Elm travelled behind Pine going over what Oak had said. How could they believe what Oak said was true? For all they knew Oak could have them following nothing, could be making the whole thing up, none of them had even seen a Citan as yet. He glowered as he ran along; he hated how everyone put their trust in Oak so willingly. No one ever questioned...except Fern. He’d watched her change the last two years. Even though she still looked at Oak with those adoring eyes, there was anger in them and rebellion.
Rebellion was a word that reverberated a lot in his mind. He knew that Fern wouldn’t willingly hurt Oak but he was sure he could manipulate her so that she did, unintentionally of course. A cruel smile played upon his lips at the thought but just as suddenly vanished. She was a pretty thing and he often thought about her but he knew that was foolish. There was only one she wanted and he wondered why Oak ignored that. There were feelings between them, no one doubted it. They had a strong emotional bond, yet Oak distanced himself from her as much as possible. Perhaps, he could see just how dangerous his weakness for her was. She was the only one who could make him lose control.
Instead he fawned over the pretty, pathetic, pale, Willow. She floated around like her head was made of air and smiled so sickly sweet to everyone that he wanted to taunt her, just to see if she could actually show any anger. Everyone treated her as if she was of the greatest importance. They brought her gifts almost bowing down to her like she was some deity. How ridiculous, she was nothing more than a wisp of a creature, yet she had so many hanging from her every word. It was because of her words that he hadn’t become leader and he despised her for it. When he was eventually leader and he would be, she wouldn’t be choosing any of his defenders for him. She’d be talking to the girls about their troubles and that would be all.
His lips curled again at that thought. He knew that she hadn’t told Oak to choose him to be one of his defenders; he knew she’d advised him against it and he knew why Oak had gone against her wishes. Oak took him with him everywhere and watched him carefully, every move he made, every expression on his face. He knew what he was planning and the thought made Elm laugh all the more.
Oak was just waiting for the day that he would try to take over his role as leader but Elm was too clever to try anything physical. He would bide his time and win that role through using others. He was not going to put himself at risk but he would manipulate other members to do his bidding. He’d already carefully planted the seeds; it was just a matter of patience to wait for them to grow. He was too smart for Oak to figure out and by the time he did, it would be too late for him to do anything about it. If he was lucky and his plan went well Oak would be dead anyway and Elm would walk out of the whole thing looking like a saviour to the other defenders.
It was unfortunate that Oak had picked Blackthorn to come with them; he’d hoped he would have chosen Hemlock; the seeds were growing well within him. It didn't matter, Hemlock was in the group to the west of them and so he was close by, whereas, Linden was far away in the south patrol. He could even be days away but he was not as easy to manipulate as Hemlock. He’d found the chink in Hemlock's armour long ago and had whittled at it until he was now sure he would follow Elm's instructions without question.
A silent laugh left his lips and his eyes narrowed. Be patient Elm, wait for the time, place and the event, it will all come together, and your intelligence will have proved you can outwit Oak. He’ll have no time to respond and when he does grasp what is happening, he’ll be unable to change anything.
He sharply stopped his thoughts when Oak halted again. They crawled to the spot where Oak had dropped down. His eyes were closed when they got there and Elm felt like slapping him, he was so tired of his visions. When Oak's eyes quickly opened and stared straight at him he felt uncomfortable. It was as if Oak knew everything in that one look and Elm become edgy for a moment. Laughing internally he thought himself foolish as Oak then motioned for them to be silent. They waited for what seemed like a long period of time but it was more likely only seconds.
Oak's eyes went into a trance again. Elm’s thoughts travelled once more. Perhaps he and Willow would be good together; they were both the same, both as flaky as each other. What a quiet household it would be, both of them sat in their trances all day long. Perhaps they could produce imaginary children that could float along behind Willow and her long billowing dresses. He looked up to see Oak staring at him and he smirked. Oak looked annoyed, Elm liked that even better and smirked all the more.
Oak rested his gaze on all of his defenders. “We shall rest and eat, the Citans have found themselves a place to rest and they are making camp for the night. Their leader will be planning to come and look for us soon as it will be dusk in a matter of minutes and dark soon after.” The defenders looked up at the sky. They had not been paying any attention to it since it was often obscured by the large trees they were travelling under but they noticed the tinges of grey that were seeping through it now.
“We shall drop back since they have no plans to move any further in their travels tonight but they will rise early and be off with first light and so shall we.”
Still sat cross legged each ate quietly. Elm was considering the days ahead, watching the other defenders as they went through their own thoughts. He looked at Pine and Blackthorn, he wished fervently he could get rid of them; they made his plan difficult to put into action. Don’t worry he thought; soon, soon his opportunity would come.
When they’d finished eating they followed Oak once more as he assigned them to their trees for the night. Elm was disgusted by it; he was tired of Oak treating them like they had no minds of their own. He knew however, Oak had his reasons for assigning them certain trees and a lot of it had to do with him. Oak at least didn't remind them of what order they were on watch, they were expected to remember. He’d made it clear to his defenders long ago that they were given orders only once.
Taking the rope that was wrapped around his waist he wrapped it around one hand threw the rest around the tree and wrapped it tight around the other hand so that his body was no more than an arm’s length from the tree, the rest of the rope dangled down loosely. Then with toes pointed outwards in his flat shoes he rested his feet upon the tree truck and with a quick strong movement slid the rope up the tree, adjusting his feet to follow. It didn’t take him long to reach the under branches and once there he grabbed one and pulled himself up into the foliage.
Elm picked his spot to sleep since Oak was taking first watch and he was to take the second to final shift. That was very sneaky of Oak slipping him in between shifts, so he probably wouldn’t see the Citans at all, since the Citans would search for them immediately at dark or early before the light. There would be no sneaking for him to the Citan leader to gain his trust as an ally. He took out his blanket and quickly settled for the night. He’d make sure he was well rested before his watch; he had a lot more planning to do when he awoke again.
**********
Oak sat in the tree mulling over his thoughts. He’d enough to think of with the Citans but these emotions of Elm's were becoming stronger, Elm was usually careful not to be so unguarded. He was eager to be rid of Oak and it was leaving him open. It wasn’t the first time that he’d felt Elm's ridicule but this had been much stronger than the other times. Oak didn’t feel comfortable with Elm's lack of fear, he thought himself invincible and this could be a definite problem. He wished he could distract Elm with a girl but the only one he ever looked at was Fern and he was certain that was because he knew Oak had feelings for her. He’d often dreaded that Elm would pick Fern to be his partner.
There were times when he was sure that Elm was going to approach Fern to ask her. He’d felt Elm's emotions when they’d been strong and it had left Oak almost beside himself with fear that Fern might say yes, just to spite him, because he himself didn’t ask her. He knew she wanted to be with him but Oak couldn't ask her, she’d make him weak; she’d be his ruin as a leader.
Elm liked to play on her rebellious nature and take advantage of her because of it. Fern disliked Elm almost as much as Oak did, was it dislike though? Or was it distrust? Had he, himself, placed that distrust there when he’d talked to Fern about Elm? He was right to have done so; she needed to know what Elm was up to. It would be wrong for her to be jostled in the middle between both of them, but then, wasn't that already happening? Once more he felt aggrieved at the mental injuries he caused Fern.
If Elm asked her, she would say no and Elm knew it. One day Oak saw Elm pause by her door; his feelings were strong to approach her as a lover. Oak had watched him in fear but Elm had turned and walked away. Oak's body had crumpled as the pent up air escaped from the relief, he thought he aged a year that day.
Elm was waiting, waiting for a time like today when Fern was broken. When Elm could slither to her, like that snake of hers and wrap himself around her and hiss into her ear that he was with her, understood her, that she was right to do the things she did, he would stand by her, that they were both misunderstood. Would Fern in her time of weakness, fall for his charm?
Anger shot through him. Had he approached Fern after he left? Oak had no idea where Elm had gone, he hadn’t tried to sense where he went, he’d been caught up in his own emotions and by that time was thinking of Willow. Elm could have crawled his way to Fern and set all his vile charismatic words into play, leaving her to mull over them. To stew for however many days they’d be away and seek out Elm on his return to discuss more, to hear more of the lies he could spew forth with such ease. Oak wanted to hit something in his anger. Elm wouldn’t get near Fern on their return, he’d see to that.
Unexpectedly, his thoughts changed and he could see something large moving through the dark forest in his mind. The Citan leader was looking for them and he wasn’t far away. Oak stared into the darkness and saw the illumination from two dilated eye pupils. He was impressed that the Citan was so quiet. As Oak knew he would, he’d taken off the black coat and left his rifle and belt of bullets behind. He moved stealthily, his knife still sheathed so the moonlight that scrambled through the tree branches wouldn’t glint off it, giving his position away. He didn’t come near the tree Oak was in but passed under the tree where Pine had been sleeping.
Had been sleeping, Pine too was now wide awake. He was looking at Oak to see if he was giving any instructions. Oak pondered, it would be nice to capture the Citan leader but he was sure that he wasn’t alone. He had no doubt there were others and in a fight they themselves may not fair too well against them. No, like Elm, Oak could be patient. He would wait to find out what he wanted to know but he would let them pass for now.
The Citan leader moved away and as Oak suspected one of his group pursued him and then another. There were only three of them but it still wasn’t worth the risk. Oak looked across at Pine, he was motionless but ready for action. It was Pine's shift now to watch. Oak leaned his head on the tree bark, pushing his thoughts and images away, he went to sleep.
Oak was dreaming that he was with his father. They were on the bus, which consisted of four carriages that picked up its passengers at assigned stops. They’d had to walk a kilometre to get there, as they were travelling on the east bus to get off at a stop that had the south bus line connection. Everyone travelled on the buses, there was no other form of transportation.
His father had his screen with him, it was the size of his pocket and he pulled it out to be scanned as they stepped onto the bus, everyone behind them did the same. Every family was given a screen. There was no money, just the screen. Everything you received from the government was determined on that screen. Your weekly food ration, travel expenses, energy expenses. Once you used up your weekly allowance there was nothing left for you, so you had to be careful. Especially in winter, to have your energy switched off because you’d used your limit meant: no heat, no light and no power to cook.
Everyone was allocated a job to match their intelligence or what they were most skilled at. There was no choice. Today they were going to get food. He loved it when his father took him. Normally he had to sit on his knee on the bus, children were meant to stay at home and be educated by the screens installed in their house. They were not of enough value to be allowed a seat on the buses that were often full and today was no exception, his father stood holding onto the metal bar that ran down the middle of the carriage as he held onto his father’s legs.
He was not able to see anything other than the legs before him but he liked the motion of the bus, it excited him. When they came to a stop for the sixth time his father nudged him and he looked up to see him smile. “Come on son,” he said, “our stop.” He followed his father holding tightly onto his hand as they made their way through the people that were also standing in the carriage and got off the bus into a crowd that had departed from theirs and all the other compartments.
They stopped with the group and waited for the next bus. His father was smiling down at him again. He was so tall and his blue eyes shone with pride as he looked down at his young son. “Simon,” he waited for his complete attention. “Make sure you stay close to me at all times, okay?” Simon nodded enthusiastically and squeezed his father's hand in his. His father gave a small laugh and then looked toward the south bus that was approaching
This bus was not as busy and Simon was able to sit on his father's knee and look at the people sat in front of him. They were a young couple; a pretty young woman sat nearest the window, the young man nearest the aisle. The man fidgeted a lot and the woman gently placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. He calmed immediately but Simon was curious as to why he was nervous. They were approaching the next stop, so people arose staggering slightly as they made their way down the aisle.
The bus drew to a halt as usual and people got off but the bus didn’t start again as it should have. Simon wondered if the bus was broken and in disappointment thought they would have to walk the rest of the way. He was just looking down at his shoes wondering if his toes would hurt whilst walking, when three soldiers came on board. They were dressed in grey camouflage wearing threatening expressions. Their rifles were slung over their shoulders, a hand gun resting upon their hips. He stared at the military as they slowly moved amongst the passengers and noticed the fear as everyone’s eyes followed the uniformed men.
He’d forgotten the fidgety passenger until they got to him. The first soldier held his screen out to the other.
“This is him.” The man had paled so white that Simon thought he would pass out. He had no chance to as two of the soldiers grabbed him and started to haul him down the aisle of the bus.
“No!” the woman beside him yelled, “You’re mistaken. This man has done no wrong. Let him go!” The woman was shoved back in her seat by the third soldier, where she proceeded to rise up again.
“Sit!” growled the soldier who’d pointed out her man, pushing her roughly down again. “Or we’ll take you too!”
“Then take me as well. Neither of us has done wrong. You can falsely accuse both of us because I will not be left behind.” She arose to her feet again and stumbling out from the seat pushed past the soldier, wobbling with fear, she struggled down the aisle.
Swiftly, the soldier followed, grabbing the woman before she could make it off the bus. Once he had hold of her he pulled her roughly down the two steps to the ground, she almost missed the last as she lurched forward toward the other soldiers and the apprehensive, waiting young man.
The bus still didn’t move, he could sense agitated movement around him, people shaking their heads sadly but nothing was said, no one dared. It wasn’t until an armoured vehicle passed them by that the bus started to roll onwards once more. Simon was still staring behind him out of the window to where the armoured vehicle had gone. His stomach was churning, he didn’t feel well and he was afraid, he was afraid for the young woman and the man. He felt his father squeeze him tighter and he looked into his father's eyes to see fear in them too. “Simon, we’re safe, there’s no need to be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” His father hugged him tightly and Simon was ashamed to feel a tear run down his cheek.
Oak awoke with a start to find that the sky was already approaching that moment between stars and the grey light of dawn. He gave a quick glance around him, noticed that Pine was awake too and saw that Elm was asleep and Blackthorn was looking around him intently. With dexterity he quickly leaped down the tree using the rope to slide down in jumps. Pine was doing the same, as was Blackthorn and Elm was starting down his tree too.
“You didn’t want to trap the three Citans last night?” Pine asked when they all gathered together.
“No Pine. The risk was too great and it wasn’t worth the risk to lose one of you or maybe all.”
Elm gave a grunt and they all looked at him. “Why would you think those giants could beat us? We’re smarter and quicker, they wouldn’t stand a chance.” He looked at them all with an air of superiority. They glanced briefly at one another and let the comment slide.
Oak continued “We’ll follow the Citans at the same distance. I have a plan that I will set into play but we must be patient and wait for when the time is right.” They nodded at him and Elm gave a brief scowl. He’d talk to Elm later but not now. The Citans were already moving and they must keep up.
“Eat on the way,” Oak ordered. “We must leave now.” The sky was already grey, with the light seeping into the forest as they set off.
The day was long and hotter than the previous one. Blackthorn had left the group for a few hours to seek out the other members of their own group of ten and see if they had more news and make sure they were safe. He returned to say that both groups had seen the searching Citans that night but had remained unseen themselves. Oak was pleased they had done so well and told Blackthorn he’d done a fine job at finding his fellow defenders. Blackthorn beamed in delight at his praise and Elm gave a look of derision. Oak turned away from the scene disgusted at what Elm thought of Blackthorn's servile attitude. He understood that not only was he and Pine in danger from Elm but Blackthorn was in danger too.
They continued their pursuit of the Citans but Pine, Blackthorn and Elm no longer followed Oak. He split them off into sections about fifty metres apart from one another, in the hope that from four different angles they might be able to see more of what was going on and the number of Citans in the group. Oak hoped that the Citan leader would not be able to track all of them.
He had a feeling that the leader sensed his own presence more than the others. He was not sure why but when they were once again quite close to the Citans; the leader fell behind his group with his armed rifle. Oak noticed it was his own position that he went toward and not any of the other's. As silently as possible Oak blended into the trees and the Citan leader returned to the group. However, the distraction was enough that Pine was able to get closer to the group whilst they were looking out for their leader.
Oak hung further back and awaited Pine to meet up with him and tell him what he’d seen. It wasn’t long before Pine appeared grinning broadly; he looked quite pleased with himself and confident that he was in no danger.
“There are a total of twenty of them, they’re all armed with knives at their waist or holstered on their calves. All are boys close to seven feet tall. They seem to be an unruly lot,” he told Oak. “They quarrel amongst themselves when the leader is not there. Their fear becomes obvious and there is little trust between any of them. There is no doubt that they do not want to be here. Something forces them, I don't know what and it isn’t all to do with their leader. Their leader is strong, acute and they respect him. They trust him and follow his directions immediately. He has strong senses, I only just escaped his detection when he returned, and he knew I’d been there. I would say that he is allowing us to follow him.”
Oak raised an eyebrow at this observation. “What makes you say that Pine?”
“He scours the trees like he knows and his mouth curves at one corner in a slow smile. He isn’t afraid of us. He doesn't believe that we’ll attack. He almost beckons us to come out from the forest but it's only a feeling. Perhaps it’s nothing but the uncertainty of what is going on here.” He looked at Oak to see if he had anything to say but Oak said nothing.
Oak compressed his lips and continued to walk alongside Pine. The distance between them and the Citans was larger now. The Citans took huge strides and covered a lot of ground quickly.
“Pine my friend; I agree something is going through the Citan leader's mind. Maybe it has to do with us. You’re correct in thinking that he knows we’re following, of that I have no doubt. He is disturbed by something more though. Perhaps by the reason he’s out here, a reason we need to find out.”
Pine nodded toward Oak his step slowing a little. “What do we do Oak?”
“We’ll have to change course. I don’t like to be predicable. I don’t want the Citan leader to think he knows our moves.”
“I agree.” Replied Pine as he nodded his head again.
Oak pulled his gaze away. “Let’s find the others.”
Before they were able to take their first stride to run, they heard the cry. Both of them stopped in horror. They knew whose voice it was, it was Blackthorn. The cry was one of surprise and extreme pain. Oak had a fleeting vision of Blackthorn on the ground writhing in agony and he felt his stomach clench. They sprinted as fast as they could toward the sound until Oak pulled Pine down to the ground. He signalled to him for silence and to stay where he was. He himself crawled along the ground until he had the Citans within his sight.
What he saw caused his stomach to tighten even more and he ground his teeth together as he clamped down his emotions. Before him at the back of the Citan group was the leader holding Blackthorn by his hair like he was nothing more than a doll. Blackthorn's head reached the massive boy's chest where he was firmly pulled. A knife rested upon his throat and even from a distance Oak could see Blackthorn's faced was wrenched in pain and fear. Blackthorn held one leg off the ground and Oak could see a gaping bloody wound. He knew Blackthorn would soon pass out from shock.
Oak understood what the Citan leader had been up to. He’d planned a trap all along, probably set it last night. He’d made sure that he directed one of them to it. Oak didn’t know how he’d done it but he’d managed to get Blackthorn into the trap and Blackthorn was usually good at sensing danger. He’d been clever to be able to capture any of his defenders but Blackthorn, he was surprised at that.
The boy was dwindling fast, he had to do something and he knew Pine wouldn’t be happy with his next move but Pine had instructions, he knew what to do. Rising slowly from the ground he raised his hands into the air, palms forward to show he had no weapons in them. He stood very still so the Citans could see he was giving himself up, meanwhile he took in the scene before him more clearly.
The Citan leader stood ahead of the others, holding Blackthorn easily, as if the boy weighed nothing. The Citan group stood behind him, some were grinning broadly, looking proudly upon their leader as if he were a god. Others looked troubled and uncomfortable, eyes darting to and fro; to see if more of them would rise out of the earth. They were dressed similar to their leader but they had their coats slung over their arms, not a good thing for a group who should be at the ready in case of danger.
Gazing at them he understood why they didn’t care, the Citan leader didn’t see him or his defenders as a danger. He knew where they were and he knew they posed no threat to any of them. He looked at their leader once more and saw that he was eyeing Oak cautiously from top to bottom, then he surveyed his left and right moving his eyes only.
The Citan leader's words came to him sharply and firmly.
“Drop everything you wear at your waist to the ground.”
Oak obeyed and unclasped the belt around his waist, dropping the sheathed sword and woven bag, then finally his rope. He stepped away from them still with his hands high in the air.
“Walk slowly toward me.” The leader's eyes were flickering from side to side in search of Oak's other defenders.
Oak comprehended the leader knew there were more than just the two of them. Moving slowly, although he wanted to run to Blackthorn's aid as quickly as possible because even now Blackthorn was slumping over, he walked toward the Citans.