Slowly as he got closer to it, Paul could hear small raps of breaths. He knew now that it was a human. Whether good or bad, he did not know. All he knew was that they had been overheard, and the eavesdropper needed to be caught.
As he got closer still, he could finely make out the form of a young man- not yet one and twenty, it seemed.
When he got close enough to the bush, He lunged at the form, and tackled it to the ground.
A painful grunt came from the stranger’s mouth, as Paul nailed his face into the rocky, dirt ground.
After the stranger stopped struggling, Paul loosened his grip on the man, and sat him up on his knees.
“Who are you and what all did you hear?” Paul demanded.
“No one and nothing!” The boy shot back, raising his head to look at Paul.
A ray of moonlight hit the boy’s face, just enough to barely make out his features, but Christine recognized him as the boy who cried earlier.
“I asked you a question, soldier, and I expect an answer from you!” While he said this, Paul raised his fist to strike him.
“No! Wait!” Christine pleaded, running the short distance between them. “I’ve seen him before!” She said. “He’s okay. He’s one of us.”
Paul seemed unconvinced, for he still had his hand in the air. Christine grabbed his wrist, and slowly lowered it down, not realizing how much her touch had affected him. Turning to the boy, she slowly released Paul’s wrist, and gazed into his eyes. Those eyes. That face. So familiar.
“Who are you?” She asked. “Why do you look so familiar?”
The boy’s breathing became heavier now, as if he was nervous of the question.
“I-I” He started to say. “I- can’t. I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Christine asked, her temper now rising. How could someone look so familiar, and she not recognize them?
The boy lowered his head as if in shame. All he said was “I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed his chin with her hand and pulled it up so that he would look at her.
“Why won’t you tell us?” She yelled in his face.
Apparently the boy had had enough, for he blurted out in the same loud voice, “Because I’m your brother! That’s why!!”
