Untethered

After

THE girl awoke with a gasp. Her whole body was shaking from the cold that was seeping from the dirty ground beneath her. She could not remember how she had gotten here, unconscious, battered clothes, sore limbs, in the middle of the wretched woods of the island. The last thing that she could remember was being high up in one of the thorn-filled trees, scouting out the area for any possibility of her and her friend having dinner tonight. However, she sat there for hours waiting, losing the little hope she already had. It was near impossible to hunt on this island she called home. The livelihood was scarce, the greenery and fruitfulness that once covered these woods were dead, and the water could not be reached with the never ending thorns that trapped the people in the center.

At one point her friend had come up to her post on the tree to see if she'd come down and try to beg down by the markets of their village, but she refused. She would not as much as beg to those who mocked her and never treated her well. Instead, unbeknownst to her friend, she'd grown to favor pocketing those who showed no kindness, and used whatever spare change she could find to buy stale bread and hard cheese.

Knowing that the all too soon darkness would be covering the lands soon and that his friend would not drop her stubbornness, he perched up on an opposite branch and kept her company. They joked and laughed, even being able to shoot a misfortunate squirrel with a bow for them to share.

That was the last thing she could recall happening.

Had she somehow fallen out of the tree and blacked out? She tried getting up, but every limb in her body hurt at the mere pressure of pulling herself up. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she managed to lift herself into a sitting position. Some of the thorns from the trees had cut through her pants and tunic, leaving gashes along her light skin. Her head hurt and was pounding so much it was hard to focus.

Her eyes were out of focus so she squeezed them shut, but she still called to her friend, "Brodi?" There was no reply. "Brodi are you playing games with me right now? This isn't funny. Come help me up right now you arse." There was still no reply.

Feeling a bit anxious, she pressed her fingertips to her temple and forced her eyes open. Everything was dark, no star in sight. She recognized where she lay as the scouting spot, but as she looked around, there was no sign of Brodi.

Going against her protesting limbs, she lifted herself to a stance. Though her feet were swaying and she was losing balance and had to lean up against the closest thing to her, a tree. The girl hissed in pain as another thorn cut her palm. Her other hand was pressed to her lower abdomen, most likely bruised from whatever fall she had taken. After staying like that, trying her best to fight off the nauseousness at her throat and the dizziness in her head, she caught her breath and managed to make a slow ascent through the woods.

She knew this place like the back of her hand, even through the unnatural darkness that penetrated the air. By the lime is limped to the cabin that she and the boy shared on the outskirts of their village, she was ready to pass out. She pushed the door open with her shoulder and stumbled inside.

The cabin was just as they had left it before and there was no sign of the boy. "Brodi? Are you here?" She circled the whole of the confined space thrice. Her heart was beating so fast she swore she could hear it thundering in her ears. She stumbled outside, frantic, and puked.

She and the boy had never gotten to eat that squirrel so all she tasted going up her throat was pure acid, which in turn made her hurl even more. She just wanted to lie down beside her friend and pretend that none of this happened. She was so confused and she felt so sick.

But the girl fought off her nauseousness and went back into the thorn slick woods to find her friend. She called his name until her throat burned and her eyes stung from the tears rushing down her sunken cheeks. She was so weak and she hated herself. She wished she was stronger not only for herself but for her friend. He was all she had to live for.