Promise: The Scarred Girl Read online

  Nea takes a sip and immediately recalls why she did not like the stuff as a child. It is acidic and tastes nothing like the grapes from which it was manufactured. Nea tries not to distort her mouth in disgust. Harold, however, closes his eyes on his first sip appreciatively and Luica sighs. “Delicious! The longer we carry it with us, the sweeter it gets,” she says, immediately taking a second sip. “Nea thinks, “If it’s true what they are saying, I would not want to know what the wine tasted like a year ago.”

  “You do not like it?” Luica asks when she notices Nea’s doubting face.

  “It’s new for me, I do not often drink wine,” she tries to make an excuse and overcomes her dislike enough to take another sip.

  “Well, hopefully you do not get used to it too much, it is hard to get hold of in this world. Hardly anyone makes wine anymore, and the old supplies are running low. That’s one of the reasons we trade with the Carris. This wine is from their own vineyards.”

  “They need it for their ceremonies,” Harold adds.

  “Living with the Carris is not too bad. You have a roof over your head and you do not have to worry about a growling stomach, as long as you stick to their rules and worship Ereb,” Luica adds.

  Nea shakes her head. “Ereb is a man like any other, so I do not know why I should worship him as a god. Also, I do not like being locked up somewhere, whether I have a full stomach or not.”

  The two nod. “We understand you. Our freedom means more to us than anything else, which is why we operate our trade. Dealing with them is the only way to secure our life.”

  “But one thing I do not understand. You want to be free, but still you take the long journey to Promise. You do not know if the city really is as you imagine. There you’re just as trapped as the Carris, only they have technological bells and whistles,” Luca looks questioningly at Nea.

  “You cannot compare Promise with Dementia. The people in Promise are intelligent and evolving. They are looking for a logical explanation for everything, not propping up their leader as a god to be worshipped. Promise is trying to return life to the way it was before the plague, not catapulting society back to the Middle Ages, as the Carris are doing.” Nea defended her dream. For her, there is nothing to hope for except Promise.

  Even though they disagree, Harold and Luica drop the subject.

  “Drink your wine, otherwise it will get stale,” Luica says, winking conspiratorially to Nea. She and Harold have already emptied their glasses. Zippi is tired and is leaning on Luica. Nea takes a breath, and then downs the entire contents of her glass down her throat. It burns her esophagus, but it is soon over, leaving only the bitter taste of wine.

  As Luica and Harold pack up the dishes, Nea decides to help, but as soon as she gets up, everything starts to spin around her and her legs become quite heavy. She bobs and weaves and is soon caught by Luica on her side. “Well, well! Someone is slightly drunk. Come, I’ll take you to your bed,” she says laughing and leads Nea away from the fire and into the tent. She leads Nea to the sleeping place protectively. Luica caringly spreads a blanket over Nea before she sinks into a deep sleep.

  Four

  Slowly Nea comes around. Her head is humming as though a train went through it. He hands and her back hurt terribly. She wants to stretch, but she soon realizes she cannot. She can hardly move. Immediately panic comes and chases away the fog in her head. Her eyes tear up and she realizes that she is still in the tent of Luica, Zippi, and Harold. Everything is good, she thinks, at least.

  But then she notices she is no longer on the mat and slowly begins to realize why her back and hands hurt so much. She is sitting on the ground; her hands are tied behind her back around a stake in the ground. As she tries to pull at her bonds, her shoulders hurt so much that she would like to cry out loud. The whole situation is strange to her, what happened since yesterday? Were they attacked? Where are Luica and the others?

  Nea’s mind operates at full speed. Is it better to draw attention to herself or is it better to be silent? Again, she tries to find a weak spot in the bonds, but it is hopeless. She listens and tries to hear what’s going on outside the tent, but there are no voices, only the steady patter of feet. It is difficult to estimate how many there are and whether they belong to friends or strangers. She wonders if she should make a noise, alert them to her being awake, but sooner or later, someone will come in to check on her. As she thinks that, Luica enters the tent and looks down at Nea. She sees Nea crouching on the floor in front of her, she seems bigger and her face is missing the friendliness that Nea has grown accustomed to in recent days, a feeling of security. Luica is unusually serious.

  “What is it, Luica, what’s going on?” Nea asks and hates the tremor in her voice which she cannot suppress. She knows that it’s a stupid question; after all, she is tied up while Luica runs free, but a last spark of hope remains in her.

  “What does it look like?” Luica replies coldly. Nea finds it hard to believe that this cold woman ever seemed warm.

  “I do not understand what’s going on here. Have I done something wrong?”

  A wicked grin stretches across Luica’s face.

  "Honey, I did not think that you were so stupid. You should know that you do not get anything for nothing in this world after all. "

  “What do you want from me? You can have everything I own...”

  Luica interrupts impatiently, “From today, you own nothing. It’s nothing against you, that’s just our job. Everyone needs to make ends meet, as you can see.”

  Nea does not understand what she means, but she notes Luica’s laugh as being a condescending laugh, so it occurs to her that she has been stupid and naïve.”

  “You still do not understand, do you? We do not trade with milk or eggs, but with people. We provide the Carris with slaves and for that they leave us in peace and provide us with food.”

  Nea’s throat constricts in fear. She should have expected as much, but no, she would never have come up with the idea that she would be the goods they would provide the Carris. All of the family’s friendliness was just a game. Nea was never more than a product for them to deliver. Shocked, Nea just stares at Luica. Her words fail her, because there is nothing that she could say that would sway her kidnapper. Nea will not be the first person this group has traded to the Carris. On the contrary, these three knew as soon as they met her that she would be given to the Carris. For the Carris to leave them alone as they do, they have to routinely deliver new slaves.

  “Oh, don’t look so sad, if you’re lucky, they’ll let you work in the fields. Then you’ll always have enough to eat. I know how you are, your own well being is paramount,” Luica says almost apologetically, shrugging her shoulders indifferently. Then she turns her back and walks away.

  Nea tries not to cry. After going so long without having to trust anyone, the moment she does, she is deceived again. Luica seemed to her to be the warmest person in the world, but now Nea’s fate is sealed. Nea thinks of all of the talks she and Luica had together and realizes that Luica never actually lied to her. She said that together they are stronger than if they were solo and that they would protect each other. She and Harold are stronger than Nea alone and they will sell her so that their young family will survive. She remembers that she had still wondered why the Carris should buy milk and eggs from them. How gullible she was, and besides, she scolded herself for not being suspicious and cautious. But what choice did she have as she stood there, already half frozen in the snow?

  If they had not helped her, she would probably not have survived the night. But Nea is still not ready to be surrendered to the Carris without a fight. Her backpack is not far away, it leans against her bed. Provided they did not search her when they tied her up, her knife should still be stuck in her waistband.

  Nea leans slightly to the side and feels the knife resisting against her side. Luica must feel very safe if they did not search her for hidden weapons. They probably decided she was weak and therefore would not offer any
resistance, but Nea plans to prove them wrong. This time they will arrive with empty hands to present to the Carris. Although, Nea does not yet know how she will escape.

  With adrenaline running through her veins to give her power, she pulls on the chains. When she finds that her physical strength has not released her from her bonds, she falls down and finds that the ground is a soft sandy soil and that the post to which she is bound is made of wood. She hopes to be able to lift it out of the ground. The moment she devises this plan, Harold walks by the tent, his arms fully loaded with supplies and materials. He did not even notice Nea.

  They are probably packing the tent together, which means she does not have much time, so she begins to push away and dig at the sand near the post, quietly so no one hears, and then faster and faster.

  Suddenly, a sharp pain flashes through her hand. Automatically, she turns around and hardly believes her eyes. The half-starved dog is there and wildly digs at the post imprisoning Nea with his paws. The dog is much faster than Nea with her clumsy hands; the dog probably scratched her by mistake.

  Nea is not sure that she deserves its help, she wonders for a moment where the dog has been, since she has not seen it in recent days. But that does not matter now, all that matters is that it is helping her to escape. Her gaze wanders from the dog to the tent opening. She almost cries out when she sees Zippi there, watching her and the dog. The dog notices the boy and pauses for a moment. A growl penetrates from its throat.

  “Is that your dog?” Zippi asks, as if nothing ever happened and Nea is not their prisoner. Almost shyly, he stands there, as he had when she first met him. He does not look condescending; he appears as a small, curious boy, nothing more.

  “Please help me, Zippi. I do not want to be a slave to the Carris!” Nea asks him, looking up to him, but he just shrugs his shoulders.

  “I cannot, otherwise mom will scold me!”

  When the dog realizes the boy seems to be no threat, it incessantly digs on.

  “What if you would not be caught?” Nea urges, pleadingly.

  “No, that’s not why I cannot help you. If we do not have a commodity for the Carris, we will be forced to stay there, and I do not want to.”

  “You could go, but not to them, just look for new stock and bring it to them.”

  “We cannot do that, they have been waiting for us and if we’re late, we will be punished.”

  Nea looks to Zippi desperately. She looks behind him and sees one of the tents begin to waver slightly. She hopes that neither Harold nor Luica are attracted by the conversation. Zippi seems to notice her gaze.

  “We’re in a hurry and are busy with packing. We are already one day behind.” Zippi looks to Nea’s backpack and hesitates.

  “If I give you your backpack, will you give me your compass?”

  Irritated, she looks at him. Nea is their prisoner, he could take whatever he wants, but then she finally understands. Zippi will not help her to escape, but he will not stop her. The amount of time that it will take her to be freed from her shackles and then to grab her backpack could cost her crucial seconds. So she agrees and Zippi provides the backpack. For this, he takes Nea’s compass from her coat pocket and leaves the tent, without even turning around. No, “Good luck” or anything like it comes from his lips. Nea’s not even sure if he wanted it because he likes the way it looks or because he wanted a compass.

  The stake is shaking now; she can now pull her hands under it. Her shoulders ache as she gets up. The dog stands in front of her and looks at her questioningly with ears and tail wagging. If she now manages to escape, she will probably have to return the favor.

  Nea grabs at her knife on her waistband as she hears voices from outside the tent. She quickly puts on the backpack and runs from the tent. As soon as she does, she sees Luica and quickly retreats back inside. Luica follows her into the tent. The moment she sets foot inside, the dog starts biting Luica’s leg. Luica screams and tries to kick at the dog. Nea uses this time to knock over the tent pole, so that the whole tent collapses. She quickly crawls under the tent and runs as fast as she can. She pays no attention to the dog, because if the dog has made it this far on his own, it would also be able to free itself from under the tent.

  Nea runs straight into a high meadow. She listens as Luica and Harold cry out for her. Nea runs without aim and without rest. She runs on and on and allows herself no chance to rest, pushing her legs further and further, while the backpack beats against her back. The tall grass finally clears and she finds herself in the forest. She wants to keep running, but now she is so exhausted that she trips over a root on the ground and crashes, no sooner has she fallen onto the ground that she wants to continue running, even though her heart beats wildly. But then she sees that only the small dog is standing behind her, panting, she falls back to the ground and takes a deep breath to calm her breathing.

  Her gaze wanders to the sky. The deciduous trees conceal the true sight, but their gentle swaying allows the bright blue sky and sun to shine down magnificently. In addition to her own breath, she hears the chirping of birds and the gentle wind blowing through the leaves. A gentle breeze sweeps over her face and dries the sweat on her forehead. Nea closes her eyes and breathes deeply, in and out. Here in this peaceful spot, she knows that she managed to escape. Briefly she considers what will happen to Luica, Harold, and Zippi when they come to the Carris without any goods. But soon she rejects the idea. Like Lucia said, everyone looks after their own self. While lying there, she notices how tired she is and closes her eyes for a moment.

  The grass tickled on her bare feet and got caught in her hair. She carefully looked over at Miro, who was lying next to her. They were so close their arms touched. He had his eyes closed. On his lips was a slight smile.

  Nea shielded her eyes with her hand and looked up at the bright blue summer sky. Small white clouds passed through the magnificent blue. Previously they made up stories about the clouds, how they were princesses, dragons, castles, and heroes. Today they would have been heroes.

  Silently, Nea designated Miro as her “hero.” Without him, she would certainly have died long before. She could not light a fire, nor did she know how to defend herself. No matter what it was, he would always rush to her aid.

  But Nea would never tell him how grateful she was and how much she needed him, because his ego was big enough already. It would feed his arrogance. He always treated her condescendingly, as if she were still a stupid little girl. He was only a few years older than her, hardly worth mentioning.

  She tried to relax and closed her eyes. The wind gently caressed her cheeks. She could feel the sun through her closed eyelids. She breathed in the scent of grass and flowers.

  Suddenly, she felt Miro move and a shadow fell over her face. She thought he would say something or tell her to get up, but he remained silent. Nea felt him looking at her. Even though she had her eyes closed, she tried to look very pretty, in the event that he was really looking at her. She wanted Miro to drive his hands through her hair and spread it out like a fan. If he did that now, would she laugh? She did as best as she could to not notice his gaze.

  She felt her heart begin to throb wildly and noticed how her eyelids twitched. She wanted to see him. She wanted to know if he was really looking at her. And if he was, what expression was on his face? Maybe he was coming up with something mean to do to her? Or maybe he was looking at her because he found her beautiful?

  Nea felt Miro’s breath on her face. Before she could think about what that meant, he pressed his lips to her easily. They were soft and warm and tasted of oranges. It was as if something exploded in Nea, like a volcanic eruption. The lava flowed through her heart and chased a hot shiver down her spine. Her whole scalp began to tingle. So that was it. Her first kiss.

  She would have never thought it would have been Miro. Actually, it was obvious, but they were best friends, best friends do not normally kiss each other.

  Although Nea felt drawn to him, she did not know if she wanted
him to kiss her. At that moment, she knew nothing, maybe this was another one of his dumb jokes... surely it was, she could already imagine him laughing.

  Instinctively, she shoved him roughly and looked at him angrily in the eyes, “What was that?” she snapped.

  The astonishment in his eyes bewildered Nea, why does he not laugh?

  Without looking at her, he rubbed his chest, the spot where she had shoved him. “I thought it was time for your first kiss.”

  “What if I wanted to determine the date for that myself?” Nea snapped back. She would have also wanted to choose who her first kiss would be with.

  “If it were up to you, you would never kiss me. You’re a coward!”

  “I am not!”

  Oh no? Then kiss me!” Miro challenged her.

  “No, I do not want to kiss you!”

  “Why not? Did you not like it? You would be the first one to complain.”

  There it was again! Why was he always so arrogant? Nea gave him another blow, this time on his upper arm.

  “That’s why. You kissed too many others before me. I do not want to just be one of many; I want it to be something special!”

  Nea feels the dog’s wet tongue upon her face. Quickly she opens her eyes and turns her face away from the dog. He stands beside her, looking down at her with its amber eyes. His breath stinks.

  Nea sits up and uses her knife to finish cutting off the binds upon her wrists. She looks doubtfully at the dog, who has now sat down before her. Now that the sun is shining, Nea can see that his fur is covered with some gray. It does not appear to be a young dog. It is a miracle that it’s so trusting. Nea owes this dog her freedom, because without it, she would probably never have released herself in time, and the dog bit at Luica to buy her even more time to escape.