Raven (25 page)

“
Jack!” This was the third morning that I had managed to lose him. “Jack!” I trudged through the trees as they whipped back at me, slashing my face. I was frustrated at this point, my progress continually thwarted by a stupid horse. Over the past six days we hadn’t gotten very far. I could still see the mountain where we had come from behind us, and that was not a very encouraging sign. It was not only that, though. The berries I had been living off of were making my stomach twist and knot, forcing me to rest more often than I’d liked. At least I had an abundant supply of fresh water, but I needed something real to eat, and soon.

“
Jack! Where are you?” I called, bringing my hands to my mouth. Though Jack had wandered off before, he had always come back when I called for him—at least eventually. I stopped to listen, hearing nothing but the wind in the trees and the sound of the river behind me. I didn’t want to lose that sound, it was my beacon and my way back.

I walked on a little further, grabbing a branch and breaking it from the tree. I picked off the small twigs that sprung from it, creating a walking stick that I used to break down some of the soft low-lying nettles, a nasty little plant I had discovered for the first time. Never did I think plants could actually attack, leaving an array of throbbing red bumps around my ankle.

“
Jack!” I continued to call, hoping he would hear me. I needed him, not just for transportation, but for social connection. Talking to plants, which no longer talked to me, felt insane. I grumbled. “Jack!” I had thought we were inseparable, but apparently not.

I began to sweat, so I pulled the pack from my back. I yanked my sweater over my head, straightening my tattered tank top. I balled the sweater up and shoved it into the bag, pushing down the journals. I let the bag rest on the ground for a moment as I enjoyed the way the breeze cooled the sweat on my skin, making it prickle with goose bumps.

It was then that I heard a rustling behind me and I spun around to see what it was. “Jack?” I whispered. It sounded smaller than Jack, perhaps a skunk or small deer. Just in case it was the skunk, I lifted my walking stick into my hands like a sword. I heard the rustle again, this time closer. I took a step away from the sound, hunching down into a readied pose.

The bush before me shook violently, followed by a high pitched scream. My heart leapt into my throat, the sound seemingly foreign. I stood frozen for a moment, hearing whomever it was struggle, and recognizing it to be a female voice.

“
Hello?”
I took one step forward as I tightened my grip on the stick, my palms sweating. The voice continued to swear and I took another step toward it. “Um—
Hello?”
I asked again, this time louder.

“
Hello?” The voice finally answered, sounding a bit flustered and annoyed.

Another rustling came from my left and my gaze shot to the source of this new noise, seeing Jack emerge from the trees with a mouthful of grass.

I exhaled hard, relieved that this wasn’t some sort of ambush.
“Jack,”
I whispered. I felt better now that he was here, more confident when it was two against one. I heard the voice again, and looked back to the bush.

“
I don’t know who you are, but, would it be a bother if I asked you for help?” The voice sounded scared and desperate.

“
Uh—”
I paused, putting my hand up in Jack’s direction, telling him to stay put.
“Uh—Yeah,
sure.” I craned my head from side to side, trying to look through the thick bush to find the woman. I saw a hand reach out toward me, scuffed with dirt and speckled with scratches. I took the hand and pulled as hard as I could, a struggle as my weak muscles were rivaled by her weight.

She flew out of the bush then, toppling over me as we fell back onto the moist forest floor. Jack jumped, throwing his head in the air. I was quick to shove myself away and stand. I guarded myself, unsure exactly what kind of person I was dealing with. The girl lay on the ground with her arm across her eyes, exposing a cluster of scratches that spread from her wrist to her elbow.
“Nettles—”
she muttered. I lowered my walking stick as she moaned. Jack walked up behind me, sniffing the air.

After standing there for another moment, I decided to talk. “Are you alright?” I asked, still standing about five feet from her. She looked about the same age as I, or at least the age I appeared, about eighteen. She had long brown hair that was about as mangled as mine, too, her roots in need of a touch up they would likely never receive.

She moved her arm from her eyes then, staring at me. “That really hurt,” she half laughed as she said it, clearly not as concerned about me as I was about her.

“
I bet.”

She blinked, her brown eyes looking at Jack. She looked to her side, grabbing a bunch of ferns and proceeding to rub the yellow pollen side against the red bumps from the nettle.

So
that’s
how you ease the pain,
I thought.

“
Nice horse.” She spoke, wincing as she continued to rub the fern vigorously against her skin.

I nodded. “Oh, thanks.” It was strange to hear a human voice. It had felt like forever, though it had only been six days.

The girl stood. “You scared me to death.” She brushed the dirt from her pants, inspecting her wounds.

“
You should probably put something on that,” I pointed to one scratch that was dripping blood.

She wiped the blood from her arm and then wiped it on her pants. “It’ll stop eventually.” But I saw her reach for a nearby bush, grabbing a new handful of leaves and tossing them in her mouth. She chewed on them for a moment as I stared, curious about what she was doing now. She had a tart expression on her face, shaking as though the leaves in her mouth were almost too bitter to handle. After a sufficient number of chomps, she spit the green substance in her hand, and then spread it across the scratches.

“
There, I think I finally got it all covered,” she exclaimed satisfactorily. She then wiped her tongue on her shirt, as though trying to rid her mouth of as much of the taste as possible.

I nodded. I still was not used to a human body, still unsure just what would kill me and what wouldn’t. Clearly, those particular leaves had some sort of medicinal quality.

“
How did you know to do all that?” I finally ask, finding I was still gawking at her.

She shrugs. “Trial and error really.” She snorted. “Some of those plants can really give you a good ache in the stomach, though. I tend to stay away from the really colorful ones, just out of general safety.”

I find myself shocked. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll
kill
you?”

Her following laugh was cool. “I try just a bit at first, and if I don’t feel ill within the hour, I figure it’s alright. Then I start to experiment.”

I nod. “I wish I had your bravery,” I muttered. She didn’t hear me.

“
So, what’s your name? Where are you from?” She stood casually, asking the questions as though she had asked them many times before.

I stabbed my stick at the ground, finding I was nervous to talk with her, intimidated even.

She laughed. “Don’t be so nervous. I’m not going to hurt you. I think at this point we all need to stick together.” She rolled her eyes. “And I can tell by the gaunt look on your face that you could use a little help and guidance.”

I let a small polite smile pass my lips. “Well, my name is Elle. And I’m from—” I paused, not knowing what to say.

The girl waited for me to continue with eager eyes, but when I didn’t, she didn’t pry. “Well, I’m Heather. I’m from Seattle.” She put her hand out toward me and I took it, assuming it was for a shake.

“
You’re from Seattle? How is it there?” I tried to carry the conversation further in my attempt to redeem myself.

Her eyes got grave. “Not good. That’s why I’m here. There’s a group of us, about a days hike from here. We’ve already organized a town of sorts. We were actually here before all this,” she motioned toward the trees. “We were told it would be safer here.”

I nodded again. “By who?”

“
Our leader,” she replied frankly, which told me nothing.

“
So why are you way out here and away from this town?” I pressed.

She narrowed her eyes in a strange way. “My friend and I are looking for people, like you, and hunting as well. You would not believe the abundance of wild game! Tastier than anything I’ve ever had, too!”

I nod. “Ah.” She was acting as though she were hiding something, so I brought up the friend. “There’s someone with you?” I looked to the woods behind her.

She blinked, “Yeah, just a prophet of sorts. She’s back near the river. We saw your fire and figured we’d search the woods for the source.”

“
I see.” Perhaps she was protecting this prophet of hers.

“
You should come with me. I’ll take you there.” Her face was happy again.

I nodded with reluctance, patting Jack.

“
They have to approve you, though. Our town is rather strict. We’ve had a lot of groups trying to invade us. People are desperate.” We began to walk back toward the river. I walked ahead a bit, trying to keep up with Jack as Heather kept her eyes on the ground, as though looking for something. “The prophet will be able to decide if you’re worthy by the time we arrive. If not, you can travel on down river. There are many towns popping up along the way. I’m sure it won’t be hard to find shelter.”

I made a sort of snorting noise in reply. “Strange, isn’t it?” I looked back at her, watching as she looked up at the trees. My long blonde hair swung off my back and over my shoulder then. Her gaze dropped to my back and she froze. Her mouth fell open, the blood draining from her face. Alarmed, I stopped as well, my brows pressing together as I watched her face.

“
Heather, what is it?” My heart began to pound, thinking there was something there, like a giant spider.

She smiled then, rather suddenly.
“Elle—”
she kept her gaze on my back. Laughing with disbelief, she covered her mouth with her hand. I watched as she muttered something, then stomped the ground with excitement.

“
What?”
I began to spin in place, trying to see what it was.

She dropped her hand, “It’s true!” She walked up to me, covering the ground between us in two large steps.
“It’s true!”
She jumped up and down, touching her hand to my back as though it were made of delicate paper. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.” Her attitude toward me suddenly changed, and I sensed she no longer felt superior. “She’s going to be so happy to see you!”

I clenched my jaw. “Who is
she?”

She stopped jumping around, her demeanor calming and her eyes fixed.

“
What is it?”
I tried to look at my back again, but I could not see.

“
I thought it was a lie, something I had imagined. But, it’s
you.
Look, clear as day.” She was pointing now.

I rolled my eyes, grabbing her shoulders as I shook her from the trance she seemed to be in.
“Heather—”
I said her name in a sharp tone.

She looked deep in my eyes. “You did this. That’s what she said.”

“
Heather, what’s there? What is on my back?” I was focused on one thing only, freaked out by whatever it was she seemed to find so enamoring.

Heather finally replied, as though my words were a command. “The marks on your back—” She faltered for a moment. “You have to be
The One.
You have to.” It was as though she was convincing herself.

The title brought pain to my heart. A part of me was hoping it was behind me.

“
We all saw it, back in Seattle. It was the tree and the raven. The mark on your back, it’s—it’s the
raven.
”

I tried once more to look, grabbing at my skin with my hand, unable to see.

“
Here,” Heather grabbed me and began to trace my back with her finger. I followed the sensation, feeling as she traced the outline of a small raven that seemed similar to the ones I’d seen before—on the tree where Edgar had died, on the trees I used to make into a swing.

“
What?”
I felt a bit violated, wondering how it was I could receive such a mark unnoticed. “What does it look like?”

Heather sighed impatiently.
“Like a raven.”

I turned to face her. “I know that. But, like a burn? A tattoo?”

She nodded, finally understanding, “Like a tattoo. Only it’s white, and barely visible. But it’s there!” She tilted her head with a baffled expression. “You didn’t have that before? It looks old.”

I snorted. “No. At least, not that I know of.” There were many things I never knew about myself, but I figured that this was likely something I would have known. Someone would have said something.

She looked star struck. “I am so honored!” She began to jump up and down. “Come, I need to show it to
her.”
She grabbed my arm and began to drag me forward.