Free Conflict by Pedro Urvi Page B

her own survival and find directions in the forest even though her life depended on it. But plants and tubers she knew, and very well at that as they were part of her knowledge, of the training she had received.
    She gulped down the berries and looked for more, finding them in different spots nearby. Her stomach groaned, pleading for more food, and she remembered she had not eaten in more than a day. She went on to search for edible roots, not very tasty surely, but nourishing. If she could not find any she would be forced to turn to insects. She had already recognized some she could eat, regardless of how disgusting they were. She was lucky and found several nutritious roots, which she dug up with the tip of her dagger and chewed slowly. Once she had eaten her fill she felt much better, and smiled for the first time in days. I’ve found food, and I won’t die in this hostile environment. That was a small victory for her, enough to give her courage to go on.
    She leaned her back against a handsome oak and rested in its shade. Without intending to, she could not avoid closing her eyes and sleeping peacefully, with neither dreams or nightmares. When she woke up she thanked Helaun, the First Mother Healer, for having blessed her with her protection and healing rest. Her spirit was refreshed, and when she checked her body she found that too was fully restored.
    She was wondering which way to go when a sound in the forest to her right startled her.
    She crouched behind the oak and listened attentively.
    The sound was not of animals but of men… men speaking a strange language, very picturesque, as if they spoke in a sing-song. She hid behind the tree, fear growing inside her. Only one kind of people lived in that forest: the Usik. Unfortunately she was right. A little further up and to the right she saw a group of six Red Usik. She made herself as small as possible behind the tree, afraid of being discovered, afraid those savages might somehow smell her fear.
    But she was not found out.
    She waited, her hands trembling. The Usik were chatting very near her hiding place. After a while the voices faded away and Aliana, with immense care, raised her head to look. The Usik were gathering berries. This must be an area where they grew regularly. I must leave immediately! She could not go forward, because the Usik were in her path’s way. She would have to go back to her starting point and try to find a way around the waterfall from the other side. Her heart sank once more. All her progress that day had been for nothing.
    Retreat or risk dying at the hands of the Usik? No, I refuse to die, I’ll go back and find some other route to the river.
    Silently, she crept away. Once she had gone far enough she stood up and began to run as if she had been lashed with a whip of fire. Aliana ran and jumped over roots and undergrowth as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran and ran and ran. And finally, breathless, her lungs burning, she stopped in total exhaustion.
    Voices coming from ahead alarmed her.
    They were similar to the ones she had left behind in her flight, with that curious sing-song.
    Usik!
    Coming from the waterfall ahead of her.
    What can I do? I can’t go on, those men are sure to be Usik. If I turn round I’ll come up against the other savages I left behind. There’s only one course I can follow: south, just the opposite of where I want to go. It’ll take me further away from the upper river, I’ll never be able to make my way up-river again and get out of here. But if I stay here wondering what to do, they’ll find me. What to do? What?
    Overcome by rage and fear, Aliana turned south, going further into the endless woods of enormous trees. She had no choice.
    For three days she walked on southwards, away from the savages, afraid to retrace her steps. She survived by using her knowledge of roots, berries and insects. On the fourth day she was crouching beside a brook, drinking warily like some small wild animal. She