Everglow: Friend From Far Away

30 - We're All Scared

'Click.'

There was a faint sound as the lighter's cap popped open and the flame ignited. Fischer stared at it for a bit, feeling slightly mesmerized by the way the flame danced in the wind. It's bright yellow glow lit up his eyes. Bending down, he held the lighter next to a pile of leaves and paper he and Ko had gathered earlier. The flame licked at the leaves, charring and burning them, causing them too to ignite and carry the flame. Soon the entire pile of logs and leaves was a burning campfire, the only light for kilometers.

The soft warm glow of the fire started to soak the surrounding area in a relaxing yellow glow. Fischer watched with a pensive stare as the fire grew larger and spat embers into the air. There was something relaxing about it. Something soothing. He looked down to his right to see Ko cuddled up in a ball and fast asleep on a towel.

A small frown grew across his face as he watched her sleep. He had never understood why so many songs had watching people sleep in the lyrics. He had always found the thought of it slightly unnerving and creepy. But now he was actually doing it, he understood why. Watching the slow convulsions of her chest as she breathed was oddly. . . comforting. Seeing her finally relaxed and calm. It was a nice change of pace to say the least. He was almost tempted to lie down next to her and wrap his arms around her. But decided that probably wasn't the best move to make.

Instead, he sat up off the ground and headed to his car, only a couple of meters away. Opening the boot, he used his torch that was always stored in the driver seat window to scan the back until he found what he was looking for. A brown blanket lay scrunched up in the corner. It was dirty, covered in diesel stains but for now it was all they had.

Taking the blanket from the back of the car, he shuffled over to Ko as she slept on the floor. He crouched down and spread the blanket out, laying it atop her freezing body. He lay his hand on her shoulder. Her scales were freezing cold and she was shivering quite seriously. He would've assumed being from a planet made of ice that she would've had some sort of resistance to the cold. Then again, she wasn't wearing a whole lot of warm clothing. Just a long sleeved shirt and pants with her purple cloak. Hardly a proper winter outfit, especially for a European country.

With his frozen friend now slightly better off than she was before, he sat back down in front of the fire. There was an eerie silence that surrounded the two of them. The distant sounds of creatures echoed through the night. The fire cracked and popped as it burnt, releasing magical embers into the air that glowed like fireflies.

Now that he had time to think, the entire weight of their situation began to dawn on him. They'd just painted an enormous target on their backs. Home no longer existed. The car was all they had left at this point. Well, apart from each other. The entire police force would now be after them. Likely the Bundesnachrichtendienst as well. If they were super unlucky, the FBI might even take a look, considering the whole 'alien' thing.

He shook his head slightly at the thought of being hunted down by all those organizations. There were moments where he wished he could take it back. That he'd just walked past the opening in the bushes near the road and kept on driving. He didn't realise how much he had until it was all taken away from him. But then again. If he never found her, Ko would be dead right now. And if they weren't careful, she might still be. He wasn't prepared to give up on her again like he did before. She deserved better than that.

He deserved better than that.

He looked over at her again. His eyes had started to water. He was determined not to cry. He'd already done enough of that. Crying was for those who were weak and unable to control their emotions, wasn't it? That's what dad always said.

He felt a lump in his throat as he gazed over at her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything you've been through," he whispered under his breath.