The Forsaken

the morning. But tonight you will be my guests.”
    I exchange glances with the others. Guests?
    “My devotees have a camp half a mile north of here,” the Monk continues, “farther along the barrier. You will accompany us there at once.”
    The Monk raises his hand again and signals to his followers. The four drones step forward and pick up his platform.
    His mask looks down at us. “Shoulder your weapons. There will be no more fighting today. And no more deaths. Unless you demand them.”
    Obviously, if we take a stand and resist, we risk getting killed like the others. There are five of us, and fifty of them.
    All of a sudden, I feel like I’m ten years old again and back in my bedroom with the old man in the suit. I didn’t take a stand when my parents were snatched, and I’ve regretted it ever since.
    Here is another chance!
    I glance around. There’s no time to slot an arrow, but I could grab a spear. Throw it at this monstrosity. But what would that accomplish? I’d probably miss, and then I’d be dead, and all for nothing. I feel thwarted. Powerless. And I hate it.
    “We can’t leave our people’s bodies here,” Gadya says loudly. “Not like animals in the dirt.”
    “My men will bring the bodies of your fallen. We will bury them for you, in a sacred place at our camp.”
    I think about Meira. Who’s going to tell her about Veidman’s death? Then I realize that most likely none of us will make it back to the village. She’ll never know what became of him.
    I wonder how long the Monk can survive in his condition. The Suffering makes him dangerous—and desperate. He never would have shown himself to us if his need for a cure weren’t urgent. But I’m afraid he’ll just use us to lead him to his destination, and then tell his drones to kill us. Still, we have to play along. For now.
    “Fine,” Markus says. “We’ll go with you.”
    Gadya stares at the Monk defiantly, but she doesn’t disagree with Markus.
    The Monk doesn’t say a word. Just nods. Then his four men bear him away back into the forest. As soon as he’s gone, his army of drones converges on our group, screaming angrily:
    “Drop your spears and bows!”
    “Don’t speak! Don’t move!”
    “On your knees!”
    We do what they say. They make us kneel with our hands behind our heads as they confiscate our bows, arrows, knives, spears, and packs. I burn with anger and frustration. We’ve been whittled down to just a motley crew of misfits and hunters, at the mercy of the most evil force on the island.
    Soon our weapons are gone, and our provisions stowed. We’re finally allowed to stand up again.
    “Our Monk considers you his guests,” a long-haired drone with a scarred face intones, “but I consider you our prisoners. I wish I could kill the rest of you right here and now.”
    Another drone steps up. His face is painted with a psychedelic rainbow of colors, distorting his features. “You will walk single file! You will remain silent! You will do as you’re told!” His violent, brusque tone reminds me of the police back home in the UNA. “You are in this predicament because you are godless heathens who believe in nothing!”
    “What’s your name?” I hear a timid voice ask. I realize that it’s Rika.
    At first I don’t realize why she’s asking him that question, because what does this ugly, insane drone’s name even matter? Then I realize she’s trying to reach out to him, to establish some kind of human connection.
    It doesn’t work. “Call me Master!” the drone screeches at her. “We are your betters! You’re just faithless infidels from the corrupt blue sector! Call all of us Master, and you can’t go wrong.”
    Rika looks like she’s been slapped.
    “One day I’ll make them pay for this,” I hear Gadya whisper under her breath.
    “What’d you just say?” the long-haired drone asks ominously.
    “Nothing, Master, ” Gadya replies, her voice dripping with sarcasm. The drone is either too stupid or too power-drunk to detect it.
    “Follow me, heathens!” he bellows, as the rough hands of anonymous drones force us into line. “You belong to the Monk now. Freedom is a thing of the past!”
    We start hiking as he leads the way. There are drones in front of us, behind us, and some to the sides, moving noisily through the trees. They have enough weapons trained on our group to defeat an army ten times our size. The drones are taking every precaution so that we don’t run or fight back. Not