Blackbirds

Smoke, Ch. 13

The sweepers marched together in a neat line, in exactly the way a group of rogue, intoxicated beggars wouldn't. Whilst their feet stomped and arms swung in unison, their weapon selection appeared to be less synchronised.

A weathered bow was strung across Evan's shoulder, and was complete with three arrows of a port wine colour, which were in an unusually untarnished condition.

Lawrence had an oak spear clasped in his hand, his potent grasp similar to that of a snake constricting its prey. The spear was rigid, yet fairly lightweight, and was no thicker than a few centimetres in width. A whetted arrowhead of flint was secured to the tapered end of the spear.

Kai, meanwhile, was nonchalantly wielding an ominous club: flickers of death trailed in its wake, like the extravagant train of a wedding dress. The club also had iron studs welded into its surface.

Jesse seemed the least marauding of the sweepers, solely carrying a pitchfork, with a splintered handle and three slight yet clinical prongs.

The colours of the landscape ahead of them were draining and lethargic - the sky was a murky bronze, whilst the ground was a muddy copper. The environment seemed to be the opposite of a rich, autumnal splendour.

In the distance was a grand and imposing mountain range. This was where Jesse hoped to find a farm of Blackbirds, whom would unwillingly assume the roles of victims.

"You guys," Lawrence declared, with his nostrils flared and eyebrows bowing in confusion. "Hold up. Can you smell that?"

"Yeah, I can." Evan announced as he sniffed the air and gauged the scent. The other Blackbirds all halted their troop-like march. "It smells like... smoke." It was indeed fumes of pungent, acrid smoke, that were detectable in the air.

"It's coming from over there!" Lawrence exclaimed. He pointed in a south-easterly direction, towards the base of the mountains on the horizon. Hardly distinguishable to the eye was a batch of structures, which were slate grey in colour, and blended into the mountains from afar. The newly located camp almost seemed pixelated due to the vast expanse of land that stretched between its location and Jesse's Blackbirds.

"At least we won't have to climb to those peaks in search of farms." Evan commented.

"We need to be careful, though." Kai exclaimed, his cautious approach being juxtaposed to the usual impassioned and naïve nature of redheads.

"Kai's right," Jesse confirmed as he weighed into the discussion. "There's a goddamn rampant fire tearing through those buildings." Jesse knew that this was symptomatic of the camp being ravaged by another farm.

"What are we going to do then, Jesse?" Evan asked in an exaggerated, petulant manner, evidently mocking Jesse's desire for everyone to conform to his leadership ideals.

"Don't be difficult with me, Evan." Jesse stared at Evan and held his gaze, as if it had set like concrete. Evan's face, which seemed to have been blemished with further pimples, bore no hallmarks of agitation or anxiety.

"Quit it, you two," Kai interjected. "Just tell us what the plan is, Jesse."

Jesse retracted his burning gaze and addressed the Blackbirds. "There's no cover out here. If there is anyone in that camp, they'll see us coming a mile off."

"I agree," Kai endorsed. "We can't just stroll straight in."

Lawrence hummed in support. Evan, on the other hand, produced a morbid, inarticulate sound.

"Sorry, what was that? Can you speak up please Evan?" Jesse began, before an interval of silence arrived. "If you're going to be two-faced, at least make sure one of them is good-looking."

Evan lunged at Jesse, compacting his right hand into a fist and launching it in Jesse's direction. Lawrence read the situation though, released his spear from his grasp, and leapt towards Evan, his feet departing from the floor in order to facilitate a fully outstretched dive. He clutched at Evan's left ankle and embedded his nails into Evan's rubbery skin. Evan yelped in distress as he was wrenched to the floor by Lawrence, with Lawrence's fingernails inscribing curved indents into the tough skin of Evan's left ankle.

"This is pathetic!" Kai bellowed in dismay. Evan and Lawrence both shifted their attention towards Kai. "The Haulers are never gonna come for us. Not when you lot are acting like children."

Even though blood was now slithering from the engraved indents in Evan's ankle, it was a blessing that Lawrence had intervened. Jesse had instinctively planted his pitchfork in front of his chest – had Lawrence not stepped in, Evan would have been impaled on one of the keen prongs. Jesse, however, cursed at his misfortune that Evan hadn't been skewered by his pitchfork.

Kai leaned over to Evan, who was sprawled across the floor, and clenched Evan's concave cheeks in a vice-like grip with his right hand. "Listen to Jesse!" Kai barked, his humid breath hovering just above the surface of Evan's face. "You said you'd do whatever he asked! So what's changed? Eh?"

Kai squeezed his thumb and middle finger tighter to Evan's cheeks, inducing a shrill squeal from Evan. His fingertips began to apply increasingly agonising pressure to Evan's molars.

"Just do as he says! Do as he says you slimy-" Kai gave the conversation some respite via an unexpected pause. "-What the hell are you doing, Jesse?"

Evan and Lawrence joined Kai in observing Jesse, with a perplexed look plastered across their faces. Jesse appeared to be planking, his forearms resting against the arid ground, with his pitchfork balanced on his back. He then began to crawl, dragging himself forward with his forearms.

"You asked about the plan, Kai," Jesse stated, referencing their earlier exchange. "We get as low to the ground as possible. That way, if there is anyone still there, they won't see us coming." Jesse flashed a brazen grin at the other Blackbirds. His resentment towards Evan had evidently been quelled.

Evan, predictably, was reluctant to praise Jesse's proposal, however Lawrence also contributed to Evan's chorus of groans. Kai, on the other hand, was elated that his aching feet, which were hotbeds for fungus, had been granted a hiatus from walking.