Chapter 12: Jamar
Jamar couldn’t move as the bear looked from him to Silas. Again Silas roared, a raw, feral scream. The bear sniffed at them and Silas roared again. Jamar gathered his feet under him, preparing to run. Then to Jamar’s surprise, the bear walked away, twigs and branches snapping in its wake. It was gone.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Jamar said.
“Yeah,” was all Silas said.
Another thought hit Jamar. He pushed himself up and frowned.
“Why didn’t you run?” Jamar asked.
“The bear might have chased us and you were on the ground.”
“But you could have gotten away.”
“This worked out better.”
A chill stitched itself up and down Jamar’s back. Silas had knowingly chosen to save his life. A Car had bravely stepped between him and a bear and all Jamar had wanted to do was run away. Was it even possible for Carillians to be brave? Were they capable of courage and honor? Until a few moments ago Jamar might have laughed at the idea, but now....
He kept picturing how he tripped and fell and how Silas took a step forward. Not just straight ahead, but there had been an angle to his foot that hid Jamar from the bear’s attention and forced the bear to consider Silas. Jamar couldn’t deny the truth. A Carillian had saved his life. Somehow the boy he could beat so easily in chess and sword fighting had proven to be more superior in actual battle. His life would have been lost; he owed Silas a debt now.
He’d never felt a debt this keenly before. True, there was the debt he owed his parents for giving him life, but that was something he repaid by working hard and earning a gold medallion. And it was something he would continue to repay when he took over the family lands and business. Yet how would he repay a debt to Silas? The thought troubled him and he wished Silas had let the bear eat him. It would have kept life simple.
Another deep roar hit the air. This one from Tymas and it took a second for Jamar to realize the ants must have done their job. He allowed himself a pleased smile. They weren’t even yet, but they were closer.
“Give me a sandwich,” Jamar said. He’d let Tymas worry about them for a few minutes. Silas handed Jamar a sandwich before getting one out for himself and they ate. When they were finished, Jamar stood and stretched.
“Let’s go,” he said and it felt good for a moment when Silas started to follow him, but there was a small feeling that perhaps Silas should be the one giving the orders or at least that Jamar should use a less demanding tone.
When they got to the clearing it was empty. Jamar went back to the tree and checked the basket for any other food they might have left. There was a small bag of cookies and the ants hadn’t found them. He thought about eating the whole bag, but something didn’t feel right about it.
“Here you want some?” Jamar took three cookies out of the bag and offered the rest to Silas.
“Sure,” Silas said and he took a bite. “Wow, these are good.”
Jamar smiled. It felt warm and light to share with Silas. He didn’t think showing kindness could do that.
“There you are,” Tymas growled. He stormed toward them with his eyebrows knitted together and his fists clenched. “Where did you go?”
“We were just walking around,” Jamar said. He fixed his gaze on Tymas and refused to look away. “Where were you?”
“We are going back now. There is a bear in the woods.”
“Really?” Jamar feigned surprise.
The Faan’s eyes narrowed.
“Did you see the bear?” he asked, the question was directed at Silas.
Jamar stepped slightly in front of Silas. “As you can see, we are perfectly fine. If we did see this bear, everything is okay now.”
Tymas snorted. He looked over Jamar’s shoulder at Silas and said, “Get the stuff. We’re leaving.”
Anger burned inside Jamar. How dare he order Silas around. He was about to say something, but Silas had already picked up the swords and the basket. This time Tymas shadowed them like the plague. He was alerted to any rustle and snap. If there was a slow in the pace, Tymas was quick to push them on.
Once they were back inside the Cartiam, the Faan took Silas back to his cell and Jamar was alone. He took his time going up the stairs, entering his room, taking off his boots. With a sigh he flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling, a boring white paint with wood trim around the edges.
Today had more adventure than Jamar thought it would and it revealed more than he thought possible. When Jamar saw the bear he had felt all weak inside. His knees had buckled when he tried to step back and he’d fallen to the ground. It had never once crossed his mind to stand up against the bear. He’d never even thought of saving Silas. If Silas had tripped, Jamar would have left him there and perhaps even watched the bear attack from a safe distance. But what if he had planned to stay? He could have saved the life of a nobody, a Carillian. Where was the honor in that?
He closed his eyes and pictured the scene again. This time Silas was in front and when they saw the bear Silas cowered, clutching at Jamar’s knees, while Jamar drew his sword and stared the bear down. Jamar would be the hero and forget what Silas had done. Then perhaps he could also forget that he owed Silas. The moment felt inspiring for an instant, but there was a hollow ring to it and his heart refused to accept the scene as truth. No matter what he thought about Carillians there would be no way to get out of owing his life to one and he would always know that deep inside.
A soft knock on the door was just the interruption Jamar was looking for. There was no point in wondering how he would deal with this strange turn of event. He’d figure it out later.
“Your father asks to see you in his study,” a servant girl said through the door.
Jamar hopped up, checked his appearance and put on his inside shoes. He reached the door knob right as the servant began to knock again.
“I heard you,” Jamar said his back straight and he held his chin up as he swept out into the hall.
“I’m sorry,” she said backing out of the way, her hand clutched in front of her.
It was so easy to intimidate the servants and it made Jamar smile. He smiled until he opened the door to Lemuel’s study and saw Tymas standing in the room.
Lemuel fixed his eyes on Jamar and said, “Several events have been brought to my attention.”
Jamar held his breath. His mind flipped through the possible excuses he could give about the bear.
Lemuel placed his hands on his desk. “I heard that you purposefully disturbed an ant hill near this guard.”
Jamar smirked. “It’s not my fault if he sleeps on the job.”
“I was not asleep. I saw you do it.” Tymas folded his arms and glared.
“Then why didn’t you move?” Jamar met his gaze. This was working out to be a better revenge than he’d thought. Not only did he have Tymas bitten by ants, but now Tymas looked like an incompetent fool for a guard.
“I--”
“You may go,” Lemeul said waving a hand at the door.
“Sir, I was not asleep. He is conniving...they ran away from me and he lied about seeing a bear.”
Lemuel just pointed to the door again and Tymas spun on his heels and stomped out.
“This brings me to another concern. Tymas informed me that the forest was not safe. There was a bear in your area and you saw it.”
“There was...but we scared it away.”
“You scared it away?”
Jamar nodded and he swallowed the urge to correct Lemuel. What did it matter if his father thought Jamar had a part in scaring off the bear?
“Tell me what happened.”
“The Carillian and I were walking in the woods and we saw a bear. We yelled at it and then it ran away.”
“You and the Car?” Lemuel’s tone indicated he was not convinced. There was an implied Don’t lie to me in his tone.
“Well, it was really just...me.”
Lemuel nodded seemingly completely satisfied. “You should
never hesitate to take credit for your actions. I’m glad that you had the presence of mind to scare the bear away. Were you afraid?”
“A little.”
Lemuel’s lips twitched in disappointment. “Well, now you know better than to be afraid next time. At least the Car got to see your true superiority in action.” Lemuel stood up from his desk and ran his fingers along the books on the shelf.
Jamar glanced down at the carpet.
“I want you to read this.” Lemuel held out a thick loose leaf binder.
“What is it?” Jamar took the binder in both hands.
“It is a record of every Car in the Cartiam. It lists all their information and projected incomes. Read it and give me a report on where you see the company going in five years tomorrow.”
“Yes sir,” Jamar said.
“Now, I have a lot of work to do. We are preparing for something and I want everything to be accounted for and ready.”
Jamar nodded and when his father looked down at the papers on his desk, Jamar left.
Up in his room, Jamar opened the binder to the first page. It listed all the Cars, first by age with the oldest in the front, then by number. The first entry was a girl who turned 18 five days ago. She was estimated at around $110k when she was harvested. There was a recommendation that she not be selected for the farm. A whole page was devoted to the profits they had made from other members in her family. Her older sister had given a small 75 e-mems at her harvest. Her older brothers had given 105 and 126 e-mems, which was still on the lower side. They would not want to keep her family line going.
The second entry was a 17 year old boy, estimated at $220k. His family line normally did not produce as much as he was estimated for, their harvest worth was closer to $145k, but there was a note in his file that he was in Project High. Jamar flipped through the rest of the book looking for something that would explain what Project High was. Several other Cars were also in Project High, but none of the notes said more than that. Toward the middle of the binder a number jumped out at Jamar: 800190. Silas.
Jamar readjusted the pages and leaned closer. Silas was estimated at $150k, although his current worth was 70 dollars. That was it. His monthly care bill cost more. Underneath his estimation was a note that he was not mature yet. They would definitely want to wait until he matured, otherwise they would lose years worth of investment. His family had been a bit more profitable than the first two entries. Both his older sisters had brought in about $165k. Jamar pulled out the paper from its’ protective sheet and a small note fluttered down the side of his bed.
He scooped it up and turned it over. In his father’s tiny print were the words: Could be worth more. Watch this one.
Why would Silas be worth more? And why would his father want to keep an eye on him?