After the Argents (editing)

Chapter Five | Survivor

Location: Southern Coast

A survivor.

The thought radiated through Jye.

He ghosted back towards the plane, crouching outside of the door. The tapping stopped. But he could still hear it buzzing in his ears. Not a pattern. Not mechanical. Random and soft and... human.

"I heard you," Jye called into the darkness. Nothing answered his call. He tried again with a softer voice, "It's okay. You can come out."

There was a quiet click.

Jye waited, but his prey was too smart to come out into the open.

He turned to look at Pora, whose face held a promise of violence. Does she know how to control her instincts? Or will she kill on sight like Zigo? Jye signaled her to hold her position. Then he entered the plane.

Concern and hope mixed around and around in his head. Then faded out as the static rose. As he maneuvered through the cabin, he let his body settle. Held his breath. Listening. Preparing for what he might find.

The second click sounded loudly against the silence. The door at the back of the plane inched open. Jye dropped into a crouch.

He was utterly unprepared for what peeked out.

A slender girl, no older than ten. Her hair firey red and tangled. Wide green eyes anxiously assessing. Across her lips was a jagged scar that looked freshly scabbed over. It reached from her chin to the right side of her nose, an angry red against her pale skin.

Dried blood still traced her chin and stained her white shirt and pants. Her arms were wrapped around herself to hide the spattering of bruises. And the tremor of fear.

Jye instantly shifted. The distant look disappeared from his eyes. His body language softened. A nod and a small smile.

"It's okay. You don't need to hide anymore."

She didn't move towards him, but she didn't shrink back either. It was like those huge green eyes were scanning every detail and piecing it together. The bodies no longer littering the floor. The dirt under his nails and streaked across his clothes. The hat he'd pushed back off his sweaty forehead, revealing a few damp waves of iridescent hair.

She's smart. He could see it in her face. She'd seen and recognized his predatory stance. The girl tilted her head as if studying the trained killer beneath his reassuring smile.

She's not afraid of me. A second burst of surprise. Followed by a rush of panic – wondering what made her dangerous enough not to fear him. He shoved that deep, down inside himself. Not a threat. Just a little girl. Alone and scared and waiting for help to come. And instead, she gets me.

As if reading his mind, she pushed the door open wider so he could see the small room where she'd barricaded herself. The floor was littered with food wrappers. A small pile of blankets was shoved into the rough shape of a bed.

His eyes lingered on the woman who lay on her side across the floor. Eyes closed. Skin pale and drained of life. The woman's hair and heart-shaped face mirrored the girl's. Her mother. A splintered branch stuck out just below her ribs and had kept her alive... for a time. Dead for a handful of hours at most. We were too late.

He wanted to curse. He wanted to tear apart the plane. He wanted to beat his fists bloody.

Instead, he sank against the door frame and closed his eyes. The strange man's white uniform had been covered in someone else's blood. Jye didn't want to remember his face, but it was etched into his memory.