Dart Secrets: Part 2

Chapter 5: Changing Views

I walked around the woods. The sun was starting to rise. Everything felt so...different. It’s like I was given a new set of eyes. I guess I was seeing all the little things and appreciating them. I kneeled down and picked a white flower.

“SkyBird...Connor...” I whispered as I held the flower close to myself. Tears slowly streamed down my cheeks and onto the brown soil. “AHHHH!”

“I see you’re up. How’re you feeling?” Rover said as I returned to our camp.

“A little sore and tired, but I’m good,” I replied without looking at him. I wasn’t gonna give them the pass for how they treated me before.

“Listen. How we treated you yesterday was...well, wrong. From now on we’ll treat you like a teammate,” Brawn apologized. I rolled my eyes. Even if they were sorry that doesn’t mean they don’t need an attitude check.

“Oh...alright. I forgive, but the way you all act definitely needs to be changed if you want to survive this war,” I replied after a moment. I was such a wimp when it came to holding grudges. It just wasn’t in my DNA.

“What do you mean the way we act needs to be changed?!” Lizzy asked, walking over. Her voice had an annoyed tone as she spoke.

“What I mean is you all need to see the world...in a different view,” I explained.

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Rover asked with curiosity.

“We can go on a walk and I can try and give you guys another approach on the way you view things,” I suggested with a shrug.

“Okay...” Brawn finally replied after a long silence of thought. I grinned as we all stood up and walked towards the woods.

“You see all these trees?” I asked as we walked.

“Yeah,” Ed replied.

“What do you see when you look at them?” I asked.

“Just trees,” Lizzy said with a roll of her eyes.

“That’s the problem. They’re not just trees. They’re shelter, cover, camouflage, a safe haven, and a place to hide,” I explained as I reached my hand out and let my fingers brush against the branches of a tree.

“What are the bushes?” Rover asked, pointing to the bushes.

“Like the trees they’re a cover, camouflage, and a place to hide,” I answered.

“Tell us oh wise one. What can flowers do?” Lizzy said sarcastically.

“Flowers are art. They help you see that there’s beauty in everything. No matter how different one might look. They are beautiful but can be dangerous,” I replied with a grin. Lizzy folded her arms and looked away.

“Look!” Brawn said as a deer approached.

“It’s so cute,” Rover replied. Lizzy nodded her head in agreement.

“Indeed,” Ed added. I rolled my eyes and took out my rifle. I aimed carefully at the deer as my fingered neared the trigger.

“What are you doing?!” Lizzy asked in a whisper. I pulled the trigger as the deer lifted it’s head. The noise pierced the air and made crows sing. I walked over to the deer’s body.

“Animals aren’t just cute live sized stuffed animals. They’re also food. And if none of you can kill as much as a squirrel for food you might as well go and get yourself killed. We need food to survive,” I said as I tied the deer’s legs together. Brawn walked over and helped me carry it back to our camp.

“That was so cool how you killed that deer!” Rover said with a smile as he watched me skin the deer.

“Thanks,” I replied. So far Rover and I were getting along pretty well. Brawn and I were still on some rough terms after what had happened between the two of us. Ed and I well...I haven’t really talked to him. And Lizzy and my relationship was out of the question. She hated my guts, but that’s okay because I hated hers just as much.

We ended up eating meat for dinner that night. It tasted great and reminded me that I hadn’t had meat in a long, long time. As I finished my meat I looked up at the sky. I wondered how SkyBird and Connor were doing. We’re they even alive? And if so, would they be looking up at the same starry sky while thinking about me?

“I’ll find you guys. I promise,” I said under my breath.