Chapter Nine Names

It was dark.

The canopy of swaying leaves hanging above them blotted out the sky so that only tiny shards of the moon’s light were able to pierce the almost tangible darkness hovering between the trees. Together, they were seven. Roach was sitting on a thick root with Precious reclining against him; the younger boy’s face was buried into Roach’s chest. Cherry Toes was sitting at Roach’s feet, his legs drawn up beneath him. There were two runaways beneath each of Cherry Toes’ arms: a tall, lean dark skinned boy with soft, kinky black hair that spread about his smooth, handsome face like a dark halo; and a much shorter pale boy with shoulder length, blonde hair and round, chocolate colored eyes. There was a muscular young man with long black hair lying on his back just in front of Roach’s feet; and the last of their small group was a tanned boy with a shaved head.

Roach released a wearied sigh and glanced down to Cherry Toes idly. “Since we are all going to be together, we should learn each other’s names. I’m Roach, this is my Son, Precious.” He whispered, stroking back Precious’ blonde hair.

“I am Cherry Toes.“ Cherry Toes nodded and glanced at the two boys beneath his arms.

The dark skinned boy was next. “I am Prince.”

The short blonde boy timidly spoke. “I am Early.”

“Mourning.” The black haired young man, who was lying at Roach’s feet, grumbled.

“I’m Spider.” The boy with the shaved head laid down beside of Mourning.

Roach furrowed his brows a little. “Why were you named ‘Spider?’ ”

Spider closed his eyes with a half smile. “When I was born, the Worker who delivered me put me into my Mother’s arms, and just before she spoke the name she had intended for me, a black spider dropped down onto my blankets. My mother was so frightened that she cried out, ‘Spider!.’ And so it became my name.”

Early giggled quietly, his brown eyes growing a little watery as a smile lit up his face. Cherry Toes smiled wearily and leaned his head against Early’s while his hand was toying with the tight curls of Prince’s hair. Roach yawned and lifted his hand from the back of Precious’ head, rubbing his eyes wearily. He was exhausted, but knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing that the rest of the colony were probably thinking of ways to destroy them. “Early?”

The boy lifted his brown eyes. “Yes?”

“Are you one of the Contaminated?”

Early shifted in Cherry Toes’ arms and tugged apart the folds of his blood splattered robes, showing the peeling and decaying skin covering his chest. Roach flinched.

“How old are you, Early?”

“Fourteen,” He whispered, seeming suddenly very tired. “I’m Prince’s Son; he’s nineteen.”

Prince offered the younger boy a small smile, but even this slight movement caused a twinge of pain to narrow his eyes. The sores already covered his neck and were advancing up the side of his face. Early closed his eyes and yawned before continuing. “Prince was one of the first few to be contaminated. A friend of his… what was his name, Prince?”

“Oh, you mean Squint?” Prince muttered, his brows furrowing thoughtfully.

“Yes! Squint. Squint was the first one to get the illness. He got it right after the baby was brought out. The sores spread over his whole body and he started to hallu… hallu..”

“Hallucinate.” Prince finished mechanically.

“Yeah! Hallucinate, and started seeing worms and bugs that weren’t really there. Then he got a really bad fever, and the sores infected his eyes and he went blind. He died not long after that; that’s when we all started getting it.” Early shivered. “When Prince got it, I tried to tell the Mothers to see if there was anything we could do, but they didn’t help me. They just told me to leave before I contaminated them.”

“We should have seen it coming,” Mourning concluded, shaking his head. “It started with the infertile; just because a man couldn’t have children he was put down… murdered. We’re nothing but tools for them, and when we break we’re thrown away and forgotten about.”

Roach’s eyes widened as he looked down at Mourning. Roach had thought he had recognized the boy’s long hair and hard features, and now he was certain. “Mourning! Bright Eyes was your Son!”

Mourning lurched upward into a sitting position, looking at Roach with wide eyes. “You… how do you know about Bright Eyes?” His voice was strained.

“I was there when you put-” Roach stopped and lowered his eyes, suddenly wishing he hadn’t brought it up. “I’m sorry.”

Mourning’s shoulders slumped, and he bent one knee, placing his face in the palm of one hand. “I thought I recognized you.” He paused, releasing a soft sigh then nodded, looking up again into Roach’s eyes. “That was the worst mistake of my life, putting Bright Eyes down. Bright Eyes was the best friend I had ever had; we were like brothers. As close as you and your Son there.” He nodded to Precious, who had fallen into a light sleep against Roach’s chest. “I should have said ‘no’ like you did, Roach. I shouldn’t have killed my Son.”

There was something in the tone of Mourning’s voice; Roach tilted his head, having never heard someone besides Precious speak to him that way. It was admiration. Mourning actually admired Roach for standing up for his Son. Roach squirmed a little, feeling embarrassed, and lowered his eyes. “We all should try to sleep. We’ll have to move deeper into the forest tomorrow and try to find some shelter.”

Spider nodded, “We should have someone keep watch.”

“I’ll do it tonight.” Mourning said, moving to sit on the root beside of Roach.

“Are you sure?” Roach questioned as he started to step off the root, careful not to disturb Precious; he had been about to volunteer for the job. He felt responsible for his small group.

Mourning nodded. “Very sure. You should get some sleep.”

Roach smiled and nodded, laying down with Precious still in his arms on the grass beside of Spider. Cherry Toes scooted close to them, bringing Early and Prince with him. They all laid down together in a heap, falling to sleep beneath the shadows of the trees.