INITIATION ULTIMATE, Chapter 15.1: Narrated by Tharseo

Trust is essential to survival in the Island Initiations. Without it, you're just one man against the monsters and everybody else.

     Unari is standing outside my tent when I make it to his property.  His right palm rests on the center of his forehead, leaving me wondering what makes him think I am so idiotic for him to use this gesture.  In a sheath at his side, he carries a sword, and in his left hand, he holds a pistol.  "Hello?" I call, causing his arm to drop to his side and his head to snap in my direction.

            "Where were you?" he shouts.  "Why are you all scratched up, and why did you leave?"

            "It's none of your business!" I exclaim. 

            "Well, as long as you're on my property, it's my business.  Tell me!"

            "I was out looking for berries!  No big deal!  I would've traded with you, but you already threatened me with your pistol!"  My grip instinctively tightens around the blade's hilt.

            "Did you encounter a group of bone-faced barbarians?" 

            "Do you mean the pack of starving people who chased me through the forest?  In that case, I did!  I ran through the woods without a flashlight trying to get away!  They had maces, so they could break my katana!"

            "How'd you get away, then?"

            "I used a young Cantiko to my advantage!  Stung him with my laser, that's what I did, and convinced the so-called barbarians that I could command him to growl!"

            Unari wipes sweat away from his forehead.  "Ahh, you're so senseless!" he moans.

            "Maybe I'm senseless, but I'm not stupid!  I’m brighter than you are!" I bite defensively.  "Brighter than some Creatorians!  I bet I could..."

            Unari silences me with the wave of a hand.  "First things first, never, I repeat, never, leave my property at night.  I've proofed it, and unless you want to die a long, painful death involving the viral burning of your nervous system, do as I say.  And the barbarians!  Stay away from them; they can kill you!  Sure, they look like a bunch of ragged humans at the verge of death, but they know the land better than you do, and they know how to fight!  Not to mention, if they know you're staying with me and they have a bone to pick with you, they could raid my house!  So they chased you, why is that?"

            "They think I'm a thief!"

            "Damn you!" Unari howls.  "Is their assumption true?"

            "No, I just wandered around their campsite and they recognized my shirt.  But I didn't do it," I insist.

            With a swift step avoiding my katana, Unari is clinging on to my collar, observing the material my white shirt is made of.  "This is Creatorian grade fabric," he says.  "See that symbol there?  Tc, for Technetium.  What are you doing in this?  Either you wear some of my old clothes, or you keep your coat zipped up!"

            Using my free hand, I swat Unari’s hand away from my collar and then push him backwards, tipping him off balance and causing him to collapse onto his back.  His pistol flies into the air as he falls, landing harmlessly beside him.  When he scrambles back to his feet, hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword, he looks more than willing to listen to the words I have to say.  “Thanks for telling me this beforehand!” I holler, brandishing my katana.  “I apologize for my errors, but this is only the second day I’ve been in the Island Initiations!  And don’t you ever put your hands on me again, unless you want them hacked off!”

 

***

 

            Unlike me, Unari's not one to hold grudges.  Soon, his fire pit has been lit, and we're roasting one of Unari's farm rabbits at the cost of one of my laser flashlights.  Sorry, Amor... Over the trees, the sun slowly rises, casting an orange glow upon the clouds.  The smoke from our roast casts a rich, savory smell into the air, calming our nerves and stimulating our hunger.  Seven pairs of eyes watch us from the foliage, but flee into the forest at the wave of Unari's pistol.

            "So tonight, it's a Sustenance Day," Unari explains.  "There are large blue plates hidden in the forest, and I know where a few of them are.  Most of the time, these plates are hidden underground, but every month, they'll come up to the surface, glowing blue.  The plates can be filled with anything from food to clothes to tools, and they're really useful.  If we find one, we get to take as much as we want from it and bring it back with us."

            "How do you know that this is tonight?" I ask.

            "Take this, and wait here," he tells me, putting the pistol down in his seat.  Despite my errors, he must be beginning to trust me to do something like that.  I can’t understand how…

 

While Unari is in his house, I slowly rotate the spit in order to make sure the rabbit is roasting thoroughly.  I wonder how he learned how to properly roast meats like this.  Before my Creatorian parents’ deaths, my family would always have the finest things in our house and the highest quality foods available to eat; even our husky was fed foods that were more grandiose than what some people would eat.  To my family, whole roasted animals on sticks would be considered primitive and graceless.   When Ionracas was new to the Initiations, I wonder how the culture-shock had felt to him.  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons he came home from the Initiations as early as possible.  At least I was prepared quite a bit by my cousins’ experiences in the Initiations.

 

“This,” Unari begins, his silent arrival startling me from my thoughts, “is how I knew about the times of the blue plates.”  Showing me a long list of paper that is lined with times and dates and a wristwatch, he explains.  “See, ever so often I have to make a journey to the center of the Island to gather times and dates from this small tower called ‘the Beacon’.  The Beacon’s good for many other things, too, like going home, but it’s pretty complicated to explain.  We’re running out of time before the blue plates begin appearing, so we’ll just have to talk about it later.” 

Shuffling through his pockets, Unari pulls out a map.  “Now, because you lead those barbarians to my house and they now know that I’m associating with you, I’m going to stay home and guard the house.  You’re the one who will look for the plates and bring their contents back to me.”  He holds out both the map and his pistol.  “I doubt you’ll find any competition, but just in case, here’s this.  When you get back, we’ll go through the finds and decide which of us owns what.”

Dozens of thoughts rush through my mind as I observe the map and pistol that Unari is offering me.  I know that he has taken me under his wing in order to prevent me from becoming his enemy.  Now, he’s trying to use me to gather items for him in the fear that “barbarians” will raid his house, a fear that was ever-present even before I came to the Island, no matter how much he frames it on my skirmish this morning.  Additionally, Unari’s trades aren't the fairest thing in the world, such as my altered flashlight for a week’s worth of food, but he sure makes up for it by the information and shelter he has given me.  Although Unari’s manipulative deals are meant for his own benefit, I am benefiting as well.  Because of this, I guess I don’t mind working for him until I find my place on this Island, no matter how much I dislike the idea of submitting to someone else’s control.  It will only be temporary.

 

I reach for the map and pistol.  As soon as they are in my possession, I know that Unari and I have a deal.  “Be back by seven,” Unari says.  “No later.  I've given you my right hand weapon, but that doesn't mean I don’t have more weapons to spare.  If you’re not back by then, I’ll come looking for you.”

Without a word, I turn to leave.  “Hey,” Unari calls me, and I again face him.  “I’m trying to give you my trust, and so far, it’s about as strong as glass,” he says, his sincere tone surprising me.  “Existent, but easily shattered.  Don’t break it, alright?”