Free The Deep by Jen Minkman

a
certain air of power and aggression about him. His eyes convey his
Jesse-may-care attitude.
    “Yes?” I gulp down the
nerves in my throat when his eyes narrow.
    And then, something
completely unexpected happens. The corners of his mouth pull up in
a smile, and it is a genuine smile, a smile that shows me Saul can
be different, too. “So you’re Ben’s friend?” he continues. “Thanks
for helping him settle in.”
    “Uhm, you’re welcome,” I
stammer. If he’s so grateful, then why did he shoot me that dark
look before? “Ben is a nice kid.”
    A silence follows my words.
“Not really,” Saul comments drily.
    I bite my lip. “Well, maybe
not just yet. But he can be. He’s getting there.”
    “I suspect he’s got you to
thank for that. I’m happy about it.”
    “You didn’t exactly look
happy,” I mumble a bit sarcastically. “When I entered your clearing
just now.”
    “Well. I’m not known as Mr
Happy Face in these parts.”
    “Hm. I get that.” I look
past him to the small hut he has built for himself. Picking a
location where no one from his old life will find him. Then, my
gaze drifts back to his eyes, still quietly observing me. “You must
have felt alone a lot,” I add gingerly.
    His eyes soften, as if he
can’t help losing himself in an inner world only few people have
ever glimpsed. “I had Ben,” he says. “That was the most important
thing. And I do feel better knowing now that there’s more besides
just this island. I feel less lost.”
    “Oh yeah?” I eye him
skeptically. “Is that why you’re hiding out in the
forest?”
    Saul takes a step back.
“I’m not hiding,” he mutters. Now he sounds just like Ben.
“Everybody knows where I live. If they want to speak to me, they
know where to find me.”
    “So? Anybody show up
yet?”
    His shoulders slump a bit.
“No,” he says.
    “Never?”
    “No. Why would
they?”
    The wind rustles the canopy
of leaves above our heads. I don’t have the answer to his question.
“Why don’t you pack up and move to Hope Harbor too?” I ask at
last.
    His mouth tightens.
“Because Ben doesn’t want me to.”
    “He told you
that?”
    “Not specifically.” Saul
takes a deep breath before turning toward the cabin door. “No, I’m
fine here. Ben needs new people to hang out with. Care for a
drink?”
    “Sure,” I mumble. As Saul
goes inside to pour me a cup of something, I spot Ben coming out of
the tree line on the other side of the clearing, clasping a dead
rabbit in one hand and a bow in the other. A quiver of arrows is
slung across his shoulder.
    “Hey, Alisa,” he calls out
to me, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry I took off like that. I
just…”
    “It’s okay,” I cut him
short. “I’m happy you went to see Saul.”
    “How did your meeting with
the Eldest go?” he inquires.
    “He approved of our plan.
We can take back some good news to Carl.”
    At that moment, Saul steps
outside and hands me a cup of juice. Then, he gives Ben a short nod
of approval, a look of almost fatherly pride in his eyes when he
sees the rabbit. “Good to see you haven’t lost your touch,” he
says. “Are you two staying for dinner?”
    Ben casts me a quizzical
look and I nod slightly. “If you shoot a rabbit, you have to skin
and prepare it too,” I tease him. “That’s how it’s
done.”
    While Ben grabs a knife and
sits down for the task ahead, Saul sits down across from me and
watches me as I start to peel the potatoes we need for the stew.
“So, they know how to hunt for food on the other side of the Wall,
too?” he says eventually, his eyes riveted on my fingers using the
knife.
    “Of course,” I snort. “You
always pictured us just sitting around waiting for the Goddess to
rain down food from the sky?”
    Saul chuckles. “Actually,
there’s a story in our library about a people dwelling in the
wilderness who did just that. It wasn’t in the Book, but I did use
it in my speeches. As an example of how things shouldn’t