Ezra
She’s going to get herself killed and I’m not okay with that. Perhaps I should be, but I’m not. The human has no idea where she is or where she’s going, so the real question is, how did she get here?
“What?” She asks, her jaw dropping. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that night is coming,” I point to the sky. “Soon it will be dark, and that’s when the monsters come out to play. Unless you have a way to keep yourself safe in the darkness, which it doesn’t look like you do, then you’re going to die in just a few hours.”
Dagger bites her bottom lip. She doesn’t look like she’s pouting. She looks scared, worried. She looks like she’s lost in the world and for some reason, I want to be the one who saves her.
“Do you have somewhere you’re going?” I ask quietly, and this time, she shakes her head. It’s as I thought. She’s running from something, not to something. She’s scared and afraid and she needs protection.
I will protect her.
“My name is Ezra,” I tell her. “You come with me.”
“I…what? I can’t come with you. You’re a stranger,” she seems so serious, and I laugh.
“Come on, human. Try to keep up.” I start walking quietly away from the creek. I don’t turn around to look at her and I don’t slow down. If my instincts are right, she’ll hesitate for a moment and then run to catch up.
Sure enough, before I count to “ten,” I hear her crashing through the brush. She’s loud and untrained. It’ll be difficult to do any hunting with her here, so I’ll need to start teaching her to be quiet. Surviving is difficult even for the most experienced of hunters. That’s why there aren’t many of us.
Most Sapphirans don’t want to take the risk.
Dagger walks beside me, but doesn’t speak. There’s a comfortable silence as we walk along. Every so often, I check my communications bracelet to make sure we’re going in the right direction. She stays close as we duck under low-hanging branches and every once in awhile she’ll jump at a strange sound or sight.
Dagger fascinates me. She’s so curious and cautious in some ways, but so wild and reckless in others. She’s a complete contradiction unlike anything or anyone I’ve ever seen.
“We’ll stay here,” I say when we reach a small clearing. There are several large oliaoneve trees surrounding it. They’re more than big enough for a sleeping nest.
“Where?” Dagger stops walking and looks around the clearing. She shrugs, then motions strangely with her hands. Humans are an extraordinary species, I think. There’s so much to learn about them. Even though I’ve spent several hours walking with Dagger, she’s still so intriguing.
“What are you doing?”
“What?”
“With your hands. What are you doing?”
She looks at her tiny palms and then back at me. “Nothing. I was motioning. You know, because there’s nowhere to sleep. Unless you mean…” She looks up at the trees and her face goes pale. “Oh, no.”
“We’ll sleep in the oliaoneve trees,” I tell her simply. They’re the safest and sturdiest of the trees. Nothing will hurt us in the nest.”
“The nest?” She raises an eyebrow. Does she not know what I mean or is she being sarcastic? Her body language is too confusing for me, especially when I’m tired. Right now, I wish Dagger would just say what she means because I say what I mean, and what I mean is that we need to get in our nest before night falls.
“Woman,” I’m frustrated. “What are you trying to ask me?”
“What the hell are you talking about, Ezra?” She motions around again, and my head is starting to ache. “What do you mean we’re going to sleep in a nest? Like a bird’s nest?” She squats down and moves her arms so her hands are toward her chest and her elbows are pointing out. She vaguely resembles some sort of air-born creature and I can’t help myself.
I laugh.
I chuckle at the idea that she’s trying to be a bird, and my laughter fills the area. Dagger seems to be a little embarrassed at my laughter, but after a moment, she starts to laugh, too, and we both enjoy the joke together.
It’s been so long since I felt comfortable around a woman. Hell, it’s been a long time since I spent time with a woman who wasn’t my sister or sister-in-law. Women and me don’t seem to get along.
I’m too gruff.
I’m too mean.
I’m too dark.
I’ve been called heartless and evil and terrible.
I’ve been called broken.
I’ve been called a killer.
I’ve been called so many things that right now, just being around Dagger is like a breath of fresh air. She might be scared of me, but she doesn’t judge me, and that makes me feel good, right. It makes me feel like even though we’re different, maybe spending time together isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe we can create some sort of comfortable companionship, at least until I find the fereers and get back to Diamond.
But then what will happen to her?
The thought saddens me because I wonder if Dagger will want to return to Mars. I wonder if she’ll want to return to her home, where she came from. I’ve only just met her, but the thought of saying goodbye breaks my heart a little, and that concerns me. Why does she have such an effect on me?
“Yes,” I finally say. “We’re going to stay in a nest. Not like the birds, though.” I walk around and look at the trees. Several look sturdy at first glance, but the branches are weak or damaged from storms. Those won’t do. The tree we sleep in needs to be able to keep us in the same place overnight, needs to be able to keep us safe and secure through the darkness.
There are plenty of animals who hunt in the darkness. There are plenty of creatures who come roaming at night, looking for prey. Fereers aren’t one of them, otherwise I’d be hunting at night instead of in the daylight. I like that I don’t have to hunt at night during this journey. Night hunting makes everything more difficult. I have to be more concerned about safety and food and watching my back at all times. During the day, I still need to be cautious, but things are a bit simpler.
Finally, I locate a branch that is thick, wide, and high. I pull my nesting rope from my bag and shoot it. The end of the rope ties automatically around the branch I’ve selected.
“What the hell?” Dagger says. “Did that rope just tie itself?”
“It’s nesting rope,” I say, which seems like it should be obvious. Next, I pull the nest from my pack. Pressing a small button on the side, the nest quickly expands and forms a small box. It’s about eight feet long and three feet wide. The exterior is completely camouflaged.
“Woah,” Dagger lets out a low whistle. “That’s incredible. It’s like a little tent, but better.”
I shove my pack inside the nest and motion for Dagger to follow suit.
“Wait,” I say, realizing she’s human and things might be different where she comes from. “Do you need to…?”
“Do I need to what?”
How do I put this delicately?
“Do you need to, um, use the bathroom before we go in?”
“Oh,” Dagger blushes. “Yeah, that would be a good idea. Hang tight.”
I don’t know what that means, but she hurries behind a tree and comes back a minute later looking a bit red.
“Sorry,” she says, but I’m not sure why she’s so apologetic. Humans are so tricky, so strange. I shake my head at her for a second. Should I ask what she’s sorry about? Something about her embarrassment makes me think twice, though, and I decide to let this one go.
“In you go,” I point to the nest and she climbs in. Once Dagger is inside, I finish connecting the nest to the nesting rope and make sure the entire thing is secure. Then I glance around the area once more. There shouldn’t be too many predators here, but you never can be too safe. I pull a couple of small alarms and cameras out of my pockets and walk the perimeter of the clearing. I set them up in several places. If anything tries to follow us or get to the nest, I’ll know before it happens.
Satisfied, I climb into the nest with Dagger, close the door, and push a button to lock the door.
“What happens now?” She asks. Dagger is sitting in the corner of the nest and has her legs curled up to her chest. There’s not a lot of room with both of us in here. Once we lie down to sleep, there will be even less space. I try not to think about how that makes me feel.
The last thing this woman needs is to know how attracted to her I am.
“Hang on to something,” I say. She reaches for a handle on the ceiling and grips it. Once I’m satisfied that she’s holding on tightly, I press another button and turn a knob. Then the nest lifts into the air toward the tree.
“Woah!” Dagger whispers as the nest moves. There are two small windows on the nest: one on each side. She peeks out the one at her end watches as we’re lifted up and away from the ground. “This is incredible. We’re so high.”
I chuckle because we’re only about 15 feet off the ground. It’s high enough that the lellianes can’t get us, but low enough that we won’t be seriously injured if something happens and the branch breaks or the nest falls. That won’t happen, but I like to be prepared, just in case.
Once the nest reaches its stopping point, I relax. Now it’s time to have a snack and go to sleep for the night. I glance at Dagger, but she’s peering out of the window still. The moonlight pours in the nest and illuminates her hair, casting a lovely glow on her, and suddenly, I realize I’m going to be lucky if I sleep at all.