. Feeling antsy, I grabbed my things and a half hour later, once again found myself wandering the vacant lots and dead buildings of the Old World. Perhaps after the days events I was hoping to once again find the beauty and peace that seemed to come when I was here.

 

I moved listlessly through the cluttered debris of an alley, kicked a faded crumpled aluminum can along as I went. It clattered noisily, the sound echoing in my ears, but then I stopped. It wasn’t the only sound I heard. Somewhere nearby, I could hear a voice. It was muffled, unintelligible I thought to myself, but definitely there. I was kind of excited, it wasn’t often that I ran into others ghosting. I only ever had company when Dhamon or Cami accompanied me. With care, I began to quietly, painstakingly move towards where I judged the sound to be coming from. I was close soon enough, estimating that the sound was coming from a run down building to my right, a dilapidated sign reading
The Great Escape” hung above broken door.   I sidled up to the demolished entryway and peeked my head slowly around the corner to look inside, better safe than sorry I thought.

 

Inside I spied a young man. I was giddy with excitement he hadn’t noticed me. He was young, probably around my age I guessed. I had assumed he was not alone, cause he seemed to be carrying on a conversation, but upon closer inspection, it became apparent that he was merely conversing with himself, which I found a bit strange. He had a swimmers build I think, taller than me maybe around six foot even. His think light brown hair hung shaggily about his face; his skin was sun kissed with a tan and had a smooth complexion to it. He wore the same dull gray uniform that was pervasive throughout the city.

 

I was perplexed as to what he was doing out here in the old world. He appeared to be scavenging amongst the ruins, tearing loose bits of wiring as he complained aloud. He must be doing a project for school I mused, thinking him to be a student in a later grade than myself. I watched him in silence; pondering, amused when suddenly it struck me. This young man was no student. His clothes, though the same, were to dull, faded, perhaps even a bit dirty. His hair wild and unkempt, his mutterings to uncultured and harsh to have seen much formal education. Only one single word came to mind, Wylder.

 

The thought came unbidden and caused me to gasp unconsciously. He must have heard the singular sound. He stopped his rummaging and crooked his head slightly, looking in my direction. I ducked back behind the wall, hoping for all I was worth that he hadn’t seen me. I closed my eyes while holding my breath, surely he would think it was a squirrel I thought for a moment, only to have the idea interrupted by a light baritone voice.

 

“Who are you? I don’t recognize you.” He stated matter-of-factly as I stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. A slight tremble ran through me, and I noticed I was still holding my breath. Silly me right? I opened my eyes to see him standing right in front of me. A million questions tumbled within the confines of my mind. Yet, none of them seemed to be willing to force my lips apart. Even my fight or flight instinct seemed to have taken its leave and I gazed at him as if confused. I was in that moment, a creature caught, prey if he so chose. His eyes were penetrating, as if looking deep within me, to the dark places hidden in my soul. Those eyes, an odd mixture of the faintest light brown mixed with sparkling emerald flecks. They were captivating; the unusual mix had a shimmering quality that I had never seen before.

 

He leaned in a bit closer, I think he was confused by my lack of response; or maybe it was the dreamy look on my face. That’s when things got really odd if they weren’t already. In that instant, his nose crinkled as he sniffed me. Something about his unusual behavior relinquished its hold on my sense. With embellished indignance, I gave him a shove. “What the hell?” I exclaimed, trying to decide if I was disturbed or intrigued, “Did you just sniff me? Do I stink or something?” My sudden shove or high-pitched voice must have surprised him, at least I assumed as much given the perplexed expression on his face as he cocked his head to the side. To my astonishment, he took another deep breath, never uttering a word as he stared at me.

 

He gave a shake of his head, causing his loose hair to flip about his face. In one smooth motion he slipped his other arm through the straps of his pack. He paused, giving me one last look before dashing off northward, away from civilization. I knew for sure then that he was Wylder. I’ve never seen anyone move with such grace or speed. Even once he had vanished into the ruins, lost to my sight, I stood at a loss for words. The empty horizon had me wondering if it had all been a fancy of my imagination. Once I had shaken the thoughts from my mind and turned for home, having had my excitement for the day, it suddenly occurred to me. Maybe I should have asked