Chapter 14

Bella's POV

Bella

Chapter 14

 

            Bella sat by the stream near the cave a few days after Shadow had introduced her to the secret realm. The night was young, and Shadow was bustling around in the cave. What he might be doing mystified her, for there was nothing to do whatsoever inside their little cave that might present any amusement. She had proclaimed this spot by the creek to be her new place to brood, quickly finding that the dark and dry atmosphere inside of the cave was rather dull and agitating. The fish in the creek became more rare with each passing day, but when she could, she would swiftly slap one out of the water and bring it back to the cave for dinner. There was not much to do. Sometimes she and Shadow would talk, and it was nice, to have someone to talk to,  but besides that she was just bored bored bored… a sensation she was not familiar with, but quickly found that she was not fond of. She often walked through the woods, searching for something and nothing at the same time. She was internally broken forever, but her body had healed, and she was now climbing up trees and trudging through swamps with ease. But she felt useless, as if there was no purpose to her life, and it was slowly driving her to the brink of madness.

            At last Shadow stopped his repetitive clunking around in the cave, and came outside to greet her.

            “I think it’s safe to say you’re as healthy as you’re going to get,” he announced, almost proudly, as he sat on the grass beside her. When she didn’t respond to his clearly pointing-out-the-obvious statement, he continued, “What I’m getting at is, it would be wise if we went hunting soon, while both of us are healthy. And to be quite honest you seem like you been bored half to tears the last few days.” She shook her head. Goddess he was so nice, and handsome to a degree, but he just did not get it.

            “If you had come from such a dark place as I, simply trying to survive every day would hardly be a chore to you as well.” She did not look to see his reaction, but surely he was taken aback by this answer he did not expect.

            “What do I have to do to get you to trust me Bella…?”

            “My refusal to speak of my past certainly has nothing to do with you Shadow. It is a dreadful story that I do not wish to share… with anyone.” He sat silent for a while, and she still refused to make eye contact with him. This was something she was not going to bend on, no matter who he was. She heard him get up and walk away. Perhaps he was finally fed up with her. To her surprise, he returned hardly a minute later, and laid something in her hands. She looked down and was shocked to see that it was a bow. It was very simple, but strong. The wood had been curved neatly and smoothed to perfection. As she inspected it she saw, much to her delight, that the drawstring appeared to be made of plant fibers, as opposed to sinew, a delicacy she had not been graced with before now. She greatly preferred not to have dead animal tendons that near to her face, not to mention the smell. She ran her hands carefully up the string to the top of the bow, entranced by the craftsmanship that had created it.

            “Thank you so much for this Shadow… How will I ever repay you?”

            “Don’t worry about it…” He said blushing, “just think f it as a tool, you can help me hunt with it. And that’s all I ask of you. You’ll be much more helpful if you don’t have to spear everything with your sword, I assume you can shoot right?”

            “Yeah…” She said, her eyes turning misty, “I am at ease much more with a bow that I am with a sword. This is a very fine bow Shadow…”

            “Don’t worry about it, I didn’t know it would mean that much to you.” He smiled at her, and she practically melted. She hugged him and thanked him again,

            “Oh stop it Bella, it was nothing! I swear! Let’s just go hunting!”

 

 

Shadow

 

           

            They jogged silently through the woods, Bella following him. With each step he became more and more impressed with not only her ability to keep up, but also her ability to stay completely silent. How she came to learn these skills was still a complete mystery to him. So far, they not even seen a sign of life.

            “It’s so… empty here.” Bella whispered slowing down and looking around at the forest, which seemed to be frozen. He saw that she was concerned, so he slowed as well.

            “Don’t worry Bella, the Raiders didn’t destroy everything. I think there is something else out here aside from us, something large enough to scare off the game.”

            “Like what?”

            “Probably bears or wolves or something…”

            “Bears or wolves?” She asked confusedly.

            “Oh, well I wouldn’t…” he paused, realizing his advantage here. “They’re big razor toothed animals, with claws thick as our arms and black enveloping eyes that will stun even Sapiens…” Her eyes narrowed,

            “I don’t believe a word of it.” Shadow shrugged and turned to walk again. She followed him for a moment, but clearly the questions were overwhelming,

            “Even if they were, they surely can’t climb trees.”

            “They don’t need to, they just reach straight to the top, even knock them over if they have to.”

            “That’s not true…” she said, but she seemed unsure at this point.

            “Of course it’s not,” he said grinning and laughing as she scowled at him, perhaps he had made a mistake, but he couldn’t resist... “Oh stop, it was funny, there are bears and wolves though.”

            “I didn’t believe you before and I don’t believe you now.”

            “I’ll prove it to you,” he walked up to her, pulling his hair off to one side revealing a light pink scar, “I had an encounter with one not so long ago, with a bear that got into my storage that I had left relatively out in the open. That’s not a mistake I’ll make again…” But she was hardly listening, or rather, she was, but not to him. Her eyes narrowed, and she reached for her bow slowly.

            “Bella?” She held up her hand quickly to silence him, she had her eyes low to the horizon and was tensed like a stalking predator.

            “Bella what do you hear?” And then he heard the rustling, and the very distinct footfalls of two feet,

            “Someone’s coming.”

Reviews

[Rhianne Ney]

Whoa, didn't know that there was a new chapter but anyways it was as great as always (: