Page 9 of Calico Descending

“You two are trespassing on private property here. This fruit. The tinaja. Belongs to my hive.”

“I’m sorry. We were … hungry. And thirsty. We’ll leave.”

“I’m sorry, too. Can’t let you go now.”

“We don’t belong to another hive. We did, but we left.” I don’t tell him we were hit by a horde, for fear he’ll shoot us for possibly being infected.

“Why’d you do something stupid like that?”

“They were cruel,” I lie. “They beat us.”

“Don’t look like you’ve suffered much, ‘sides not eating.”

My eyes skate to Bryani, who sits cross-legged, while the man stands guard beside her, his gun lowered.

The pressure lifts from the back of my neck, and I turn to see the man stuff his gun into a holster. He’s probably midforties judging by the slight baldness, slim build, unlike his beefy friend across from us. “Get up.”

Maybe he’ll take us to his hive. They don’t seem hostile. Just protective, which is pretty much the norm.

I don’t protest as I push to my feet, nabbing my pack off the ground.

“Nuh-uh. Your belongings stay.”

The idea of leaving our sacks behind doesn’t sit well, but still, for the sake of shelter and possibly more food, I do as he says.

We follow behind Baldy, down the other side of the mountain, while Beefy brings up the rear of the group. A camp made up of a few dozen tents, arranged in a circle at the foot of the mountain, looks to be their hive. My heart soars at the sight of it. At the thought of having a home. And people again. Lots of people, from the looks of it, as they move about, performing various tasks of cooking and hanging clothes, sharpening tools and skinning animals that’re trussed from tree branches. Probably the biggest hive I’ve seen in a long time—mostly men, of course.

I glance back to Bryani, who follows behind, and smile, though she doesn’t return the gesture. The pinch of her brows tells me she’s feeling uneasy. Cautious. Perhaps I should, too, but I’m so desperate to make things right for my sister, I won’t allow myself those thoughts.

As we near the perimeter, a woman with short cropped hair and a far healthier build than mine swings her attention toward us. The frown on her face leads me to question whether she’s unfriendly, or surprised to see two young girls wandering about the desert.

Instead of going toward the camp, the man leads us in a different direction, away from the cluster of tents and people.

“Where are you taking us?”

“To get you fed.”

My mind wraps itself around his words, and I look back toward the camp as we enter a small cave in the adjacent mountain. “We don’t need food. We just need some sleep.”

“You’ll get plenty of sleep. Trust me.”

When the man from the back snorts, I’m certain something isn’t right. My fears are confirmed when we come to a stop deep inside the cavern where the light doesn’t reach. Hairs on the back of my neck stand upright, and I feel Bryani’s hand slip into mine.

A flame comes to life, just in time for me to see a large object barreling toward us. Muscles stiff, I can’t move as the animal bounds at the two of us, and a gasp slips past my lips. It’s the largest cat I’ve ever seen.

It stops just short and lashes out a paw that grazes across my arm. Hand slapped to my wrist, I back up a step and find the animal is tethered to a thick chain. “What is this? I thought you brought us here for food?” An incessant tremble wracks my muscles, while my heart feels as if a stampede moves through my chest.

“I did. I brought you here for food … for the cat. ‘S’what we do with kids we find out in the Deadlands.”

Beefy laughs from behind, only stoking my anger of having been betrayed.

Cold tendrils curl around the back of my neck, and I mentally calculate how quickly the two of them would catch us if we dashed past Beefy.

A hard push from behind knocks me forward, and the cat lunges again. I fall to the ground and kick backward, hitting my sister’s legs, while the laughter of both men echoes through the cavern.

“What are you assholes doing?” The feminine voice snaps my attention toward the woman from the camp, standing behind Beefy.

“Feeding the cat,” Baldy says and snorts. “What’s it look like?”

---