Thirty-One - Alden

When I had woken up the sun was already high in the sky. I had stayed up late trying to clean up Fastus' room, but hardly anything could be saved. Peering into the small closet Fastus had made, I found piles of dirty shirts. I grabbed one of the cleaner ones and pulled it on, sick of wearing my own torn up clothes, and left Fastus' room to see Tarka and my mother sipping tea in silence. For the first time I recognized a likeness between them. Before I would have rejected any kind of notion that said anyone was like my mother, but the truth was my mother did make me better in her own way, and so has Tarka. They're both the strongest people I've met.

My mother glanced up at me and did a double take. "Alden, you're awake."

"Late as usual." I said, sitting next to Tarka and across from my mother. "How are you feeling this morning?"

She gave a small sigh, but I could tell that the confusion and strangeness from yesterday was already starting to subside. "I'm doing much better now." She said, laying her calloused and worn hand on top of mine. "I quite like Tarka." She added, taking another sip of tea.

I nodded and looked at Tarka who seemed transfixed on the tea. "I'm going to go look for food today." I said, standing up from the table.

"I'm not sure you'll be able to find any." Mother said, eyebrows furrowed.

"I think I know a place." I muttered, thinking of what I had seen yesterday. On my way towards the door I grabbed a machete and a burlap sack. "I'll be back in a bit."

Taking a deep breathe I headed towards the cattle's tent. Peeling back the flaps to the entrance, my eyes began to sting and several hundred bugs seemed to swarm at me, as if even they didn't want to be trapped inside. I found my way to the last remaining cattle that I had seen yesterday. It looked up at me with bulging eyes, and a dry tongue hanging out of its mouth. Kneeling down, I put a hand again the short, tan hairs on its head. It gave a low moan, and leaned into my hand.

Gosh dang it, I thought to myself. How can I kill something so helpless? 

"Here for a mercy killing?"

I jumped up to see a young man standing before me, helmet held in one hand. "Roman!" I exclaimed, giving him a good punch in the arm. Roman had been my brother's dearest friend, and was just like Fastus, with the exception of his outstanding record with women, which Fastus never wasted time with. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He said, kneeling down to pet the dying creature. "I left the war." He shrugged, standing up straight.

"What do you mean?"

"I got sick of it, so I left. Callow has basically given us all a death sentence out there, and I'm tired of seeing people die."

"Well you came to the wrong place then..." I said. "There's hardly anyone around here, it's a ghost town."

"Ah yes... but there are women here." He smirked. "Surely Callow wouldn't mind my helping us create the next generation before we completely die out."

"You're disgusting." I said, giving him another good punch. "By any chance can you help me with this thing? I have no idea what I'm doing, all I did was shovel their manure... "

"When you showed up to work at all." Roman scoffed, but he knelt down anyway and took the machete from my hand. "Why don't you wait outside."

I gave a shrug and headed out of the tent, grateful to breathe the fresh air, when I spotted Tarka heading this way.

"What are you doing out here?" I called to her.

She came up to me and gave me a half-shrug. "Your mother decided to take a nap, so I thought I would wander around. I've never been outside of my terrain before."

"Well, you should be careful, I don't know who all is around here." I said, just as Roman burst through the tent holding my burlap sack.

"The animal has been put out of its misery!" He exclaimed. "Now--" he stopped having seen Tarka. "Well, well, well... who do we have here?"

"No one." I said, taking the bag from Roman, and pushing him away from Tarka. "Thanks for your help." I grabbed Tarka's hand with my free one, and pulled her quickly back towards home. "Good luck with your women!"