The Forsaken

“Hand to hand, I mean.”
    My heart pounds faster now, beating out a staccato rhythm. I feel the blood pumping through my veins. “No, of course not.”
    “Then you better learn fast. I told you the wheel isn’t for wimps.” She glances at me. “Grab that spear tighter. Use both hands. Make it clear you can’t be messed with. Get fierce !”
    She notches an arrow into her bow, holding the weapon like a natural extension of her body. I know that if a drone comes through the trees, she’ll let him have it right through the chest.
    Yet despite all the screaming and running, no one comes barging out. In fact, the sounds are already lessening a bit. Like the drones are moving onward. Maybe another distant village in this sector is their target today, not us.
    Gadya keeps her eyes trained on the verdant wall of trees surrounding our side of the clearing. Behind us I see other kids doing the same, bows ready. I’m just relieved that the drones are heading away from us. I lower my spear, resting the tip on the dirt.
    Then Gadya says, “We can’t let them get away.”
    I hesitate. We’re safe here. Or as safe as anyone can be on this island during the middle of a battle.
    Gadya notices my reluctance to give chase. “C’mon, what do you have to lose?”
    “My life?”
    “If it weren’t for those of us who fight, you wouldn’t have a life! Don’t be like Rika and the other girls who let boys fight all their battles.”
    Kids start flocking past us into the forest, weapons drawn. Some remain behind, probably to guard the fire pit and the Ones Who Suffer, but most head in pursuit of the drones.
    “Come on, Alenna!” Gadya yells, plunging into the foliage. “Do or die!”
    I have a choice to make. Gadya has thrown down the gauntlet, and it’s up to me whether I accept the challenge. For a second I swear that I’m going to stay behind.
    Then I realize I don’t want to be anonymous here, like I was back in the UNA. I want to be part of something bigger. I want Gadya and Liam to respect me. And I also want to survive. So I yell, “Hey! Wait up!”
    Then I take a deep breath and plunge into the trees after Gadya.

BATTLE CRY
    I CAN HEAR KIDS all around me running, yelling, and laughing maniacally in the thick foliage. I feel like I’m in the middle of an invisible stampede. It’s hard to even see Gadya, and she’s only a few paces ahead of me.
    I slip and almost fall, banging my spear against a tree trunk. The blow reverberates up the weapon and makes my hands throb. But I keep my grasp. I smell smoke, but I don’t know where it’s coming from.
    Gadya stops abruptly.
    “Wait!” she says. We’re both gasping for air. The whole time we’ve been running, she has kept her bow ready.
    “What?”
    “Up ahead— Between those trees.” We creep forward through the brush.
    I follow her gaze and see nothing but green leaves. Then I hear heavy footsteps thundering toward us, and branches begin to rustle.
    “Hey!” Gadya calls out, aiming her bow. “If you don’t stop moving, I’m gonna put an arrow between your eyes!”
    The footsteps don’t stop.
    A second later, a large figure shoves branches out of its way and stands before us. It’s a robed drone, but this one looks nothing like the ones I’ve seen so far.
    This drone is a girl.
    Her head is shaved down to blond stubble, and her face is painted zombie white, with black marking under her eyes. She’s also about six inches taller than either me or Gadya. I’ve never seen a girl who looks like this, like some savage Amazonian warrior. She’s holding a homemade ax with a chipped, rusty blade.
    Even Gadya looks taken aback, but she keeps her bow steady. “Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I said? Back the hell off.”
    The girl bares her sharp yellow teeth. She looks monstrous, terrifying. I almost hope that a feeler drops down from the sky and snatches her up. But it doesn’t happen.
    Gadya flourishes her bow. “I’ve killed before. I’ll do it again.”
    I realize I should say something too. Yet I’m too scared to even speak. So I just raise my spear and point it at the huge girl, even though she could probably swat it away in a second. She raises her ax.
    “I’m giving you fair warning,” Gadya says, her voice like steel. “Three seconds to turn around and leave. I don’t want to kill you. That’s not my way. But I’ll skewer your heart and send you straight to hell if you make me.”
    The big girl looks in my direction, still