Read Online The Feral Sentence - Part One by G. C. Julien - Free Book Online Page B

we’d reached the end of the jungle. Trim stood still,
hiding behind several overlapping branches and rotting
greenery.
    She signaled us to remain quiet, which was hard to do being
that I was entirely out of breath. What were we looking for,
anyways? I stretched my neck in an attempt to peer over the many
shoulders in front of me, but it was useless. The only thing I saw
was the ocean: sand, water, and sky.
    Trim raised a finger, signaling us once more to remain as
still as possible. That’s when I heard it—the blades of a
helicopter. But they weren’t getting louder. Rather, the sound was
becoming fainter, until finally, I could no longer hear
it.
    “ They’re gone,” Fisher said.
    “ Where’s the drop, then?” Biggie asked, towering above all of
us.
    Trim muttered something in anger, but I couldn’t make it out.
Were they receiving supplies?
    “ She must have found her own way,” Flander said.
    “ Yeah, right,” Rocket said. “Northers probably got to her
before us.”
    It all made sense to me now. A new felon had been dropped onto
Kormace Island, and their hope was to recruit her, as they’d done
with me. I couldn’t believe anyone would have found their own way
through a wild jungle after such a long swim. I remembered dragging
myself onto shore and how utterly exhausted I’d become, almost to
the point of absolute incapacity.
    “ Why don’t we just track her footsteps?” asked one of the other
women. She stepped forward, but Trim threw her arm against her
chest.
    “ I give orders, and you obey,” she growled. “This could be a
trap.”
    The
woman stepped back indignantly.
    “ Let’s go,” Trim ordered.
    She walked past us and moved into position to lead. Fisher was
by her side as always, with Rocket, Biggie, and Flander close
behind. I couldn’t help but wonder how Eagle was doing. No one had
spoken her name since she’d been injured. I couldn’t imagine anyone
surviving grave injuries on this island. There was no proper
medical care.
    “ Well, that was pointless,” Sunny said.
    She smirked at me, clearly attempting to force a smile on my
face. But I was too exhausted to feign interest in her comedic
ways. How was anyone built for this type of physical exertion? We’d
spent the last hour running east to the shoreline of Kormace
Island, and now we were expected to simply return to the
Village?
    I suddenly remembered gym class in ninth grade. Our teacher,
who’d also been nicknamed Little John for his unusually
large size and his borderline obsessive fascination with Robin
Hood, had always been keen on making us do beep tests—a test consisting of
continuous running from one point to another, quickening in pace by
the sound of a beep being emitted from an old cassette player. I’d hated him for
this. I’d never reached past the fourth beep, being the only person
left sitting out of the race, alongside Gail, the fattest kid in
class.
    Trim was basically my gym teacher, only much harsher and more
barbaric. If I’d disobeyed Little John, he’d have sent me to the
principal’s office. Trim, however, might have my head, or worse,
ban me from ever returning to the Village. The latter of the two
possibilities was bound to lead to a painful, tortuous death caused
by starvation, or more likely, an attack.
    I’d simply have to obey.
    I hopped over sharp-edged rocks being cleaned by a narrow
stream of water. My sneakers had turned a shade of brown, but I was
grateful to have them nonetheless. The last thing I wanted to run
in were shoes constructed of wood and leather, which appeared to be
what everyone else was wearing. Rocket had advised me to remove
any real - world pieces of clothing and accessories, explaining to me that the
newer I looked, the harder time I’d have integrating within the
Village’s society. I’d tossed everything but my sneakers, my bra,
and my hair elastic, even though I knew their lifespan was
limited.
    I suddenly heard a soft whistle followed by a gentle pat on