Silas picked up the dried waste with his hand. It was rough and dry. He sniffed it.
"Hmm, smells like lion scat,"
he whispered. He was back at his lookout camp, patrolling alone. His partner, Axle, was receiving intensive treatment, and doesn't look like he'll be back on duty for a while . Silas had to cover the entire designated area all by himself . Silas was observing something strange in his area. Something new was here.
"Footprints. Claw marks. Territorial lines,"
Silas noted. He almost tasted the waste but stopped. He sniffed again.
"Definitely lions. But that's absurd, lions don't venture this deep in the jungle , they preferred the lowlands and rocks . They are probably at the bottom of the food chain around here, they have no place this deep, Blight Hounds and Zombie Bears would eat them for lunch. Lions aren't even strong enough to be part of the Cursed food chain."
He noticed something else. The waste had a strange, yellow texture.
"Sulfur?"
he muttered. He put a sample into a small pouch to study later.
He stood up and stretched. He's had a stressful night inspecting traps and breaches on their perimeter. The morning sun was rising. He was sitting on top of a large rock. Usually, this rock was home to lazy Zombie-Bears. They were dangerous, but right now, they were sleeping, more like hibernating. Silas didn't understand why bears would hibernate in early spring, so he called them Lazy.
He pulled out his binoculars. He looked at the trees and the grass. Everything looked quiet. Usually, this place was full of giant Ghost Spiders that made nets for webs over the bushes. Or Opossums the size of vans that ate small animals for breakfast. Today, it was still.
"What a night,"
Silas sighed. He pulled a whiskey bottle from his pocket. He tipped it back, but it was empty. He had finished it during his night watch.
"Oh man. I need some Morning Nectar from Axle's secret stash before I go into a very comfy morning sleep."
He grabbed his gear. He needed to leave before the morning monsters woke up , or a Zombie-Bear decides to wake from it's lousy slumber to find a light snack. As he climbed down the rocks, the thought about the new girl, Tari, flashed over his mind . He laughed to himself.
"What a girl, pretty naive,"
Silas mocked.
"She thinks she is brave. Just wait until the Island shows her its dark side. That cheeky attitude will fall apart like a wall made of bad bricks." He paused, thinking of the other girl. "But the little one, Aisha... she is different. She has fire in her spirit , I like her better ."
Silas jumped into the green bushes and vanished into the shadows.
*Gorgon's Cove*
Tck! Tick! Tick!
The sound was so loud it followed Tari into her dreams. She snapped her eyes open. She wasn't sleepy; she was terrified. She looked at the wall clock. It was made of old wood , but still functional. The hands pointed to 8:45.
"Crap!"
Tari screamed. She jumped up like a scared cat.
Mira was already gone. That meant one thing: trouble. Mira had promised that being late would result in a hellish nightmare. Tari grabbed her bag and a change of clothes. Mira must've left without waking her, just to deliberately punish her. She looked at the table where she saw the strange sketches last night. The table was empty now. It was perfectly clean, and the files gone , as if the drawings of the monsters—and the girl who looked like Aisha—had never been there.
"Was I dreaming?"
she wondered. But there was no time.
"Crow's Peak! Where is Crow's Peak?"
She washed her face quickly and put on her Sentinel armor, she didn't bother soaking herself in a bath or smell flashy . Outside, the camp was busy. People were making traps or cooking. No one looked like a new student. Tari ran up to a giant, scary man hitting a straw dummy with a sword.
"Excuse me! Where can I find Crow's Peak?" she gasped.
The man didn't speak. He pointed his sword toward the high mountains. Then, with one fast move, he sliced the head off the dummy. Tari's eyes went wide. What must've annoyed him this early to unleash terror on a straw doll? She didn't wait for a thank you. She bolted.
She ran uphill , through the mud and wet bushes, gasping for breath. Finally, she heard noises, she saw a line of people
"At last"
She whispered silently in excitement. Kenna, the leader, stood boldly in front, shouting orders. Mira stood next to her, looking cold and sharp. Tari snuck into the back of the line, breathing hard. She hoped Mira didn't see her. Kenna was explaining jungle survival.
" Anything that breathes other than your comrades is your enemy; The rocks can't be trusted, they keep untold secrets. Neither should the trees, they'll digest you for nutrition if you sleep on their foot. The birds and the wild boars you hunt today can turn out to hunt you tomorrow. Always be on guard! In Jotunheim, survival is the key . Hunt or be hunted .You must learn to make fire from twigs! Weave shelters from vines . You must learn to hide from the things that scream in the dark! Always steer clear from shadowy lanes and marked paths! Today's drill shall put you through on how to go about all that!"
Kenna went on and on about the horrors of the jungle and the survival tips.Tari's stomach made a loud growling noise. She had eaten lentil soup and brown bread last night, but now she felt empty. She hoped the others were hungry too.
Finally, Kenna finished.
" Let's proceed with the drills ! Go to your assigned instructors!"
Tari felt a chill. Her instructor was a Stinging Nettle; Mira. How bad can her day get. As the crowd dispersed to their various destination, Tari remained. She stood at attention. There were three other kids with her, two boys and a girl. They looked older and stronger.
Mira walked toward them. She wasn't smiling. She looked like a statue, her eyes flashing like torches . She held a wooden plate filled with a dusty, grey powder.
"Sentinels," iMra said. Her voice was like ice.
" Welcome to day one of the Jungle Drill. I'll be your instructor henceforth. You are my cadets. You will do exactly as I say. The rules are quite simple and hard to forget . Rule one: Don't speak unless I ask you a question. Don't make me repeat myself unnecessarily. Rule two: No chatting. Rule three: Obey every order, even if I tell you to jump off a cliff, or hang from a tree, which I won't anyway. Rule four: You are a team, protect each other., look out for each other's back"
She looked them in the eyes.
"You will call me Wisp. Not ma'am, not miss. Just Wisp. And you will use your codenames going forward. Understood?"
"Yes, Wisp!"
they shouted. Tari moved her lips but didn't make a sound, making a funny face when Mira looked away.
Mira stopped in front of the other girl.
"First rule of the jungle: Don't smell like a human. Don't smell like flowers or soap. You need to smell like rot and decay . You need to smell so bad that a vulture wouldn't even touch you. The monsters here have a great sense of smell. If you smell like them, they might leave you alone."
Mira held out the plate.
"This is powdered seaweed and brimstone. It smells like eggs and dead fish, but it's your ticket to not been eaten. Put it on. Now."
The girl made a grossed-out face.
"But Wisp, I just took a bath and I—"
The air turned cold. Mira gave her a look so mean that Tari felt her own heart stop. The words got stuck on the girl's throat.
"What did you say?"
Mira whispered. It was scarier than shouting. "You took a bath? In a war zone? What is your name, rookie?"
"Sapphire,"
the girl trembled.
"Your are Vixen now,"
Mira said. "Because you are clever and foolish."
"But my name is—"
"SILENCE!"
Mira barked. The girl froze. Mira was small, but she emitted aura of a giant monster.
"You broke your first Rule Of Engagement. I will let it go once. There's zero tolerance for insubordination here . Next time you feel like talking fancy , I'll hand you a sword ,an actually blade, and you'll duel me in a real fight. Now, put the rot on your face!"
Sapphire—now Vixen—grabbed the smelly powder and rubbed it all over her clean hair and skin. She looked like she wanted to cry. The two boys went next. Then it was Tari's turn.
Tari didn't say a word. She felt bad for Sapphire ,but at least she wasn't the one been chewed out. She took the grey dust and smeared it on her arms. It smelled like a swamp, but she knew Mira was right. If the Hounds thought she was a pile of trash, she might live through the week.
Mira led them to a rack of wooden swords.
"Real blades stay in the shed until you prove you won't cut your own legs off,"
Mira said.
"Pick up a wooden sword. Follow me. Our first drill is a run. We will run around the mountain foot until the sun goes down. If you stop, you stay behind. And if you stay behind, something will eat you."
*The Climb and the Vines*
They started running. The ground was not flat. It was full of roots that tried to trip them.
"Keep up, Vixen! Move it, Ghost! Don't be slow, pick up the pace Spark!"
Mira yelled. She had given the boys names too. One was Ghost because he was quiet, and the other was Spark because he looked nervous. Tari's Girl's Guild drills was beginning to pay off, as she strided with relative ease.
They reached a tall wall of black rock. It looked like a giant's tooth sticking out of the ground.
"Climb,"
Mira ordered. She didn't use a rope. She just grabbed the rocks and went up, scaling the igneous like a lizard.
Tari looked at the rock. It was wet and slippery. She grabbed a ledge, but her hand slipped. She fell back into the mud with a loud thud.
"Did the rock hurt you, Tari?"
Mira looked down from high up.
"Or did you hurt the rock? Get up! If a Blight Hound was behind you, you would be a light snack right now."
Tari bit her lip. Her hands were sore, but she tried again. She found a small hole for her foot. She pushed herself up. Beside her, Vixen was crying quietly.
"Don't look down,"
Tari whispered.
"Rule number two!"
Mira screamed from the top.
"No talking!"
Tari shut her mouth. She reached the top, her muscles burning. But the training was not over. Ahead of them was a part of the forest where the trees looked dead. Long, purple vines hung from the branches.
"Those are Snake Vines,"
Mira warned. "They don't wait for you to touch them. They feel the heat of your body. If you move slow, they will wrap around your neck and squeeze."
Mira moved through the vines with amazing speed. She twisted her body like a dancer.
Tari went next. She felt a vine move near her ear. It hissed like a real snake. She ducked. Another vine swung toward her legs. She jumped over it, her heart thumping in her chest.
"Whoa!"
Ghost shouted as a vine grabbed his backpack.
Mira didn't help him. She watched with her arms crossed. Ghost had to pull out a small knife and saw through the vine until it let go. He was shaking when he finally got through.
"You are slow,"
Mira said coldly.
"In the deep jungle, the vines are bigger. They have thorns ,and they can pull a horse into the trees in three seconds. You must be faster."
*The Dreaded Path*
They walked for hours. The sun was high and hot. The smell of the rot powder on their skin got worse with the heat. It felt like itchy mud.
"Wisp, please,"
Vixen begged. "Can we have water?"
Mira stopped. She looked at a dark part of the trees. The air there was thick and yellow. You could hear strange clicking sounds coming from the shadows.
"That is the Dreaded Path,"
Mira pointed.
"No one goes there. Not even the senior Sentinels. The things that live there don't have eyes, but they can hear your heartbeat."
She turned back to Vixen.
"You want water? There is a stream down that path. But it's infested with Sirens. If you go, you won't come back. Do you still want water?"
Vixen shook her head quickly.
"Good. Then keep moving,"
Mira said.
They had to crawl under thorny bushes. The thorns tore at their clothes. Tari felt a sharp pain in her arm, but she didn't scream. She knew Mira would just call her weak.
Suddenly, Mira stopped. She raised her hand. Everyone froze. The jungle went totally silent. No birds. No bugs.
"Down,"
Mira hissed.
They dropped into the mud. Tari pressed her face into the dirt. The rot powder on her skin mixed with the grime.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Something huge was walking nearby. Tari looked through the leaves. She saw a pair of legs. They weren't animal legs. They looked like human legs, but they were ten feet tall and covered in hairs . It was a Nephilim—a scout for the Cursed.
The giant stopped right in front of where they were hiding. It sniffed the air. Tari held her breath until her lungs burned. The giant leaned down, its yellow eye searching the bushes. It was inches away from Vixen.
Vixen started to shake. A small sob escaped her throat.
Tari reached out and grabbed Vixen's hand, squeezing it hard. 'Don't move,' she thought.
The giant sniffed Vixen's head. Mira watched ,reaching to her hilts in case things went south. The Nephilim smelled the seaweed and brimstone. It made a disgusted sound, like a wet cough, and kept walking.
When the sound of the footsteps faded, Mira stood up. She didn't look happy. She walked over to Vixen and Tari.
"You almost got yourself killed. Pull yourself together"
Mira said to Vixen. Then she looked at Tari. "And you. You abided by Rule Four: You be your brother's keeper. Ten billion jungle points for you "
*The Mean Meal*
By the time they got back to a small clearing, the sun was starting to go down. Tari's legs felt like jelly.
"Lunch time,"
Mira announced.
The rookies cheered, but the cheer died when Mira pulled out a bag. She didn't give them bread or soup. She gave each of them a hard, grey brick.
"What is this?"
Spark asked, looking at the brick.
"It is dried fish and bitter root,"
Mira said.
"It stays good for a year. It's packed with the essential nutrients growing fellas like you need. It tastes like dirt, but it will keep you alive. Eat all of it. If you throw it up, you eat that too."
Tari took a bite. It was the worst thing she had ever tasted. It was salty, bitter, and very hard to chew, like something soaked in vinegar for weeks . It felt like eating a piece of an old shoe.
"This is mean,"
Vixen whispered.
"She's doing this on purpose."
"I can hear you, Vixen!"
Mira shouted from ten feet away.
"Ten extra push-ups for talking!"
Vixen groaned and got on the ground. Tari felt bad for her, but she stayed quiet. She forced herself to swallow the dry food. She needed the energy.
*
As the moon began to rise, Mira led them back toward the camp. But they didn't go the way they came. They stopped at a giant tree with a hollow trunk.
Inside the trunk, there was a small desk. On the desk were more sketches.
Tari's eyes widened. She saw a drawing of herself holding Vixen's hand while the Giant searched for them. The drawing was perfect. It even showed the mud on her face.
"Wisp, look!"
Tari pointed.
"The drawings again! Someone is watching us right now!"
Mira walked over to the desk. She looked at the paper. She didn't look surprised. She looked sad.
"I told you, Tari. No one is drawing these," Mira said quietly.
"But someone has to be!"
Tari argued. "Look at the ink! It's still wet!"
Mira picked up the paper and turned it over. On the back, there was a name written in messy handwriting.
Tari leaned in to read it. Her heart stopped. The name on the paper was Tari.
"Wait... I didn't draw this,"
Tari whispered. "I don't even have a pen!"
Mira looked at Tari and asked her to quiet down.
"You've been drawing them in your sleep, Tari," Mira said. Her voice wasn't mean anymore. It was full of fear.
"The Island isn't just showing you the future. It's using your hand to write it."
Tari backed away from the desk. She looked at the sketch once more. But she was bad at drawing. She looked at the dark jungle. She felt like a puppet on a string.
"We need to get back,"
Mira said, grabbing Tari's arm. " We don't know how the jungle will act this late when we're out far in it's heart."
As they ran back to the safety of Gorgon's Cove, Tari couldn't stop looking at her hands. Was she really under possession, or was her subconsciousness waking up? Does it mean the sketches she saw at the table last night was a dream of what she drew? What was happening to her?