Scolopendra chapter 5

Caden somehow made it out of the nest with no hitches; he found his way out quickly and met no scolopendra. On the battlefield, the bodies of scolopendra lay stretched out, so large that they blocked his path. He picked his way around the bodies, it seemed that no scolopendra had been spared. He found the other cadets gathered in a group, watching the commander dispatch the last scolopendra left alive.

He silently joined the group, seeking out Finn. Like a magnet, he found his way to his friend, bumping him with his shoulder. Finn looked at him, hair disheveled and dirty, his face streaked with blood, both human and scolopendra. Finn gave Caden a tired smile and turned to watch Commander Schaefer once more.

The commander took his time, taunting the creature and talking to his troops about combat with a scolopendra. Once Schaefer had finished his demonstration, they began the ride back to the base.

When they arrived at the base, Finn went to clean himself up at once. “I’m filthy,” he complained.

Caden changed his clothes while Finn washed up. There was something satisfying about peeling off his sweat soaked clothes and replacing them with fresh clean ones. But even as he relished the feeling of clean clothes against his skin, he agonized over how to talk to the commander.

Telling him what Caden saw would be admitting that he ran away. To tell him was to admit that he was too afraid to fight. But he had to talk to him. This was too big to keep a secret. He left before Finn came back. He had no time to waste.

He didn’t hesitate when he found himself in front of the commander’s office door, he just knocked. “Come in,” the commander’s tired voice called.

He opened the door with a stiff hand, walking in slowly. Commander Schaefer sat slumped over his desk. When he looked up, the first things Caden noticed were the dark smudges under his eyes, the wrinkles just starting to form on a man far too young for them, the smattering of gray strands that stood out against the stark black of his hair.

Caden didn’t speak for a moment, pausing to clear his throat. “I,” he took a deep breath before continuing, “I have something I need to tell you.”

The commander made no effort to straighten his posture, but his eyes cleared and focused on Caden steadily. He gave a small nod, “Go on.”

Caden told him, “I went into the nest,” the commander didn’t speak, though Caden had paused, fully prepared to defend himself against the tirade that he had predicted. “I found something. Something odd.”

The commander sat up a bit straighter, “What, exactly, did you find?” His face was quizzical, curious, confused.

“I heard people talking,” Cadden began, he shifted his weight. “I kept myself hidden, but before they left I took a look at them. They were wearing uniforms with the king’s seal.”

Commander Schaefer leaned forward, “Are you certain it was the king’s seal?”

Caden nodded, “I’m positive. It sounded like they were bringing things in. After they left-”

“They left and didn’t see you?”

Caden nodded again, “Yes, there was an entrance to the room through the ceiling. They left using a ladder.” The commander gestured for him to go on. “I entered the room when they left. There were probably two dozen crates in the room. I assumed that they were what the men had brought, so I looked inside. It was a whole bunch of meat. The whole room was filled with meat. I think it was where the scolopendra bring their kills.”

Schaefer looked at his desk and then back up at Caden. “You have told me everything?” he asked. Caden nodded wordlessly. “Then you may leave.”

Caden stiffly walked to the door, barely able to open it because his hand was shaking so badly. Once the door was safely shut behind him, he sagged in relief. He closed his eyes and wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers. He had done it.

After his quiet moment of triumph, Caden all but ran to his dormitory. Finn lay on his bed, nose in a book. When he heard Caden enter the room he sat up and put the book on his lap. “I was wondering where you went. Where were you?”

“Nowhere important,” Caden lied, brushing him off. Finn nodded, but Caden could tell Finn didn’t believe him. Despite his disbelief, Finn didn’t press matters.

“I was hoping we could go to the library together,” Finn said.

“Don’t you already have a book?” Caden asked, pointing at the book in Finn’s lap.

“Yeah, but I wanted to read in the library. I like the atmosphere.”

Caden fought the urge to laugh, of course Finn would want to go to the library. He loved to read, but there hadn’t been many opportunities for most of his life. Most families didn’t have very many books, and refugee camps were not conducive to reading. “Let’s go,” Caden said, starting to leave the room.

"Wait for me!" Finn cried, leaping up after Caden. He snickered, shutting the door in Finn's face. He wasn't three feet farther when the door burst open, Finn all red in the face.

"What was that for?" Finn laughed, hitting Caden on the arm.

Caden laughed, "I just felt like it."

Finn grumbled, trailing after Caden. They entered the library and immediately Finn headed straight for one of the big arm chairs, his book in hand. Caden held back a smile as he watched Finn settle in the plush chair, a satisfied smile reaching even his eyes as he sunk into the cushions.

Caden browsed the shelves. Predictably, he found a lot of literature on scolopendra, but he also found a healthy amount of fiction. A lot of the fictional books were handwritten. Curious, he had asked the librarian why they weren’t printed. She told him that the books that were handwritten had been penned by members of the Scouting Corps.

Caden was surprised. Why would a soldier write fiction? Being a soldier was about the facts. Scolopendra kill people, so soldiers kill them. To kill more scolopendra, soldiers must know more about them and so on. Fiction had no place in the life of a soldier.

As curious as he was about what a scout could possibly write about, he couldn’t ignore his disdain for the idea. Caden shook his head and replaced the book he had been holding on the shelf. It didn’t take him long to find a chronicle of the history of Aurren. With the book in hand, he chose a chair near Finn.

It didn’t take him long at all to become absorbed into the book. When Finn brought him out of the book, it looked like he had read the rest of the day away. The crisp, natural light from the windows was gone; the room’s light now came from oil lamps, warm and flickering.

“It’s time to eat,” Finn said, urging Caden to rise. Caden nodded dumbly and stumbled after him, his legs having fallen asleep after sitting for so long.

The mess hall was already filled with people eating, talking, and laughing. After getting his food, Caden sat down at an empty table, Finn quickly joined him. The new cadets had dispersed to various tables after a few days, having become used to the way things were done.

Caden sighed, breathing in the steam floating from his food. They didn’t speak for a while, letting the noise of the room fill their silence. Then Finn spoke, “You know, Caden…”

Caden looked up from his plate, meeting Finn’s eyes. “What?” Caden asked.

Finn fiddled with his fork, turning it over in his grasp, “Um- I,” he took a deep breath and let the words tumble out of his mouth, “Usually some people stay behind after dinner to talk. I want to stay today.”

Caden leaned back in his chair. “You can. I don’t want to.”

Finn’s eyes lost their excited glint and his posture sagged, “But I wanted you to stay too.”

“I don’t want to.”

Finn squeezed his eyes shut tight before he opened them again, “Please,” he whispered. “Just this once. Just for-”

Caden sighed, he could could never hold his ground against Finn. “Okay, I will.”

“-tonight,” Finn stopped in his tracks and blinked owlishly. “You will?”

“I will,” Caden repeated. “But only for tonight.”

Finn smiled so wide that it looked to Caden like his face could split. “Thank you.”

“It’s-” Caden cut himself off. It didn’t matter. Telling Finn didn’t matter. Finn always knew what he was thinking, to tell him would be saying something he already knew.

“What?”’ Finn asked, his smile waning.

“Nothing,” Caden lied. “I was just thinking out loud.”