CHAPTER
1
I cracked open
my tired eyes, and reality set in.
I lay on a bed
of dirt with cruddy hair stuck to the side of my neck and my skin
covered in uneven goose bumps. I heard women gathering in the
Village, surely making their way to the feeding area.
The breakfast
drums sounded in the distance. I was back on Kormace Island—the
island of killers.
I couldn’t get
her out of my head—Sunny. I remembered seeing her blurred
silhouette being dragged into the trees.
“ That
wasn’t a Norther,” I heard beside me.
But no one was
there. I saw Rocket’s face as clear as it had been the day before,
her brows close together and her nostrils flared. She’d been the
only one to see the beast—the only one who knew what had taken
Sunny.
* * *
Savages,
uncivilized, violent… Ogres ,
as Rocket has called them. They were known for surviving the island
without the comfort of civilization or sympathy for human
life.
“ We’ve
always been told that Ogres were nothing more than a myth, a
fictitious tale to keep women from straying too far from the
Village,” Trim said. I could tell that she too had blindly believed
this.
And who could
blame her? Ogres? It sounded like something you’d hear in a
children’s story—a one-eyed monster vengefully seeking out human
flesh.
“ They’re
the most ruthless and barbaric women you could ever imagine,”
Rocket said, brushing her dreadlocked hair against her head. I’d
once thought her to be barbaric; I couldn’t even begin to imagine
how terrible Ogres were.
“ What
makes you think they’re women?” Fisher asked.
Rocket smirked
knowingly. “It’s an island for female felons only. They’ve never
dropped a man.”
Fisher
snorted. “Yet.”
Trim eyed
everyone curiously. “What makes you so sure they’re even
felons?”
And everyone
fell silent.
* * *
“ Brone?”
It was
Ellie.
She stood in
the entryway of my tent, her wavy brown hair over one shoulder, a
patient smile on her lips.
“ Didn’t
you hear the drums?”
Exhausted, I
rubbed my eyes and nodded. I wondered if I’d even slept.
“ Well?”
she said. “What’re you waiting for?”
I eyed my
pouch of pearls lying in the dirt, and I hesitated, suddenly
feeling guilt ridden because of Sunny’s abduction. Only yesterday,
she’d given me three pearls—the island’s currency—to buy myself
something from the market tents. And today, she was gone—dead, most
likely.
I reached for
the pouch, knowing all too well that I’d have to spend its contents
eventually. I still needed an eating dish, utensils, bathing
products, and possibly materials to build myself a bed.
A bed… God, I
missed my bed. I missed sliding on a fresh pair of pajamas after a
hot bath. A bath… I sighed. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how
much filth covered my body, every inch of skin, every crevasse,
every fingernail…
But I didn’t
linger on this thought, because I knew that my old life was nothing
more than a distant fantasy, and the more I reminisced, the
shittier I felt about myself and my present life. I’d just
witnessed more horror in two days than anyone should be forced to
see in a lifetime. I didn’t have the energy to dwell on
materialistic desires or on the luxury of cleanliness and
comfort.
For all I
knew, I could be dead tomorrow.
I followed
Ellie toward the center of the Village, where women had begun
gathering around a large fire. I could see Sumi, the Village’s
cook, moving around so quickly I wondered how she kept track of
what she was cooking.
I heard the
name Sunny several times, and I knew that word had made its way to
all the women of the Village. Information on the island was like
malaria—it spread quickly, leaving nothing but pain and misery in
its wake.
“ Here,”
Ellie said, handing me a dish made of bone. “Got you
one.”
“ Thanks,” I said.
I grabbed the
bowl and waited in line to be served by one of Sumi’s helpers. When
it was my turn to receive a hot spoonful of
1
I cracked open
my tired eyes, and reality set in.
I lay on a bed
of dirt with cruddy hair stuck to the side of my neck and my skin
covered in uneven goose bumps. I heard women gathering in the
Village, surely making their way to the feeding area.
The breakfast
drums sounded in the distance. I was back on Kormace Island—the
island of killers.
I couldn’t get
her out of my head—Sunny. I remembered seeing her blurred
silhouette being dragged into the trees.
“ That
wasn’t a Norther,” I heard beside me.
But no one was
there. I saw Rocket’s face as clear as it had been the day before,
her brows close together and her nostrils flared. She’d been the
only one to see the beast—the only one who knew what had taken
Sunny.
* * *
Savages,
uncivilized, violent… Ogres ,
as Rocket has called them. They were known for surviving the island
without the comfort of civilization or sympathy for human
life.
“ We’ve
always been told that Ogres were nothing more than a myth, a
fictitious tale to keep women from straying too far from the
Village,” Trim said. I could tell that she too had blindly believed
this.
And who could
blame her? Ogres? It sounded like something you’d hear in a
children’s story—a one-eyed monster vengefully seeking out human
flesh.
“ They’re
the most ruthless and barbaric women you could ever imagine,”
Rocket said, brushing her dreadlocked hair against her head. I’d
once thought her to be barbaric; I couldn’t even begin to imagine
how terrible Ogres were.
“ What
makes you think they’re women?” Fisher asked.
Rocket smirked
knowingly. “It’s an island for female felons only. They’ve never
dropped a man.”
Fisher
snorted. “Yet.”
Trim eyed
everyone curiously. “What makes you so sure they’re even
felons?”
And everyone
fell silent.
* * *
“ Brone?”
It was
Ellie.
She stood in
the entryway of my tent, her wavy brown hair over one shoulder, a
patient smile on her lips.
“ Didn’t
you hear the drums?”
Exhausted, I
rubbed my eyes and nodded. I wondered if I’d even slept.
“ Well?”
she said. “What’re you waiting for?”
I eyed my
pouch of pearls lying in the dirt, and I hesitated, suddenly
feeling guilt ridden because of Sunny’s abduction. Only yesterday,
she’d given me three pearls—the island’s currency—to buy myself
something from the market tents. And today, she was gone—dead, most
likely.
I reached for
the pouch, knowing all too well that I’d have to spend its contents
eventually. I still needed an eating dish, utensils, bathing
products, and possibly materials to build myself a bed.
A bed… God, I
missed my bed. I missed sliding on a fresh pair of pajamas after a
hot bath. A bath… I sighed. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how
much filth covered my body, every inch of skin, every crevasse,
every fingernail…
But I didn’t
linger on this thought, because I knew that my old life was nothing
more than a distant fantasy, and the more I reminisced, the
shittier I felt about myself and my present life. I’d just
witnessed more horror in two days than anyone should be forced to
see in a lifetime. I didn’t have the energy to dwell on
materialistic desires or on the luxury of cleanliness and
comfort.
For all I
knew, I could be dead tomorrow.
I followed
Ellie toward the center of the Village, where women had begun
gathering around a large fire. I could see Sumi, the Village’s
cook, moving around so quickly I wondered how she kept track of
what she was cooking.
I heard the
name Sunny several times, and I knew that word had made its way to
all the women of the Village. Information on the island was like
malaria—it spread quickly, leaving nothing but pain and misery in
its wake.
“ Here,”
Ellie said, handing me a dish made of bone. “Got you
one.”
“ Thanks,” I said.
I grabbed the
bowl and waited in line to be served by one of Sumi’s helpers. When
it was my turn to receive a hot spoonful of
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