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“Oh, I think this one goes to Troj,” Krissy says, wiping her thumb over his bottom lip before strutting her hot ass out of the gym.
Squealer shakes his head at me. “Did I really just compete in a fucking kiss-off?” He laughs at himself.
“Sure did, and you just got a little taste of my victory.” I slap him on the back, leaving him with a confused look on his face as I pick up my cut and head back to my cabin for a shower.
I feel his hands on me, the blood tacky against my skin, and his breath breathing heavily in my ear. The cool of his blade settles on my skin and I can’t catch a breath from fear. “Spill these lips to anyone about what you saw, I will find you and I will gut you like an animal.”
“Shaniya.”
I scratch at my skin to get him off me.
“Shaniya, open your eyes. You’re dreaming.” Dyanni’s voice breaks through my nightmare and brings me back to reality.
“You were dreaming again,” she tells me, softly coaxing me awake. “What are they about?” She waits for me to tell her, but I promised Tawk I would never tell a soul, and so I make something up.
“Being chased through the forest by a bear.” I fake her a smile.
“There are no bears in our forest, Tawk would never let you out there alone if there were,” she giggles, before heading out to our shower. I lay my head back on my pillow and try to think about anything other than that terrible night.
It’s been a whole week since the outlaws visited us. My uncle still shows no signs of worry over the news they’d brought with them. I, on the other hand, feel something coming, a looming darkness that swirls around the village like a pending storm. It chills the marrow in my bones, but arguing with my uncle is pointless. How can you reason with a man who doesn’t value a women’s opinion?
My grandfather had been a great leader to the tribe before he died. He would often tell me how my grandma and even my mom helped him make important decisions. He understood that for our culture to survive, we had to adapt to the modern world sometimes. My uncle never agreed, they were always butting heads, and now that neither my mother nor grandfather are here, there is no hope or reason for our people.
I’ve been to the river every morning since he came to the reservation, in the hope that Troj would visit me again. I’m sure my uncle is right about one thing. The outlaws don’t help people unless there’s something in it for them. That means whoever wants our land is probably a threat to them too. I feel the sting of disappointment when I get there after breakfast and there's no sign of him. Maybe if I could just talk to him, and explain, his people might find a way of helping us without my uncle knowing.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” a rough growl comes from behind me, forcing my eyes away from the tree line where I know Troj usually hides himself from me.
“Tawk, you scared me,” I sigh, pleased that I hadn’t started bathing yet.
“You don’t like the shower I made for you?” he asks, and when I hear the disappointment in his tone I feel a stab of guilt. Tawk spent a lot of his time working on the cabin for me and Dyanni.
“It’s perfect. I just sometimes like to come out here and be by myself for a while,” I explain. It’s the truth… Just not all of it.
“I’ll walk you home.” Tawk reaches out his hand to guide me back over the rocks, and I take one last look over my shoulder hoping to catch a sign of the man I came to see. My body sags with disappointment when I see nothing and Tawk’s fingers entwine with mine.
“You know your uncle has plans for us,” Tawk begins awkwardly as we near the village. I’m really not in the mood for the conversation he’s trying to start, not with so much on my mind. Saving our reservation has to be my priority. Unions can wait.
“I know how my uncle feels.” I keep my eyes focused on my feet and the trail they make through the path in the forest.
“And how do you feel?” Tawk forces us to stop, turning his body so he’s standing in front of me. His dark brown eyes peer hard into mine, and the harshness of his face eases up slightly.
“I…I…” Words fail me because, despite Tawk being handsome and kind in his own way, I feel nothing for him.
“I’ll be good to you, Shaniya,” he whispers, his fingers shaking as they stroke along my jaw, lifting my chin so my eyes meet with his again.
“I know you will.” I manage a smile, even though I feel sadness in my heart. Tawk deserves more than a wife who will never love him.
He tilts his head slightly and panic begins to form in my stomach, creeping into my chest as he leans forward and I realize what he’s about to do. Then just as I’m about to find a voice to stop him, the sound of commotion from the village interrupts us.
Angry voices and panicked chattering distracts us both, and when we rush through the clearing toward the village, a crowd has gathered around one of the cattle pens. Tawk races ahead and I follow behind him as fast as I can keep up, pushing through the small crowd of people to see what all the fuss is about. My feet give way and I fall to my knees when I see the scene in front of me. There’s blood soaked into the grass where the seven dead calves lay, all their throats slit open. I struggle to find breath as Tawk pulls me into him, shielding my face so I don’t have to look at the massacre.
“This was him, the one the outlaws warned us of,” Tayen’s husband, Calian, speaks out and more voices pick up around us, some in agreement and some not, but all of them panicked and fearful.
“Silence,” my uncle bellows. “We do not know who did this, it could be the outlaws themselves trying to scare us into believing their stories,” he adds, and I notice Tayen stops her husband from stepping forward.
“Tawk, Malkee, take these animals and preserve what you can from them. There will be a meeting tonight, all men must attend.” Uncle looks down at the slain beasts, closes his eyes, and whispers words in the old tongue before he retreats back to his hut.
There’s an uncomfortable atmosphere around the village during the rest of the day, and the divide amongst us grows. Some believe the threat is real, while the others trust the word of their chief.
