Promise: The Scarred Girl (6 page)

Instinctively, she shoved him roughly and looked at him angrily in the eyes, “What was that?” she snapped.

The astonishment in his eyes bewildered Nea, why does he not laugh?

Without looking at her, he rubbed his chest, the spot where she had shoved him. “I thought it was time for your first kiss.”

“What if I wanted to determine the date for that myself?” Nea snapped back. She would have also wanted to choose who her first kiss would be with.

“If it were up to you, you would never kiss me. You’re a coward!”

“I am not!”

Oh no? Then kiss me!” Miro challenged her.

“No, I do not want to kiss you!”

“Why not? Did you not like it? You would be the first one to complain.”

There it was again! Why was he always so arrogant? Nea gave him another blow, this time on his upper arm.

“That’s why. You kissed too many others before me. I do not want to just be one of many; I want it to be something special!”

Nea feels the dog’s wet tongue upon her face. Quickly she opens her eyes and turns her face away from the dog. He stands beside her, looking down at her with its amber eyes. His breath stinks.

Nea sits up and uses her knife to finish cutting off the binds upon her wrists. She looks doubtfully at the dog, who has now sat down before her. Now that the sun is shining, Nea can see that his fur is covered with some gray. It does not appear to be a young dog. It is a miracle that it’s so trusting. Nea owes this dog her freedom, because without it, she would probably never have released herself in time, and the dog bit at Luica to buy her even more time to escape.

Her wrists are rubbed raw, and it burns, but she reaches out to the dog’s head and strokes it gently. The dog’s head is sun-warmed and enjoys it when Nea combs his fur behind its ear, with relish, it closes its eyes. The dog seems to see no danger in Nea and trusts her blindly, as in the first moment when they met each other. At that time, Nea thought the dog would be a hindrance, but compared to Zippi and Luica, the dog proved to be an honest companion. He sometimes growls and shows his teeth, but he seems to like the scratching. Maybe this dog has a better understanding of human nature than she does. Even if she tells herself otherwise, they both know that Nea would never have had the heart to kill this dog.

After her disappointing encounter with the three, it would be better to travel alone. But she has not forgotten how lonely she felt when she saw how familiar Luica and her family were together. The dog would certainly not turn out to be a slave trader. The only thing the dog can do is steal their food. And even then, it would only be a small price to pay for her freedom. She cannot understand why the dog would follow her all this way, even after ignoring and trying to chase it away. But she will no longer try to chase this dog away. If the dog wishes to accompany her, she will not stop it. Its panting reminds her of her own burning and dry throat.

“You’re probably thirsty, huh?”

Carefully, Nea stands and tries to ignore the pain in her shoulders and neck. She adjusts the backpack over her shoulders. The dog wags its tail and runs ahead into the forest. As she did not know which way to turn, she follows the dog. The main thing is to get as far as possible from Luica and her family.

Soon, she has the feeling that the dog is not wandering aimlessly because it keeps running and does not hesitate for a moment. Nea struggles to follow, but whenever the dog gets too far ahead, the dog stops and looks for her until she is back in its sight. The dog does not lead her deep into the forest, but remains at its edge. Even though it’s far away, Nea makes out the outlines of a village or small town. She fears that it’s the Carris and that they will see her, but at the same time, she hopes she will see them first so she will have time to hide.

She soon realizes the dog’s goal as the dog cheerfully hops into a small stream and greedily guzzles the water. Nea settles in quickly and beings scooping the fresh cool water with her hands into her mouth. When her thirst is completely satisfied, she brings two empty bottles out of her backpack and fills them with water.

Meanwhile, Nea realizes it must be afternoon, as the bright yellow sun slowly transforms into a warm orange. From the stream, there is a good view over the fields and meadows where no humans can be seen. In addition, there are a few relatively wide trees nearby, an ideal place to sleep.

Nea puts her backpack with the sleeping bag next to a tree and takes off to gather wood for a small fire. The dog goes off on its own. Nea doesn’t worry about the dog, she is sure the dog will come back again at the smell of grilled fish. Once the fire has kindled, she removes her boots, cloak, pants, and beige top, so that she is only in her bra and panties, and jumps in the cool stream. The water is only abdomen deep. It is cold, but after the sweat she perspired in her morning escape, her skin feels dirty and sticky and so the fresh water is a blessing. She dips her whole body under and scrubs herself clean with her hands. When the fish is roasting in the fire, the dog does comes back as expected, but not empty-pawed. In its mouth is a thick rabbit, which the dog then drops at Nea’s feet. Astonished, Nea looks at the dog; she smiles and lovingly strokes the dog on its head. “Is that your contribution for dinner?”

She pulls the coat from the rabbit with her knife and affixes it on a stick over the fire next to the fish. When the fish is done, she carefully halves it and gives the dog its share, which is quickly devoured. However it does not try to pilfer anything from Nea. It is the same with the rabbit. She even gives the dog a bigger piece, because she can see the dog’s ribs and that it is not as strong as she is, also, the dog earned this reward. Afterward, Nea douses the fire and climbs the tree to her sleeping bag. However, when she looks down and sees the dog left to look up at her from below, she descends again and helps the dog up the tree. Miro would be impressed with her climbing skills.

The dog is not large so it does not take up much room in her sleeping bag, also it will be warmer than it would be on the ground. They cuddle up to each other in the sleeping bag. Its fur tickles on Nea’s bare skin; its body exudes a pleasant warmth.

“Good night,” Nea whispers into its pointed ears, after which it licks her with its raspy tongue over her arm, as if to give her a good night kiss. The call of an owl is the last thing Nea perceives before she sinks into the realm of dreams.

A
fter a restless night, Nea now sits on the bank of the stream and splashes icy water on her face. It is not common for someone to sleep so close to her, so she woke up at every little movement the dog made. The dog, however, appears to feel right at home, because he jumps in the cold water and swims around as if it were summer and the sun was burning up the sky. It is still cold, even if it is much warmer than it has been for the past two days. She must be very close to Dementia, which is in the south.

Nea stretches her body, her neck cracks uncomfortably. Her muscles and joints have not yet forgotten the rigors of the last few days.

Luckily, her clothes dried overnight, so she can now put them on again. The sky shines in a cool pink color as Nea and her new partner move on. Years ago, her mother always told her that the Christ Child bakes cookies when the sky is pink. Nea has to smile at the thought. Even though the Christmas season officially ceased to exist a long time ago, perhaps there is still someone in the world celebrating Christmas somewhere. Maybe Luica celebrated with Harold and Zippi, they are a family after all. But as a loner, Nea, the dog, and many others, see Christmas as just another day, there is nothing special about it other than it is yet another day that you have to fight for your survival. The Carris do not celebrate Christmas because the birth of Jesus Christ does not fit in with their belief that Ereb is their God. But maybe they have other festivals. Nea does not envy them and does not care, for her, each of their devised festivals would be without meaning. Though, she can imagine that the children who were born into the Carris would love these festivals as much as she once loved Christmas.

After they have traveled a short distance, they reach a field with several wooden huts. It is clear that someone was working the field not long before, the earth is freshly dug and green plants sprout from the soil. However, no one can be seen, but this does not mean anything for it is still very early in the morning. The workers will surely come soon.

Therefore Nea decides to withdraw deeper into the woods and wait for their arrival. She needs one of the Carris’ red robes so that she can easily travel through Dementia. Even after the incident with Luica, her plan has not changed, although she does not know what to do with the dog. Nea leans on a tree trunk, which is obscured by a bush and slowly slinks down behind it. She takes the dog and sets its head in her lap. Although she previously resisted this dog, she is now happy he is there. Lost in thought, she caresses him over the head and looks out at the still deserted field. She finds it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open and they soon close and she dozes off.

As Nea awakes, she notices a change; she has slept through their arrival. Without moving, she opens her eyes and peeks through the bush to the field. There are now about twenty people in the field wearing dark red vests diligently working in the fields with their bare hands. There were also six other people wearing bright red robes. The six must be the overseers, while the twenty must be workers, or even slaves. The six were distributed around the entire field and were armed with swords. Rifles or pistols have little use since the last of the ammunition for such weapons was depleted in the first year after the onset of the disease.

Nea only has the knife to protect herself with. It might be possible to ambush one of the guards and slit their throat, however she is not willing to kill for her dream. It is enough that she already has one man’s life on her conscience, and she can barely cope with that one death. In addition, she believes that a person who kills another human loses a part of their soul. After all, a person will never be the same again after they commit a murder.

Therefore, Nea looks around on the forest floor for a stout stick that she could repurpose and use as a weapon. Not far away she sees a suitable tree branch lying on the ground. However, it is in a location where the Carris could easily see her. She turns to her companion. The dog perks up as she points out the stick.

“Fetch the stick,” she whispers in his ear, hoping he understands the words. The dog does not have to be told twice and runs without hesitation to the stick. Heart pounding, she watches the Carris and breaths in relief when the dog brings the stick back to her. The dog puts it at her feet and excitedly jumps up and down. He thinks she wants to play with him. Nea quickly places her index finger on her lips and prays he understands the gesture. Disappointed, he turns his head to the side and looks at her with his big eyes. She tells herself she will play catch with him later, but now is not the right place or the right time for it. Somehow she must lure one of the Carris to her individually. A few feet away one of the guards stands with his back to her. Carefully and as quietly as possible, Nea moves further behind the tree so that she can no longer see the Carris.

Her plan is spontaneous and lacks thought. Her plan is to attract an overseer with a sound toward her, then pull him deeper into the forest. If she’s lucky, it will be a single Carris overseer. If she is unlucky, more than one overseer will be sent, or will otherwise be able to call or signal the rest with a call or a sign. This plan is careless and reckless, but the best thing she can do right now is to think on the fly.

She stays behind the tree for protection. She still cannot see the reactions of the overseer and listens intently. The nearest overseer must have heard the noise she and the dog were making, as he is now slowly approaching the tree line of the forest. Nea hears his footsteps. She grasps the stick with both hands, ready to knock out the approaching overseer. She stands ready and soon believes that the overseer has simply mistaken her noise for that of a bird and is not worthy of his attention. But then a few tentative steps onto the forest floor can be heard. Nea’s heart beats wildly against her chest and her hands sweat as she holds onto her stick. The steps are coming from the right side of the tree. He cannot be far. She hears him coming, closer and closer. Just as she believes the overseer should be right next to her, the dog shoots off to the left and to the field, barking loudly. Frightened and thoughtless, Nea looks after him. The dog runs around the field as though it were a rabid dog, chasing off the remaining overseers and the workers. After the initial shock, the overseers attempt to capture the dog and reclaim all of the wayward workers.

Only then does Nea realize her partner’s crafty plan and then looks to her right. There is only one arm’s length separating her and the overseer that had stepped into the forest. The overseer does not see Nea, as he is looking out to the field aghast with an open mouth. Nea does not dare breathe as she silently turns back behind the tree. Only a brief sound of surprise escapes the overseer’s mouth as Nea smacks him on the head and he falls to the ground. Nea casts a panicked look onto the field, but everyone is still busy chasing the dog. Neither she nor the missing overseer have been noticed. She quickly drags the motionless body of the overseer further into the woods and strips him of his habit The overseer appears to be a skinny boy, a few years younger than Nea. Nea is sure that this kid could not have that important of a role in the Carris. She does not put the habit on, but quickly places it into her backpack. Before tying him to a tree with a rope, she checks his pulse and is relieved when she perceives a regular throbbing in his neck.

After the overseer is tied up, she looks back to the field. The guards have now rounded up all of the workers in the middle of the field, as some of them have apparently tried to flee. Nea’s companion is still running around barking in a circle, she has to smile. But she also sees how exhausted the dog is as his pace is slowing down steadily and his tongue is hanging out and is panting heavily. He is, after all, not the youngest dog. Nea runs fast from the spot where she has tied up the boy and stops at the edge of the forest. She lets out a loud whistle, which draws the attention of everyone. Her dog friend runs directly to her. The Carris are unsure of if they should follow her or stay with the workers.