Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre(34)

“No, no! No, it’s not over. You could have seriously hurt her with that!” Her arm shot toward the javelin. “You’re making this an unsafe space! And”—her hand opened—“I’m going to have to confiscate this.”

“No.”

The word, the tone. Absolute fact.

Yvette exhaled through her nose, eyes flicking from side to side. Was she looking for support? Judgment?

“Mostar.”

“No.”

“Just give it to me.”

“No.”

“Mostar!” One step closer, Yvette’s fingers curling around the green wood. Did Mostar wait for that, for her to get a good strong grip?

I remember this in slow motion, the hard yank, pulling Yvette forward and down into Mostar’s face.

“NO.”

And then something happened. Something that still makes me want to run and hide from the memory. Mostar’s lower jaw, jutting out as she lunged. An inch, barely, and so quick. A rapid stab forward of her face into Yvette’s.

And that face, eyes wide, jerking back suddenly.

Fear.

I keep coming back to this moment, the notion of strong and weak.

I understand beauty or money. Wit, popularity, sex.

Influence.

But I’ve never seen a physical fight, or even the threat of one. Not with girls, not even boys. Not in my world.

Primitive. Primal.

Dominance.

I have the power to cause you pain.

Yvette released the spear, retreating from the waist up. Mostar gave another lunge, shoulders back, head forward.

Yvette winced! Head turned, eyes shut, retreating a couple steps as her hands came up to shield her face.

“Go home, Yvette.”

And it was done. Mostar relaxed, shoulders sagging, weight resting on her back leg, the semblance of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Just go home, okay?”

Yvette straightened, cheeks and lips completely white. She backed up another half step, glaring at Mostar as fear gave way to anger. But she didn’t say anything this time, didn’t even look at us. She gave this little half-hearted faux chuckle, which ended in a clownish grin. She turned quickly, heading for her house, and grabbed Tony by the wrist. Tony. Face lank, eyes down, trying to swallow his bottom lip, as his wife led him away.

The next few seconds were a blur. I think I almost passed out from the tension. I remember Dan’s arm around me, shaking, nausea.

The first clear vision I had was the group starting to break up. The Boothes’ backs, Palomino being carried inside by Carmen.

Then the voice.

“Um.”

It was Reinhardt, of all people, and of all things, muttering to Dan, “I…uh…couldn’t help but…um…well, if you’re already cleaning your own solar panels, I was wondering if…”

“Huh? Oh yeah, sure,” Dan mumbled, suddenly snapping back to the moment, trying to catch up with a flurry of affirmative hand gestures. “Yeah, totally, soon as I finish and—”

“And what are you going to do for him?” Mostar, cutting him off, standing beside him, facing Reinhardt, blood dripping down the spear onto her hand. “If you need Dan to do something for you, then you need to do something for him.”

Her voice was loud, louder than it needed to be at that distance. Loud enough to make everyone turn back and take notice.

“Well, I…naturally, yes, yes.” Reinhardt tried to shrug it off like that was a given, then, I could see, got a little worried when he realized what he was agreeing to. “What would you…”

“Food.” Mostar’s head jerked in my direction. “Danny needs to replace all those calories he’ll be spending. And that’s why Katie will be going with him to catalog everything you have in your kitchen. And so, if you ever need his help again, and you know you will, he’ll know exactly what to ask for in return.” No room. No questions. All he could do at that point was refuse. Which he didn’t.

“By all means.”

And as he waddled away, Mostar turned to Dan and said, “Need. That’s what makes a village. That’s what we are now, and what holds us together is need. I won’t help you if you don’t help me. That is the social contract.”

I couldn’t really process what she was saying. Still trembling, I felt like crying. All that tension whooshing out like a balloon. I must have grabbed Dan’s arm harder than I wanted. My legs buckled. My head swam. All I wanted to do was go home and lie down.

“And you…” Mostar snapped me back to attention, eyes front, staring into her utterly befuddling smile.

“I knew you had it in you.”

I didn’t understand. I opened my mouth to ask.

“When you ran toward Palomino.” Mostar beamed. “I’m sorry I almost speared you.”

Toward!

I honestly had no idea what she was talking about, and when Dan said, “Yeah, you totally got in between her and the cat.” I looked at them both like they were crazy, then down at the ground I was standing on. It was, in fact, right in the puma’s path. How did I get there? I literally cannot remember!

“That was pretty badass, you know.” That was Dan, surprised and, what, a little aroused?

“You didn’t even think about it, did you?” Mostar asked pridefully. “All instinct, eh?”