Page 7 of Semi-Human

I wake on the hard ground as the sun slowly rises behind the treetops. My body hurts, especially my head. My hands are cuffed behind my back, and there’s rope around my legs. I become aware of the chilling air and the fact that I’m only wearing my underwear.

“Wake up, Hiver.”

The voice sounds like a rumble of rocks, and I have a nasty feeling about who the speaker is.

“If I need to tell you again, it will be with a kick to your head.”

My skull already feels cracked. I force my eyes open, blinking until the shape in front of me becomes clearer. Buck is sitting on a log a few feet from me, looking pissed, but maybe that’s how he normally looks. His green scales run from his thick neck to underneath his shirt. I’ve seen far worse mutations, but never this close, and never while being so defenseless.

“Where am I?”

I ask. My mouth is dry, and the shoulder I’m lying on has gotten numb.

“We’ve been walking for a few hours, putting some distance between us and anyone who might be following, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is.”

With my sight back to normal, I notice his eyes have a yellowish sheen. “Can I sit?”

“You can try.”

I try, but my body’s too heavy. From the ground, I glance around to see the few surviving Raiders. Some are injured. We should have stayed on that hill and finished them off.

I want to ask about Caden and Finn, but I don’t trust Buck to give me an honest answer. I try to sit again, and this time I succeed, though the effort leaves me panting.

“Can we have him now?”

someone calls from behind.

Buck chuckles. “Soon.”

I clear my parched throat, trying not to show my fear. I’ve heard horror stories about what Raiders do to their captives—especially to Defenders. Even if half of it is lies, I’m likely still heading to hell. “Where are you taking me?”

He shakes his large head. “That’s the wrong question. What you should be asking is what state you’ll be in when you get there.”

I take a breath and try to think, even though my brain is still swimming in fog. We’re in the middle of a forest, making it impossible for me to guess our location.

“There were only a few of you,”

Buck says, his green shirt stretched around his bulging muscles. I try not to stare at the scales across his arms. “Were you there for the Semi-Human?”

“Yes.”

He looks away, chewing on his meaty bottom lip. Seeing his troubled expression confuses me. “Who told you we have him?”

I hesitate, but I can’t find a reason to withhold this information. “Our scouts saw him with your men.”

“Do your scouts usually track around those parts?”

I hesitate again, wondering if I should admit that we have captured one of their own. Buck might assume we tortured Finn, and won’t that be an invitation to torture me in return?

Fuck. I should be braver than this.

Buck clears his throat at someone behind me. I tense when I hear footsteps approaching, then two Raiders grab my arms. I try to squirm away, but they hold tightly and drag me back, dropping me next to a small campfire. The smell of smoke fills my nostrils. The two Raiders tower over me. They’re filthy, and there’s a nasty glee in their eyes that chills my blood.

Before I can try to reason with them, they begin to kick me. With my hands bound behind my back, I can do nothing but clench my body and hope nothing breaks. The other Raiders cheer and howl. When they finally stop kicking, I’m a lump of pain.

“Someone told you where to look for us,”

Buck says from his log, and I can barely hear him through my moans of pain. “And that Semi-Human practically gave himself in from what I was told, which makes me think your people were the ones who sent him to us. How long have you been working with them?”

I suck in the pain and say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We haven’t seen one of them in decades!”

“I’m not sure I believe you, Hiver. You and I won’t be friends if you keep lying to me.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Boss, he’s fucking with us. Can we burn him a bit?”

one of the ones who kicked me asks.

“Yeah, but be careful with his mouth—this little bird still needs to sing.”

Sharp panic hit my chest. I try to crawl away despite the pain in my ribs, but one of the Raiders crouches behind my head and blocks me. Another one comes to sit on my legs. Most of his front teeth are missing, and one of his eyes is covered with a patch. He’s holding a piece of burning wood. “I’m gonna burn your pretty nipples off.”

The growing heat stings my skin, taking away any shred of self-control I still had. “Stop!”

“Start with an arm,”

Buck says, sounding like he’s bored.

“You got it, captain!”

I’ve been wounded in battle throughout the years, but nothing ever came close to the feeling of my flesh being set on fire. My screams echo through the trees, sending ravens flying from the branches. The scent of my cooked flesh is sickening. I can’t afford to faint, but darkness pulls me under.

“Look how nice he burns,”

the one with the eye patch says with a chuckle. “I’m taking his underwear off. They say all Defenders have wet pussies.”

He pulls down my underwear while the one next to my head places his rough palms on my chest to hold me in place. Heat grows close to my crotch, and I realize they really are about to go through with it. My terror erupts with another scream, but it stops abruptly at the splashing of something warm on my face and chest. I open my eyes to see blood covering my skin. The man behind me tumbles aside, leaving the man holding the burning stick to watch in shock. I want to kick him before he drops the stick, but he’s sitting firmly on my legs, his face draining of color. Before he can figure out what to do, a bullet hits his chest and sends him tumbling backward. The burning stick lands on the ground next to me.

Adrenaline shoots through my body. I roll to my front, away from the fire. All around me, Raiders begin to shout in panic. I want to crawl somewhere and hide, but a body is blocking my way. I make myself as small as possible while bullets fly over my head.

Raiders drop as they fail to find their target, screaming as they're gunned down one by one. The attack seems to be coming from multiple directions, and I can do nothing but hope not to get shot by a wild bullet, or get executed as someone’s last act of revenge.

Buck shouts orders, but he’s disoriented as well, making his men even more confused.

A Raider tries to flee and crashes into the campfire. By the time he’s back on his feet, half his body is engulfed in flames. A bullet to the back takes him out of his misery.

Moments later, the screaming stops, fading into echoes in my head. Someone’s rapidly breathing a few feet from me. I turn my head to see Buck on his knees, his hands raised in surrender. I count three bullet wounds on his torso, but it doesn’t seem like he’s dying. I raise my head to see the man standing in front of Buck, expecting to find Caden. But it isn’t him.

My shock pushes away the pain in my burned arm. All I can see is copper hair.

“Mercy,”

Buck says, his face twitching in pain.

“You’re the one they call Buck the Bull.”

The Semi sounds young and calm, as if there aren’t bodies all around us. Did he take all of them down by himself? “Roberta told me about you.”

“She’s a good woman.”

“She might not like it if I kill an old friend of hers.”

“She won’t.”

“But who’s gonna tell her?”

Buck spits blood on the ground. “You wanted us to capture you. Why?”

“Reasons.”

The Semi tilts his head. “Get out of here. If I see you again, I won’t be nice.”

Buck manages to stand, swaying and grimacing in pain. He stumbles out of my line of sight until I can no longer hear his footsteps.

I hold my breath as the Semi-Human turns. For the first time, I see him clearly and not through the scope of my sniper rifle. He looks about my age, strands of copper hair covering his forehead. His pale skin is smooth like porcelain.

He watches me lying naked among the men he killed and says, “Nice butt.”

*

He warns me not to try anything, but we both know I’m in no state to fight or escape. He breaks the shackles on my wrists with ease before untying my legs. I sit up, fumbling for my underwear and grimacing at the pain in my right arm. I grit my teeth as I pull up my underwear, reclaiming a sense of modesty.

I find a bandana on the ground and use it to wipe the blood from my chest and face, though some stubbornly clings to my skin. “Do you know where they took my clothes?”

I ask, unable to meet his eyes.

“I think they’re over there. Hold on.”

He returns seconds later to drop my dirty uniform in my lap, including my socks and boots. I put my pants on, trying to use my right arm as little as possible. When I dare to examine the damage, the sight of my burned skin makes me gag. Assuming it doesn’t get infected, it will soon begin to blister, then scar. A wound like this out in the wild is asking for trouble.

“Wait.”

The Semi crouches next to me and takes my black shirt before I can put it on. He tears off the right sleeve. “We need to keep it clean until we find something to bandage it with.”

I nod at his logic, then try not to cry out as I slip into my dusty shirt.

Having spent enough time helpless on the ground, I push myself to my unsteady feet. With a deep breath, I meet the Semi-Human’s honey-colored eyes, hoping my fear isn’t showing. I have so many questions, like why did he save me? And why didn’t he escape sooner if he could have easily broken his cuffs? But I settle for the most important question. “There were two others with me. Do you know what happened to them?”

I brace myself for devastating news, but he says, “They made it out.”

I exhale in relief, feeling lighter. “Both are safe?”

“Yes, the blond Defender and Finn.”

“Okay. Wait—what? You know Finn?”

He crosses his arms. There’s blood on the sleeve of his blue windcoat, and I wonder who the hell fights in a coat. “We met a few weeks ago when he escaped his parents and the Raiders.”

“But I met him a week ago when he was with the Raiders and his family.”

“I asked him to turn himself in so that your people could save him.”

The fuck? My head spins. It was all a trap. Finn must have given us the locations of the Raiders’ supply stations because he knew we’d send scouts who would likely find the Semi-Human. “Why did you want us to find you?”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s gather supplies for the road.”

“The road to my Hive?”

He shakes his head. “You’re staying with me, and we’re not heading to your Hive quite yet.”

My anger flares, momentarily overpowering my pain. He acts as if this is his decision to make. “I don’t think you get it. I was captured during combat, and now that I’m free, I must return home and report what happened.”

“And you will. Eventually.”

I would have hit him if I didn’t know any better. “Am I a prisoner?”

He purses his lips. “A prisoner? Yeah, sure. You’re my prisoner.”

He comes to face me. I tense, still hearing echoes of the screaming men he just killed. “River.”

I frown. “We’re going to a river?”

“No, I am River. You?”

“Josh Bennett.”

He nods. “Let’s see what they left behind, Josh Bennett. It’s a long walk to High Hope.”

“Why there?”

Out of all the Free Cities, High Hope is the farthest from my Hive and the only one to have a self-proclaimed king as a leader, which Dino always said was bullshit.

“I need to meet a friend there,”

River says. “It’s important.”

I sigh, reminding myself I would be dead if it weren’t for him. Besides, Dino will kill me if he finds out I turned down the chance to communicate with a Semi-Human. Like it or not, River is my mission, the reason why I was on that damn hill in the first place.

We sift through what the Raiders left behind, grabbing whatever we think we’ll need. River has his own large backpack, and I find a smaller one that isn’t too covered in blood. He picks up a pistol and a rifle, and when I try to do the same, he clears his throat. “You won’t need it.”

“I’ll need to defend myself.”

“And shoot me in the back?”

I understand his concern, but I’ve never been outside without a weapon, especially so far from home. “I can’t be unarmed out here. I give you my word of honor as a Defender that I won’t attack you.”

“And I give you my word of honor as River that you won’t need weapons as long as you’re with me.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. In case anyone attacks us, I hope they’ll get River first so I can use his weapons.

Before we leave, I drink as much water as I can. My stomach grumbles, but I’d rather eat on the road than in this graveyard. It doesn’t take long for me to realize I can barely walk. I stop and lean against a tree, my shirt stuck to my skin. It’s not even hot outside, but I might have a fever.

“It’s my ribs,”

I say, because right now they feel much worse than the burn.

River gazes into the distance, his eyes narrowing as if he’s listening to something. “There’s a lake not far,”

he says. “We’ll rest there for the night. I know a place with medical supplies, but it will take us about two or three days to get there.”

I nod, relieved he doesn’t tell me to suck it up and keep walking.

“The lake is through these woods,”

he says. “Lean on me.”

I hesitate, but I hurt too much to play it tough. Our walk is slow and awkward, but River doesn’t complain, so I keep my mouth shut except for the occasional grunt of pain.

“Almost there,”

he says as I’m about to ask for a break. My ribs are beginning to swell, and I’m afraid it will worsen tomorrow.

One moment we’re walking slowly through clustered trees, then we’re facing a peaceful lake. The sun is peeking between the clouds, making the water glisten. When I began to venture outside of Unity as a fresh Defender, it was the lakes that captivated me the most, even more than the mountains.

“We’ll be an easy target here,”

I say after scanning the shoreline. “They could come at us through the trees.”

“I’ll hear them coming.”

I don’t appreciate his overconfidence. “Did you hear us climbing on that hill yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Before I can ask about that, he helps me sit. I wipe sweat from my brow, exhausted and short of breath. River hands me water and says, “I’ll make us something to eat. Maybe go wash up. I have spare clothes.”

I stand up carefully and remove my clothes, staying in my underwear as River takes out cooking tools from his big backpack. The sand is soft beneath my feet, the breeze sending low waves across the lake. I step inside and gasp. “It’s fucking freezing!”

“You’ll get used to it. I’m off to hunt rabbits.”

He disappears between the trees, taking both weapons with him. I hold my breath and go farther into the freezing lake. At least the cold distracts me from the pain, though I yelp when my burn meets the water.

My muscles slowly unclench as the cold becomes somewhat bearable. I haven’t had a chance to gather my thoughts since I woke up with the Raiders. The battle on the hill flashes in my head, along with the death screams of my squad members. The feeling of helplessness that intensified with every passing minute. I focus on my breathing to calm myself down, telling myself I have no way of controlling the past, and as far as I know, every single Raider from that battle is now dead. But not Buck. I was in no position to tell River what to do with the man he’d defeated, but if I ever see that mutant again, I’ll settle the score.

I wonder if Caden figured out I was taken and not killed. I want to send him a message, but I don’t know how. I rub cold water over my face, then wash the stubborn, dry blood from my hair.

“I’m back!”

I turn around to see River holding a dead rabbit by the neck. There’s no blood, and I didn’t hear a shot, so he must have caught it with his bare hands.

He can break my neck just as easily. I’d be wise to remember that.

I watch as he gathers wood, then creates a spark with two rocks. In less than a minute, we have a campfire. I’ve been so mesmerized by his efficiency that I forgot to ask if he needed help.

“You should come out before you catch a cold.”

He’s right. As I reach the shore, the wind feels like an ice blanket against my wet skin. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

I tiptoe toward the fire, but it’s not big enough.

River pulls out a towel and hands it to me. When I’m dry but still shivering, he offers me clothes. They’re plain brown, but the fabric is thick, and I immediately feel warmer as I put on the shirt. I roll up the sleeve so it won’t rub against my burn. Pus is already starting to form, and I hope it’s a good sign. River looks away as I put on a pair of his underwear and pants.

I sit next to the fire, warming my hands and bare feet. With my body less cold, my pain resurfaces.

“You look pale,”

River says. “Use your bag as a pillow. I’ll prepare the rabbit.”

I don’t like showing weakness in front of him, but who am I kidding? I’m a mess, and he knows it. I lie down on the grass with my head on the bag, only realizing how dizzy I am when the clouds seem to spin like a tornado. I shut my eyes and fall asleep almost immediately.

Some time later, River nudged me gently. It’s almost nighttime, and the fire makes his delicate face glow.

“You have a fever,”

he says, “but at least your burn is not infected. I need to check your ribs.”

I become aware of the sweat on my face. He’s right about the fever. “Okay.”

He raises my shirt. The evening’s breeze feels nice against my hot skin.

“I need to touch,”

he says. “I’ll be gentle, but it might hurt.”

I brace myself for pain, but he’s being careful. “How bad is it?”

“Not that bad. Nothing’s broken. Sorry I didn’t step in sooner.”

I ponder his words. “Sooner?”

“I wanted to see where they’ll take you.”

His words make my blood hot. “When they kicked the shit out of me and burned my arm, you just sat and watched?”

“No, I was standing.”

“Fuck you.”

I shove his hands away.

“I wouldn’t have let them kill you! By Mother, you should be more grateful.”

Mother.

I meet his eyes. “You could’ve helped us against the Raiders when the fight started, didn’t you? When my squad was killed one by one, you waited in that cage.”

He shakes his head. “Not true. They gave me drugs to make me pass out, but I made my body fight it. I joined the battle when I could.”

I hold my tongue, finding myself believing him.

River stands up. “Try to sit. You need to eat.”

I smell cooked rabbit, and my hollow stomach grumbles. I try to sit, but my ribs have swollen. “Shit.”

“Let me.”

He helps me up.

I watch as he cuts slices of meat and places them on a flat piece of wood for me. I can eat anything by this point, but the rabbit is cooked just right. I finish everything in less than a minute, and River cuts me some more. When I’m done eating, I drink cold water, and despite the lingering pain, I feel refreshed.

By now, the night has descended, and I’m grateful for the warm fire. A campsite out here is asking for trouble, but I’m inclined to believe that River can protect us like he said.

He reaches for his backpack and pulls out a silvery object. Catching my frown, he says, “It’s a harmonica.”

“A what?”

The name rings a bell, but I haven’t seen one before.

“It’s for music.”

He smiles, and the notion that someone who can smile like that can also be a trained killer feels ridiculous, but I know better than to fall for a pretty smile. “I saw it in an old children’s book called The Moomins. The character of Snufkin played it during his wanderings, so I tried to find one for my own wanderings. It took me over a year until I found it in an old music store.”

It’s a relic, I think, knowing that Dino would have appreciated it. Does he know by now what happened? Does he think I’m dead?

River hands me the harmonica. “Try.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Put it to your mouth and breathe into it, but not too hard. Move your lips over the mouthpiece.”

I take the harmonica, the metal cold and smooth against my palm. The one thing you don’t want to do at night in the wilderness—other than having a campfire—is making extra noise, but I guess this isn’t a night for caution. I put the harmonica to my lips, and it occurs to me that River’s lips have been on the same spot. I breathe into the small cracks, smiling as I produce a sound. I slide my lips from side to side in an attempt to make the music less… unpleasant. “Is it supposed to sound like this?”

“Hmm, no.”

He takes back the harmonica and puts it to his lips. He starts off with a sad tune, then switches it up to something livelier. I’m surprised that the same instrument I just used can produce such lovely sounds. I absently tap my bare feet on the sand, watching as River moves his upper body to the rhythm of the music. He seems to be in his own universe, the scene almost intimate. When he stops playing, I immediately miss it.

“That was better than mine,” I say.

“Much better, but I can teach you.”

Getting harmonica lessons from a Semi-Human wasn’t part of any plan I ever had, but I don’t mind.

The sky is full of stars by now, the full moon reflecting on the lucid lake. I was eighteen when I saw the sky for the first time, and I can’t imagine a point in time when I won’t be in awe of such magical beauty. “I have questions,”

I say. “Many.”

“I like questions.”

He takes off his blue windcoat. “Wear this. It’s getting cold.”

I don’t argue because Colorado’s nights can be brutal. His coat has soft padding on the inside, like being wrapped in a blanket.

“You said that you and Finn worked together.”

He crosses his legs on the other side of the campfire. “I asked him to befriend a Hiver so I could speak with one of you. He was supposed to get rescued by the Defenders, then get into your Hive and find someone important who is willing to listen.”

I hope for River’s sake he doesn’t think of me as someone important. “The Raiders could have killed Finn before we got to him.”

“He said that this specific group wouldn’t because his parents were there. I followed them and watched until the Defenders showed up. I wouldn’t have let anyone hurt him. I saw when they took him to your Hive, then I waited for his signal. When I didn’t hear anything, I realized he’d been captured, so I switched to plan B.”

“Which was?

He uses a stick to increase the fire. “I allowed myself to get captured in one of the Raider’s locations Finn was meant to tell you about.”

“That might be the craziest plan I’ve ever heard.”

River nods, looking thoughtful. “Finn said the same thing.”

From the little I know of Finn, I can't picture him following River blindly. There must have been trust between them, or deep manipulation, but I’m willing to give River the benefit of the doubt.

“You said you wanted to speak with my people,”

I say. “Why?”

“I need your help.”

“Our help?”

I’ve seen him fight, so I can’t imagine what kind of help he could possibly need.

He remains quiet, as if debating how to explain. I dare ask, “Is this about the giants in the west?”

He gasps, his eyes growing wide. “Josh Bennett, you know things! Do all of your people know this?”

I shake my head. “No. A friend of mine told me that recently in secret. He’s part of our leadership. He showed me photos of them. Are they also Semi-Humans?”

He makes a face. “Please don’t call me that. My people were born enhanced, but we’re being called Semi-Humans like we’re less.”

He meets my eyes, challenging me to call him less, but I’m not crazy.

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Twenty-three.”

“I was told your people couldn’t have children.”

“We can’t. I’m part of the newest wave that was born in the lab, and it’s also the last wave we’ll ever have.”

I let his words sink in. “Why is your wave the last?”

“The technology and facilities that created us are old, and most no longer work. My wave ended up being very small.”

I can’t help but notice he referred to his people as created. I want to ask how many of them are still alive, but I don’t want to come across as fishing for information to use against them. I ask instead, “What about the giants?”

His face darkens. He reaches for the fire and moves embers around like they’re not burning hot. “Father made the giants. They call themselves New-Humans.”

My stomach tightens. Doesn’t new mean you wish to replace the old?

“Do Mother and Father still exist?”

He nods. “Yes. The original plan was for us to live among you once we purified the air, but your people decided to fight us once you returned to the surface. Mother wanted us to find somewhere to live far from you, but Father didn’t want us to give up. He wanted to quickly create more of us, then fight back.”

I remind myself that Father is a version of Dr. Ivan Volkov, a man who—like any other man—can be vengeful.

“Father convinced the remaining scientists to join him, and they went to the west. They must have found other labs there, and Father had the knowledge to restart the program that created my people. He clearly pushed that technology further than he did with us.”

And now those giants are taking down settlements. “What’s their end game?”

River sighs. “A new world where your people are meant to serve. They believe that by ruling over everything, they can bring true peace. I don’t agree with them, but you humans do love to fight.”

That we do. I wrap my arms around my bent legs, feeling the burden of this newfound knowledge. “How do you know all of this?”

“They came to us a few years ago and asked for our support.”

The flames reflecting in his eyes mix with anger. “A few of my people chose to join them. Unlike me, most of us never left the village. All they know about humans is old stories of war.”

“Then why did you want to meet with my people?”

“To fight together, of course. The New-Humans are coming.”

A chill runs down my spine, especially knowing what those giants are aiming to achieve.

“We’ll need to go to my village first and convince my people to agree.”

I frown. “You didn’t even get your own people to agree?”

He looks away as if I reprimanded him, which I didn’t mean to do. “It’s complicated. The New-Humans are not a direct threat to my people, so we have fewer reasons to join this fight. But Mother and I know that we can’t wait for them to become stronger. By refusing to join Father, we turned ourselves into a target.”

He exhales. “We’ve talked enough for now. You should rest and let your fever pass.”

He’s right. I’m exhausted, and my brain isn’t done processing half of what he told me. “We should take turns guarding.”

“I can take care of my prisoner just fine.”

Jerk. But there’s humor in his voice, and I do need the extra sleep.

“I can play some more if you want.”

I can tell by his voice that he wants me to agree. “Okay, but something mellow.”

I lie back down, enjoying the feeling of his warm coat. Minutes later, River’s music carries me to sleep.