September/October 2024

Fid must prove to her clan that she’s focused enough to be a hunter I sniffed the air. The fresh stench of prey filled my nose. I could identify it as a tiny mouse. Suddenly, I heard a little squeak. My eyes shot toward my target. I cautiously aimed my bow and . . . “Fid!” my father said. I sighed. That was my name. In my clan, “fid” means “fight.” I earned my name because I kicked at my mother’s stomach until I came out. Most people would describe me as a brown-haired, brown-eyed twelve- cycles-old who is always getting in trouble. I didn’t fit in with the other village girls. Unlike most of them, I didn’t like gathering berries. I wanted to hunt. “What are you doing with your brother’s bow?!” My brother was Oz—a headstrong thirteen-cycles-old who for some reason got to hunt in the Woods of Sedina. He was my opposite. He was blond haired, blue eyed, and loved the job that was given to him: hunting. “I—uh—I—saw a mouse and had to hunt it!” I yelled. “Okay, okay. Settle down and explain.” “It is not fair!” I was in full anger mode. “You know that we are going through a famine!” I cried. “Why do you think they recruited Oz to hunt!” Tears were now streaming down my face. “You know I am too distracted to gather. Hunting is the only thing I am good at!” Then there was silence. Silence is a funny thing. It is a stabbing pain in your chest. It is when you finally decide to let go and give up. “Fid, come here.” I slowly walked forward. “What is the number one rule in our clan?” “Listen to your elders.” I rolled my eyes. “So listen to me when I say you are not hunting.” He then reached out to take the bow. I stomped back to my hut, tears still stinging my eyes. Only the best of the clan gets to hunt. The elders had said that I was too distracted to hunt. The thing is that hunting is the only thing that I am not too distracted to do. After what seemed like forever gathering berries, I headed back. I heard Kin, the clan leader, calling all the elders to a meeting. Suddenly, a rush of adrenaline came through me as my hunting instincts kicked in. Carefully, I followed them, making sure not to make a sound. My heartbeat raced as I stealthily ran through the woods. Snap! A twig cracked under my feet. I froze like a small child, only four cycles old, who got caught playing with the sharp stones. I looked back and saw my clan in the distance. It was then that I knew that there was no turning back. “What was that?” Kin said. “Shh. Listen,” the chief gatherer, Hib, responded. I hide behind a huge rock. “Come on, we have work to do.” I exhaled a breath. For now, our uninvited guest was safe. I continued my eavesdropping. “We are running out of food,” Kin began. I could tell Kin sounded a bit panicked. Suddenly, a wave of terror washed over me. I wasn’t supposed to be here. “We need to move.” “We can’t! There are too many sick,” Hei, the lead shaman, responded. Dig, the nosy griot, said, “I am going to tell this to the other clans!” It took all I could not to scream Don’t! If the other clans heard about this, they would surely take advantage of our poor situation. “I don’t think that would be the wisest move,” Kin cautioned. Not the wisest move! What was he saying?! A lump formed in my throat. Then, that lump formed into hope. “There is a saber-tooth cat’s den nearby to here,” Hei started. “If someone could hunt it, we would have enough food to last until the sick get better.” That hope suddenly disappeared. The saber-tooth cat is one of the most dangerous animals. Despite my fear, I knew I had to do it. I carefully crept away and headed toward the den. The sky was slowly turning pink. That meant that the sky would soon turn black. I looked back and saw my clan in the distance. It was then that I knew that there was no turning back. First, I had to build a shelter for the night. I took the biggest leaf I could find and attached it to a stick. I then planted the stick into the dirt. I took some moss and covered my tent. I looked for a faint glowing orb just before my eyes closed and the world vanished. The orbs have always given me comfort. Then a miracle happened. Just for one second, I believed that everything would be okay. Soon, everything was gone. I woke up to my name. “Fid!” It was Oz, my brother. I quickly camouflaged myself in moss. “Fid, I know you are there.” I sighed. It was useless trying to hide. My brother could sniff me out from miles away. “What do you want?” I said groggily. “Do the others know?” “I want to come with you,” he said. “It’s too dangerous—wait. How do you know I was going to fight a saber-tooth cat?” He laughed. “Oh,” I said. He always had a way of finding information from me. “Now I definitely want to come with you.” So, that was that. I took a long stick and weaved a leaf through it to make a bow. Oz, who as the firstborn already had a bow, watched my progress. Next, I chipped a small rock to make an arrow point. I then tied the arrow point to a sharp stick. I turned towards my brother. He had already finished his stack of arrows. “How?” I asked, jealousy forming in the pit of my stomach. “Experience.” “You are only older than me by one cycle.” “One-and-a-half cycles to be exact.” I kicked the dirt. My brother always