alternate ending—occurs before chapter 34
❝ Only one life, that soon is past ❞
CADE AND I WERE THE FIRST ones in the fields to meet Thom in the early morning.
"Am I going blind?" He rubbed his baggy eyes and stared at us, "Are you two actually the first ones down here?"
"You better believe it, Thom." I said. "Does this mean we get a raise?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Worth a shot."
The rest of the workers started trickling in until the usual circle was formed. Thom started his spiel as soon as it was seven o'clock.
"Gary, today you're in the quarry with Willow. Hunt, you're in the orchard with Link. Jem, you're in the pen with Shelly. Quinn. . ." Thom was saying and I held my breath as he slowly got to our jobs, "Soleil, you're hunting with Farrah. Jaymie, you're fishing with Henri. Get to it."
It took two months but Thom finally promoted me to hunting the woods. When I trained with Farrah the first time, I brought back three rabbits and a dozen pigeons. It was the most anyone had ever caught and still, Thom rotated my tasks for each day and wouldn't let me have the hunting duties.
Except today, which was a special day.
Cade was also pretty much an expert at fishing in the rivers so Thom stuck him there the past week. He was the strongest swimmer we had and was one of the only people that could swim against the current and get the nets.
I'd also gotten to know each of the workers. Farrah, Henri, Jem, and Link had become fast friends and were the most helpful. Even Gary and the reclusive Zeb were opening up more.
"What's your weapon of choice?" Farrah asked as we got to the shed where all the hunting supplies was stored.
"Do you really have to ask?" I picked up a worn down bow while she chose a recurve.
"Why am I not surprised,"
We packed fifty arrows in each of our quivers, as well as some rabbit and deer traps. We headed for the edge of the woods where most of the animals lived.
"Should we make this interesting?" She asked as we trudged up a hill.
"Let's."
"Last one to get ten pigeons buys lunch,"
Farrah was just as good with a bow as I was. I'd seen her shoot before and she had perfect form. The only thing was that sometimes her reflexes would be off and she'd let the animal get away.
But I was confident I'd win.
"Perfect. I love free food."
"I do, too," she smirked.
We spent an hour setting up some traps for bigger animals, like boar and rabbit. Usually we'd dig deep into the ground to make a pit, cover the bottom with pikes, and sprinkle a light layer of leaves on top.
Since the sun was in Pisces, all of the animals were coming out of hibernation. The months before had been empty so we relied on fish for meat.
I spotted some pigeons resting on a branch and nocked an arrow. I hit one and before the rest flew away, I trained my eyes on another and hit it in the eye.
Two down, eight more to go.
I walked over to the dead birds and picked them up. We didn't skin them ourselves, somebody else usually did that.
"Just curious," she started, "Are you a Sagittarius?"
"No, I'm a Libra."
She snorted, "Come on, Soleil, a Libra couldn't hit a bird straight in the eye from that distance." She lowered her voice. "I won't tell anyone. And even if I did, nobody would care."
I glanced around but we were completely alone.
Should I risk it? We'd been friends for some time now, if she knew who we were, she would've turned us in by now.
"I'll tell you if you tell me yours."
"Fine," she shrugged, "I'm an Aries."
"Aries?" My first guess was Sagittarius. She was nothing like Mars or Remy.
"Yup. Bet you couldn't tell without the red hair, right?" It was true, since her head was shaved and the roots dyed black, there was nothing distinguishing her as a ram.
"Yeah but every Aries I know is short-tempered and aggressive." I wasn't stereotyping, the ones at my high school were very impatient and liked using their fists instead of their words.
Though for some reason, she reminded me of Remy.
"I guess it skipped me. Your turn,"
"I'm a Sagittarius." I said after a pause.
She grinned, "I knew it. You're too independent to be a Libra. And you're too good at archery, even Henri noticed, too."
"I was going to pretend I was bad at it when we went hunting the first time, but then I remembered how much I loved archery and got carried away with it."
"Stop bragging,"
"So why lie about your real sign?" I asked curiously.
"Same as you—we're in hiding."
"You and Henri?"
She nodded, "Just like you and Jaymie." I didn't trust her enough to admit that wasn't his real name.
I assumed they'd both fled their homes the same reason Cade and I did—they must've been incompatible signs.
Suddenly, she aimed her arrow behind me and released seconds later. But her fingers were too slow and the bird flew away.
"Gods, I almost had it!" She sighed in frustration.
"Almost isn't hitting it, Farrah," I laughed.
The bigger traps hadn't caught anything so we spent the rest of the day wandering around.
These woods were huge. It was like an endless labyrinth of trees and rocks. There were so many secret spots and beautiful sights that went unexplored.
The first time I ventured out here, I was with Farrah. Without her, I definitely would've gotten lost. There were so many twists and turns, and so many hidden trails. A lot farther in and the terrain got steep and jagged, so we had to turn back. Someday I'd know every foot of the woods and be able to go wherever I wanted. Someday I'd see what was beyond the horizon.
Farrah did end up buying lunch for both of us, as she was three pigeons behind me. I was lucky to snag a family of pigeons in their nest and a couple more on a rock. Even luckier, a fat boar had fallen into one of our traps, which we carried back with us.
We returned to Thom's cabin for a late lunch. Cade and Henri were on their break, too, so we sat at their picnic table outside.
"How's hunting going?" Cade asked.
"Good. How's fishing going?"
"Good also. We're going to have a lot of fish soon."
"Do you think these will be our regular jobs?" I turned to Farrah.
"He usually rotates you between three jobs so hunting could be one."
"As long as he doesn't give me the quarry, I'm good." I hated digging up rocks and hauling them all the way back. It was exhausting work for tough people.
"It really depends on if you're good at anything else. If you aren't, then he sticks you there." Henri laughed.
There was no question that hunting was the number one thing I was best at. But after that. . . I couldn't name another thing.
"Crap."
"What about picking fruit in the orchard?"
"He told me I was the slowest climber he ever had."
"Well, you still got time to get good at two other things," Farrah shrugged, "I bet he'll stick Jaymie with fishing, lumbering, and gardening in the greenhouse."
"That would be nice," he nodded and I scowled enviously. He got the easy jobs while I was stuck with the sweaty ones.
Farrah suddenly got up and grabbed Henri's hand, "I want some water." They went inside the cabin, leaving the two of us to finish our food.
"Do you really think we'll be doing the same job for the rest of our lives?" I looked down at my uneaten corn.
"Maybe. It could be worse." He grabbed my hand and squeezed three times.
"Do you think we'll get tired of it?"
"Maybe," he repeated, "But we'll be safe. We'll be free."
I wasn't sure I wanted to do the same hard work everyday until we died.
It was hard to admit but I missed my friends and my family.
Cade noticed my mood change and moved to sit beside me. "What's wrong?"
"I just. . . I want to visit them."
He didn't have to ask who I meant, "Maybe in a few years, when things settle down, we can go back. But right now, we have to work. We have to keep on living. Don't forget why we're here."
"I never forget." I stared into his hazel eyes. "I'm here for you."
"And I'm here for you, too."
He leaned in and kissed me on the lips.
Thom came up to our table and we broke apart.
"Farrah told me you got ten pigeons and a boar this morning."
I nodded. "The warmer weather's helping."
"And Henri told me you caught twenty pounds of salmon." Thom said to Cade.
"Warmer weather," Cade shrugged.
"Might be or might just be you two are getting the hang of things."
"After two months I hope so," I joked.
"Well, keep at it, and I might just give you that raise." Thom said before walking away.
"That'd be nice. After a raise, we could move into one of the bigger rooms." I suggested and Cade nodded, snuggling his head into the crook of my neck. He was all mine. "We could do it."
"We will." He replied and kissed my collarbone.
➷
Another alternate ending, in which Char and Cade never left Situla and worked at Thom's farm. I imagine them growing old together while working their way up their ranks. They'd eventually have a kid or two and take over the farm, transforming it into a sanctuary for incompatible couples
They may or may not return home, but the risk may be too great, they could decide—and with children they would be hesitant to leave. So, they would stay in their secluded little piece of heaven until time drifted