Read The One-Hundred: Part 1 - The Above (Book #1) Page 16

My hands shake as I follow behind Rai-si. Questions flow through my mind like a river, my heart pounding like a drum. He stops suddenly and I almost run directly into him.

  “Cressa-la,” he says, sighing as if he holds the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  “Yes?” I mumble hesitantly.

  He turns and gazes at the surrounding trees. “Look around us. Can you see the balance in our environment? It is the reason why we live in peace. However, if something happens that isn’t meant to occur in nature, whether it’s from our hand or God’s,” he says, cutting the air with his hand. “Things get destroyed and habitats are thrown into danger.”

  “But there’s something you must know,” he goes on, looking straight at me this time. “Nature will always correct itself. We learned to adapt to this world of water and have lived a long time because we are able keep peace with nature.” He holds out his hands, his palms facing up. I place mine on top of them, the shell around my neck seeming heavier with the weight of the secrets I keep.

  We do our hands this way is because we focus on trust between our tribespeople. If I tear away, that means I’m untrustworthy, that I’m a liar. That means I won’t become a Tribe Leader and will most likely be cast away. Not into the water like the Sea-Man, but into the wilderness where hungry animals roam.

  “Cressa-la, you must be careful. Not everything is good and not everyone is honest. The darkness is very present and very real in this world, and it latches onto people that succumb to it. Remember that the next time you talk to someone from another tribe.”

  My heart skips a beat. Does he know what Damian had done for me?

  I nod, gulping down the fears and the words that want to spill out. This is going to be a hard thing to elbow through… And abruptly, a sense of misery sinks into my heart as I realize I don’t know if I’ll see my tribe again after this, or if I’ll even see Lily-flor again. I pray silently for a brief moment, willing him not to ask me the question that’ll spill the beans. Please ask any other question.

  “Cressa-la,” he says my name again, softly and sweetly, much like Nan-ah had when I did something wrong. It’s as if the world is crumbling beneath my fingertips. My heart is about to leap from my chest and my throat stings. “Did you go beyond the edge of our rock last night?”`

  Everything inside of me freezes at the question I’d anticipated. So he asked it after all… I could lie, tell him I had never passed it, or I could tell him the truth—but what would he do? What would happen if I told him the truth?

  “What if I had?” I ask, my voice shaking. “What if I went past the edge?”

  “You’d be banished immediately,” he says, his mud colored eyes placid.

  I shake my head, holding back the tears. I knew that would be the punishment, but hearing him say it out loud… I realize it’s gotten harder to breathe. “I didn’t.”

  “What about your house?” Rai-si asks, his voice still soft as my hands stay placed on top of his. I try not to move them, try not to let them shake. Easier said than done.

  “It fell over. I went to Nan-ah’s old house to sleep. That’s all that happened last night.”

  He nods, seeming to buy it, but his eyes give off something else. Unease wraps around my gut, squeezing tight. Our houses don’t just fall over…

  “Okay.”

  Rai-si walks away with a nod, leaving me in the densely packed forest.

  He doesn’t believe you, my brain screams.

  My head throbs as I realize what I’ve done, what this could mean in the future. I had lied to the Head Tribe Leader. And if he doesn’t actually believe my lie… what would be waiting for me tomorrow, the day after that, or even next week? Would I make it another year?

  But if he knows I’m lying, then why did he let it go?