Chapter Six

**

It has been three months since our exams and graduation into the Foragers' group, yet it felt like an entire century since we started.

We have gone for so many missions, found so many plants and crops. The spring we found was the highest of our achievements so far.

Bellman made Samuel a member of our team and the three of us became the most celebrated Foragers. There was nothing we couldn't find, from medicinal plants to herbs and even beauty sprouts, we always came back with what the entire city needed.

Lots of people did not quite like his father, but Samuel grew on all of them when he sneaked in a few vegetables that were not on our assignment list for people.

The assignment list usually comprised of needs of people from all four compounds of the city of Amazon. So when Samuel went out of his way to complete the task and still brought back little things for the less privilege, the people couldn't stop singing his praises.

Amazon was a very large city which comprised of four compounds each housing about a thousand people, with a thousand need for an extra thousand food.

Each compound had to focus on one profession to bring about a sort of harmony.

Compound one was known for its food production. That's why we became so popular among all four compounds everyone wanted to be friends with us, they called us "the lucky blondes and Spencer's boy".

Workers from the other compounds went as far as sneaking through the walls separating our compounds, so as to drop their requests since it took forever for the needs of the less privilege to reach us.

We tried our best to make everyone happy and in return they loved us. The general also increased our food ration for each week, which was great.

The spring we found during one of our earliest assignments was channelled into compound two, where it was treated and distributed to other compounds for use.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly well for everybody and even I did not see what was coming our way.

************

"Eden, come on get up! You do this to me everyday! Bellman is going to be so pissed!" Elsa urges me to hurry out of the bathroom, shaking her head wildly in frustration.

"Yeah yeah, Bellman this Bellman that, I am coming," I reply lazily from the bathroom.

Ever since compound two started distributing the spring water, we could all have baths more often than before, even if it was rumoured that the spring will be drying up one day, we decided to enjoy the luxury while we could.

After few more minutes of dragging myself around the house, I come out of the room and meet Elsa fuming by the door.

She never likes being late for anything in her life, I say in my head.

"El, don't give me that face. Look I am sorry and I am here now. So give me a smile," I say giving her a puppy eye.

"Stop playing innocent with me, you know I hate being late and now you are even making it worst by standing there and acting like a child," she says, angrily slamming the door close.

She starts a brisk walk towards the farm, kicking dirts up in the air as she goes. I try to regain her attention but she ignores me and continue making her way through the clusters of stone houses that stand on the lower district area of our compound, brushing pass the little kids that always played around the storage areas in hope of getting snacks.

Poor children, they keep hanging in the corners hoping for something they will never get, I think sadly.

As we get closer to the structures where food ratios were given to people, a brilliant idea strikes me. One that I am sure is going to make Elsa and even those hungry children very happy.

As we walk, I focus my eyes on the ground right in front of her.

She suddenly stops walking and spins around towards me, a smile playing on her lips...."Eden, what do you think you are doing?"

I feign innocence and stare at her with fake confusion masking my face.

She returns her attention on the road ahead and takes cautious steps.

Reaching her goal, she bends over to pick wild berries that had suddenly emerged from the ground and throws some in her mouth, moaning in satisfaction.

Before long, the children notice the miracle and join in her feast.

More people from our district also join her little berry party, they all start to laugh and talk excitedly as they pick the berries eating some and putting some into baskets to take home.

I walk close enough and whisper to her, "Bellman is really going to kill you now."

She suspends her berry party and pulls me away from the berry bushes so we can continue our journey.

"E, Thank you," she says her mouth still full of berries.

Throwing my arms on her I say, "anything for my little-big sister."

"I guess I have to be getting this mad at you everyday so I can get such goodies," she whispers into my hair.

"Can you girls make space for me in that hug? I am sure I could really use one." Samuel's voice sounds above the giggling children now in the distance.

We separate from our embrace and stare at the boy who had become our side kick for the past few months.

I had come to realise that Samuel is actually handsome, his dark hair is always cut very low. He has a very smooth skin, the color of acorn and amazing dimples that complements his face whenever he smiles.

"Hey Sam!" Elsa says while giving him a quick side hug.

"Won't you show me love Eden?" he says interrupting my line of thought.

"Hey!" I wave my hands at him awkwardly, earning a big stare from Elsa.

"Since we are done saying our morning greetings, can I ask where those wild berries came from?" Samuel says with raised brows, making Elsa suddenly go tense.

"Oh, do you believe in miracles?" I put in playfully seeing as Elsa, who is always good at stuffs like this couldn't come up with an answer.

"You are saying this is a miracle?" he asks not seeming convinced enough, he calls to one of the girls to throw him one berry and he pops it into his mouth, "Hmmmm! And this miracle is delicious," he says with closed eyes.

"Yes, it is. Now come on guys we are already late, Bellman would be fuming already," Elsa says looking for a way out of the situation.

"Bellman can wait, besides if we carry the news of the berries growing miraculously inside the compound and we say we found it, I am sure we would get the day off," he says, throwing his smile at Elsa and starts walking off towards the Training ground.

Color seem to drain from Elsa's face as she stare at Samuel, I nudge her out of the trance and ask her what got her frozen.

"I don't know E! But Sam has been asking so many questions lately, we shouldn't have done this, I am sure he just confirmed that there is something off going on with what we do," she speaks quietly while we go after Samuel jogging lightly so we could catch up.

We jog into the Grounds looking for Samuel who seem to have disappeared.

Someone violently pushes into me causing me to lost my balance and fall roughly to the ground.

"What is wrong with you! Don't you watch where you are going?!" Elsa yells at the person while shoving them aside to get to me, she gives me her hands and I take it gratefully.

I mutter a small thank you and glare at the girl who pushed me and I discover that she is the same girl that was rude to us at the gate the day we found water.

Ruth.

"Won't you apologise to her?" Elsa demands giving her a look that I knew meant she was about to get into a fight.

"Why should I apologise to her?" she responds, staring at us disapprovingly from head to toe, "Oh I forgot! You two are the high and mighty foragers that left the rest of us jobless, I should lay down and worship her highnesses," she says, bowing her head dramatically and shoves me to the side as soon as she finishes her speech.

Elsa gets irritated and gives the girl a hot punch on the face, the girl recovers and tries to retaliate but Elsa is faster. She is on her in seconds raining blows upon blows on the now screaming girl. She tries to scratch at Elsa but all her efforts seems in vain and I realise, if I keep watching, Elsa is really going to hurt her.

Badly.

"El!" I try to call to her.

"Elsa!" I try again but she is too busy hitting Ruth to even hear me.

I look around desperately searching for help but it's then I realise Ruth was right. The rest of the foragers had to volunteer for other jobs since it was obvious my team did the entire job better than a hundred of them.

We were alone.

Where is Samuel when he is needed? I wonder to myself.

"PETRAN!!" Bellman's voice slices the air and stops Elsa with one of her hands midair and the other holding Ruth by the neck, "in my office right now! Both of you!" he says pointing at the two girls on the ground.

Elsa slaps the girl across the face before getting up to dust her jeans and heads towards Bellman.

The now wild looking girl also gets up slowly hissing in pain from the blows Elsa had inflicted on her and follows in the direction Elsa took.

Not knowing what to do, I start walking in the same direction with my head low, not wanting to draw attention to myself.

It was because of me the fight started after all, I am sure everyone saw that, I start saying to myself.

"Darhk!" I flinch as I hear Mr Bellman say my name,"Stay back!"

As soon as his office door closes, I start pacing impatiently waiting for Elsa.

I keep doing that for a while until Samuel comes out of nowhere and starts asking about what happened.

After listening to me, he begs me to take a seat explaining how long it might take considering how fighting was totally frowned upon in our city.

The General is very strict about his rules and the "not fighting" rule, was one of them. I just hope Bellman would consider our good work so far and forgive Elsa, it's not like she has been into many fights this year at least.

Oh damn it! Who was I deceiving?

Elsa always got into fights and most of them were only to protect me.

Most of them.

"You know, if you are going to torture your head over thinking the situation, you could always talk to me."

I stare at the boy who interrupted my thoughts, taking a few seconds for my already packed up brain to realise it was Samuel.

As I keep staring at him dumbly with no acknowledgement, he lets out a breathe he was holding and pats my shoulder, "we both know the worse Bellman can do to her is ask her to clean the entire training ground for a week at most."

"I know Samuel, it's just that, everything happened so fast and the way things keep happening around here, I am just worried."

"She would be fine."

As soon as he says the last word, Bellman's door opens and Ruth comes out with hot tears running down her face from her now red eyes, she walks pass us giving me a look that simply spelt 'I hate you'.

Few seconds later, Elsa comes out looking defeated, I immediately jump to my feet and walk to her.

"El what happened?"

She only stares at me pitifully and continues walking, ignoring me completely until she gets to the seats, she sinks unto one and closes her eyes.

"El please you are scaring me, what happened? What did Bellman say?"

I continue asking her now totally freaked out sitting beside her and holding her hands while Samuel just stands and observes the both of us with worry in his dark eyes.

Before long Bellman leaves the training ground not even throwing an eye in our direction.

"Elsa, what happened in there?" Samuel tries again for me, concern evident in his voice.

She releases a long breathe and looks at me in the eye.

"I really messed up this time E," she says.

"Elsa what happened in there?"

"Ruth has been banished," she says softly.

The words take a while to sink into my brain. Samuel is quick to understand though.

"Banish?! Why would they do that?! Bellman doesn't have the right to that!" He screams.

"Apparently he does," she responds tiredly.

"Isn't Samuel's dad responsible for that?" I ask utterly confused, how can they banish someone, even if it wasn't a very good someone, for fighting? I know the rules about fighting but the punishment never goes beyond extra work or reduced food rations? Besides why Bellman? Mr Spencer is the compound leader, he is in charge of such things, not Bellman.

"He said something about new rules based on food shortage, anyone found with bad behaviours was out," she lets out.

I suddenly grab her two hands, color leaving my face.

"What about you? Did he banish you too? He can't do that can he?!" I say almost shaking her in my fear, I know just how much Elsa dreaded being banished.

"He said they would have to hold a meeting to decide my faith based on my contribution to the city," she tells us.

Relieve washes over Samuel as Elsa gives the answer, he holds her shoulder and lifts up her chin so she looks directly at him, "you will be fine, they can't banish you Elsa, I won't let them, I promise."