Fan Fiction ❯ Human Alloy ❯ New Company ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: this chapter contains explicit yaoi scenes

 

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I never really expect anything that I should, it seems. I thought Cale had been a she? If this was Kane's partner then he must have told me wrong.

 

“Um, excuse me?” I asked disbelievingly. He smiled perplexedly.

 

“I said my name is Cale,” was his reply. My eyes stared into his mismatched ones.

 

“Cale? Kane's Cale?” He looked surprised.

 

“Yes, do you know Kane?”

 

“He's my best friend at R.A.D.A.R.” I explained, hesitant to add my last thought. “I always thought you were a girl though?” Cale looked disturbed, avoiding my gaze to stare awkwardly at the fire.

 

“Well, I'm sorry if I've disappointed you, but no, I'm not,” he said.

 

Silence overtook the small living quarters for a short moment.

 

“He never said you weren't a girl, not that I recall,” I began, frowning, “but I guess I had always believed you to be a girl.” I let my thoughts wander aloud into the smoky room.

 

“I find it interesting that we look so alike,” I said in afterthought.

 

“What do you mean?” Cale asked, as if confused.

 

“Well, we're like twins. Sorta,” I tried to explain. How could he not see that we were in fact the same two people?

 

“Don't say that,” he muttered, looking afraid as if he was doing something illegal.

 

“Say what? That we're like twins?” He nodded. “But we sorta are, you know.” He shook his head.

 

“You know that's illegal in the city. That's the other half of the reason I've stayed here. You're Jalene Banks, right?” he asked me, a little unsure.

 

“Yes I am.” I stared at him, wondering how he knew me. Cale's face nearly split in two with a wide grin.

 

“It's been so long!” he exclaimed, drawing me into a hug.

 

“Um, okay?” He held me a moment, I stiff in his grasp. “Care to explain?”

 

“Oh, you don't know me? I'm your twin brother silly! You don't remember?” he said joyfully looking at me fondly and still grinning like a moron. I shook my head, thinking that this boy was crazy. “Oh? Well I suppose not. You were quite young when we lost our parents. Oh Jalene! You don't know how good it is to see you! And how much you've grown! You're quite the fine young man!” He was crooning over me like an aunt who hadn't seen her nephew since New Year's.

 

“I uh, wasn't aware I had any family alive. I'm sorry. But, if you knew Kane, how come I didn't know about you? Or you didn't know about me?” I asked, still a little unsure of the whole situation. Come to think of it, Kane had never shown me any pictures of Cale, much less told me anything about him either. I had always just known Cale as Kane's girlfriend.

 

“To tell you truthfully, Kane has told me about you. I've known about you since Kane's known about you. If he hasn't said anything, or if you haven't asked then that may be one reason,” he explained, still excited.

 

“But if you knew about me, how come you didn't like, come to visit the both of us or something?” I adjusted the blanket around my knees.

 

“Because it wasn't safe. Most of the places I met with Kane was around here or not far from it, within the safety of the forests. We didn't know how much we could have or wanted to trust you then, so we couldn't tell you.”

 

I watched the fire, glancing at Cale every now and them. He looked tense and anxious, as if he was ready to tackle me. He couldn't sit still.

 

“You said I was still young, so I wouldn't remember. If we're twins, how can that be?” I asked, shaking my head. Genetically he couldn't be much older than I and still be an identical twin.

 

“Well,” he started, brows furrowed. He looked worried. “You weren't exactly a twin….”

 

“Okay? What's this you said about not liking the word `twin' then?” I asked, still unclear about everything.

 

“Oh, well you know the city rules don't you? Twins cannot exist in society. The same goes for triplets, quadruplets, et cetera.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because, people don't want having more than one person being the same. They think it's weird to have an identical twin. Some people are paranoid because of what some crazy scientists did a long time ago,” he said. No, I hadn't known that was a rule. It must have been an obscure one. “If people found out you had a twin, you'd be killed. Not both though, just one of them. Cruelly they don't care. Some people are evaluated. If you're worth more to society, you get to live. If not, you die. Other's they just flip a coin and whoever loses is killed.”

 

“What did scientists do?” I asked, a little fearful that all of this had happened or was still happening in our community today. Cale smiled faintly, holding me by the shoulders and looking away, not wanting to meet my eye.

 

“Cale?”

 

“The same thing they did with you,” he said quietly, concern tracing his face. I thought he might have cried but he remained stolid, his long hair trailing behind him as he hung his head.

 

“What did they do?” I asked, compelled by the answer that might come. Cale looked sadly into my eyes.

 

“You don't know?” he nearly whispered. I shook my head, eyes wide and curious despite the fact that I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to know.

 

“Did you ever wonder about our parents?” Cale asked me, hanging his head again and staring fixedly at the pattern on the blanket I was using. His hands slid from my shoulders.

 

“Well, sometimes,” I admitted, “though not often.” He nodded, sighing.

 

“Our mother was killed by scientists for the human embryo after it had developed far enough not to die in an artificial womb. Something like an incubator. Our father, we don't know personally; just that his sperm was used in order to create us. The scientist raised me, a human child, genetically enhancing my genes as they developed—”

 

“And I?” I interrupted. Cale hadn't mentioned anything about us being twins.

 

“—was not yet known to the world. Here, let me explain.” He stopped to sit beside me, close to the warmth that the fire radiated. “Scientists raised me. At about five, I remember they took a special kind of test on me. I was used to them doing other various tests. That's all I knew, but this one was different. From my DNA, they were able to create an identical fetus, the same I had been, and attempted to raise it. But the conditions were very delicate and needed constant monitoring. Several times they tried, and every time they failed.”

 

My brother laid his head on my shoulder, hugging his knees as well. I shifted uncomfortably but said nothing.

 

“Finally, they did succeed. Seven and a half months later, a baby had developed, but there were too many problems. It had been exposed to so many chemicals and fluids that its heart conditions were weak. Barely a week later it perished. The scientists were disappointed, but not daunted. They tried several more times, each succeeding in creating a new life, but failing every time, until they found the right combination. They found that if they added more of this chemical and less of this fluid, then growing conditions were much better. They soon had it so perfect that a healthy baby had developed in only three months. They raised that child for two years. I saw the baby only when I passed it through the halls or from within a room, but I always saw the same eyes I had, the same star shaped birthmark on my side. Then, the men in white told me they had created this boy to be my brother and that is was just like me.”

 

I was stunned for a moment, thinking things through.

 

“So….. I'm not really a twin, am I?” I asked, amazed at everything I had just heard. How did I know he was lying? It explained several things, like why he looked like me and why I couldn't remember my parents.

 

“No,” Cale answered softly, placing a gentle hand on my arm.

 

“How come I don't remember any of this? What happened after two years?” I asked, still wanting to know the answers of my life.

 

“My mentors told me my brother would be taken away to live among real people in the rest of the world, and that they would always have an eye or two on him. They said it was for a certain research, something about the psychological mind, I think.” It seriously disturbed me that I was only a clone of the boy sitting next to me.

 

“Your eyes are different from mine. And your hair is white. Mine's just dyed; its original color is black. Why is that?” I inquired. He smiled, edging even closer to the burning fire.

 

“My hair is white because I choose to wear it white. I like the color. It's basically the same reason you keep your white. As for my eyes…… It's because of an accident I had a long while ago. When I was twelve I got into a nasty run with a spray of acid in my face. That's how my right eye retired from use. It was so damaged that doctors couldn't fix it, but they <i>could</i> replace it with a fake one. It's a little more useful than a human eye because it has optional night vision in it as well, so you see the reflection of one eye at night. It's spooky looking I know, like a cat's eye, but it works.” I nodded. Everything we had just discussed unsettled me greatly. It saddened me to think that all I was in life was the clone of a poor boy whose only use was for scientific purposes only.

 

“Why though?” I asked, my eyes watery.

 

“I don't know,” Cale replied softly, squeezing my arm.

 

“What kind of experiments did they run on you?” Again, he sighed.

 

“All kinds. Some just ridiculous, some bizarre, and some very embarrassing.” I raised a brow at his answer.

 

“Like what?” I was curious.

 

“Well,” he thought, “like how long I can go without eating, how long I can hold a ten pound dictionary out to one side, or how long I can remain sexually aroused without damaging myself.” This really was disturbing.

 

“What did they do to find <i>that</i> out?” I asked, disregarding all of his rights of his privacy.

 

“Well, you know what arouses you most, right? I mean, you can't tell me you're <i>still</i> a virgin.” I had to smile. My mind flashed back to Yue.

 

“No, I'm not.”

 

“Well, scientists would use various drugs to sexually enhance me, in several ways. Also, before I was born, you know I told you how they would alter my genes? Well, they just so happened to add a few that, if I was rubbed the right way, then I'd be turned on, and stay on for some time.” Cale blushed slightly and swallowed. I could tell he was a little uncomfortable talking about this subject but I was still intrigued. Comparing him to myself, I had an insight.

 

“So if I rub here,” I sneaked a hand under his shirt and rubbed the small of his back, making him immediately snap up and wiggle under my touch. I grinned. “Then I <i>do</i> get that reaction.” Cale edged away from me, and I could see the faintest trace of lust in his eyes.

 

“Yes,” he said, almost exasperated. “Certain touches, even just small ones set me off. Please don't,” he added, noting the mischievous smile on my face, the glint in my eyes. I laughed hollowly.

 

“Not with my brother, whether he's blood related or not!” I warned. The boy looked meek, playing with the cuff of his sleeve. “Although,” I added, “if I were to screw around with you, would that be sorta like getting it on with myself?” That was a really upsetting thought, and I nearly blanched just thinking about it. Everything in this world was just completely upside down.

 

“I don't really know,” Cale shrugged. There was a moment filled with the crackling of the fire as my newly found brother added two spilt logs to it, setting it ablaze, ash and sparks rushing wildly up before falling gently back down like snow. He sat down, adjacent to the mouth of the cave, near the fire.

 

“You know, Kane's the same as you. He was cloned too, but his brother was killed. The government found out they were identical, so without a second though, they killed him. He was four at the time,” Cale said, eyes looking large and sad as they stared into the bowels of the orange and red flames for an answer.

 

I only watched blankly. I didn't know what to say.

 

“There was someone else like Kane too. He was cloned, two times actually. One was altered to be his sister, the other was his brother, but those two were killed as well. One in an accident, one by the government,” Cale said, his arms on his knees, his chin on his arms, and his back against the cave wall. I lifted my gaze to look at him. I thought I might know who it was.

 

“What did he look like?” I asked. Cale glanced at me.

“I think he's still around. He's part of the rebel group. I only remember his eyes though; it's been too long to remember much else,” was his response.

 

“What about his eyes?” I pressed. I knew who he was talking about.

 

“They were the deepest, most beautiful cerulean blue I had ever seen. The eyes of an angel—”

 

“Yue.”

 

“Yue?” Cale looked up to me and I nodded.

 

“It must have been Yue's,” I explained.

 

“Oh, I thought the name was familiar. You know both Kane and Yue were raised together. The scientists used some of the same altered genes on them. When they were barely weeks old, they would just delicately tie in a different gene somewhere. That's why they can read minds too. It's fuzzy sometimes, but they have this kinda weird ability to open other people's minds and read them like a book at will. I'm not sure how exactly. It has something to do with the toxins their brains were exposed to as well but I don't really know.” He shrugged. I nodded, as if agreeing. I allowed him to ramble, listening with interest, the rain starting up again and driving down hard outside.

 

“You know I can't read or write; not exactly. I can read a special computer coding, but not letters. That's one of the things I learned in the labs. I also learned about politics and governmental things. I learned about the human body, and I became so intimate with it that I could think of hundreds of ways to do one small thing and completely throw off the entire balance within someone's body. It's weird the way it works, you know?”

 

I closed my eyes. This was all so unbelievable, so I raised the question I was dying to know.

 

“How can I trust you? I mean, how do I know you're not just making this stuff up?” Cale pondered me a moment, as if figuring that whatever he answered with would decide if I were to trust his words or not.

 

“Well,” he said slowly, “I have absolutely no reason to lie to you, so why <i>would</i> I make it up? I'm lonely yes, but I'm still sane.” I was slightly taken aback by his offense.

 

“Well, it's just a little hard to swallow all at once,” I replied defensively. “You can't really blame me, can you?”

 

“No, I guess I can't,” he sighed, smiling. “I guess I had my hopes too high in thinking you'd believe me right off the bat. They say seeing is believing though. I can't really show you the past, though I'm sure they had surveillance on everything that, not only I did, but what Yue and you did as well, when we were all young. I mean, why wouldn't they? At least, they'd have recordings of it somewhere. They wouldn't keep it all in memory and hope to teach everything to everyone else.”

 

I sighed sullenly, resting my chin on my arms and watching the fire as smoke trickled through the mouth of our shelter, the flames biting into the cool cave air.

“You think we should look for them?” I asked, almost hopeful but nonetheless reluctant. Cale shook his head.

 

“Only if you really want to. It would be insanely risky though.” My brother sat the same way I did, hugging his knees, laying his head on his arms. He poked the ashen logs in the fire with a stick, stirring up the embers and causing sparks to fly. The fire was dying down again, and the cave was draped with a fallen darkness.

 

“You know, Cale, Yue and I, and the others, still have plans to stop R.A.D.A.R. if you want to help,” I offered as he gave up on trying to resuscitate the fire, unsure myself if I was really going to try and help or not. “I'm not completely sure if I want to help though. I'm not completely convinced R.A.D.A.R.'s such a bad thing. I mean, they did make our lives a lot easier with Mecha-Pets.” Mentioning a manufactured product, the Mecha-Pets, made me pine for Mercy. I worried where she may have been.

 

“I wonder how Mercy is,” I murmured, distraught with the thought that she had been pretending all along, lying to me through her teeth and helping out this rebellion faction.

 

“Who? Mercy?” Cale asked, his spirits brightened.

“Oh, yes, do you know her? My fox?” I wondered aloud, intrigued.

 

“Ah well, sorta. I knew her a little bit when she came to visit, when I was still with Yue,” he replied, running fingers through his long hair. I nodded, a pang of guilt, or jealousy, or something, stabbing my heart. Silence overtook the room, as well as darkness, before flames leapt up, renewed with life.

 

“Hey, you look pretty dry now. Want to get back in your clothes?” Cale asked, looking up to me, half standing as he tended the fire. I watched, entranced by the color and warmth searing into me from the flames. I shook my head, unblinking. I was feeling a little sleepy from the warmth. My bladder reminded me of something else though.

 

“Uh, do you happen to have a bathroom around here?” I asked sheepishly.

 

Cale grinned.

 

“Anywhere you can find outside. Just stay away from poison ivy and poison oak, okay?” he said.

 

“Uh…o-okay.” He had to be kidding me. I stood, the blanket still wrapped tightly around me. Self consciously I found my way outside to find the valley covered with mist. It was still cold. I shuddered, wandering far enough to find a private place and thinking to hell with it, I had to go. The obscured sun was easy on my eyes, with all the grey, and coolness permeating the entire entrapment of Yue's forest. I blinked away the heat and smoke that had clouded my eyes, making them burn. Finishing my business, I found the mouth of the cave with slight difficulty, finding that the large branch covering it was a perfect disguise. I wandered past it twice before Cale poked his head out, surprising me. He grinned, laughing, laying on his stomach on the damp ground.

 

“What?” I asked a little peeved, and hurt that he would laugh at me.

 

“Need help finding the place?” he smirked, his face cradled in his hands.

 

“Nah, I got it,” I replied, bending over to enter the cave once more.

 

My brother rolled over on his back, his hair splayed around his face, grinning up at me with mismatched eyes that met mine.

 

“Um, do you mind?” I asked, now on my knees to ease the strain on my calves from having to bend over so far.

 

“It's so good to see you, brother,” he said in a low voice, his eyes shining with excitement, still grinning widely, one hand to his forehead. I smiled back, still a little weirded out by everything. He stayed a moment before crawling out of the cave and dusting himself off, sitting on his knees and looking at me at eye level. It still disturbed me that as I looked at him it was like looking at my reflection. He drew me into another tight hug, laughing quietly as he did so.

 

“I can hardly believe it!” he said happily, still squeezing me like a boa constrictor.

 

“Yeah, that's great but do you mind?” I wheezed through his bear hug. He began to slacken his hold, allowing me to breathe as he sat back to give me a final smile.

 

“Alright, come back in, it's freezing out here, and it's about to rain again,” Cale grinned, turning his back to me and crawling back inside to the warmth of the cave. I looked around at the surrounding brush. Everything was dripping with raindrops and was covered with a veil of mist that clung to the undergrowth. Shivering, I dropped to my knees, pulling back the wet branches that disguised the cave entrance and let them snap back on me as I followed Cale. It was very dark ahead of me, the ash and smoke from the fire made my eyes water, and I felt reluctant as to where I was going, but I found the fire light as Cale passed in front of me and I was able to navigate from there. Settling myself near the fire once more, to the right of the doorway this time, Cale across from me on the other side of the fire, I made myself comfortable.

 

My feet were wet from walking outside, and though I was still cold as well, I felt completely dry, and the wool blanket was starting to irritate my skin.

 

“Um, Cale?” I asked of him.

 

“Yes? What is it Jalene?” I winced as he called me by my birth name, but let it slip this time.

 

“This blanket's getting kind of itchy. Can I change back?”

 

“Well let's see…..” he trailed off as he moved over to my drying clothes, feeling their lengths for dryness. “Your clothes are still a little damp, mostly your shirt and jacket. Your pants are probably tighter now though because they're leather, and your shoes are still pretty soaked.” He looked up to me after relaying this information, expecting a decision from me, apparently. “I'd suggest you leave them for now. It should probably be warm and sunny tomorrow, so I can wash the clothes and we can bathe in the water. You mostly since you've been drenched.”

 

I raise an eyebrow in question.

 

“Bathe?”

 

“Yes,” he responded with a smile.

 

“In the river?” I blanched slightly, but the thought did interest me.

 

“Yes,” he confirmed once more, then added, “If that blanket's getting too uncomfortable, then you can use this one.” He pulled another blanket off of a stack of them in a corner of his home and handed it to me.

 

“This should feel better.” I nodded, standing and letting the blanket fall from away from my body and wrapping a soft cottony one around me instead. It was soft and smelled nice, like some kind of potpourri, and was warm. I snuggled up inside it, content, other than the fact that I was now hungry.

 

“Here, you must be hungry,” Cale said as if reading my mind, rummaging through some other contents in a bag around where he was located and pulling out something wrapped in cloth.

 

“Oh what, you can read minds too now?” I asked, half joking but grateful that he had brought the subject of food up. He laughed.

 

“No, I can't, but I figured you had been out here quite a while, so I thought you might be hungry. If you don't want anything now you don't have to, just tell me when you're hungry,” Cale said, untying the twine on the cloth.

 

“Oh I am, actually. What is there?” I said, leaning over on one hand to better see what he was untying.

 

“Trout,” he grinned, holding up a rather large fish by its tail. Its eyes were glazed and bugging, its dried flesh dull, though it's color was pink, yellow-brown, and white, its body speckled, its fins sticking out in different directions. It was probably about a foot and a half long, fat looking and definitely not something I was going to eat.

 

“I'll have to clean it and gut it outside, then fry it in here, so it'll take a few minutes but not too long. I could fry it or turn it into stew if you'd prefer,” Cale said laying the fish back down on the cloth.

 

“Oh, that's okay,” I excused myself, trying not to look too disgusted.

 

“I'll be back then, unless you'd like to come watch.”

 

“No, I'll be fine here, thanks,” I replied waving him off after sitting back and burying my face in the blanket. I heard him leaving, and soon all I heard was the crackling of the fire. My thoughts wandered through what I had just been recently told, my stomach starting to growl for food, and only minutes later, it seemed, Cale had returned. He was a little damp, carrying his slaughtered fish in one hand. I watched him from over my knees as he found a tin cooking pot.

 

“I'll be back,” he said, looking at me and gesturing with the pot. I blinked but said nothing. He left the cave once and returned momentarily with the pot filled with water. I had no idea where he had gotten it from, but my guess was probably the river, which was only several dozen feet in front of us as it wrapped around the forest and off into the distance. Still I only observed him, saying nothing as he placed a curious rod over splayed forks over the fire. There were several over rods that fit into the notches of either end of the forks, and soon it came to look like a grill.

 

He set the pot of water on top, then took to another bag, a burlap sack this time, and brought forth several vegetables including carrots, radishes, peppers, and onions. He first added what appeared to be milk to the water from a skin jug, sifting salt and finely ground black pepper through his fingers and into the water, withdrawing a cooking ladle and stirring the simmering broth. With a paring knife he skinned the carrots and radishes, slicing them into thin chips as he added them to the stew. He set the shavings away then took to the pepper and onion. Several times I saw him cutting and adding some sort of herb or spice to the stew, they all being different, and continuing to stir the mixture in the cooking pot. The water began to boil, but Cale either didn't notice or didn't mind it, for he only continued with preparing the meal. The room soon started to reek of cooking vegetables and spices, but once he had added pieces of the fish he filleted, it actually did start to smell quite good. Only moments after he had cleaned up, discarding the vegetable peels somewhere outside, which he told me he was saving for compost, washing his knife off with a rag he had wet from outside, and stirred the stew until it was thick, the vegetables and fish boiled with the various herbs, my mouth began to water.

 

Taking the pot off of the fire with the two wet rags in hand so that he wouldn't burn himself, Cale placed a thick slab of rock, slate I believed, over the rack, then replaced the stew.

 

“For keeping it warm, but not boiling,” he explained as I lifted my head to watch him, my stomach beginning to furiously brawl now. Finding two deep bowls, Cale ladled stew into each, handing me a steel spoon with my bowl.

 

“It's hot so let it cool. I have cold milk or water, whichever you'd prefer,” my brother explained, crawling over to sit beside me, dragging his animal skin filled with milk, and what I thought was a gourd, filled with fresh water. There was little water left though. Waiting impatiently for my meal to cool, I tested it every so often, burning my tongue several times. Cale only smiled. Despite the fact that I thought this was probably going to kill me, using the disgusting river water, and some dead diseased animal and dirty plants in there as well, I figured I might as well be full when I died, so finally, after cooling off my bowl of vegetable and fish medley, I took an eager but cautious bite, for fear that it may still be hot.

 

It really wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but then I also told myself the dirt and bacteria had probably settled to the bottom, where I'd get a terrible and bitter surprise before I keeled over. It actually was very good, as much as I didn't really want to admit it to myself. It was thick, and creamy from the milk and stewed sauces from the vegetable and trout, and the seasonings he had added made it quite delectable. It was sort of like the soup we used to have at R.A.D.A.R. every now and then, only not so watery, and though the radishes and carrots and pepper had been stewed, they weren't rubbery. It reminded me of Yue's cooking, only in a sense it was better. For being something that wasn't store bought or shipped in plastic containers, and cooked over an open fire and not a stove, this meal was really wonderful.

 

I stopped to drink straight from the skin as Cale had done, though feeling quite awkward, and found the milk to be not lukewarm, but nearly icy. It was even better than the milk I had for breakfast. It was even thicker and creamer. Once we had polished off the pot of stew, leaving none leftover and having Cale happily serve the both of us seconds, I was full and content. The warmth from the fire, which Cale added another log too after scooping out the ashes into a thick bag and tying off the end, the fullness and contentedness in which I felt, and the comfort of the blanket made me drowsy. I watched with heavy eyes as he finished tending the fire, noticing me and taking up several other blankets.

 

“Here, I'll make a bed for us, but you'll have to get up for a moment so I can lay it out,” Cale told me, so begrudgingly I moved for him. He laid out a thick cushiony blanket, which acted as a mattress, then rolled another plush blanket into a long pillow.

 

“Alright, now you can lie down. The blankets are clean, so don't worry.

 

Sleepily I crawled to the makeshift bed, laying down in front of the fire and stretching out on my stomach, sighing contently and pulling the blanket around me a little closer. Closing my eyes to rest, I heard my brother shifting near me then felt him sit down on the bed beside me

 

“If you don't mind me asking, for I hadn't brought it up before, but why is your wrist bandaged? What did you do to it?” Cale asked softly lying down and placing a gentle hand on my head and stroking my hair.

 

“From wire,” I mumbled, stifling a yawn.

 

“Oh.” He drew a third blanket around himself, snuggling against me; one arm over my back. I felt a little uneasy with him being so close, even though I felt as if I knew him well, but regardless of that feeling, I allowed his close company. I was glad I had met him, for he was the only person I trusted that hadn't betrayed me. Soon I had drifted off sleeping peacefully and avoiding nightmares through all the evilties I had been told.

 

 

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I was conscious, though not completely awake. My eyes were still closed for it was dark anyway as I stretched, rolling over and hugging the body close to me, bare skin pressed against mine, and I pulled the blanket I had been tangled in, over me. I heard a slight laugh, and the someone I was hugging close with my body smiled, one hand on my head and kissing my forehead. It was so warm and comfortable, and the long hair I had tangled my fingers in smelled fresh and sweet like the skin of the neck my face was pressed close to. It had to have been Yue's. His gentle grasp around my body, his soft fingers caressing the bare flesh of my back, his sweet lips kissing the top of my head, his tender smile radiating comfort and ease. I soon began to doze again.

 

 

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It had only been a few hours at most, but I had fully woken now. I had slept so well the last few days I was beginning to feel quite lazy. I gathered enough of my senses to tell it was too cold in the room to throw off the blanket and stretch my naked body, but the warmth I was embracing was very inviting, so I stayed, still a little confused as to why it was so dark. My nose was cold, but it warmed as I buried my face against a thin bare chest, sighing with content and wrapping my arms tighter around the radiating body. I stretched my legs, from around small hips to become tangled with legs that seemed to be already clothed in something soft, but rough textured.

 

I was laying on it, this warmth, and being surrounded with several blankets, I felt like a little chick sitting beneath its mother's wing. Snuggled against it and breathing softly, I decided it wasn't quite time to get up yet. Besides, if it was still dark, it must still be night time. How long had I slept anyway? It should be broad daylight by now, shouldn't it? Loving hands continued to caress my face, shoulders and hair. Mmm Yue.

 

“Do you plan on waking up anytime soon, sleeping beauty?” he asked me.

 

“Mmm,” I groaned, not wanting to have to leave. Something clicked. That wasn't Yue's voice. Confused and slightly disoriented from sleep, I pushed myself up from his chest, trying to figure out who it was, if it wasn't Yue. Gentle hands remained on my shoulders.

 

I heard a quiet laugh and the someone beneath me pulled me down to them, kissing my neck playfully. A curious tongue probed my skin, hitting that one sweet spot and a shower of sparks went off. Stiffening under his grasp, my breath catching, I moaned softly as he continued his assault, arousing me. I rolled my head back, inviting him in, my thoughts flashing back to how well Yue had pleasured me, causing me to grow hard. I had rolled over on my side now, moaning as his hands felt their way to my lower back, fingers caressing my bare skin as I writhed within his grip, rubbing my body against his, flustered and panting slightly. He took to kissing down my chest, and I rolled back over to sit on him once more, legs finding their way on either side of his thin hips, his slender legs spread beside me, wrapped around my sides.

 

I was mostly awake now, though I had lost my train of rational thought. I caressed his thighs, his pants already tight and annoying me for protecting his body against mine. I found a knot that held them up, untied it somewhat clumsily, his hands helping mine, and jerked off the unnecessary article of clothing. My long hair felt around my face as I pressed my body close to his, grinding against his thick arousal with my own, eliciting a heavy moan from him. God he sounded sexy when he moaned, and it only made me even more excited. I wanted him, his body, and I wanted to claim him. I wanted him to be mine, and remember that he was mine and only mine. Breathing heavily, I pushed roughly into his tight body, his strong stomach muscles tensing below me at the intrusion.

 

“Relax,” I murmured against his soft neck as he bit my shoulder gently. As soon as I felt him loosen his grip entirely, I slid in completely, a soft moan escaping my throat as a hiss left my lover's lips below me.

 

I wanted to dominate him, and show him how pleasurable I could be.

 

“Jalene,” he panted, his legs caressing my sides, I holding onto his thighs. He whimpered as I began to move against him, pumping slowly at first, working his tight body loose. He moaned wildly as I hit that tender spot deep inside his body, he clutching the blanket below him. I had set a brisk, hard pace, and I could hear him coming in short breaths with every time I banged him against the blankets on the floor, punctuated with complaining moans of pleasure and lust. With one hand now around his waist, my fingers running teasingly around his throbbing body, I drew forth a rather prolonged and breathy moan. He contracted his muscles as I forced into him, making me push into his body harder and harder every time, though inside he was already slick with pre cum.

 

He was gasping by the time he came, jerking against me, pushing his body against mine as I went as deep as I could, and I braced against both his body and the ground. He had thrown back his head, and I was breathing harshly against the bare skin of his neck as I followed, moaning softly Yue's name. He was writhing beneath me, muscles spasmodic as I filled him, hissing as that pleasure slowly ebbed away inside of me. We were both panting, trembling, our hearts beating, and blood rushing, and were enveloped in a thin layer of sweat from our heated bodies as well as the weight of the blankets. Throwing them off of us, I felt much cooler as the air around us rushed to meet our steaming bodies.

 

“How was that?” I whispered, panting, next to his ear. He moaned once more as I shifted slightly in his lap and that sexy wild moan nearly set me off again, moving into him and causing him to moan louder. Breath picking up again, heart thumping, I felt unsatisfied again. I had to have him. His body wrapped around mine, I lifted him by his shoulders, his thin frame against mine. He sat deep in my lap, his legs rubbing wantonly against my back, hanging onto my neck and moaning, his throat still exposed. A little more forcefully than intended, I pushed him against the cool wall, hands braced against it. I sat for a moment caressing his thighs to loosen his hold on me, until he was calm enough. Standing with him, pushing into him as I did so he let loose another untamed moan, sending me into another wild, lustful frenzy and I took to banging into him again, his legs spread wide and accepting. His hands gripped my shoulders firmly, his head still thrown back as I nipped his shoulder and collarbone, holding his hips firmly to mine, keeping his legs spread eagled before me.

 

He was already dripping wet along my fingers, despite their position and I knew his body was already aching with that burning sensual fire. He moaned as I thrust mercilessly into him, the warmth of his body around mine nearly overwhelming. That sexually arousing moan nearly sent me over, so close it made me ache terribly and my pace set faster and harder. As he whined, moaned, complained, writhed beneath me and finally gave in for a second time, muscles contracting and pumping wildly against my body, he nearly jumped into my lap and we found ourselves sitting on the ground. His legs were wrapped tightly against my waist, keeping himself firmly in place, the fire inside me flaring up again. So damn close. I moaned loudly as he helped me into another climax, biting my neck on that tender spot, suckling the skin as I tensed my body against his.

 

We had still managed to make it onto the blankets, panting, sweaty, hearts thrumming, and heads spinning. Letting go of each other, I pulled out of him and lay on my back beside him, attempting to regain myself. The cool cave air quickly rejuvenated me, and soon I felt back to normal, though my heart's pace had picked up a few beats past normal. It wasn't as dark as I thought it had been, for the faintest streak of light stabbed through the hollow of midnight hue and gave my eyes the slightest bit of rest from the blinding blackness. I heard the heavy breathing of a body beside me, and it nearly startled me upon hearing its wispy breath. Whoever it was shuffled next to me. Wait, what? We were in a cave? Ah yes, I remembered now. Well, not completely. The person near me stood and wobbled over toward the light, blocking it as they became eye level to the small ray of light.

 

It was so faint I was unsure of who it could be. I don't remember Yue living in a cave. The illumination diminished as the person crawled warily into the beam of cold sunlight. Curious, I decided to follow, attempting to reconstruct my senses. Following the person through, I was met with some tree branches, obstructing the way. Pushing those aside, I was hit by the grey drizzly morning of a cool rainy day, the sunlight fading with the artificial clouds, and suddenly, seeing the lean figure of a naked boy who looked just like me, everything came back to me and nearly knocked me to my butt.

 

I stood there on all fours, frozen, eyes wide and alarmed, staring into Cale's mismatched eyes. He offered a weak smile, clutching his arms for warmth in the cold fall air. It was decent and not uncomfortable, though a bit chilly. My twin kneeled down and looked me full in the face.

 

“It's okay, I can't blame you; you—”

 

“Stay away!” I growled savagely, slapping his hand away from me and backing up some to sit on my heels. Not only was I angry with him but, but I was completely embarrassed that I had done what I had did.

 

“You don't know….do you?” Cale asked softly, almost hopefully.

 

“There're a lot of things I don't know,” I spat, “and one of them is what I was thinking half an hour ago.

 

“You weren't,” Cale said in a very small, scared voice.

 

“Yeah, thanks a lot for noticing,” I replied bitterly, unable to hold much of a grudge, but now at least my guard was up. Cale reached out a tentative hand and brushed his fingertips across one of my cheeks. Jerking back, I glared at him scorning. The look in his eyes was one of fear and sorrow. I wondered if he was perhaps up to something.

 

“Why? Are you so deprived that you'd let me?! I was half asleep I thought you were….” I trailed off, partially in shock of who I had mistaken him for.

 

“Thought I was who?” Cale persisted with a smirk, his eyes sad.

 

“Somebody else,” I growled softly. My defense was crumbling. I was beginning to feel content, even if I didn't want to.

 

“Your arm should be healed by now,” Cale said, changing the subject. Noticing my arm I nodded. “Let's wait until it's warmer, then we can bathe and later, hunt.”

 

“Hunt?” I wasn't so familiar with the term, other than to look or search for something.

 

“Yes, we need food. You can help carry,” Cale smiled. I nodded my approval.

 

“I'm going back inside,” I said, turning around, flustered that I was still confronting him, even though I didn't have anywhere to run to and hide.

 

“You sure? I'm not going to start a fire until it's night or when I get back and it's cold,” my brother told me, standing and rubbing his arms to keep the circulation going.

 

“Uh, then… where can I stay? I'm not staying out here!”

 

Cale, grinning, shrugged and turned to walk off.

 

“Just don't cause any trouble, okay? Your clothes should be dry but they'll be stiff,” he said his back turned to me as he walked off. Alarmed that he was leaving, but wanting to be alone, I said nothing, but crawled back into the cave, located my clothes and boots, then reemerged to dress myself. The fabric did seem somewhat tighter and worn as if they had been left out in a lasting gale. I felt better, slightly warmer and—not to mention—fully clothed. The sun was peering out behind the clouds, though the concept of having a sun was beyond me. The surrounding foliage sparkled with crystal clear raindrops from the previous day.

 

`Hunt,' I thought. `Kill only to eat.' I remembered the note. Reaching into my pocket, I found it was still there, though damp with saturation. The bandage on my arm was starting to itch, so I decided it was time to take it off. Cale had said it was healed too, hadn't he? Finding the knot in the gauze, I picked it loose and freed my pale skin. The superficial wound had healed. Rubbing my wrinkled skin, I felt better to have the cloth off, but I didn't know where to put it. Raising an eyebrow in question, I shrugged and decided to just fold it up and keep it hidden in my pocket. I noticed my leather jeans where spotted from excessive amounts of water that had tainted the fabric, and other that it looking a little tacky, I could have cared less.

 

Picking my way around various branches and tangles of brush, I tried to get as for away from the cave as I could without getting hopelessly lost. Once finding a suitable place to sit on a large sun warmed rock, I tried a scan of the place, but my radar couldn't pick up any signals. The sun was out now and near its highest point by the time I had calmed down entirely, as it warmed comfortably just sitting there. I tired to reason things out with myself, but there were still a few unfilled holes that needed filling.

 

`I felt like…..nothing else matter,' I thought seriously, and it scared me to think that there wasn't much I could have done to stop myself. It was like a machine that couldn't stop until it was satisfied. That's how I felt.

 

It was a disturbing thought, but I blamed it on my hormones. Sitting alone for a while was soothing, and soon the entire earth was warm and sun baked. I forgot my troubles until Cale abruptly brought them unwillingly back to me.

 

“Have you calmed down now?” my twin asked, standing behind me. I opened my eyes to meet the clear blue sky, and it was soon met with discolored eyes. Rolling over and ignoring him, I continued to doze, the rock warming my stomach. That wasn't a good idea. Finding no response, Cale sat down on my mid back, still stark naked but carrying a fur pouch with him.

 

“What do you want?” I snapped, the wind compressed from my lungs.

 

“For you to get over things and not worry about it?” Cale asked, standing as I struggled to sit up. “That look doesn't compliment you very well.” A moment of silence followed. I was still mad at him.

 

“Come on, we can bathe now; you stink,” he said, looking me up and down before thoughtfully concluding his statement.

 

“Bathe?” I scoffed. I highly doubted they had working facilities here. They had no bathrooms for sure.

 

“Yeah. You know, soap, water….like a shower.”

 

“I know what a bath is!” I retorted, my voice dripping scorn. “I meant where. If you have kind any kind of technology here, you sure fooled me.” Cale grinned.

 

“The river's purest you can get!” This was a slight shock.

 

“The river?” I echoed.

 

“Of course, what else? I brought my soaps and it's still warm so it wouldn't be a problem—”

 

“No way would I bathe with you,” I replied, death threatening Cale's life with my voice.

 

“Then you can bathe downstream from me. If you won't bathe, I won't let you stay in my cave,” my brother told me defiantly, flipping his long white hair over his shoulder. My brows rose in question, but I shrugged it off, disgusted.

 

“Whatever,” was my response. He shrugged indifferently and walked down along the stream a short ways before stopping. Half watching him out distraction, I realized he was going to bathe whether I liked it or not, so I made up my mind to return Cale's stubbornness by stretching myself back out to rest. It was good to feel lazy for once. I heard twittering overhead; some kind of bird was singing its fool heart out. Silence passed by, sweet and golden. I heard the splashing of water as Cale jumped into the river, yelping at the coldness, no doubt. I laughed to myself at his misfortune of not testing the water.

 

I sat, sunbathing a while before I heard the faint sound of something melodic. I couldn't place what is was, but after concentrating hard enough, I could distinguish words. Cale was singing. Whining and rolling over in annoyance to his song, I tried to ignore him, but I couldn't. His voice was sweet and pure. It almost reminded me of Yue's, only it wasn't as soft or beautiful, just sweet and clear. It sounded like my own singing. That creeped me out.

 

“Does he<i> have</i> to sing?” I muttered, sitting up sleepily, grumpily, and stood, stretching. The day was nice, a good day to figure out where the hell I was and how to get out of here. I had remembered what those notes in my pocket said, and I remembered what Cale had said as well. He had been out of here before. There had to be someway out of here that lead outside, instead of through the house. Somewhere, there was some tunnel or door leading out. I had to find it.

 

Deciding my new mission was to set out and return to normal life, if not tell the cops what these rebels were up to, I took off for the forest beyond the river, obscuring myself in the brush as I edged through the trees parallel to the river. I was hoping Cale wouldn't notice.

 

`Not that it matters anyway; if he doesn't want me to come back then fine, I won't!' I thought angrily, leaves and twigs crunching below foot. I had no idea where I was going, nor how large this area was, but the only way to find out was to explore. I rambled on until I was around the curve of river that flowed smoothly around the jutting mountainside. Here, there was forest on the opposing side of the river, and, I noticed, it was the same small forest I had woken up in. Before me was a stretch of bare land, laced with forest and mountain on the right. Along my left flank was river, and beyond that, my small forest and more mountain.

 

Looking up, I caught a bright glare of synthetic sunlight, the ceiling far above was a bright sky blue. Shielding my eyes from the harsh light, I continued on, the walking much easier as I was on flat land now. Stopping where I was, not much farther than where I had started after my slumber yesterday, I tried another scan of the area on my bracelet, taking if off and giving it a wider range. Still no data was picked up.

 

“Dammit, why won't it scan? We're in a building! It should be much easier in a confined area! Even if it's larger than a regular scan it should still pick up,” I argued snottily at the technology, but of course, there was no reply. The afternoon breeze blew gently around me, rustling through the grass and trees.

 

Something suddenly seemed very misplaced. Everything seemed still. I was alert now, surveying the area around me. Dried brush snapped underfoot. Spinning around, I found nothing.

 

`It's gotta be my imagination. Or maybe it's just some kind of animal,' I reasoned to myself as my heart thumped in my chest. There was another crunch behind me and I whirled around to face a small angry looking… something. It looked like a large house cat, only, there was something odd about it. It was camouflaged to the shade of the grass, crouched down and moving slowly. I stared at it a moment, its eyes eerily reflecting everything around it. Somehow, it seemed mechanical. Yet it looked so fluid and smooth. I back up slightly, unsure of what to do.

 

It lifted its large leopard like head, smelling the air, yet its nostrils didn't move. Then it hit me. It was the same creature I had seen on my computer screen the other day. It looked like it could have killed me if it had wanted, but so far it hadn't, so I didn't think it would.

 

`Kill only to eat.'

 

“Hey!” I heard a rather faint voice call to me. The skittish animal looked around, then turned and bolted into the woods, leaping across the width if the river and concealing itself in the brush. I looked to find Cale stepping out of the brush, the same forest I had just struggled through.

 

“What was that?” he asked.

 

“Don't know,” I shook my head, continuing to walk.

 

“You know, you shouldn't be out here on your own. You don't know all that much about living on your own, off the land,” Cale said, holding his arms and following after me.

 

“Just leave me alone okay? I'm trying to find my way back into the house okay? Through the garden and orchard,” I replied haughtily, quickening my pace.

 

“I know where the orchard is,” Cale said simply, looking rather pleased.

 

“Good for you, soon I will too,” I replied, stepping around a tree. My twin followed me a short ways before stopping.

 

“Stop.” That was an order, not a suggestion. I stopped to turn, looking at him. He was armed with a bow, arched and taut with an arrow notched and ready to be released. I noticed he was wearing only his deerskin pants, as well as several pouches around his waist and a strap across his chest which kept the heavy quiver of arrows securely on his back. He was pointing that deadly sharp arrow straight at my face.

 

“Don't move, he whispered, drawing the string back a littler farther.

 

“Ca—” He released the arrow before I could say anything, and instinctively, I drew slightly back, clenching my eyes. I heard the weapon zip past me, the feathers on the end just barely brushing my cheek.

 

There was a thud and a surprised, mangled bleating sound behind me. I stood frozen as Cale walked past me with a faint smile playing on his lips. I flinched as he passed by. I heard him pull his arrow out of whatever he killed.

 

“You're lucky,” he said. “It was a clean shot, no chasing it down, though it would have been fun to take you on a hunt.” I turned slowly, hugging myself, meeting his gaze. Beside him was a dead deer. It looked like the one I had met yesterday after just waking, but the only difference was that it had horns. A buck, if I remembered correctly.

 

“Well, now that we have dinner, would you like you to reconsider your bath? I can give you the soaps as long as you bring them back. I should have the deer prepared by the time evening falls.

 

I nodded, speechless.

 

“Okay then,” Cale replied, standing to untie a string around his waist and handing me the bag. It was fairly heavy.

 

“They're soaps,” he explained. “The sun can dry you off. If you don't remember where the cave is, give a holler and I'll find you.” With that said, he bent over, hoisted the deer across his shoulders with a grunt, and left, the deer's head flopping over his shoulder, tongue lolling in its mouth lifelessly. He looked like he was under strain, but I wouldn't doubt it with an animal of that size and weight. He disappeared into, taking a route through the sparsely scattered trees so as not to bang the dead deer up, his pace just as brisk as it hand been when he was following me. A long second passed as his footsteps faded through the dried, dead leaves before I came to my senses, looking down at the pouch he had given me.

 

Sighing, and not really in the mood to argue, I decided it was best to comply with my brother. I figured if he knew the way, what was I to lose? Anyway, the sooner I got back, the better. I didn't know how long I could stand out here in the wilderness. Sighing, I began to head back to where I had been sunbathing, trying not to think about things too much on the way. After braving the woods and stretch of open meadow, I found my sun warmed rock. Surveying the area, I found no one was around. That was good. Tentatively I tugged off my jacket and shirt, slipped of my boots and sat, somewhat in hesitation, in just my pants. The heated rock was making me sleepy. Shaking my head to wake myself up, I stood, unzipping my pants and removing them, still looking around in case Cale decided to surprise me. Testing the water, I found it wasn't as cold as Cale had probably had to endure.

 

I was little nervous, because it was a river and it was moving swiftly, but the water was clear and I could see the cobbled rocks in the bottom, Sitting down, the cool water felt nice. I relaxed as best as I could, untying the bag of soap and finding it was in small crystals. It was kind of messy to try to wash myself with a handful of salt sized soap grains, but I managed. It smelled flowery too, but it lathered up well enough. I stood, climbing out of the eternally running bath, dripping all over and sitting down on my rock to dry, pushing my clothes out of the way. There was too much of a draft with the cool wind blowing, the warm sun drying me, but there wasn't much I could do to conceal myself. Son enough however, I began to feel drowsy from the perfect spring-like day; the soothing wind blowing gently, caressing me, the warm sun beating down and warming me comfortably, not scorching. Soon I had dozed off.

 

 

****************************

 

 

I groaned, rolling over, my face against something kind of soft and warm. Hugging it, closer, I found it to be firm, but nice.

 

“Mmm…” I snuggled closer, burying my face in the sweet scent of leather. I fingered the fabric, my brain's circuit finally connecting. I looked up, eyes open, not wanting to see what I knew was sure to come. It was Cale alright. He was running fingers through my now dry hair, smiling pleasantly down at me, still shirtless. My head was in his lap. This was really annoying, but I wasn't in the current mood to go on about it. I pushed away from him, my hand leaving his thigh, blushing slightly. Something fell from me as I stood.

 

I looked down to notice some kind of white furred skin in a small pile. He had covered me. Cale looked up to me.

 

“Awake now?” he asked. I yawned as I bent to pick up the skin, wrapping it around my shoulders. It was large enough to trail on the ground, covering me entirely, and it was snug and warm as well.

 

“I thought you were preparing that animal you killed earlier?” I asked, attempting to change the subject and avert his attention.

 

“I said I would before evening fell. It's skinned and cleaned, for the most part. Could use some trimming I suppose,” my brother replied.

 

I know there was such a thing as brotherly love but this was just a little awkward.

 

“How long have you been here?” I demanded. Cale thought for a second.

 

“I'd say probably an hour, judging by the movement of the sun.”

 

“How long was I sleeping then?” I wondered, still half asleep from the drowse of the day, yawning again. Cale shrugged.

 

“My guess would be roughly three hours.” He stood. “Want to help me with dinner then?” I shrugged. I had nothing else to do.

 

“Whatever. Are we leaving for the outside tomorrow?” I asked.

 

“Yeah, I'll wake you. We'll need a fresh start. We should be there a little past noon,” Cale replied. I nodded. “Come on then. Just get dressed first.” I turned my back to him, shrugging the blanket off as I put my clothes back on. My brother then lead me back to the crossing place of the river and back to near his cave entrance, folding the blanket as he did so. A small clearing had been made, a fire already going with a long, thick stick beside it.

 

I sat down near the fire, avoiding the damper parts of the soggy leaves. Cale unwrapped a chunk of freshly butchered deer from a cloth he had been keeping it in. He had a bag with he opened, and sprinkling it all over the piece of meat, I noticed it was something like flour or cracker crumbs. He poured what I guessed was oil over it after breading the meat.

 

“Hand me that stick please,” he asked, nodding towards the large stick I had referred to earlier. I picked it up and did as he said. It was smooth, but whittled to a sharp point that I'm sure could have been used as a spear if need be. My brother skewered the meat. It looked like a large fried chicken breast, only I knew it wasn't. He did the same for another piece of meat, making sure it wasn't too close to the first piece. I shuddered at the thought. I had met a family of deer yesterday, and the thought that this particular deer may have been in that family made me nauseous.

 

It was only a slab of meat so it wasn't too bad, plus I didn't have to look at it save for what was now slowly roasting on a spit over the fire. I watched the deer as it cooked, soon beginning to smell savory. I hadn't noticed but I was hungry. The last meal I had was dinner last night. There was no chit chat at the meal was prepared. The sun behind me was fading into night, much sooner than I had expected. Winter must be right around the corner. Cale worked quietly, preparing some wild onion, sweet onion as he told me, against a smooth bark cutting board. He fetched his water and milk skins from the cave and returned as the early stars began to shine.

 

“Alright, we can eat now,” he said, carefully taking the deer off the stick and serving the breaded deer over a bed fresh, crisp sweet onion and leeks.

 

He unwrapped another cloth to reveal a third loaf of bread. Dividing it and adding a sun warmed red apple, our meal was complete.

 

“I have chopsticks if you don't mind using them. They won't cut your meat, but it should be tender enough. It hot so, it'll need to cool,” Cale told me as he sat back to his own meal. I nodded.

 

“Thank you.” He smiled. The night was newly born, but still as dark as if it were midnight. I pressed closer to the fire, though I wasn't completely sure why I was worried. The thought of that animal returning was what kept me by the open flames. I let my meal cool for a good five minutes before I tested it. I definitely didn't want a repeat of burning my tongue.

 

“You have a nice body,” Cale observed thoughtfully. I choked on my sweet onion but managed with some water. I looked at Cale as if he was crazy, which, as I thought, he was. “Especially wet.” He blushed, glancing to me. I shook my head, eyes still wide.

 

“It's the same as yours,” I muttered, a little uncomfortable before what he said hit me. I did a double-take. Cale giggled.

 

“When were you spying on me?” I demanded, taken aback by his offense. He grinned.

 

“When you weren't looking,” he replied with a wink, filling his mouth with a bite of deer, his chopsticks posed briefly at his lips. I rolled my eyes in answer saying, “So I figured.” We ate peacefully for a moment. The next time I looked I noticed Cale staring over my shoulder, transfixed by something. I gave him a curious look, but he only blinked to clear his mind and smile.

 

“Don't move too suddenly,” he whispered, still watching whatever was behind me. With my meal half eaten, I suddenly lost my appetite.

 

“Why?” I asked, a little louder than intended. Something behind me flinched. I heard it take a step closer, softly padding nearer. I felt a cold nose on me and looking down without even turning my head, I noticed it was a dark grey, nearly black color. Turning my head, the animal froze. It was the same cat thing I had seen earlier. The cat licked its chops, its attention averted to my brother as he offered the animal a piece of his meat. I felt an odd tug, adrenaline rushing through my blood as I watched the cat delicately stretch its neck and take the deer from Cale. This feeling was a need, and I needed it soon.