1 – The Hunt

Disclaimer
Thank you for reading The Bright Spot. While this version is more refined than an early draft, it’s still a work in progress and does not reflect the final form of the novel. I expect to complete at least two more rounds of revisions before publication. You may encounter formatting quirks such as double spaces, missing punctuation, or repeated words—these are often artifacts from my editing software. If you notice any inconsistencies, or if something takes you out of the story, I’d truly appreciate hearing from you. Feel free to email me at shawn@redmattercreations.com. Your feedback is invaluable as I work to make this story the best it can be.

It’s the planet that intrigues me. Not the star.
From the Journal of Azura Seren. -Turseno section, 28th rotation

Morality doesn’t exist on Nivalis anymore. One must do what they can to survive, lest they are killed. A wolf must hunt. A bear must protect its child. A deer must run. Since the Freezing of the World, society had to slow down and people had to revert back to their animalistic instincts.

My sweaty palms nearly drop my crossbow. I readjust my grip and watch for leaves and sticks that may lay underneath my feet as I walk through the dense forest. The cool, moist air fills my nostrils and the wind roars through the trees.

I know he’s here. He’s been trying to avoid me since I arrived in his domain. Fear drove him to act. He may be fast on his feet, but I am smarter.

My back rests against a nearby tree for a quick break. I fumble for a moment with a pocket button on my right chest. The metal flask glistens in the sun and I take a drink. The cold river water flows down my throat and some of it drips down the sides of my mouth. The spout pops when I pull it from my lips.

I’m not ready when I see him. Large beady eyes, two endless black voids, connect with mine. He’s not feral, but wild. Bones protrude from his skull like devil horns. He twitches his nose but doesn’t take his eyes off of me. I slowly place my flask back into my coat pocket, not bothering to button it. Lifting my crossbow, I target the creature’s brain with my sights. Oberon will be ecstatic upon seeing the size of this beast. It could feed our group for days.

Oberon, my hunting partner, started north of the camp, and I started east. I know I’m in his territory. He won’t be too happy with me taking his kill, but he’ll get over it. I never hunt without him nearby. I make up for the skills he lacks in tracking, but he bests me with the crossbow.

I hold my breath, doing everything I can to remain still, sights trained in between the creature’s eyes. The hair-trigger snaps the strings forward, launching the arrow blazingly fast through the air. It whistles faintly before finding a home in the dirt.

The animal leaps away in the opposite direction, becoming invisible in the mess of trees.
“Only you could miss a buck the size of th’moon,”Oberon’s voice says behind me. The suddenness of it startles me and I reflexively pull my knife from my belt.

“Woah, buddy. I’m not a raider.” He holds up his hands. “Do you even know how to use ‘at knife, anyway?”
“Damn it, Oberon.” Adrenaline floods my body and my breathing is heavy. My heart pounds and my hands shake rapidly. I wont be accurate until I calm down.“I think my sights are off,” I say, examining my weapon.

He gives me a stupid grin accented by his cleanly cut beard. trands of white poke through his facial hair, despite not being much older than myself. He prefers to keep his head cleanly shaven, but it’s covered up by a hood attached to his coat.

I take a final large sigh before saying, “Come on, let’s get back on track. Keep quiet.”
We both scout through the forest together, following the tracks the buck left behind. Oberon would be just as quiet as me if he could keep his mouth shut. “Caelius, what are you doing on my turf?” He is smart enough to whisper, but not smart enough to answer his own questions.

“Take a wild guess,” I whisper in reply. I keep my voice lower than his.

“What?”

The distraction causes me to miss a twig. It snaps underneath my weight. Birds in the trees above us rush away. “Nice going,” he says. I reply with a rude gesture.

We walk silently for a couple of minutes, being sure to avoid misplaced paraphernalia. Oberon places a hand on my chest, stopping me in my tracks. There he is.

Our buck stands alone, majestic. His antlers are an intricate design stretching toward the moon above. We crouch down, keeping our height as low as it can get. “Lets see if your sights are truly off.” Oberon whispers, taking my crossbow from me. His own weapon hangs from his belt, resting partially on the ground.

Oberon aims for an uncomfortable amount of time before his arrow buries itself right into our target’s eye. The buck screams as he falls to the ground.

“That’s how you do it.” He hands me my crossbow. “Sights are good,” he says, forcing himself up. We stumble over to the dying creature. It’s still alive, breathing shakily. Oberon must have missed its brain. Without hesitation, I unsheathe my knife from my side, hoping to spare this creature from suffering much more by taking its life quickly.

“In the name of the Light, I thank you for your sacrifice. For your body and your blood.” The knife glides across its neck. Blood gushes from the wound staining the forest turf black underneath. After a moment, the body goes limp.

“I’m still weirded out that you do that,” Oberon says, pulling the bolt from the dead creature’s eye.

“Thanking them?” I stand up and wipe the blood off of my blade with a cloth.

“Yeah.”

“The Light placed this animal here so we can eat for another couple of days. The least we can do is say our thanks.”

Oberon doesn’t reply. I know he thinks it’s dumb, but to me, it’s about respect. He lifts the body and places it on his shoulder. We had to be about an hour away from camp. An hour was nothing to us, even with a 150-pound carcass slung over our shoulders. We have been walking our whole life and will continue to walk until our dying breaths.

When it’s my turn to carry the buck’s body, Oberon beams with excitement. “Brena’s gonna be so excited when she sees what I found for her.” Oberon reaches into his pocket and pulls out a shiny rock. The light reflects a myriad of different colors. It’s mesmerizing. Oberon’s daughter, Brena, collects stones to give to her parents. I remember when I would collect rocks for my parents. I wonder if they still had them wherever they might be.

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” I say, smiling.

---

When we make it back to the camp, the cooks have already set up a fire for dinner. The moon is low and people will be getting ready for bed soon. The sun always stayed in the same place, as long as they remain at the front of the Bright Spot. If they fell behind, the sun would slowly rise and then fall, cresting the horizon a passing later, leaving everything in the dark to freeze over.

I place the carcass on Mattias’s prop-up table. The butcher is a scrawny man with a small nose and rat-like facial features. He often needs other people to help him lift the carcasses so he can skin and separate the meat from the bones.

“You are late.” He snorts. “We thought we weren’t going to eat tonight because of you guys.” His high-pitched, nasally voice makes it hard to listen to him for a long period of time without wanting to staple his mouth shut. Oberon had been close to doing that once, but Mattias only uses his mouth to breathe. Unfortunately, he is the only one who knows how to dress a deer.

I ignore his passing remark, but Oberon cannot seem to ever do the same. “At least we are out there sweating our asses off while you wait here and do absolutely nothing for two days.” His outburst seems unnecessary but tension has always been high between them.
“For all I know, you two could be out there, caught up in love vines while we starve, waiting for your return. Don’t you even consider how you’re hurting your wife and daughter?” Oberon’s cheeks are red.

“I’ll snap you in half, little man.” He steps forward but I put my arm in front him, hopefully preventing him from fulfilling his promise.

Mattias gives us a sly look before pulling out his cleaving knives to dig into the carcass. I lead Oberon away and we walk toward the gathering point, the campfire, together. “I want to kick his teeth in,” Oberon grumbles.

“I know. Me too.”

“Dad!” a child’s voice says from behind. It’s Brena.

Oberon’s shoulders visibly relax and his normal color returns to his face.“Hey, pumpkin! What are you up to?” She holds her arms behind her back and smiles. “What do you got there?”

Excitedly, she reveals a red tulip and puts it into her father’s hand. “Wow!” Oberon exclaims. He sniffs it. “Mmm, very pretty. I’ll trade you.” Oberon lifts a pocket from his shirt and pulls out the same rock he showed me earlier. The sheen is mesmerizing in the light. Brena sticks her hand out and he gently places it in her palm. “Don’t lose it!”

“I won’t,” Brena says before running off to show her mother the rock.

Oberon taps me slightly on the shoulder. “Would you look at that?” He twists the stem in his fingers and the petals twirl in the air. “When was the last time you’ve seen one of these?” He hands me the flower. I can barely feel the softness of the petals with my calloused fingers. I lift it up to my nose and inhale deeply. The fruity aroma floods my lungs. I’m reminded of a time, many passings ago, when we traveled through an entire field of these flowers. That had to have been the last time I saw one.

The moment is interrupted by a hand landing on my shoulder. To my right is Hadrian, the leader of the Brightest. His other arm rests on Oberon’s shoulder. He stands in between us. The rapier attached to his hip brushes against my side.

“Good to see you two are back safe,” Hadrian says. “That’s a pretty big buck you brought back, huh?”

“Not the biggest, but it should keep us fed for a couple of days” I say, trying to engage in his small talk. I expect him to continue talking about the deer or our hunt, but he changes the subject.

“I’m not sure if you two are aware, but I’ve been wanting to surprise the Brightest. Tomorrow we will be traveling near the city of Solace. More specifically, its neighboring suburb, Hollyard. You may have been too young to remember, but that’s where I met you and your parents, Caelius.”

He was right. I didn’t realize we were so close. Had it been twenty passings since then? Time tends to fly when you’re walking around the planet. If they are that close to Solace, that means they are dangerously close to the Octoro Bridge.

When I don’t respond, Hadrian continues, “If you guys could scout ahead and make sure that Hollyard is safe for us to stay, that would be great!”

“You can count on us, Father,” Oberon says. Hadrian gives us a pat on the back before walking away. His white and gold-trimmed robe followed behind him. How did he keep it so clean? Oberon turns to me excitedly and says, “Dude, I can’t believe Hadrian finally wants t’stay somewhere. We can just relax for a while.”

It is uncharacteristic for Hadrian to want to halt their travels. He’s always trying to ensure we are constantly on the move, lest we fall behind. What made him change his mind? “Don’t you think that’s a little odd?”

“Who cares? He’s an old fart, he probably needs some rest too. Who knows how long he has left b’fore someone needs to take over for his position?” Oberon says. “Just take this moment and enjoy it. We’ll be the first ones t’check it out!”

The idea made me feel slightly uneasy. What about potential raiders? They tend to follow closely behind. We will be sure to deal with them as they pass through Hollyard, too.
Dinner is brought to us by Oberon’s daughter, Brena. “Thank you Brena,” I say, giving her a big smile. We find a spot to eat near our gathering area and Dolora, Oberon’s wife joins us in eating venison stew.

---

I am the first to wake up. I take my eye mask off and the sun’s brightness blinds me as I try to adjust to the light. It would be impossible to sleep without an eye mask or blindfold with the sun stuck in the sky. Some wagons offer a cloth shade from the sun, but those are reserved for Hadrian, children and their mothers, and pregnant women. Many women would try to get pregnant so they could stay in a wagon instead of walking. It is encouraged by Hadrian in an attempt to increase population on Nivalis.

Dolora and Brena slept in one, but Oberon wasn’t permitted to join them. I wonder if that put a strain on their relationship. Bodies of men, their spouses, and some teenage children sleep on the soft soil, all wearing eye masks or blindfolds.

I step carefully over the bodies, being careful to not wake anyone up. I find Oberon near the edge of the group. Drool leaks from the corner of his mouth and it pools up near his ear. I kick him slightly in the ribs. He groans, barely reacting to my kick.

I crouch down and lift his eye mask. He squints from the light. “Wakey, wakey,” I tease, letting go of the mask. It snaps back against his face.

“Ow,” he groans, feeling at his mask.

“Come on sleepy head, get up,” I whisper, grabbing his arms, pulling him up. He struggles to stand upright, mumbling something incomprehensible. “Don’t forget your crossbow.” I grab it from the ground and place it against his chest. He holds on to it with one arm.

We walk ahead for a couple of hours, following the same road that many take while they travel around the world. The main road cuts right through Solace, but this one takes a detour around the city and through a small suburb known as Hollyard.

The grandness of the buildings of Solace in the distance shakes me to my core. It seemed impossible that someone could make something so tall. The metal skyscrapers were accented with a green color from the vines, creeping and clustering vertically. Chunks and corners of some buildings are broken off. I try to imagine what it looked like without the vines and deterioration.

“That sure is something, isn’t it?” Oberon says in awe, staring at the city as well. It was akin to seeing the mountains for the first time, yet it invoked a different feeling. Men like Caelius and Oberon built that. It seems impossible.

I gawk before I’m interrupted by Oberon.
“Caelius, look!” he says, pointing at a figure about half a mile away. They’re trekking into Hollyard. The grandness of the city made me completely miss the little town. In the center of the town is a massive willow tree. Twice as tall as the tallest house. It was tiny in comparison to the city.

The figure disappears in the mess of houses. “What are they doing?” I ask. “Is it a raider?”

“I ‘unno.” Oberon shrugs, “Should we find out?”

I sigh. “We should tell Hadrian that Hollyard already has people living in it.” Because we prefer to walk at the front of the Bright Spot, it’s unlikely that raiders or other caravans would be ahead of us, but it’s not unheard of.

“Ah come on!” Oberon presses. “Maybe it’s a girl and you can get yourself a girlfriend, finally.”

I roll my eyes. “And if we get ambushed?” I ask, ignoring his comment. He had merit though. I’d mentioned multiple times about wanting to find a potential mate. At my ripe age of twenty-six passings, I’d have been expected to have a wife and at least 3 children by now.

“Do you see anyone else? Where would they even be hiding?”

“Unless they know we are heading there.”

“You’re so lame, y’know,” Oberon says, taking the initiative and walking toward the town. I keep my crossbow ready as I follow him.