I walk quickly back to the Hidden Cave, fear pounding in my chest. As I approach the boulder a figure is crouching in the undergrowth, back facing opposite of me. My heart stops. I catch my breath and let my natural hunting instincts take over. I slow my steps and drop into the dense underbrush.
The head turns around and I hit the ground hard. The air is forced out of my chest. I look up over the long grass stems. I see that it's a young girl. She is clearly not an Amazon. She wears a strange suit of armor. It is long and thin and has frilly white stuff around the collar. I duck my head as she looks right at the clump of grass I'm crouching in. I creep forward slowly. She bows her head and stares into the earth. I pause my approach to study her features. Her hair is the color of the rising sun. It is tossed around gently by the breeze. Her eyes are a stunning blue. I wonder at how she got all the way up here. She is preventing me from returning to hiding, which angers me. I pray that no one is concerned. If only they knew I was just outside. I consider my next move. I could take her by surprise and have a clean kill...I stare at her. She looks so innocent. After all, it is not her fault that the captain of the ship she was on stumbled upon the island. I frown. She is still in my way. Maybe I can frighten her enough that she will run. I decide on this plan.
I shake the grass I am in. I peek just in time to see her head whip in my direction. I stop. She glances around nervously. I rustle the grass a bit harder. She stares right at me. To my surprise, she begins slowly towards my hiding spot. I leap out of my hiding place, no plan in my mind. I whip out my sword and stand there, hiding my fear behind my blade. Her blue eyes widen to a shocking size. For a minute I let my guard down and almost laugh. Her eyeballs look as though they could explode out of the sockets!
"Who are you and what do you think you are doing?" I snap at her, waving my sword around. Her eyebrows dip down low.
"Ha! You're the one threatening me with a sword," she says boldly. I raise an eyebrow.
"Yes. Keep in mind. I'm the one with the sword."
I point the tip at her throat.
"Chill. And put that down before you hurt someone!"
The level of shock goes up. A girl that is not an Amazon speaking to me like that, as I yield a deadly weapon? She has so little muscle. So skinny and pale of skin. Even I have a nice bronze from being outside so much. She must spend her days sewing. The thought makes me snort. From my lessons of humans and normal girls, the men spend their time outdoors hunting and fishing and doing all the things that we do, just with much less skill. The women and girls are nearly the slaves of the male species. They cook for them and clean for them and sit around sewing. Of course, these are the tales from years ago. I do not know much up to date.
I slip my sword back into its scabbard.
"Better. My name is Mia Smith. I come in peace," she declares, holding out her small hand to me. I stare down at it with disdain. She takes it slowly away. "No need to make that face. I'm not a pig."
I glare at her.
"Pigs are not a bad thing, Mia. They are intelligent. Much more so than you appear to be."
"That was rude."
I pull out my knife.
"How old are you?" I inquire.
"Thirteen. You?"
"That does not concern you," I reply. I grab her at the elbow and turn her facing away from me. I press the knife against her throat.
"Whoa. That was sudden," she mutters.
"Don't say a word and you may keep your life," I hiss, returning the knife back in its scabbard. She tries to twist away from me, but I keep an iron grip on her. I force her to her knees. I drag her to the boulder and find the entrance immediately. I shove her through the narrow opening. I release her hands and step into the upper room of the Hidden Cave. I don't bother wasting a torch and grope around on the floor until I find the trap door. I push her down onto the waiting dirt floor. I leap down after her. I grab her arm and jerk her to her feet. Just as I am leading her into the main room, Noah's voice comes drifting into my head. I pause.
"Cleoda? Cleoda!" his panicked voice worries me instantly.
"Is everything okay?" I think.
"No. I don't know what to do. Kathy and Ted are gone."
"Well, where did they go? You know, you people aren't very smart," I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
"Not the time, Cleoda. I mean they are gone. I can't find them anywhere. They didn't send me a text or anything!"
My breath catches.
"Well then you're gonna have to come here. To Themyscira. Wait just a little, I'll come get you. What is your address? I may need a month or two. For planning and coming. Look, I have to deal with this intruder. My island is at war with men from an Atlantic tour boat. "
"Oh damn that's bad."
"Yes, you're telling me."
"Wait, what do you mean, you're going to bring me to Themyscira?!"
"I mean I'm going to plan, maybe bring a friend, some food...I'm going to get on a boat and sail to America. That's where you are, right?"
"Right..."
"Then I'm going to come to your house and take you back to the island with me. That's it. No argument. Also, don't call the police."
"No, I mean, you can't!"
"Yes, yes I can."
I push him out of my head, ending the conversation. I jerk back into focus. Mia is staring at me.
"What were you just doing?"
"No questions. Your life is in danger."
I push her to the ground.
"You stay here until I fetch you."
She obeys my order. I enter the room full of my friends. Silete stands to meet me.
"Is it bad?"
I nod. I pull her out of earshot of the little ones.
"I found a girl."
"One of us?"
"No. One of the Atlantic invaders."
She gasps.
"Where is she?"
"Just outside. I found her directly in front of the Hidden Cave. She was preventing me from entering."
"Why did you not kill her?"
"For what reason would I? She did nothing to me. She was a bit of a smartass, as my brother would say, but Silete, I don't go around killing people randomly. Perhaps we could even train her! She seemed able, if not a bit frail."
"You speak of nonsense! No outsider has ever been made into an Amazon."
The cold snap of her words hit me like a Master's sword on my shield. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she said.
"No, I-I didn't mean that!"
"I think you did. You're always telling me that I'm just as good as the rest of you. That my mother was chosen for a reason. That just because I didn't have the same accent as you I wasn't a true Amazon. You told me enough times that I believed you. I thought that you were my best friend. But no, no outsider can be an Amazon." I storm out. Mia stares after me as I leave the Hidden Cave.
I run down the mountainside in the direction of the chaos. At the last minute I swerve away from the cliff where I would jump down to the beach. Instead I head towards the dining hall. I rush past stray Amazons to the kitchen. I grab a huge hamper basket and fill it to the brim with slow perishing foods. I hide the hamper under a large sink then run to the sleeping quarters that I share with Silete and Dilete.
I throw my belongings and clothes into a bag and throw it over my shoulder. I run back to the kitchen to fetch the hamper. All this gear slows my progress, but not too much. I ignore the thoughts in my head warning me of the stupidity of this, how I have no plan. I push these wary thoughts away. I run down the cliff to the beach opposite the fighting, where all the boats are put.
I run down the dock to my favorite boat, the Amazonian Queen. I load all of my things into the Queen. I look back at my home. Shouts come from the other side of the island. A lone girl stands against the trees in stark contrast. Wait. I do a double take. The shadow-like human is waving right in my direction frantically. She starts running. As she nears I see that it is Silete. She boards my boat.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Better yet, what are you doing?"
I stare down at my bare feet.
"Where is Mia?" I ask.
"I dealt with her. She is right behind me."
I look up the mountain to see a stumbling Mia. Thirteen minutes later by the sun, she appears in front of us. She is gasping and panting.
"What is she doing here?"
"I didn't mean what I said earlier. Now you must answer me. Where are you going? You know it is dangerous to leave the island alone. No one has ever survived it before."
I roll my eyes back. She glares at me.
"Mia and I are coming. Mia needs to be trained. This is the best way."
I nod in agreement. This seems fair.
"I do not have enough food for you. What are you going to do?"
At this Silete takes off up the cliff. Less than ten minutes pass. She is halfway down the mountain, carrying a hamper four times larger than mine. And mine was huge. She also carries a bag that is larger than mine too. She places it triumphantly on the boat. Mia is standing in shocked silence.
"Wait. What if I don't want to be an Amazon?" she asks suddenly, as Sil and I are prepping the boat.
We both pivot to face her.
"Do you want to die?" I ask. She shuts up.
"Besides, I kind of want to train anyway."
"Good," Sil says.