In Saving the Imperfect

27. Ripped our hearts apart

"Like speakers in the forest?"

The elder didn't react to the comment. "See, sometimes, you have to use fear to keep up the order. If they think that they need each other for survival, they are much less likely to act up against each other."

"And then you just kill some people off, anyway."

"Every once in a while, yeah. You can't rely on some sounds at night all the time. Sometimes, they start questioning. Like you. It spreads fast, and well, we need to give them something real."

"That doesn't justify it," Layne snapped. "Nothing justifies it. Those other people do fine, too."

"Do they, tho?" Victor raised an eyebrow. "You don't know anything about them. For example, did you know how do they deal with people who don't follow the rules?"

Layne shook his head.

"They do, actually, force them to leave. They're doomed there on their own, in the wilderness. Some try to come for help here, but, well, up until now, we couldn't take them in for obvious reasons. So, they die. Alone, cold, starving, dehydrated and more than likely in pain."

Layne's breathing slowed down. He watched the floor with empty eyes. A part of him said that Victor didn't deserve to be trusted in the first place. He lied about the animals, he'd lie about anything. The other part, however, couldn't find a reason not to believe him.

The third part disregarded him for being Victor.

"Anyway, I got a busy day." Victor stood and turned towards the door. "See you around."

Layne didn't react. He waited to be sure the man was gone and got up.

Victor's cabin was smaller than the one Layne lived in before. Though up until then, the elder lived there alone and no one else had such a luxury.

He dressed up as fast as he could and stepped outside. The cabin was located near the centre of the village and surrounded by those in which the other residents with higher status lived. As soon as he was out, he felt people watching him, but that was nothing new.

He had another day to pass and he sure as hell wasn't going to do anything different than he normally did. Just as always, a man whose name Layne didn't care to find out, provided him with a bucket of water from the lake. He wasn't allowed to go there by himself. Too far for someone to watch him there.

Upon cleaning himself up a little, just as always, he took a short stroll around the village just to check if anything would be different. It wasn't. Finally, just as always, he retreated to the usual place and laid down on the cold ground. That's how he'd usually spend the rest of the day – laying around, listening to the birds, the wind and Victor's people passing by to check on him.

Except that time, it didn't go like that.

"Hey, Layne?" a soft, girly voice called.

Layne frowned. "I don't have the time to talk, Malia."

"Really?" She came closer and squatted next to him. "Yeah, I see. You're doing important stuff here. Alana told me you came over yesterday."

He sighed and didn't answer. Malia, however, wasn't quick to give up. She stayed silent for a few minutes and even with his eyes closed, he knew her staring directly at him.

"You can't keep doing this," she finally said. "We deserve to know. I won't leave until you talk."

Layne sighed and sat up. For a moment, he just stayed in silence, looking around to see if anyone else was around. There wasn't. At least as far as he could tell. Malia looked at him with a determined stare. She really wasn't going to leave, he knew that.