The Hunt of Two

Piece Three

My ears are still ringing and my mind so numb with disbelief. The words that fell out of her mouth so easily meant more than air to me. I know John feels the same way, but he doesn't show how he feels about much. I catch his facial expression from the corner of my eye. A quiet, smooth wind brushes past my face, leaving a feeling of numbness. My mind is still in a daze. There are more non-followers. And this girl, Mia, knows where they are. I take my stare off of the tall pecan tree in the distance and set a quick but sturdy glance at Mia. She is still eating the venison. Enjoying every bite; every mouthful. She has her own water jug. She drinks from it every so often. You can hear the emptiness in the jug when it swishes around after she takes a drink. John is pacing behind me. He looks relieved yet worried. He runs his fingers through his long hair and it falls perfectly back in place to where it was.

"How did you end up here? Why," John asks abruptly. Mia continues to chew the piece of meat then carefully swallows. "I... just had a feeling. I felt like I needed to head west. The south is the same old scenery. I'm a woman of adventure. I need something new." I look at her in awe. "Are you serious? It's the end of the world! Armageddon! And you just decide to take a walk from the south all the way here to the west? C'mon Mia. The last thing you need to do is lie to us. I'm saying this in the kindest way. What the hell are you doing in Vertana?"

Her eyes are pierced on mine. Her knuckles whiten as she squeezes her jug and drops it on the ground. She motions slowly toward me. She's angry. No. More than angry. She is pissed. Her pace picks up as she steps heavily toward me while pulling an arrow from her back pouch. I grab my hatchet and squeeze the handle until my palm is burning. Some from fear, but mostly from anger. I look quickly at John and he looks as if he is still trying to process what's happening. I look back at Mia and in a moment's notice, her long arm that yields the sharp arrow of stone, is slicing at my face and cuts me right on my bottom eyelid. "Jarek," John shouts. I look up at him weary and in excruciating pain but wave his help off. I stand up quick, but mostly out of the adrenaline running through my body. I grab my hatchet that fell at my side and send its sharp edges ripping through the air, directly at her.

The top edge of the newly sharpened weapon hit the sleeve of her raggedy shirt and pins her to the dying mesquite that stood behind her. Her eyes widen and I'm in shock but I can't show it now. I walk heavily and hard over to her. The look on her face tells she wasn't expecting me to do anything. I grab her neck and pin her to the tree. With my other hand, I grab the small pocket knife that's inside my belt loop. "Now. What do you want here?" I was tired of being nice. She looks at me and gives an evil glare. She grabs my wrist harshly and pulls my hand from her neck. She grabs my hatchet from her sleeve with the opposite hand and yanks it out of the bark. She looks at it, then at me and chunks it behind her. My heart is racing and my body is jumpy. I know not what to expect from this girl. She looks me in the eyes and looks down at my wrist she has a hold of. She rips my sleeve and points to my last name. "I came to make sure this was you," she said as she pulled an old picture out from her back pocket. I am in an unresponsive state. I hear John's footsteps crunching the rusted leaves beside me. The picture is of me. An old football picture. I look at her ever so confused. "Where did you get this?" She looks at me long and hard. Her mouth finally opens after seconds of antagonizing silence. "Salek sent me."