The Forsaken

this!” the masked boy threatens Gadya. “You’ve got no idea how powerful he is now!”
    I glance back and see that the boy’s hands are shaking with anger and frustration. Or maybe just from crazed devotion to the Monk— whoever that is. The boy’s cohorts draw closer, like they’re preparing to gang up and fight us.
    Gadya looks down at us from the hill. “Hurry!” she snaps.
    I scramble up the rest of the hillside, with David limping behind me. We finally reach Gadya and look back at the boys. They stand there clutching knives, hatchets, and other primitive weapons.
    The masked boy turns and mutters something inaudible to his companions. I hear angry murmurs of agreement as they brandish their knives. I don’t think these boys are going to back down. Apparently neither does Gadya.
    She raises the gun to her shoulder, taking aim again. “You and your friend better be fast runners,” she whispers to me, sounding worried for the first time. “Or you’re gonna get us all killed!”

GADYA
    A SPLIT SECOND LATER, the boy at the bottom of the hill pivots toward us and tears off his mask. Underneath, I see an acne-scarred face with a wide nose, contorted into a grotesque scowl. “In the beloved name of the Monk, we’re claiming this girl and this boy as our slaves!” He storms forward up the hill, followed by the others.
    Gadya raises her gun. For a second, I think she’s going to fire. Instead, she flings the weapon as hard as she can at the scowling boy’s face. The butt connects with his nose with a sharp crack. He flails and careens backward down the hill, losing his balance.
    Gadya jerks me sideways, pulling me into the forest. “This way!” she yells as David grabs for my other hand.
    Another robed figure reaches the top of the hill, faster than I expected. I turn around, and he’s almost on me and David. Gadya has let go of my arm. She’s a few feet ahead, and she can’t turn back in time. The figure lunges forward, and I scream in terror.
    Then, suddenly, he gets knocked right out of the way, and crashes forward onto his face. It takes me a second to realize what happened. It’s David. He’s thrown himself at the figure, tackling him by the legs and bringing him down.
    “Run!” he screams at me. “I can’t make it anyway, ’cause of my foot! If you survive, come back for me!”
    “David!” I yell, hesitating. I can’t believe he’d sacrifice himself like this for me. These are not the actions of an Unanchored Soul.
    I hear other boys rushing up the hill and through the trees, calling out violent threats. If I wait one second longer, I’m going to get taken. “I’ll come back and rescue you!” I call out to him. “I swear it!”
    As other figures reach him, I start running as fast as I can, chasing after Gadya. She’s barely visible in the forest ahead. “Gadya—wait!”
    “Pick up the pace!” she screams back at me. “Or you’ll end up like your friend.” She takes a hard left onto a narrow dirt trail. I follow. She moves with incredible grace and speed.
    “Please—” I gasp, but she doesn’t slow down. I’m terrified of losing her among the trees. She’s just a faint flash ahead of me. I keep running.
    We’re putting space between ourselves and the boys. Maybe their bulky robes are slowing them down. And obviously a lot of them have surrounded David already. But what will happen if we stop running?
    Then, suddenly—horrifyingly—I realize that I’ve lost Gadya. I didn’t even look away. She was directly ahead of me one second, then gone the next. How could she disappear like that?
    “Help!” I yell wildly, not caring that the boys might hear. “Gadya!” I keep plunging forward out of sheer momentum.
    Then the earth gives way under my feet.
    For a second, I’m suspended in air, running through space. The ground is disintegrating beneath me like I’ve leapt off a cliff.
    My shins collide with something hard, and I cry out in pain. Rough hands drag me down into some kind of earthen hole. An object slides over the top of my head. It’s a woven blanket of leaves and twigs.
    I look around and see Gadya sitting there, staring back at me. I’m panting like crazy, completely disoriented. I slowly realize that I’ve fallen into a deep hole dug in the trail, now masked by the leaf blanket above us. It’s like a grave, but square. It smells like bamboo.
    Gadya shoves her hand against my mouth and pushes me hard against one side of the hole.
    “I didn’t