They Are Not Human

Chapter 4

We slowly pack up our camp and head south.   It was estimated it would take us a couple of weeks to get there.  My feet still felt sore from pushing my body too hard, and the pain was almost too much to handle. I knew I just needed to focus my attention elsewhere.  

Jakove was in an excellent mood today, he was humming some unfamiliar song that I had never heard.  His voice was beautiful, just like the rest of him. 

"What are you humming?" I ask as we trek through the woods.  

"It's an old song.  My mother used to sing to me when I was a child."  He says, his voice thoughtful.

His mother?  I wanted to know more information, but I didn't want to pry and ruin his good mood.

Keep it light I tell myself.

"Sounds like you guys were close". I finally say.  

"I miss her a lot." He admits.

Ah yes, the pain of losing your mother.  This was a pain I understood all too well.  I wasn't sure about Jakove's past, or what had happened to his family, but I had to wonder if they had all passed away leaving him alone to fend himself.  Maybe this was why he decided to just cruise the country sides now without a care in the world.  It's not like he had a family to mourn his loss, if his reckless lifestyle caught up with him.  

"What made you decide to leave your old life behind?" I ask a little too curious. 

"Ya know, that's a tricky question". He says after a minute of thinking about it.  "I guess the short answer is, is there were too many toxic people in my life, and I had to get away from it."

Toxic people?  That wasn't the answer I expected.  This meant he did have a family to go home too.  

"Toxic people meaning your family?" I ask trying to piece together his vague statement.

"Exactly." He says nodding his head.

"But you said you miss your mother?" I was still confused by this recent confession of his.

"Just because someone is toxic for you, and you know your life is better off without them, doesn't mean that you don't still love and care about them."

The sadness tightens around my heart as he says those words. I could picture him a small defenseless little boy with nobody to rely on but himself.   I wanted to ask him more questions, but the conversation seemed to be over.  Instead, we just walked together in comfortable silence.

The sky was swirling with oranges, purples and pinks now, and I realized it was getting late.  We had been walking all day and my feet were begging for a break.  "Jakove" I finally say. "When are we going to set up camp for the night?"

He stops and looks at me, concern evident on his face.  "Do you need to stop?"

"I mean, I'm just wondering." I lie lamely.  I didn't want to be the one dragging the team down and say yes.

"Zia, I think we need to be honest with each other.  If we are team, and plan to do this together, then we need to have an open line of communication.  Okay?"

"Okay." I say quietly looking at the ground.  I felt like I was being talked to like an errant child.

"So, do you need to stop?" he asks seriously

Not taking my eyes away from the ground I answer a small "yes".  I hated feeling weak or like someone was doing me a favor.

"Okay, that's all I needed to hear".  He says, giving me a reassuring smile.