Future: the period of time following this moment.
“You see them?”
“I see them.”
“They are your prey.”
The boy looked at the man. “Prey?”
“Your target. Your food. Your enemy.”
“Oh, right.”
The man looked at the boy. “Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“I…” casting his eyes to the ground. “No, sorry, father.”
“That’s okay,” resting his hand on his shoulder. “One time, many years ago, we were equal, them and us. But now we are not.”
The boy looked thoughtful for a minute, then turned to him. “Food?”
The man laughed. “Not literally, of course.”
The boy looked relieved.
“That’s okay,” the man drawing him close. “All you need to know is that we’re different. They hate us and we, unfortunately, have to hate them back. Else we die.”
“Why?”
The man laughed again, shaking his head. “That, is a very good question. But I do not have the answer, I’m afraid. And I think that if either of us,” motioning at the distant lights, “knew what the answer was, we wouldn’t have to fight.”
“Or eat each other?”
The man chuckled. “Seriously, you know I was joking about that, right?”
© JR Bryden, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from JR Bryden is strictly prohibited.
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