39. Kuret

39

Kuret

Killing off the genali is even more fulfilling than I thought it would be, though my hearts are tight with my grief to not have Samke here with me, both of our undulating cries building on the other.

I stop counting how many there are after six and continue to kill whatever crosses my line of sight. Each one must be thinking that they will be the one to kill me. It has to be the only reason why they continue to throw themselves at me.

If they were one of the green hunters, they might have a chance. Or if they were better at using their guns . So far, all they've managed to do is give me small wounds.

As I slaughter my way through them, the screams, grunts, and putrid blood melt together to a background din.

I am familiar with the battlefield, at home here in this chaotic space; I soon find my rhythm and I have space in my head to properly appreciate how good all this feels.

Not only am I exacting revenge in a small measure for all the horrible actions carried out by the genali, I am also restoring my honor and protecting Nasrin.

Panic strikes me when the cart comes into view during a momentary lull as the remaining genali circle me and I do not see the argila or Nasrin anywhere.

The sound of guns firing starts up down the slope and I attack with renewed ferocity, tossing down the gun I found when it stops firing, throwing a sharp piece of shale at the last genali standing, distracting it just long enough to run forward and take it down with a crushing blow from above.

I take a moment to gather as many weapons as I can, mind screaming at me that I don't have the time, but I don't know what dangers we will face. I shove them into the pack at my waist as I run.

My hands are dripping with blood as I race to the cart. I tell myself that they are most likely hiding behind some of the giant trees that line the now-broken ridge, but they don't answer when I call out to them.

I quicken my steps as I start to make my way along the ridgeline, not wanting to run for fear of the ground starting to open up again and I am only a few steps away from the cart when I hear a thumping in the ground below me. My nerves are strung thin, trying to stay alert for any possible stray hunters trying to sneak up on me while simultaneously looking out for Nasrin and the others.

Standing still, I look around me to see if I can find the woman I am supposed to protect, but I hear the thumping sound again, followed by muffled screams in a language I do not understand. I unsheathe my knife in readiness, just in case there is any need.

I am wary at first, convinced that it is a ploy by these honorless hunters to deceive us after their defeat. So, I decide not to follow the source of the sound. First, I need to know where Nasrin is but I do not want to call out to her and alert them. I must stay stealthy.

However, when I reach the point where the cart was stuck, I hear the same voice again, except this time it has turned into continuous wailing, and I realize it is a trapped genali.

I leave it to its fate, then look around for signs of where Nasrin could have gone before spotting multiple genali puddles below. I move toward them cautiously until I see a trail of red blood.

My hearts stop simultaneously. What could be happening? I grip my knife nearly tight enough to break and move closer.

I snatch one of the guns from the puddles, then I break out into a run, gasping at what I realize are two trails of blood splatter. The green-haired woman must be with Nasrin and both are injured.

Judging by the greater amount of blood, they paused at an outcropping, then ran again. I follow, finding an injured genali and finishing it off with my blade.

I know I should be cautious, but I'm panicking at the amount of blood and break into a sprint, sliding down shale into a small valley. Up ahead, in the direction of their trail, I see two genali circling.

Did they find them? My chest squeezes and I almost charge right toward them, then remember the gun in my grip. It still feels awkward. Nothing like a bow, but I've gotten better at using it in the past few frantic minutes.

I raise it, still not quite sure how to best aim it and squeeze off multiple shots, the grip awkward in my hands.

One of them falls, but the other dodges to the side, moving behind a bush. I keep firing, but keep my shots high, not sure if Nasrin might be there too, just hoping to keep the genali pinned down as I sprint.

It works, and before I know it, I'm looming over the slime, bludgeoning it with the wooden part of the gun until it stops moving.

Whipping around, I search for the women, but don't find them. Their trail clearly leads here, ending in a place where it looks like something leveled the bushes.

My hearts are pounding so hard I barely hear the sound, whipping back toward it and forcing my breathing back under control.

It comes again, this time making me realize it's underground.

It sounds like Nasrin and both of my hearts constrict.

I drop to my knees and listen for the direction of her voice, relieved when it seems to be more to the left. I dig my hands into the crumbled-up rocks and dirt, throwing them out behind me furiously until I see a gap of space. Her cries are much louder, making me realize that anything could have happened to her in the time I was away.

What was I thinking?

As if to fuel myself into more fear, all the things that could have happened to her in my absence start to go through my head. Scene after scene of all the possible ways she could be getting hurt keep going through my head like deadly projectiles. Just when I started to feel like my honor could be restored…

All I can do is hope I can get to her in time.

What if the green-haired woman in the chamber has been killed? Worse still, what if Nasrin has been crushed under a large rock or hurt by a dangerous, underground-dwelling animal? What will I say to Ree if I am unable to save either woman?

How will I live if Nasrin dies?

The thought of losing Nasrin leaves a bitter taste on my tongue and a clump of uncertainty sitting in my stomach.

I love watching her and listening to her speak and can't imagine losing her.

No, I will not let it happen and keep tearing at rocks and dirt.

I decide when I dig enough to see an opening that I will dive through and get her out. I lie down flat and reach my arm down as far as it goes to dislodge a particularly large rock that had been getting in the way. A little more effort and I have exposed a large enough section of the ground. I'm starting to get somewhere and my chest fills with joy.

I can hear her clearly now, the poor female shrieking her voice hoarse for a reason I have not yet figured out. She's yelling something out over and over in a language I don't know.

Her anguished cries are punching a hole in both of my hearts, and I stand up and push a foot into the gap, yelling out her name.

She doesn't seem to hear me.

I need to get there faster. I won't be able to forgive myself if anything happens to her or the emerald-haired woman.

Loose rocks fall through to make the gap even bigger, big enough for me to squeeze through and slide down to reach her.

Sand gets in my eyes and sharp rock fragments try to tear at my skin as I struggle to reach her, her voice getting louder the more I move through. The tight fit is terrible and the weird stone the ground is made of is scratching deep gouges all over my body, but I persist.

I want to anchor my legs, but the space is too small and I can only use one hand to push rocks away while the other stays pinned to my side.

Suddenly, I fall through, hitting my shoulder painfully. I feel around with my hands to find somewhere to stand on. There is a little hollowed-out space in the ground. It is tight so I can only barely stay crouched but it is better than the hole I just crawled through.

"Nasrin!"

The air here is thin, so I carefully continue to move back and forth, wiggling myself until I drop down. All the while trying not to expend too much energy.

A cloud of dust follows me, getting into my eyes and mouth, but I wave my hands in the air to disperse it.

Through the fog, I spot Nasrin's bright hair and her black-clothed hand stretched out in front of her. When I get closer, I notice that she is stuck under a pile of dark gray rocks. "Nasrin!" I call out as I move toward her as quickly as the tumultuous, rocky ground will let me.

"Kuret! I'm so glad you aren't hurt."

When I reach her, I notice that there is a gap in the ground, but I ignore it and get down on my knees to pull the rocks off her. She is not screaming anymore, but her face is shiny with wetness.

There's terror etched on her face.

"Are you hurt?" I ask her as I am moving the stones from her body, but her eyes are stuck to the crack in the ground below us. I look back again but it is mostly filled with stone. "Nasrin, you have to tell me if you are hurt," I say again, and she finally looks up at me.

Her eyes are overflowing with water and her lips are quivering. She starts to speak in a language I don't know and I shake my head. "I don't understand."

There is a frantic look in her eyes as she stumbles over her unfamiliar words, but I try to stay calm for the two of us.

She winces painfully, clears her throat and sniffles. "Olivia is gone, Kuret. I lost her in the-the—" She begins another round of raucous sobbing.

I attempt to pull her to her feet, but she pulls herself away from me and toward the sinkhole. "She went in through there and I couldn't save her in time. It took her."

She is now pointing down toward the darkened hole but I still don't quite understand.

She is still speaking, but I cannot make out her words anymore as she babbles. I pull her away from it and to a safe enough corner so that I can calm her down. "I cannot understand you, Nasrin. Slow down and tell me again."

I am trying and failing to keep her on task, but she is terrified.

She shakes her head up and down and then begins to draw in deep breaths. She wipes her face again and I replace her hands with mine, both of them shaking as I hold her precious, delicate features.

This time, I don't stop myself or wonder if something is wrong between us because I became her… whatever the word is. Not a donor. I pull her close and holding her face cupped in one hand and press my lips onto her wet cheek.

Then I get myself back under control.

We need to leave, but she is resisting me, trying to move toward the hole to go deeper into the ground.

I can only hope that we don't run into more hunters with her like this.

When she has calmed down, she speaks clearer. "The other girl, Olivia. She was taken by something under there." She points down.

I am still confused. "Who is Olivia, who took her?" The question leaves my mouth, then the answer enters my head—it was the sleeping woman in the cryo chamber . The emerald-haired woman. "Did you see who did this?"

She shakes her head. "Not really, just some glimpses of light, but they said she was theirs. Like she was property. We need to save her."

I stand up and pull her up. "We will find her, but we can't stay here. It's too unstable."

She lets out a long breath, then moves her head to show agreement, the decision clearly causing her pain.

With a grunt and the pain of my injuries surging, I push her out of the hole. Then I scramble out of it, my movement causing the ground to shift and fill it part of the way back in.

We scramble away as the bushes start sinking, me holding her tight to me.

We're both shaking and I want to hold her close and move my hands all over her to check for wounds, but we need to find a better cover.

We head into the thick forest nearby.

We don't make it too far into the trees before we hear the argila braying loudly and making their way toward us. Roshan bolts right at Nasrin first and she digs her hands into his furry head and buries her face in his short neck.

Darya comes to me and I pet her distractedly, my eyes pinned on Nasrin, whose shoulders start to quake. The argila leaves my side and goes to Roshan and Nasrin, looking inquisitively at them.

While they are wrapped up in the embrace, I look at them with concern.

How is it that keeping this one woman safe is so much harder than taking care of an entire cloister? I've never been so terrified that something might happen to someone. Even my pain over Samke doesn't compare.

I never thought it was possible to have the same sort of bond as with Samke, let alone something deeper. Though the urge to help her work through her emotions is the same as if any brother was struggling before me. Is it possible to have a bond with a female?

Watching her break down like this in front of the animals, vulnerable and helpless in the face of something she couldn't have prevented, is painfully constricting my heart.

I can't let this happen again, but how can I stop it?

She is vulnerable; I have to come to terms with the fact that I might not be able to protect her from everything, even while promising that I'll die trying.