Page 62 of What Blooms in Barren Lands

Monika whimpered. Likely she wanted to protest but could not quite bring herself to do it. I didn’t turn to see her, too afraid to take my eyes off the men, but I could feel her tensely petrified presence behind me.

“Well, that sounds fun, but it wouldn’t do at all, would it?” the taller man said. “You see, we want to take you with us to keep. We are a residence of sixty in Bonifacio, but fifty of us are men, capiche? And men get bored and restless living on their own ... But don’t worry, cuties, we’ll take good care of you. Bonifacio is a fortress. We can withstand any number of infected. And we have guns, rifles, semi-automatics, grenades, everything. Stores of petrol too, and plenty of supplies. You’ll be safe with us.”

He spoke mildly enough, but there was cunning to his grin and malice in his tone. Even were I inclined to let myself be allured by the promises of safety and abundance—and I wasnot—I instantly harboured a deep, visceral mistrust of him and anything he said.

“Can we refuse?” I asked blatantly.

“What do you think?” His laugh was like cawing. “Beautiful, but not awfully bright, are you?”

I hesitated, heart hammering, each fibre of me resisting. But I forced myself to say calmly: “My offer still stands. Let her go, and I’ll come with you willingly.”

“Oh no, no thanks. We’ll be taking you both. We don’t mind a bit of unwillingness.”

They both took two steps closer in unison. Monika screamed, and I stepped back instinctively, bumping into her. My eyes swam, and for a moment I thought I would pass out from the rapid rush of my blood. I scanned my surroundings in a frenzy, looking for a convenient stake-like branch or a sufficiently large, jagged-edged rock in the stream.

As if materialised from my imagination, two arrows pierced the chests of each of the intruders in quick succession. They stood still for a moment, their faces blank with surprise. The arrows protruded from their bodies, but no welling of blood could be seen on their leather jackets. The taller one fell first. Almost as soon as he did, the short man spurted blood from the corner of his mouth and then followed suit. He thrashed feebly on the ground, making gurgling sounds not unlike the bubbling of the stream. Pierced lung. Not the fastest way to die.

Monika collapsed to the ground right after they had, shaking and sobbing. I felt queasy and weak in the knees myself but had no time to dwell on that. A large figure came into sight from behind the nearby shrubbery, rushed towards me, and squeezed me tightly.

“Einar,” I exhaled in relief, burrowing my face into his chest.

He reeked sharply of acidic terror, his shirt wet with nervous perspiration.

“You’re all right. You’re all right,” he kept repeating as if to assure not only me, but himself of the fact.

I mumbled something in assent, holding onto him as if for dear life, wanting to thank him but not finding the right words. Looking up, I saw the concern evaporate from his face, his eyes now gleaming cold with fury.

“Are you mad coming here unarmed?”

He held me firmly at an arm’s length, his fingers digging painfully into my shoulders.

“What the hell were you thinking?!”

His voice shook with rage, but somehow it made me want to hug him rather than argue with him.

“We just came to do laundry. I am sorry, Einar, I really am!”

I tried to pry his fingers off with my own, but they wouldn’t budge.

“How could you be so careless?! Never mind those two, but what if roamers came after you?”

He had never raised his voice at me before, but just then he started shouting at me in earnest. But his eyes darkened, signalling that he was more present, having overcome the initial shock.

“We cleared this whole area!” I protested.

“You-can-never-be-sure!”

“I made a mistake, I know it. I’m sorry. Stop yelling at me!”

“I’ll stop when I see fit!” he roared.

My face crumbled, and suddenly my own jumbled soup of emotion spilled out of my eyes.

“Could you please see it fit to stop now?”

Shockingly, that did the trick.

“Ah.” He exhaled, deflating instantly.