The Plot

“Why didn’t you go after her?” Red Eyes, a boy from Bite-Sized's village, held Eil by his neck.

“He would’ve died,” Cautious said.

“I thought we were supposed to depend on you?”

“Which is why he didn’t go.”

“You’re supposed to be gifted. How are you supposed to keep the rest of us alive if you can’t keep one of us alive? Are you sure you haven’t been lying all along so we wouldn’t pay you back for what you’ve done to all of us?”

“We know where they are now. We made the right decision,” Cautious said.

“He’s right, Red Eyes. If you care that much about her, you should’ve gone when Cautious was volunteered,” Snark stepped forward, her spear in hand.

Red Eyes let go. He clenched his fist but satisfied himself with spitting on the ground and going back to his fellow villagers. Time to bond hadn’t exactly translated into new friendships. Everyone still kept to their own villages – or alternatively, to themselves -, and Halia had been painfully isolated since their departure. He’d have expected Halia and Snark to find some common ground in their sequestering, but both must have contended themselves with the knowledge that they were fine alone so long as they had a pointy stick to direct to anyone with ill-intentions.

“They’ll be expecting us now,” Halia said.

“Clearly, they already were,” Middle Band surmised.

“I don’t think so,” Cautious said. “I think we were just unlucky. That snare was meant for an animal. If it had caught Magic Boy, he’d have made it out, not just because of what he can do, but because it wasn’t meant for a human body. Bite-Sized didn’t know any better so she got in the way, and she was just small enough to be helpless.”

Eil didn’t think that would help any. Not for him, nor for Bite-Sized's fellow villagers. He should have been prudent, that’s what it came down to.

“Maybe we should wait a few days? They’ll be more careful now that they know we might come after them, and that we’ll have weapons too.” Tall Boy offered.

“We’re not waiting,” Red Eyes said.

“It’s not up to you,” Snark rebuked, “and you should know I’d be willing to kill you before letting you go there and mess things up for the rest of us.”

“Red Eyes is right,” Eil said. “We’re not waiting for another night.”

“Feeling guilty, Magic Boy?” Snark asked.

Eil shrugged. “Yes. Is that an issue?”

“It’s not,” Cautious said before anyone else could. If anyone doubted it was his place to say it, no one spoke such doubts. “It’s beside the point. We don’t know if they’ll stay there after tonight or leave. We can’t afford to wait,”

“Would it help to warn you all that if we are late to the institution, they will not accept us?” Sami piped in.

Oddly enough, it did. Everyone tensed.

“How long do we have?” Cautious asked.

“I’d say you have about three nights left to waste before the journey becomes impossible to complete in time.” She chewed through another slice of rabbit meat.

“We won’t need three nights to waste. Just the one. We’ve got four extra spears, now. As much as I hate to admit it, we’re better off than we were before. We also know there’s sixteen of them left. Looks like we miscounted.”

“Then what’s the plan if they know we’re coming,” Snark said.

“Doesn’t matter if they do. They have to go to sleep. All we have to do is make sure whoever’s been told to keep an eye out, doesn’t do his job right,” Cautious said.

“By killing them,” Eil clarified. “And then everyone with a spear stands on top of a sleeping body, and everyone without one starts collecting weapons. On my signal, we put a hole in their heads. And voila, we start eating.”

“And the eating has to follow immediately?” Snark questioned.

“Sounds a bit too simple,” Upper Band said.

“That’s because it is.” He grinned. “Look, in spite of our advantages, the biggest reason Kasai always left with your earth stones was because we caught you by surprise. There was no tactical ingenuity. But if any of you have a better plan, I look forward to hearing it, and I’m eager to see your disappointment when something goes wrong and it all falls apart,” Eil said.

“You’re being an ass, Magic Boy,” Halia said.

“As expected,” Upper Band chimed in.

“We just can’t imagine everything going that easily,” Tall Boy said.

“Everything won’t go that easy. Something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong.” Eil heard the groans and saw the eye rolls but pressed on. “We just have to hope it doesn’t get as bad as it can possibly get, but we don’t have a better option. I can promise you all I’m going to kill their giant, but I can’t kill them all on my own. You’ll have to do your part.”

“I didn’t pass that exam just to die here, I’m going to kill someone tonight,” Snark said.

“We’re all making it to the institution together,” Middle Band spoke alongside his brothers.

“I really hope you’re not all talking out of your asses,” Eil whispered to himself.