Survival

When we landed on the stopover island, all I saw was blood. Cassius was lying down in the shade, his face rather pale, his wings tattered, and blood seemingly completely over him. Loukas was attending an injured male from his own group, but stood and strode over to Tobias the moment we had landed.

“Where is Otto?” he asked us. I could tell he was assuming the worst, especially with how much I was crying. Tobias shook his head.

“They got to him,” he said quietly before walking over to Cassius. I followed and took a look around. There was definitely too much blood here. Otto’s plan was truly the worst. Never had we lost so many before…

“Brother, I… I don’t… know if I’ll… make it…” Cassius whispered as Tobias knelt next to him. Toby took Cassius’ hand in his, gripping it tightly. I knew that they were close, but not close enough to call each other brothers. As if the whole Otto situation wasn’t bad enough, this was just making it worse.

“Don’t say that. You’re going to be fine,” Tobias said in such a strong voice he almost convinced me.

“We’ve done all we can for the injured. We must head back to the ship and get better medical attention for them,” Sylus informed Tobias quietly. He nodded.

“Move out, everyone! As quick as possible!” Tobias shouted to everyone else. “Marion, lead the way, and make sure everyone is following you efficiently. I need to be with Cassius.” I nodded and moved away, preparing for flight. It wasn’t difficult to lead the army back. The route I had learned ages ago, so the only thing I really focused on was the speed. I had to make sure the injured Kasiens at the back weren’t being left behind, but that we were also moving quick enough so those who were greatly wounded would still have a chance at living. It kept my mind off the appalling thing I had done earlier, and I was thankful for Tobias giving me the task.

When we arrived to our home, half of the warriors went to the training island where they dropped off weapons. The rest of us went straight to land on the beach, grabbing the attention of the females who were trained in medicine, and the elders who were also very useful. Toby immediately disappeared into the ship with his friend, and I was left standing amongst weeping Kasiens, just grasping my bow to my chest. There were familiar faces that were missing, and I knew there was much more than just one casualty. Today was a horrific day, and it wasn’t even noon.

“Marion? Where’s Otto?” Brienne asked as she tugged at my clothing gently. I looked down at her with teary eyes, knowing others had heard her and were watching me as well.

“He didn’t make it…” I whispered in a shaky voice. Her face fell and she wrapped her arms around me, allowing me to cry. Brienne pulled away when Loukas approached me, Adara not far behind.

“Did you see what happened?” Loukas questioned. More Kasiens from the other ship were joining the circle, eagerly wanting to know what had happened. I wiped my eyes, though they were soon wet again. How could I have done what I did? To Otto, a Kasien…

“I did… He was limping and bleeding when he came out of the human spaceship,” I started.

“I saw that attack happen. A human shot at him and hit his leg a few times as we were all rushing out,” Adara piped up. So he had been shot. It must have been quite a few bullets, considering the material we wore protected us quite a bit.

“We were all fleeing from the site… but… I saw him go down… There were too many humans chasing him… I couldn’t do anything without being killed myself…” I finished before covering my face with my hands and sobbing. I hoped that amount of information and lying would be sufficient. It would be something I’d have to discuss with Tobias later. We would have to have the same stories to avoid complications.

“We should have been there for him,” Loukas growled.

“Not without risking our own lives. I’m sure there was nothing we could have done without losing more warriors,” Adara countered, her voice low and sad. A hand was placed on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Adara’s watery eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. I’m certain there is nothing you could have possibly done. He wouldn’t have wanted you to die for him.” I nodded and her hand fell. She turned away and walked away from the group around us, probably needing some time alone. I glanced over at Loukas and saw he too was pretty distressed. They could never find out the truth…

I excused myself and dragged my feet back to my room, just wanting some peace and quiet so I could think. The scene replayed in my mind endlessly. I had shot and killed Otto. Tobias had made me. Was that the right choice? It had to be… He was going to betray our race, and that couldn’t have happened! My stomach was rumbling when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” I called out. My body relaxed when I saw it was Tobias. His hands and forearms were covered in splattered dried blood, which must have been Cassius’. That poor male… “How is Cassius doing?” Toby’s face fell a little as he shut the door, turning to face me with a decently brave face.

“They’re doing all they can…” was all he could manage to say back. I nodded, then hung my head. Losing another fighter would just be so tough… “What did you tell the others about Otto and what happened?”

“That I saw a wounded Otto leaving the human spaceship, then humans taking him down,” I replied as Toby sat next to me on the edge of my bed.

“Did you mention I was there?”

“No. Why?”

“Neither have I. Let’s not say I was there. I don’t want rumours starting, or people questioning us. You were there waiting to bring up the back, and caught up with me afterwards. That’s all,” Tobias said sternly.

“Okay,” I whispered. We remained silent. I began reliving the moment until he spoke again.

“You know… We’ll make up a cryptic tattoo for you to get… You did something so important for everyone’s survival, and you have to never forget that,” Toby told me.

“But I’m female…” I scarcely said. All of this thinking had me wondering if I was supposed to be doing this. Killing a Kasien was something I had never thought I’d do. That was something I had never wanted to do either.

“You’re a warrior. I saw that today. You did so well, and I’m so proud of you,” Toby countered. I looked over at him, but he was staring at his bloodied hands. “Not a lot of warriors would have done what you did… You’re very brave.”

“Thank you…” I breathed, so glad to hear what he was saying. Emotions started to overwhelm me, happiness from being accepted by my friend and the pain of losing Otto, and I began to cry again. Toby noticed and turned a bit, embracing me gently.

“You’ll be okay… I know you will be,” he whispered.