Matthew. He was kind, comforting. Their relationship wasn’t serious, but it was good. Like a cup of tea on a cold winter day — something Liwen hoped she could one day experience. They both stared out into the black, listening to the symphony of life. “Does it ever scare you?” he asked. “No. It’s my home.” “My home scares me sometimes.” “The jungle is only scary because you don’t know it like I do.” “I know that out there even a frog may be my undoing.” “Frogs are sacred to my people.” “Really?” “They represent fertility. People believe that if you eat a poison dart frog it’ll make your penis grow bigger. I could try finding you one?” Liwen teased with a crooked smile. Matthew feigned a scowl. “What do your people find sacred?” Liwen glanced to Capo who sat on the railing not far from them, seemingly deciding whether or not to venture into the night and find herself a midnight snack. “Ah, the oncilla. I’ve heard they’re— ” He was interrupted by the screams of a human, cutting through the jungle like a knife. They looked at each other for an instant, more cries of pain echoing in the night, closer now. Without a word they threw on their clothes and set off toward the wails, ending up at the small med center in XPLOR. Bursting into the room, she had expected to find a tourist who decided to go out for a midnight stroll. What they found was far worse. Liwen stared at the man writhing on the table. She knew him. She recognized the paint on his face in an instant. He was one of her people. Carlos, their doctor, glanced over his shoulder. “You should go,” he said, before ripping off part of the man’s shirt, exposing his wound. Liwen walked to the table, trying not to stare at the blood that oozed out of what looked like bullet wounds in his stomach. “I know him,” she said quietly, brushing sweat-soaked hair from his face as Carlos tended to his wound. “Gael?” Liwen asked tentatively. Gael’s eyes drifted to her. “Liwen … ” Carlos wiped the wound clean. Liwen reached to hold Gael’s hand as he winced in pain. She leaned in closer to him. “What happened?” Gael moaned. “Gael,” she asked again, “What happened?” more forcefully this time, knowing her people were not likely to travel alone, knowing that whatever happened to Gael likely happened to the others. “Poachers … ” he whispered. “Poachers? Why would poachers have done this?” “We … had to stop them … ” Liwen clenched her fists. Idiots. For her people, poachers were the devil incarnate, killing oncillas indiscriminately for their pelts. But she never thought they’d try and stop them on their own. “Where are the others? Are they okay?” Gael groaned in agony as Carlos plucked a piece of shrapnel from his stomach. “Where are they Gael!?” Liwen shouted. “You mom … ” he began, before more pain seemed to shutter through him, too much for him to bear. He blacked out. “What about her? What about my mom!?” “Liwen!” Carlos yelled over her. Liwen turned to him, his hands covered No. 124 in blood. “You need to go.” She stared at him, scared, furious. But before she could think to say anything, to do anything, Matthew guided her out of the room. “Let me come with you.” Matthew said. Liwen shook her head. “I’ll be fine.” She slipped her pistol into her backpack. “I can help. You don’t know who’s out there, how many there are.” “I don’t have time to hold your hand.” When she looked up moments later, she saw Matthew had gone. She had not meant to be so harsh, but she could not worry about that now. She strapped her hunting knife to her thigh, tossed her bag over her back, and set off into the jungle. Capo traced her steps from above as the first light of dawn broke through the canopy. Liwen knew the way to her village well. She had made the trek many times before, contemplating whether or not confront her mother or to steal a secret visit to her little brother. He’d be five now. Was he okay? Poachers were desperate, but they wouldn’t kill a little boy, would they? Liwen quickened her pace, sweat streaming down her face, tracing faint lines in the mud she used to keep the mosquitos at bay. She emerged into the little clearing of her village hours later. Capo dropped down beside her, sniffing the trampled ground. Liwen crept quietly toward the main pavilion. She found the body of one of her people riddled with bullets, eager flies already buzzing. She knelt beside him and closed his eyes, whispering, “You are with the jungle now.” Not far from him was the body of an oncilla, barely recognizable without its pelt, skinned to little more than a thin slab of pink, grub-covered meat. She saw no sign of life but crept silently still, going house by house until she reached her childhood home. She paused just outside the door, images of her mother’s desiccated corpse flashing in her mind’s eye. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the crooked wooden door open. Their home was empty. It looked just as she’d remember, every board, every groove of wood. For a moment she was still, remembering glimpses of the childhood she’d spent here. But the thought of poachers chasing her mother and brother into the jungle, the thought of them being shot somewhere she’d never find quickly broke her reverie. She turned back to see Capo on the other side of the clearing, sniffing something on the ground. Liwen went to her, finding blood-stained leaves and broken earth. Without hesitation they set off back into the jungle, following the clumsy trail the poachers had left behind. It was a few hours of tracking before they found another clearing dotted with shelters. The sun hung high above, beaming down on rusted scraps haphazardly slapped together into a small collection of homes. Liwen surveyed the land, once again finding it still, quiet. She crept up to the first house, then stopped abruptly. Something rustled inside. Liwen slipped the pistol from her backpack and held it in front of her as she slowly approached the door. Then swiftly she slammed it open holding the weapon out in front of her. Her eyes flicked quickly across every corner until they landed on a person, hands and legs bound to a chair, mouth gagged. Ravi. She rushed to him, setting her pistol down on the table, and pulled the rope gag from his mouth. “What happened Ravi? Where is everyone?” He hesitated for a moment, and Liwen felt her rage prickle. Now was not the time to worry about her being an outcast. Ravi seemed to agree and eventually said, “I don’t know. We were supposed to go to the
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