The Forsaken

making us fall back for a second.
    Liam still has hold of its other tentacle, and he’s hacking away with his spear. He doesn’t realize he’s now in sudden danger.
    “Liam, look out!” I scream at him. “Behind you!”
    Somehow he hears my voice over the racket and looks up.
    But it’s too late.
    The newly freed tentacle slices through the air. It curls itself around Liam’s waist like a belt. He gasps as the tentacle whips his body backward, slamming his head against a tree. The spear gets knocked from his hand.
    I race forward. “No!”
    His eyes lock on to mine. I don’t see fear in them. Only clarity and determination. But I also see the look of someone who knows his time is up.
    “Alenna,” he mouths.
    One simple word.
    My name.
    And then the tentacles pull him straight up through the branches and into the sky.
    It happens so fast, I can’t believe it. I continue moving forward. But Liam is gone. I look up. He’s not even a speck. He has just disappeared. This can’t be real, I tell myself frantically. Oh, please no— Not Liam!
    Everyone looks shocked.
    Liam is gone. Liam, the best hunter. The best tracker. My first kiss. Liam, who lost his life saving mine.
    Liam, I think over and over, just repeating his name in a daze. I can’t believe I’ve lost him.
    My body stops moving. My legs feel weak, and I collapse to the ground. I wish the feeler had taken me instead of him. I’m useless on this island. He should have just let it take me!
    Kids are shouting and yelling. No one can believe what just happened. The feelers have decimated our group. They’ve taken half our people. I shut my eyes, trying to wish the world away. What am I going to do now?

THE BOUNDARY
    A FEW SECONDS LATER, a pair of hands yanks me to my feet. I open my eyes. It’s Gadya.
    I’m still in shock, the events replaying in my mind like a loop. But the battle is over now. The feelers are gone, and so is the Monk’s watcher and his drones. “Gadya,” I say.
    Then I notice that her face is red. Furious. “This is all your fault!” she yells at me as I stumble back in surprise. “If it weren’t for you, Liam wouldn’t have got taken!”
    “Wait, Gadya, stop.”
    “He was trying to save your pathetic ass!”
    “I know that!” But does she know how badly my heart is aching? “I didn’t ask him to.” I’m about to cry. “I’m sorry!”
    “Sorry?” she screams, turning around. “Hey everyone, did you hear that? Alenna is sorry she got Liam killed! Doesn’t that make you feel so much better?”
    “Leave it be,” Markus says glumly. “Liam wasn’t the only one who got taken today.”
    “No, I will not leave it be!” she screams back at him.
    “Gadya, don’t do this,” Veidman cautions. He’s at Rika’s side, rolling up her pant leg to inspect her wound.
    Gadya ignores him, turning back to me with blazing eyes. “How does it feel to be a murderer?”
    “C’mon. That’s crazy, Gad. She’s not a murderer,” Sinxen says, trying to get between us and failing.
    “Yes, she is!” Gadya stares me down. “You only came on this journey because of Liam! Admit it. You’re deadweight.”
    “That’s not true!” I feel myself getting angry. “This is not my fault. I came here to help. And earlier today you said you were cool with me and Liam! Were you lying?” I realize she must have been hiding her feelings from me. Now her true emotions are getting released in an angry torrent.
    “You’re a follower. Not like me or Liam. Not a real hunter. You caused his death.” Gadya shoves me in the chest, ready to fight. “Now you’re going to pay for it.”
    “The feeler killed him!” I tell Gadya. “Open your eyes!”
    Gadya knows what I’m saying is true. For a moment I think she’s going to back down. Then the moment passes, and all I see is steely determination and rage again. “I wish I hadn’t wasted my time on you. I wish I’d just spent it with Liam.”
    “Maybe he didn’t want to spend any more time with you,” I snap at her, knowing it’s the wrong thing to say. “Maybe you shouldn’t have dumped him if you were still in love with him!”
    Gadya rushes forward, like she’s going to punch me in the face. I flinch, but I stand my ground. She stops, a few inches away.
    “I know that you and Liam were hooking up,” she spits. “That you went behind my back, even when I asked you not to. It was more than just a kiss. Markus told everyone he saw you two down by the butterfly