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A Fortnight Later

 

Lying on the furs with Theon, Catalina rolls over, panting from exertion. They’ve just had mind-blowing sex…again. The same as they do every single night.

Turning her head, she smiles at him. “Wow! I think it gets better every time.”

They both lie on their backs, shoulder to shoulder. He turns his head toward her and grins. She searches his blue face and knows she is falling in love. She can only hope he feels the same. But she won’t tell him. Not yet. Not until she is sure he loves her back.

Instead of saying anything, he rolls over and faces her. The palm of his hand cups her cheek, and he tenderly kisses her lips. Then his expression changes from happy to sad.

“What’s wrong?” Her heart pounds as she waits for him to answer.

“I have to leave for patrol today.”

Catalina bolts up. He follows. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I did not want to ruin the moment.”

She stares straight ahead. What will she do here without him? Shena greets her each day, but it’s stilted. Odias gives her half-sincere smiles while some of the other males leer at her body. Forget talking to Tarra and her hordes of followers.

She turns so she can see his face. “When do you leave?”

“Soon.” He wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her to his chest. “I will be gone for one, maybe two moon cycles. Unless there are problems.”

She lays her head in the curve in his neck. “Can I go with you?” She knows he won’t let her, but she has to ask. The last thing she wants is to stay here and feel like an outcast.

“I am sorry, but you cannot. It is too dangerous.”

Silently, she wonders how dangerous it can possibly be. The entire time she’s been here, she hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.

“Please…”

He hugs her close and whispers, “I am sorry. How about this? When I get back, I will take you down below to the marketplace. We can look around, get some cooked food, just spend the day together.”

“But you hate it down there.”

“But I love spending time with you.”

“Okay.” What else can she say? It’s stupid, but she refuses to make him stay with her even if that were a possibility. She wants him to choose to stay or to trust her enough to take her with him. She isn’t like the others; she can handle herself.

Theon kisses her lips and slowly gets to his feet. She does the same. When they are both dressed, he gathers his supplies, and she walks with him to the stables. They are both quiet. When they enter the stables, Theon walks over to Coliea.

“Hi there,” he smiles and rubs the gamel’s face.

“This is Coliea?” Catalina glances his way before turning to the animal and patting her face.

“It is.” Theon loads the supplies before facing a sad Catalina. Taking her hands in his, she stares at the ground. “Catalina,” his forefinger lifts her chin so he can look into her sad eyes, “I will be back soon. If you need anything, ask Kaid or Shena. Understand?”

She slowly nods, knowing full well she won’t ask them for anything. She has never depended on others before, and she will not be that helpless female now.

Odias trots up on his gamel. “Ready?”

“Just a moment.” Theon shoots him an irritated glance before he faces Catalina once again. “I will be back before you have time to miss me.”

She scoffs, “Yeah, right.” Searching his face, trying to memorize every detail, she flashes him a sad smile and says, “Be careful.”

“I will.” A tender kiss later, he mounts Coleia and they head out, away from the stables.

As she watches them ride away, she murmurs to herself, “Now what will I do?” One thing’s for sure, she won’t spend the day at the training fields.

Back in their rooms at the Commons, she grabs her backpack and fills it with supplies. Just as she leaves, she grabs her bow and arrows and heads for her favorite place, the lake.

Dropping her backpack, she strips off her clothes and dives headfirst into the Crystal Lake. As she floats on her back, she thinks about how much her life has changed. She could easily see spending the rest of her life with Theon. Having little babies…hmmm…she wonders what a mix of the two of them would look like. They could raise their baby together topside.

Her hands float back and forth, skimming the water as she stares at the sky. Will Theon miss her while he patrols? She hopes he misses her so much that he refuses to leave her again. A minute later, a picture of Alan drifts through her memories, and she hopes he’s found his sister. He would be proud of her for making a life for herself, finding happiness. If only…

A twig breaks and she startles.

Quickly, she immerses her body in water from her shoulders down. “Who’s there?” she calls out.

Nothing. It is déjà vu. Still checking out her surroundings, she swims to the side of the lake, and after making sure the area is clear, she climbs out.

Quickly, she dresses, not caring that she will get her clothes wet. “Where’s my backpack?” She searches, turning in frantic circles, but it is gone. The only thing that lies on the ground is her bow and arrows. “What the…”

Thump! Something hits her head and knocks her out cold.

~~~~

Opening her eyes, she sits up and cradles her head in her hands. “Ah… that hurts.” She blinks up at the sky, wondering what happened. The sun is in the wrong position, and she knows that a lot of time has passed. Turning her head slowly in each direction, she doesn’t recognize anything. “Shit,” she groans and falls back on the ground and closes her eyes.

When Catalina can finally hold her eyes open, she staggers to her feet. “Huh,” she scoffs as she scoops up her lost backpack and bow. Someone kidnapped her and placed her here on purpose. Shaking her head, she glances at the landscape and tries to discern where she might be. The tall mountains are on the wrong side. She gasps when she realizes... The Northern Clan. A tendril of fear takes hold, and she swallows hard.

With her backpack over her left shoulder, she carries her bow and heads toward the mountains, toward the Southern Clan territory.

With sweat beading her forehead, she is still a long way from the mountains, and the sun is sinking fast. Finding a nice thick tree, she scoots down, resting her back against the bark as she settles in for a long night. With any luck, she can get some rest.

Sounds of the night are loud, and rest does not come. She jumps with every roar even though she can’t see any animals. The two moons give off a lot of light, but not enough for her to see that well. She dozes at times, but she’s too scared to really sleep.

When streaks from the first rays of the sun race across the sky, Catalina breathes a sigh of relief. Hungry and thirsty, her trip toward home will have to wait until she finds some food and water.

She walks for most of the morning before she hears the sounds of rushing water. “Finally,” she grumbles in aggravation. Before she makes it to the water, moans of pain reach her ears, making her change directions and head east. They aren’t loud—in fact, she can barely hear them.

She rounds a boulder and gasps at the sight. An injured male sits against a big rock, holding his arm. Blood gushes around his hand. She runs to the injured male, drops to her knees, laying her backpack and bow to the side.

“What happened?” she asks as she quickly scans his body, looking for other injuries.

He doesn’t answer, he just stares at Catalina with squinting eyes.

Turning to the side, she opens her backpack and grabs some supplies. At one time, when she thought to live on her own topside, she used the design-o-pad to make gauze, bandages, and other random medical supplies she thought might be useful.

“Shit, you’re bleeding too much!” Dark brown blood gushes from his upper arm. Quickly searching the backpack, she can’t find a tourniquet. Pursing her lips, she shakes her head in agitation and bites the inside of her cheek. “Turn your head,” she orders.

He continues to stare at her instead of complying. “Listen up, buddy, if you don’t turn your damn head, you’ll bleed to death.” When he looks the other way, Catalina jerks off her shirt and tears a long strip of fabric from the bottom and then quickly puts it back on again. “Okay, you can look now.”

She takes the strip of cloth and pulls it tight around his upper arm, tying it tightly into place. Her gaze searches his body, looking for other injuries. None are visible.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”

After a long few seconds, he finally says, “My leg.”

“Left or right?”

“Right.”

Using her hands, Catalina starts at the top of his thigh and runs a soft caress down the length of his thick leg, gently pressing as she goes. When she gets to his ankle, he grunts.

Pushing up his pant leg, she can see that his ankle is swollen and red. “What did you do?”

He turns his head and looks away.

“Listen, I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Yes, I’m a female. Get over it.”

He takes a deep breath and reluctantly says, “I was hunting.”

“A garr?”

He narrows his dark eyes. “No, a facuia.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

Catalina studies him as she holds a gauze pad over his arm wound, applying pressure. When the bleeding finally stops, she releases the tourniquet but still holds pressure, making sure it doesn’t start bleeding again. “You need some disinfectant and stitches.” After a few more minutes, she wraps a bandage around some fresh gauze and smiles. “There, that’s much better.”

He glances over at his arm, inspecting her work. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m Catalina.”

“Jove.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jove. I think.” She huffs out a breath and looks around. Not only are the mountains on the wrong side, Jove’s appearance is the only confirmation she needs. Still, she asks, “I’m in the Northern Clan territory, aren’t I?” He nods. “Crap! I need to get out of here.” She glances down at him. With his injured ankle, he can’t walk. “When will someone come looking for you?”

“I am supposed to return in two moon cycles’ time. After that, a search party will be dispatched.”

Catalina plops down on her butt beside Jove, irritated that she is stuck there. Even if he is from the Northern Clan, she can’t leave him there without food and water. What kind of person would that make her?

Looking over at her, he asks, “What are you doing?”

“Sitting.”

“I can see that. Why are you here? Where are you from?”

“Now you want to talk?” She raises an irritated eyebrow at him. He doesn’t deserve her smart mouth, but… “Fine. I’m here because someone knocked me over the head and put me here. Originally, I’m from Earth.”

“I have never heard of it.”

“Really? I’m shocked.” She places her hand over her chest and widens her eyes before she winces. “Sorry, I have a tendency to be condescending when I’m irritated.” She stretches her legs and leans back, resting on the ground.

“You live with the Southern Clan?”

“I do.” She places her arm behind her head and stares at the sky, wondering what Theon is doing. Does he even know she is missing? Probably not. He should still be on patrol.

“You are afraid of us.”

She turns her head and smirks. “Do I look afraid?”

He chuckles, a deep baritone sound. “No. You do not.”

A loud noise startles Jove. “Sorry,” Catalina says, “it’s my stomach. I’m starving.”

“If I had food, I would offer it to you.”

She turns her head and stares in surprise. It never occurred to her to ask him if he has food and water. If he did, she could leave him there to wait for his people. “That’s okay.” She sits back up. “Just tell me the best place to find something to eat.”

Jove stares at her in silence until he finally says, “Over by the water. The animals come to drink there.”

“Thanks.” She scoops up her bow and arrows but leaves her backpack lying on the ground. “I’ll be back.”

She silently walks toward the sound of rushing water. It takes a while to get there, but when she rounds a giant tree, the sight takes her breath away. This is what she’d seen from the shuttlecraft window. A large waterfall, at least one hundred feet tall, rushes with a force as it races to a pool at the bottom. Huge boulders and large red flowers surround the pool. And as much as Catalina wants a drink of water, she knows better than to leave her scent and scare off whatever wildlife might come for a drink or a swim.

She hides crouched down, waiting behind one of the boulders.  It’s been awhile.  Her legs are stiff and hurting.  Just as she’s about to stand, a large animal with red fur casually walks toward the water. It is almost as large as a garr, but not as wide, and it doesn’t look as heavy. It has a long, pointed snout and long legs.

Catalina takes slow, steady breaths as she nocks an arrow. When the animal gets close enough, she waits until it turns broadside. Aiming for the area between the shoulders and neck, she takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. Holding her breath, she lets the arrow go. It hits its mark, and the animal falls lifeless to the ground.

Unlike one of her foster families, Catalina takes no pleasure in killing animals; it is just a necessity for survival. Now she has to get the animal back to where Jove waits.

Sighing loudly, she stands with her hands on her hips before the tears drip down her cheeks. Her lower lip trembles, and she bows her head at the unfairness of life. Why did someone do this to her? Who would do this to her? Tarra is the first person that comes to mind, and as much as Catalina would love to blame it all on her, someone had to have lifted her onto a gamel and whisked her away.

Swiping at her eyes, she pushes the unwanted feelings away and heads over to a rock. Leaning over, she cups her hands, taking several gulps of water. When she drinks her fill, she splashes water over her face, hoping Jove won’t notice she’s been crying.

Blowing out her anger at the situation, Catalina studies the animal and the predicament she is in. After a moment of contemplating, she turns her back to the animal and reaches down, grabbing its two front feet and pulling them over her shoulders. Wearing the animal as a cape, she uses her legs to stand. The animal’s body hangs down her backside, touching the ground, but it is the best she can do.

Grunting with every step, Catalina slowly walks back toward Jove. He isn’t far, but with the animal on her back, he might as well be a state away. Sweat drips from her brow, soaking through her shirt. Her legs quiver and her arms tremble from exertion with every step.

When she gets back to where he sits with wide eyes, she drops the animal and collapses onto the ground, heaving.

“You killed a graset?” Jove asks in disbelief.

“I don’t know what it is. I just hope it’s edible.” Catalina throws her forearm over her eyes, and she lies panting on the ground.

“It is a graset. They are a delicacy. Those who do see them rarely get close enough to kill one.” He stares incredulous at her. “How did you kill it?”

“Arrow,” she mumbles before resting enough to sit up. When she does, she blows out a long breath and says, “Please tell me you have a knife.”

“I do.”

She holds out her hand. “Let me have it.”

“I can do it,” he insists.

“Look, I understand that you don’t want me to do this, but you can’t do it right now. You may open the wound and start bleeding again. So, hand it over.”

Reluctantly, he pulls a jagged knife from his black trousers and hands it over.

“Thanks,” she says, going to work, skinning the animal. Hoping to give the fur to Theon, she works meticulously with every cut. It doesn’t take long until she needs to start a fire and roast the meat. “Oh, shoot! I was so tired and hungry, I forgot my bow.” Glancing around, looking for something to collect water, she finally asks Jove, “Do you have anything I can collect some water in?”

He reaches into his satchel and pulls out a canteen-like container. “Thanks,” she says before heading back toward the water.

The refreshing water slides down with each swallow, and when she is no longer thirsty, she fills the container and scoops up her bow and arrows and heads back.

When she reaches Jove, she hands him the container. “Here.” He reaches up and clasps it in his hands.

“Thank you.” He uncaps the container and takes a big swallow of water.

Catalina gathers what she needs and starts a fire.

Not long later, the two of them sit around the small fire eating the roasted meat and drinking water. Jove doesn’t talk much, and that’s okay. Darkness is descending once again, and her mind wanders back to Theon. He will be back soon, and she knows he will come looking for her. He has to.