Bandit Noises

“Shhhhhh!”

Karla leapt across the road and tackled Detz. The boy didn’t have time to finish speaking before he was forced into the ditch by the roadside. Their packs, rifles and great mounds of snow spilt into the little trench.  With her hand clamped over his mouth, they lay there and listened, staring in the direction of the leafless trees. The snow had begun to fall before either of them moved again. 

Slowly, Karla turned to look at Detz and motioned first to her ear and then at him, furrowing her brow. Detz shook his head and tried to pry Karla’s hand off his face. She let him, but mouthed to him:

“Rifle.” 

He nodded, the corners of his mouth drawing back into a grimace. He gingerly picked up the bygone weapon and rolled carefully onto his front. Karla drew herself into a crouch, readying her own rifle. She chanced a look over the edge. Just a heartbeat. Then she dropped back down. 

Nothing.

The road ahead was the same it had been for weeks. A road of cracked asphalt slipping ceaselessly into the fog at either side. Strewn across it was the wreckage of the world before. Rusted or burnt-out vehicles, crumbling and twisted highway [furniture], and the ever-present, unburied, cindered and picked-over corpses. 

No indication of what made that sound. 

Klara chewed her lip. She might have imagined it. Detz read the indecision on her face but said nothing. Klara had seen many, many more winters than Detz. He had just about learned to keep his mouth shut when she was thinking. She took another look, longer this time. Detz tapped her leg as she came back down. 

“What was it?” he whispered.

“Signal. Bandit noise. There’s folk in the woods, Detz.” she murmured, still chewing her lip. When she turned back to Detz he’d gone as white as the snow. Karla felt a pang of sympathy; he was a child. He had just barely become a man before they had started the journey. He wasn’t ready.

“I think if we’re careful, we can follow the ditch back. Find some other route.” If Detz knew she was lying he didn’t show. He nodded and lay down on his side. As Karla too rocked back into a sitting position he whispered 

“I knew this was a dumb idea...”

--- 

“What did it sound like?”

The snow had not relented, and Detz had begun to shiver. Karla meanwhile hadn’t spoken since. The only way Detz knew she hadn’t frozen to death was her occasional blinks. She took so long to respond, Detz almost asked again. 

“I know you’re too young to have ever seen a real one, but they taught you about birds, right?” Karla still didn’t look at him.

“Yeah, birds. Little flying things. Used to live in trees. They’re cute.” Detz’s mood turned unexpectedly cheerful. Karla clenched her jaw and replied:

“That’s what it sounded like. A little bird. They had different calls depending on the bird. I guess that works well for bandits; it’s a readymade code”.

They were silent again for a time.

“What if it is a bird?” 

“It’s not a bird, Detz.”

“You never know. It’s-“

“It isn’t physically possible.” Karla spat the words in anger. “Not anymore”

Detz shrank back from her sudden ferocity. 

“That was a signal… The real question is: were they talking about us? To tell you the truth Detz, I’m starting to think our friends in the forest are a little shy.” She grimaced. “They have us stuck here though. We can only follow the ditch back for so far until we’re exposed.”

“But you said-” 

“You need to see a few more winters, boy.” Detz’s jaw went wide and his face creased up as Karla cut him off. “There’s only one way out of this.” Said Karla, flicking off the safety on her rifle. “We attack.”

“What?!” Detz screeched.

“Yes, Detz. If we make a push, they’ll not expect it. If we get one or two, they’ll falter and we can get out.”

“I can’t!”

“Yes you can. Now the noise came from the trees, which means-”

There it was again! - a long hoot followed by a shorter one, and then another two long ones. 

“I heard it!” Detz cried

“Shut up!” Karla snapped. The noise came again, quicker and more urgent.

“We’re spotted!” Karla growled. “Listen: We don’t have the bullets to cover each other. We need to make our shots count.” Detz didn’t have the time to object. Karla seized him by the scruff of the neck.

“You see the truck. The one we came past?” Detz was shaking, “Get there. Behind the engine block. I’m going for the bus. Don’t waste a shot! Now go!”

Karla dragged Detz onto his feet and all but threw him in the direction of the truck. She took off in the opposite direction, running low and jinking from side to side as best she could. She reached the bus, put her back to it, and looked over at Detz. He was staring back at her by the wheel arch of the truck. He offered his free arm questioningly. Karla held out her hand and reached up to peer through a window toward the treeline. Nothing was moving. 

She ducked back for safety and waved over to Detz, who was staring numbly at his rifle. He looked up with a start and Karla gestured that she saw nothing.

But there it was again. Karla and Detz looked at each other uneasily as it repeated again, and again. They were being taunted.

Detz moved first. During a lull between hoots, he suddenly pulled himself up and levelled his rifle across the hood of the truck. Karla gasped before running down the length of the bus and aiming out into the trees. 

They waited in silence, but only for a few moments. Detz made a noise; half growl, half cry and broke from his position. He ran into the trees, brandishing his rifle. Karla swore and took off after him. They thundered into the snow, and before long they were in trees. The sound had stopped. 

They were both breathing hard, constantly shifting and turning. Still, there was nothing to see but swirling snow and the slender trees that towered over them. 

“They’re gone…” Detz murmured.

“We need to get back to the road, Detz.” Said Karla, her tone grave and firm.

Detz nodded slowly and began to step back, refusing to drop his guard. 

“Wait!” Karla hissed. She pointed up and Detz hurriedly snapped back to aiming his rifle. But Karla stepped across and grabbed it. 

“No…” she whispered. “Don’t move. Don’t even breathe…”

She had seen it. High up in the boughs, a little bob of white was hopping between branches, as if a patch of snow had sprouted legs and curiosity. Detz, still unaware, shifted until Karla, turning slowly, caught his eye and glared with such ferocity that he took her order literally. 

Karla turned back to the tree at an achingly slow pace and her heart leapt as she saw it had come so much closer. 

Detz was right.

It was a bird. A beautiful dove. Two little black eyes peeped out of white feathers as it cocked its head and regarded her. It called again. Karla didn’t dare move, only listened as it hooted and cooed. It sounded so sad, but Karla could only feel joy welling up within her. She held her breath now too as the dove took wing and flitted down the branches to the lowest, at every stop looking again and investigating the pair. 

When it reached the lowest branch, it hopped along to the end and squawked at them. Before they could react it took wing and shot off, nearly colliding with Karla. She ducked, dropping her rifle into the snow and turned to watch as it soared higher, back into the boughs, where it disappeared from sight. A few moments passed and they heard it call again.

Detz came to offer Karla a hand. She surprised him by springing up and pulling him into a bear hug. As he felt his ribs crack, she released him then took his face in her hands. She held his gaze for a second before she burst out laughing. Detz stared at her, slowly smiling wider and wider until he too joined in laughing. They hugged again, weapons discarded and their wariness abandoned. The sound could surely be heard for miles, but they didn’t care.

Karla and Detz laughed until they couldn’t breathe, at which point Karla lay in the snow and stared up to the crown of the woods. There a little shape could be seen bouncing from tree to tree...