CHAPTER1
ROSA
Hope. It’s a precarious thing in these parts. Especially this close to The Rift. We lived like animals, simply trying to survive. And hope? It's a luxury none of us could afford.
So when I thought I had a chance to change things for the better? I fell for it.
Like an idiot.
It started innocently enough. I was on my usual route through the woods, checking the traps I'd set the day earlier and keeping my hunting knife at the ready. My stomach growled a little too loudly, a grim reminder that our very livelihood depended on my success. If I wasn't able to bolster our stores, and fast, we wouldn't have enough to get us through winter. And if we didn't survive this cold season, well...we might not make it until spring.
My stomach cramped again, and I pressed my free hand to it, willing it to stop. Grimacing, I raised a hand and shielded my eyes against the glaring sun. It was bright, yes, but offered no warmth. Not even close. The weather would be getting worse before long. I could already smell snow starting to fall from the air currents blowing down off the mountains.
I shivered as I pulled my hood tighter around my face and continued walking along the trail toward my trap line. I grew up in a small, isolated tribe of only a dozen. I didn't know any different. My father told me once he thought there were other people out there. Other tribes, just beyond our reach. I never saw any proof of that, no matter how far I strayed. Maybe it was all a sweet lie to keep us from feeling so alone. After all, why would someone come into such a desolate place?
As I walked past a large tree with thick branches hanging low over the path, something caught my eye. A glint of metal reflected the sunlight. Curious, I turned my head and saw a shiny object lying beneath the branch—a small silver coin. I crouched down beside it and picked it up between two fingers. I sucked in a breath. It was surprisingly warm beneath my fingers, with a smooth texture and small divots around the edges. I ran one finger across its surface, watching the light bounce off it.
Silver.
The word lodged in my brain, kicking my heart up a notch. I knew of it, from stories and tales, but to see it here, in the middle of the forest? That could only mean one thing.
Someone else had been here.
I furrowed my brow and tried to think about the implications. We didn't have access to silver. I knew that much. And animals had no use for it, that's for sure. Someone had been through here and had dropped this. I didn't know when or why, but I held on to the coin like an ancient relic.
My only connection to the 'outside' world.
The wind began to pick up, and I still didn't have a catch to bring home. The sun, once high overhead, continued its lazy descent toward the horizon. My breaths came out in hazy puffs and my body ached from head to toe. How easy it would be to just return home. To curl up next to the fire and forget about everything.
It was tempting. Very. But I couldn't do that. Not yet. Something about this felt important. So instead of heading back the way I'd come, I veered off the trail and headed deeper into the woods.
All the old wives' tales echoed in my ears, but still I took another step forward. My mind buzzed with an unknown curiosity. What if I found something? A neighboring tribe. Perhaps a cache of food. Or even a new, untouched hunting ground. My hunger, and the fear I felt for my family, pushed me forward. The path grew farther and farther away until the trees blanketed me from all sides. The sun didn't reach this far down -- what did slivered through in eerie slats of light cut apart by the bare branches. And the silence...it was deafening.
My gut twisted and my mouth dried. I swallowed hard and set my jaw. I'd made it this far, and I wasn’t going to turn back now.
After a few minutes, I found myself at the edge of a clearing. I stopped and stared, my mouth agape. There, on the ground, lay a pile of bones. Only it didn't look like any animal I'd ever seen. The skull was too big, and the tusks jutted upward as if they were meant to spear prey. And there was something strange about the shape. I stepped closer and knelt down to get a better look.
The jaw was larger than a human's, jutting forward to allow room for those vicious tusks. But what WAS it? I squinted and leaned in, trying to get a better view.
Then, without warning, I heard a rustling sound behind me. I whirled around, heart pounding, but the only thing I saw was the tall grasses swaying gently in the breeze.
"Hello?" I called out, trying to calm myself. "Is anybody there?"
There was another rustle, closer now. I swallowed hard and moved away from the bones, then took a few steps forward, holding my knife defensively at my side. But nothing happened. No attack came. Just more wind-blown grass.
I let out a breath and ran a hand through my hair. The stress and hunger was getting to me, I guess. That, and the further we strayed from the safety of the village, the more likely we'd be to run into --
Something snapped underfoot and in an instant, rough vines yanked me into the air. I shrieked and lost my grip on the blade, watching as it clattered to the forest floor. Flailing and kicking only seemed to tighten the trap's hold, but I had to do something! My vision, blurred and frantic from being twisted and hung upside down, scanned the brush for movement. For something I could grab on to.
Anything.
The knife lay just out of reach. I strained, twisted, and screamed. Still, the vines bit further into my now-swelling ankle. All the blood rushed to my head and darkness seeped into the edges of my vision. It couldn't end like this. It just couldn't.
After all I'd done, all I'd sacrificed...I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus.
That's when I heard the footsteps.
And not just one set of them. Many.
All I could remember before I blacked out was the sad, ironic fact that I -- the hunter -- had become the hunted.