Homecoming

CHAPTER 17: Glass

Glass shoved the cabin door open with her shoulder. Both her hands were full, one with a bucket of water from the river, the other with a sack of berries she’d found growing nearby. She dropped the food on the uneven wooden table and carried the water over to the basin. Without having to think about it, Glass reached up and took down a small bowl from the shelf. After just two days, she was already so comfortable in their little house that it felt as if she and Luke had been settled there forever.

Their first morning in the cabin, they had stepped outside cautiously, scanning for signs of Earthborns. But there was no hint of any other human life. Slowly their comfort and confidence grew, and they trekked a few meters away in an attempt to find food.

They were both so focused on their search, they almost didn’t notice a deer grazing nearby. Glass raised her head to call Luke over, and just before his name left her lips, she saw it, standing just feet from her. It was young—was there a special name for a baby deer? Glass strained to remember—and so beautiful. Its soft brown muzzle twitched as it sniffed the air, and its wide brown eyes were sweet and sad. Glass was afraid to move, for fear of scaring it away. She wanted Luke to see it too, but she couldn’t make a sound. She and the deer stared at each other for a long moment, until finally Luke turned and saw it. He froze. She could tell from the look on his face that he was as awestruck by the animal as she was.

The three of them stood there, locked in a silent exchange. Finally, a distant rustle in the trees sent the deer bolting off into the woods with barely a sound. Glass let out a sigh as it disappeared. “That was incredible,” she said.

“Yeah,” Luke agreed, but his expression was serious.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, surprised at his reaction.

“It’s just—if we don’t find something to eat, we’re going to have to, you know…” He trailed off.

Glass’s heart sank. She had been so transfixed by the deer’s expressive eyes; she hadn’t stopped to think that she might be forced to eat it. The thought made her stomach turn. “Let’s not worry about that now,” she said. “Just keep looking.”

Luckily they’d found the berries, and so far they’d been okay. But she knew deep down it was only a matter of time before something changed. They were running low on water-purifying tablets, and there was no pot in the house that would enable them to boil any water. There were weird bugs that scuttled across the floor in the predawn hours, waking Glass from a dead sleep and giving her goose bumps. Luke just laughed at her as she scooted closer to him and pulled the blankets tighter over them both. And there had been the constant, nagging worry about what would happen next. Would they be able to stay here? Could it really be that simple? She remembered learning about Earth seasons—the pretty fall leaves meant that, soon enough, winter would come, and they’d have to figure out how to survive the cold. She did her best to push those thoughts away, though. Winter was a worry for another day. Today she just wanted to live out the fairy tale, in their fantasy cabin under the tall canopy of trees.

Luke stepped through the doorway, stomping mud off his boots. Leaves clung to his thick, wavy hair. A waft of piney crispness floated off of him and filled her nose. Glass inhaled deeply. Just being this close to him and breathing in his scent made every nerve in her body tingle.

“Dinner?” She held up the dish of berries with mock solemnity. “I made you something special tonight.”

“Ah, berry stew.” Luke grinned. “My favorite. Is it a special occasion?”

She cocked her head to the side and smiled mischievously. “It can be.”

Luke stepped across the room in a couple of quick strides, hugged her, and pulled her into a deep kiss that felt like it would never end.

Later that night, they fell asleep entwined together by the fire. Glass had nodded off quickly. With each night they’d spent in the woods, Glass had grown more and more relaxed, the anxiety and stress of the past few weeks slowly fading from her memory. She had started to sleep deeply, almost hungrily, as if sleep offered her a nourishment she had long craved.

When the first noise came through the window, Glass incorporated it into her dream. She only woke when Luke sat upright next to her, her body rolling off his as he jumped up in a panic. She opened her eyes, snapping instantly into consciousness. That’s when she saw it: a face at the window of the cabin. Someone was staring at them—an Earthborn, she saw in the reflected light of the dying fire. She could tell from the long hair and bulky clothes. None of the Colonists dressed like that. They didn’t carry themselves like that. Terror and adrenaline shot through her body, flooding her veins and firing up her brain. She heard screaming in the distance, but it took her a moment to realize the sound was coming from her own mouth.

Luke jumped up and reached for the gun he had taken from camp. Shirtless and barefoot, he whipped open the front door to the cabin and bolted into the darkness.

“Luke, no!” Glass called after him, a note of desperation in her voice. “Don’t go out there!” But he had already disappeared from view. Panic gripped her chest, threatening to bring her to the ground, but she pressed forward, stumbling after Luke, gasping for air as she tried to call his name.

Glass ran outside, searching blindly in the dark until her eyes adjusted. She was flooded with relief when she saw Luke standing a few meters away, his back to her. He held the gun high in the air, pointed at the sky. Facing him, forming a half circle, were three men and one woman. They were dressed similarly to Sasha, in a combination of animal skins and wool, but that was where the similarities ended. Their faces were like cruel masks, and their eyes glinted with malice as they exchanged delighted glances with one another.

Luke and the Earthborns were engaged in a silent standoff. The Earthborns stood with their arms raised, spears poised at shoulder-height, ready to attack. They seemed to be waiting for some kind of signal. Before he could stop her, Glass ran toward Luke. He wrapped a strong arm around her and pushed her behind him. She could feel every muscle in his body tensed, ready for a fight.

She stuck her head out from behind him and called out to the Earthborns. “Please,” she said, her voice cracking. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We’re friends of Sasha’s. Please don’t hurt us.”

“Oh, you’re friends with Sasha, are you?” one of the men said, his voice harsh and mocking. “Well, in that case, we’ll kill you right away instead of leaving you half dead for the animals. It’s only polite.”

Luke tried to push her further behind him. There was a long, terrifying pause, as each side waited for the other one to act. Finally, one of the Earthborns—the man whose face she’d seen at the window—stepped forward menacingly. “We tried warning your friends. We showed mercy by only killing one of them. Yet instead of realizing that you aren’t welcome here, you brought down more of your kind. Enough is enough,” he spat.

“That’s not what happened,” Glass cried. “We didn’t know… there was no way to communicate with them. But there are no more of us coming, I promise.” Her voice broke, both from fear and from the sad realization that it was true. Whoever hadn’t made it onto one of the dropships was gone forever.

The Earthborn woman sneered at Glass. “You promise?” She snorted. “We learned the hard way what happens when you trust outsiders.” She nodded at the man, who raised his arm and aimed his spear directly at Luke’s heart, cocking his arm back.

“Don’t move!” Luke shouted. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you, but I have a gun. Don’t force me to use it.”

The man paused, as if considering Luke’s words, but only for a moment. Then he took another careful step forward.

Glass’s ears rang with the sharp crack of the bullet. It echoed off the tree trunks and bounced back at them. Luke had fired into the sky, pointing the gun away from the Earthborns, but it had been enough to scare them. They jumped and scattered, disappearing into the darkness.

Glass was so relieved to see them retreating that at first she didn’t realize what had happened. There had been a little flurry of motion right as Luke fired the shot. Had one of them thrown something? She turned back to Luke, and her blood froze in her veins. He stood facing her, his eyes wide and startled. His mouth was open, but no sound came out. She ran her eyes down his body, following his arms down to his hands, which grasped his left leg tightly. Blood poured out from between his fingers. A wooden spear lay on the ground near his foot.

“Luke!” she cried. “Luke—no!”

Luke sank to his knees.

Glass ran to him, throwing herself on the ground next him. “Luke!” She grabbed his arm, as if trying to keep him with her, to stop him from slipping away somewhere she couldn’t follow.

“You’ll be okay,” she said, willing herself to push the panic from her voice. Luke needed her to stay calm. He needed her to figure something out. “Let’s just get you inside.” She looked down and blanched. Even in the faint moonlight, she could see the grass around Luke’s leg turning dark red.

She reached under Luke’s arms and gave an experimental tug but stopped abruptly when he let out a cry of pain. “Just help me up,” Luke grunted through clenched teeth. “We’ll deal with the rest when we get inside.”

Uneasily, he rose onto one leg. She tried to keep her breathing steady, tried to forget the fact that they were two days’ walk from medical help. How could they have been so foolish to go off on their own?

“Don’t worry,” Luke said, wincing with each awkward hop. He twisted around, scanning the dark trees for signs of the Earthborns. “It’s not that bad.” But even Luke couldn’t keep the fear out of his voice.

They both knew he was lying. And they both knew what would happen if he didn’t get better.

Glass would be entirely on her own.