Abandoned - part 4

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part four of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!

"What happened to you?" I whisper, watching Alex's face in horror. The face that is usually so filled with hope and determination has fallen into lines of sadness and acceptance.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean! The Alex I know would never go and hide in a cave, trying to postpone the inevitable while the rest of the kingdom perished - the Alex I know would be searching for a solution, not giving up!"
"It's not that simple, Cara," he says softly.
"Explain, then."
"Magic... the magic we have..." He hesitates, as though it is costing him a lot to say this. "Humans didn't used to have magic. Magic is in the land itself. When we forced the Greni from the land to the sea, we started to be able to use some of the magic of the land. The land doesn't appreciate being stolen, though, and remains loyal to the Greni. They now have the powers of the sea and land, while we have only a fraction of what the land offers them. We can use it to defend ourselves, but any attack on the Greni is impossible. Believe me, we've tried."
"What do you mean?"
"Our powers simply don't work against them."
"But - but there must be another way out! We can't just give up."
"For the past few weeks, all I've been doing is trying to think of a way out, but Cara, there isn't one. I don't agree that we should be punished for the crimes of our ancestors, but nature will not let this stand for much longer. The crimes of the human race are going to be washed away when the seas rise, and the Greni will have back what we took from them."
"The ancient wrongs must be righted," I say slowly.
"Yes." Alex's head is bowed in resignation, but my mind is buzzing.
"That's not the end," I say. "There is more than one way to right a wrong, and not all of them include death. What if we talked to the Greni? Maybe we could - I don't know - work something out."
Alex looks at me as though I have lost my mind. "Cara, we hunted and slaughtered their species! Do you really think they're going to want to talk to us?"
That brings me up short. He's right - they'll probably kill us on sight.
"Then we have to make them curious," I say. "Curious enough to at least talk to us."
"How are we going to do that?"
I glance up at Alex and see what I have been looking for - a spark in his eyes. His hope gives me an idea.

"Cara, this is the dumbest idea you've ever had."
"Well, if you have a better one, I'm all ears!"
Alex just shakes his head angrily, shifting the load on his shoulder. "How do you know they're even watching? Even if they are, they'll probably just drag us under the ocean as soon as we get close enough."
I ignore his pessimism, focusing on not getting splinters. It took a couple of hours to demolish just one of the abandoned houses in our town. Hopefully, we won't have to do many more before the Greni finally pay attention to us.
Alex and I walk down the beach, approaching the ocean cautiously. I don't see anything beneath the foam, but then, if there was, I'd likely only see it at the last moment. I dump the load of planks into the sea, pushing them just a little so that the waves carry them out. Alex follows suit, then takes my elbow and steers me quickly away.
We keep going like this, throwing all remains of human inhabitation into the sea to be washed away. Hardly anyone even knows about what we did to the Greni, let alone shows remorse for it, or tries to make up for it in even the smallest way. We're hoping that this intrigues them enough to talk to us, to let us explain.
The hours before darkness drag slowly. Finally, Alex and I are forced to concede defeat for the day and go gratefully to his house to sleep and rest our aching muscles.
"It'll take them a while to locate the source of all the wood," he says, rubbing his aching shoulders. He seems to have warmed to the plan over the day.
"You're right," I encourage, putting my hands on his stiff muscles and rubbing. "They'll find us sooner or later."
Alex shivers slightly, though it isn't cold. "And when they do..."
Neither of us says anything to this. When they do, we will be at their mercy.

To be continued