The Chosen Ones

Chapter Four

Chapter 4

"Ready?" Will whispered next to my ear, his warm breath stirring the hair that had come loose from my braid and momentarily distracting me.

I tried to push aside the odd flare of emotion that swirled through my body at his nearness. Attempted to ignore the blood pounding through my veins, partly from excitement and partly from his close proximity. If I wanted to live, I needed to be able to concentrate. Still, I wasn't used to being touched, and his hand was tight around my upper arm, his fingers almost stinging. I rested my hand against my thigh. Feeling the dagger Kelly had given to me made me feel better for some reason.

Would I ever get used to physical contact? Because of the years of rules that had been pounded into my brain, perhaps not. Contact at my compound had been merely about producing offspring. But here we were free to touch, cuddle, kiss, as I'd seen many of the couples do at night. As much as I'd always craved closeness, it made me uneasy.

I rolled my eyes skyward, mentally shaking aside the thoughts. This wasn't about romance and friendship, it was about learning to survive.

Will released his hold. "Go!"

I took off, darting through the trees, leaping over patches of weeds and fallen branches. As children we'd played hide and seek, but this was an adult version, a version I needed to win in order to stay alive. But within moments I was breathless, my weak body screaming out in betrayal. Determined to win, I stumbled on.

For days we'd been walking, headed toward that elusive meeting point where we'd connect with the children once more, hoping we didn't run into any beautiful ones. And every evening, as the others rested, Will and I trained. Trained so hard that my muscles constantly trembled with exhaustion, trained so hard that at times I didn't think I could go on. At least I slept well at night. One small consolation.

When we'd take breaks during the day hikes, Will would give me what books he had been able to carry with him. I was currently reading a novel on the history of the world. Interesting, yes, but there was nothing about the beautiful ones, and at the moment they were all I cared about.

I ducked under a low-hanging branch. In the days I'd been with him I'd grown to respect Will. I might not have liked him at times, but I trusted him. And I could even say that Kelly was becoming a friend. The others weren't so easy to figure out, and were obviously leery about letting me into their tight group, even if the sudden appearance of newbies, as Tony called us, was common.

I darted left, headed downhill. But my untrained body gave out, propelling me forward and I ended up sliding in the damp earth. "Damn."

Coming to a rest at the bottom, just inches from a small creek, I took a brief moment to suck in some much-needed air. Surely Will was already after me. I glanced back up the hill and saw the deep grooves my boots had left behind in the mud. Will would see those tell-tale marks and he'd follow. With a groan of frustration, I stood. Mud covered the side of my trousers, caked into the material. I wanted to curse all over again. Clothing was limited, and I had only two pair of trousers to my name. But I didn't have time to lament my bad fortune.

Although it was only Will chasing me, it might as well have been a beautiful one. My heart hammered, urging me to continue on, but I needed to remain calm. I studied the forest, taking in each shadow, every nook. Hide or run?

Run.

But where to go? Will had told me to head downwind, so the beautiful ones couldn't smell me. But I wasn't running from a beautiful one. Will would easily follow my tracks down this hill, and he'd assume I was listening and I'd run downwind. I glanced up the steep slope. I didn't just need to know how to protect myself from the beautiful ones, I needed to know how to protect myself period, no matter who the enemy. And at the moment Will was the enemy.