Blight

The strange girl held her head high.

Micah held his hands out in front of him as flames began to erupt from his palms. Melanie held her hands up in surrender.

“Hey, man. Cool it would ya?” she said in a calm tone. Her voice sounded silky. “I meant no harm, dear.”

“Why are you here?” he growled, his face grew red. I stood slightly behind him.

“Out for a walk. Like you two, I guess.” She cocked her head to the side. “What are you doin’ around here anyways?”

“That’s none of your concern,” I spoke. She wiggled her nose in a cat-like way and gazed at my burnt arm.

“Wha’ the hell did you do to her arm?” she gasped, her hand meeting her mouth.

“None. Of. Your. Damn. Concern.” Micah spat each word. Melanie shrugged.

“All righty then,” she said carelessly, looking around. “So, you found the barrier, huh? Weird isn’t it?” Her eyes glanced at us, sparkling in the morning light.

“Uh, yeah,” I mustered. “Do you know why it’s here?”

“To keep us out,” she said quickly. I looked at Micah; confusion plastered his face, too. Melanie sighed heavily, “Pollard wants everyone to stay put in their Regions. Normally, people don’t think about leaving their areas. The Watchers tend to stop them before they get too far.” She ogled us. “Clearly, you two managed to avoid that.”

“Sure, but what are you doing here?” Micah asked again, his face relaxing.

“Well,” the girl started nonchalantly, “I got bored, so I went for a walk. When I started heading back, this was here,” she gestured to the wall. “And now here I am.” Her arms flew up and down in one awkward flapping motion to conclude her short story. I scratched my head.

“Where did you live?” I quizzed.

“Region 5. It’s actually not that bad, just never any food.”

Region 5 was the next region out from the Alliance. I assumed that around this area, it was next to a large river that cut through. Yet, it was a dead river, meaning it never had fish or any animal come to it. Its water was toxic. Even I couldn’t drink it. There were rumors that the people who lived in the next region resembled walking skeletons. But this girl, Melanie, looked considerably healthy.

A thought came to mind, “How long have you been here?”

“’Bout two months. Why?”

“Why didn’t you come to our town? It’s just a few miles down the road.” She shook her head.

“The Watchers would have to take me away then if I showed up. Haven’t you ever noticed why no one new ever shows up?” She had a good point. The same families have lived in our town as far back as we can remember. Melanie continued, “The government doesn’t want anyone to just wander into another region. They can only transfer if they’ve been ranked higher. No one from my region is strong enough to move up – even to yours.”

Micah let out a grunt of understanding.

“Well, I’m Lana,” I introduced. “And this lug here is Micah.” Melanie nodded.

“I’m gonna assume big guy over there is a Belaonar?” Melanie pointed her thumb at Micah.

“Yeah, and I’m a Micartyrr. Yourself?”

Without warning, she grabbed a canister that hid on her hip. She flicked up the cap and moved her hand in rhythmic motions overtop it. Blue liquid floated out of the tin bottle in a series of droplets and swirls. She dropped the canister and quickly moved her hands in circular motions around the now ball of water. Stepping towards me, she shot a quick glance at me and almost threw the water at me. I cringed, shrinking behind Micah, with my arms in front of my face. Micah recoiled too. The water stopped just before it hit me and folded its way around my burnt forearm. Melanie moved next to me, biting down on her tongue as she moved the water back and forth across my burns.

The water felt cool against my skin. Almost heavenly. I smiled at the blond girl as she worked on my arm with brisk, fluid motions. Micah stared at my arm in awe as the liquid began to swirl around my arm. Melanie moved her hands in the direction of the container that had fallen on the dirt. As though she had given it a command, it looked as though it swam to the container, filling it back up. She walked over and bent down to pick it up.

I looked at my arm, examining it carefully. The once charred scars now gave off a mix of bright reds and soft pinks. The cuts were now pallid. It looked pretty bad-ass if I do say so myself. I looked at Melanie, beaming.

“Thank you.”

“No, prob-lemo.”

“So, you’re a Quiala,” Micah stated.

“And he can be taught!” Melanie exclaimed, holding her hands up in the air in victory. I laughed while Micah scrunched his face.

“So, how old are you?” I asked.

“Just turned eighteen a week before I got stuck out here.”

“So you’re already enlisted in the school?” Micah said incredulously.

“Duh,” she mocked, sticking her tongue at him. “Going in for my second year hopefully this coming fall. But,” she looked around. “I’m a little stuck. I’ve been trying to break through this damn thing for weeks.” She walked up to the force field and smacked it. “No luck.”

“Why do you think it let you through the first time?” Micah pressed.

“Dunno. Maybe it was down for a few minutes or something. I probably walked through it and it came back up right after.” She shrugged and sat down.

“That’s just strange,” I said, looking at it.

“You two seventeen?”

“Yeah,” I concurred. My stomach made a loud gurgling noise.

“Time for food!” Melanie hopped onto her feet and took off into the woods on the opposite side of the road. Micah and I hesitated for a moment, then ran after her.

We came upon another small clearing, surrounded by pink and yellow wildflowers, wild grasses, and trees. The sun peaked through the leaves at the top of the natural canopy made by the tree branches. On the far end of the field, just next to a large boulder, was a makeshift tent made from a few deer hides and propped up sticks. I caught up to Melanie, looking into her small dwelling. Fox and squirrel furs covered the ground. There were two small pots chiseled out of rock on one side of the tent space and a mountain lion pelt on its opposite. I guessed it was for a bed. There were some berries scattered about. Melanie nestled herself onto a heap of fox pelts, grabbing one of the rock pots. She dumped a handful of red berries out and held them out to me.

I took them gratefully, mouth watering as I inspected them. They were about the size of my nail, maroon red, and sweet smelling. I popped a few into my mouth and chewed. Delicious juices filled my mouth. They had a little tart tang to them in the aftertaste. That didn’t bother me any. My stomach cried out as I swallowed. The berries dropped heavily into my stomach. I finished off my handful as sat down next to Melanie. Micah sat behind me, legs crossed, keenly examining the lion pelt.
“How did you–“ he started.

“Traps,” Melanie cut in, waving off his interested look. “Just something I figured out since I was stuck here. I was able to catch it in a net I made from some weird plant I found. I already made a spear.” She motioned to a long spear that lay beside the large boulder.

“How have you not been caught yet?”

“I’m just awesome like that, Micah,” she teased. “No, I just sleep lightly. If I hear something, I’m immediately up. I’ve only had one run-in with a Guard who was leaving my region. He was looking for water and found me.” She played at her nails. “I slit his throat.” She looked at Micah and me with dark eyes.

“Oh, well, what did you do with his body?”

“Threw it in a dead pond that’s just a few miles from here.”

“’Kay then.” I twirled my thumbs. Micah grabbed a handful of berries from the pot and shoved them savagely in his mouth.

There was an awkward silence.

“What about your family?” I asked. “Won’t they be worried you’re missing?”

Her face turned solemn, as she answered, “No. They died a while back when I was thirteen.” She chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah, cliché right? I am an only child. My parents couldn’t get pregnant after I was born. I guess it was some type of omen.” Micah and I looked at her. I felt remorse for the lonely girl.

“How’d they die?” Micah asked. Melanie answered with a shake of her head.

“Don’t worry about it,” I told him.

“What about you?” Melanie asked me directly.

“My family? Well,” I began. “There’s my mother and younger brother, Charlie. He’s only fourteen.” Melanie closed her eyes and nodded.

“Your father?”

“Dead. He died just after I was born.” I bit my lip. “Heart attack. I was only nine days old.”

“Sorry,” Melanie apologized. Micah pulled me close to his side.

“What about you, Micah?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Okay.”

Another awkward silence followed.

“So, what day is it?” asked Melanie.

“I think it’s Sunday,” I figured.

“The...?”

“27th.”

“They’re rounding everyone up tomorrow!” She cried out.

“For the training,” Micah agreed, nodding his head.

“Fuck,” I said under my breath. “We gotta head back then. It’ll take the rest of the day to get home if we start now.”

“You’re right,” he said, turning to Melanie. “Sorry, but we gotta go.” She shrugged.

“That’s cool.”

We crawled out of the tent and said goodbye.

“We’ll see you at the school, then?” I asked.

“Maybe, if I’m not dead by then.”

“You won’t be,” Micah assured her. “Well, see ya.”

“Bye,” she said, crawling back inside her deer tent. Her white-blond hair shook wildly for a moment then disappeared from sight.

Micah grabbed my hand and led us back to the road. There, we made our long trek back home.

The sun had just set as we re-entered town limits. Micah had his arm around my waist, and my arm around his. We walked in step up to my tiny house. I smiled at him. The twilight cascaded deadly shadows across his face. There were faint stars out tonight. They twinkled peacefully in the sky. Micah placed a hand on my cheek and turned to leave. My hand grabbed a hold of his. I pulled him into the dark house.

Mama and Charlie were sleeping in the bedroom. Charlie’s soft snores cut through the silence of the night.

“Camp out in the living room?”

“Sure,” he smiled at me.

As I ran around snatching up tattered blankets, Micah positioned the chairs and table in a neat fashion. We draped my findings over them, creating a small tent. Underneath, it was just enough room to hold us both. Micah shimmied his way into it and held his arms out to me. I crawled in beside him and let him hold me close.

“It’s like we’re at Melanie’s still,” I breathed.

“Eh,” he shrugged. “It’s a bit more snug. And there’s no Melanie. I think I like this better!”

“Shhh!” I held my finger up to his mouth. “Shut up! If you wake up Mama or Charlie, I’ll cut you.”

“Harsh,” he said. “She was pretty weird, yeah?”

“Definitely. But I owe her. And hey, she was good company.”

Yeah, yeah.” We became silent for a few minutes. I assumed he had fallen asleep. I closed my eyes and snuggled more into his chest. His chest moved up and down in deep breaths. I sighed heavily.

“Lana?”

“Yeah?” I mumbled sleepily. We walked so much. My whole body was tired.

“You and me. We’re gonna kick ass at the school, graduate with top marks, and are gonna get ranked at the top. Right next to the president. We won’t live in poverty anymore. Charlie can eat whatever he wants to his heart’s content, and your mom can finally rest peacefully. Doesn’t that sound great?” I nodded into his chest. “And we won’t have a worry in the world! Of course, we’ll have our jobs, but it’ll all be worth it.”

“You’re thinking so positively. How can you be so sure? We’re malnourished, weak, and pretty stupid when it comes down to intelligence.”

“Okay, Debby Downer,” Micah played, poking my side. “But, we have reason to fight. Spirit. Life. It can seem very far away now, but give us time, and we’ll catch it. We can make it. And we will.”

“Mr. Insightful,” I whispered, smiling. “We’ll do fan-fucking-tastically, and then we won’t have to sleep under a shitty tent... thing.” I pointed to the torn blanket over head.

“It’s better than sleeping outside.”

“Yeah,” I murmured, yawning greatly.

“Tired, much?”

“’Hmm.” My body was just so weary. My arm may have been partially healed, but it wasn’t finished. Melanie just helped prevent infections from forming. It still stung slightly. The skin wasn’t even fully healed. I probed it sluggishly testing the tenderness. Yeah, it still hurt.

Micah’s breathing became slower and deeper. A light snore escaped his lips. He was finally asleep. He too was probably extremely exhausted. My head raised and lowered as his chest moved up and down with his breathing. It was relaxing. Almost like a lullaby. I fell into a restless sleep.

I was running fast. My eyes were sore and puffy. Tears fell down my cheeks.

I didn’t know where I was.

All around me, walls rose high into the sky. They were a dark gray metal. I felt so trapped. Strange glass balls hung on the ceiling. Something black was moving inside them. A tiny red light flashed. I tore my eyes away from them and climbed a steep set of stairs.

The small landing I came upon creaked as I hurried across it. Footfalls sounded behind me. They clanked against the metal steps and followed me on the platform. I followed a path through a long, dark hallway. The running steps stayed behind me.

Why am I running? I thought. I had a thought to stop and turn around to see who was chasing me, but my instincts were screaming to keep running forward. I did so.

The long hall ended. I found myself in a giant room made of glass. I could see the outside. It was nighttime. The moon glowed brilliantly, illuminating the room. It seemed completely empty. Staring ahead of me as I continued running along the length of the room, I could make out what looked like a strange box. There were cables attached to it from above. It looked like it went underground.

The footsteps of my pursuer echoed off the walls. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. The bizarre glass box was just a few feet away. If I could only just reach it, I thought. A great glass ball fell out of thin air three feet from me. I skidded to a halt, almost running into it. A smaller black figure inside it moved. A red light flashed. The running footsteps behind me stopped. I turned over my shoulder to see who it was.

And I was shot.

My eyes opened, slowly adjusting to the darkness. I rubbed my face and sighed. Micah’s snoring was no longer.

There was a loud bang.

We sat up simultaneously. Our blanket fortress fell. After we untangled ourselves from the cotton tangle, the front door – or what there was of it – collapsed on the ground. A tall silhouette stood in the doorway.

“Who the hell are you?” Micah yelled.

“I need you to come with me. Now. ”