Monday, October 28, 2019

XXVIII: Face

Harper suggested the name Sasha as Samuel helped the two of us finish setting up a tent. It is not a name with which I have any strong associations, the way Max was the name of the childhood dog Viktor and I owned once. It does, however, feel like it was meant to be mine.

A noise came from the trees while Harper and I were inside the tent and Samuel was outside. Something felt off about it. I crawled out of the tent to see Samuel attempt to fend off an unarmed hunter using his pocket knife. I recognized its shape as one of the inhabitants of what was, at the time, Harper's settlement. A man named Matthew.

It turned to me as I stood up and drew my pistol. Its jaw creaked open, and it said my name. The name I had at the time, that is.

"Kosta Ivanov," it growled.

Its back was turned to Samuel, its legs moving in my direction instead of his, but I could see in his eyes that he would be unable to kill the hunter. Its face reminded him too much of the man it used to be.

"Samuel. Do you need me to do this for you?" I asked, holding up my pistol.

He nodded as he slowly put down the knife.

I fired once. The hunter collapsed.

My pistol is out of ammunition now, and I still have yet to find a suitable replacement for my knife. Samuel and Harper have no spares. If we are to leave the Forest, we must do so soon.

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