37 Dispatch

We reached our old camp site. 
I was about to step out and check the area but a firm, gentle hand landed on my shoulder, both holding me back and pressing me down. She held me there in that crouching position and pointed.
They had arrived.
On the far side of the open space I caught a glimpse of the three men. Well armed and by the looks of their dress, mercenaries. These were not soldiers, these were hired thugs. She seemed to instinctively know.
Leaning toward my ear she whispered, "the one to the outside here," she pointed at a man searching alone by the waters edge, "he's yours. Once dead, drag him as quietly as you can into the water and let him drift downstream, okay?"
I nodded and with that she vanished.
I cursed my boots. Their heavy soles made crunching noises as I moved as quietly as possible around the clearing, but he was so intent on what he was doing he was unaware of me approaching. I stayed low.
"I've found a boat," he yelled, " no-one here. Think it's one of ours."
"Shh, keep looking, I think the rabbit's bolted. Can't see anything.."
"Boss, over here, found something."
A large flurry of activity could be heard as two men went crashing through the undergrowth.
All of a sudden an eerie silence decended. It felt as if time had stopped. The man I was stalking noticed it too and stood bolt upright, staring in the direction of where he'd heard the voices.
"Boss?" He looked nervous, "all alright over there?" He was just about to walk in their general direction but stopped when he heard a low, rumbling howl. Momentarily I stopped too, but knew this was a perfect opportunity; I stepped out from behind him and slit his throat. As he slumped down I caught him under his arms and dragged him to the water's edge.
As quietly as I could I lowered him into the water, face down and pushed him off. 
Instinctively crouching low to the floor I turned only to see Niao walking towards me.
"He's gone?" she inquired, pushing her blades into the sand to clean them.
"Yep," I replied. " The howl? You?"
"Mm, announcing another kill. The forest will have heard." Her eyes shone revealing a softer side to her nature. " They'll eat well and I gift them their sustenance."
She turned and bowed in the direction of the dead, "Thank you for gifting your life for theirs, may your soul find peace and walk free of troubles," and with that she placed her hands together in the prayer stance, bowed her head and then returned to me.
I suddenly understood. To her, death was a natural part of living, one feeding the other. As one animal dies its body becomes that which helps others thrive, an intricate balance of loss and gain, of yin and yang. I could see how emotion had no part in this. You didn't kill to destroy, you killed to live.
I rocked back on my heels. So how could I justify war?
" Come," she said, extending her hand to help me up, " Let's find a camp spot and settle in."
Dazed, I followed as she led me back to our boat, my mind whirling with ideals I once held so firmly now shaking under the weight of uncertainty. How do these values I have lived and believed in so strongly fit in the grand scheme of things?



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