The Girl With The Crimson Eyes

54: A Cruel Joke

Remnya

The morning sun warmed up Remnya's cheeks, and sweat itched on her whole body. The thick, heavy fabric of her clothes had turned every step into a challenge, keeping the heat trapped in her torso like an oven. Merle strode ahead of her, whistling as he crossed through a field of sharp rocks that threatened to slice the flesh of whoever dared to stumble. He had purposely taken the steeper path, bordering a cliff with loose soil and deadly pits.

Thorns and branches had marked Remnya's exposed skin, drawing red stripes on her face. She gripped trees and vines not to fall to her doom and eyed two hawks circling a nearby corpse; animal or not, she didn't know.

After six hours of uninterrupted walking, Merle stopped next to a mountain creek.

Remnya exhaled a mouthful of fresh air and staggered toward a rotten log buried in moss. She dropped the bags she carried on her back and eased onto the ground, allowing her body to recover while she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Merle opened a flask of liquor he carried in his pocket and took a sip. "Nothing like some fresh drink before lunch." He smiled.

Catching her breath, Remnya nodded vacantly at his nonsense, feeling her head lighter and all her muscles throbbing like a heart.

"There's no time to rest." Merle scowled and pointed at their travel bags. "You need to prepare lunch."

"What?" Remnya said, feeling her entire body on the verge of passing out.

"You said you could cook, didn't you?" Merle's expression filled with annoyance.

A burning sensation grew in Remnya's chest as frustration and anger tried to erupt from her mouth, but she remained quiet. After all, he was right; she had chosen that of her own free will. Dragging herself toward the bags, Remnya looked for something edible, but all she could find were a pan, a pot, and silver tableware.

"Where's the food?" she asked, her heart racing in her chest, predicting the answer.

"That's your job." Merle glared at her menacingly. "If you can't even do that, you better run home, kid." His words cut deep into her skin.

A shiver ran down Remnya's back as her illusion shattered. She couldn't recognize the friendly man she had met at Debrin's house anymore. Remnya clenched her fists, biting her lower lip as she forced herself to remain silent. In her frustration, she imagined one of those rocks hitting his face. The kid from the past would have done something reckless, but not this Remnya. Swallowing her anger, she lowered her head, nodded, and took the first step into the forest to find food.

Accompanied by the song of birds, Remnya wandered for a while until Merle's scowl vanished in the distance. Looking left and right to ensure no one watched her, she unfastened her heavy boots and kicked them off her feet. Her toes were red and swollen, and blisters had formed around her ankles. The next thing was removing her jacket and pants. Remnya let out a exhale of relief when her body could finally feel the fresh air of nature.

Hanging her clothes on a low tree branch, she noticed how light her body had become. Remnya explored her surroundings, looking for fruits or mushrooms to cook, but all she could find were wild blackberries that caused diarrhea. The temptation to pick them up and feed them to Merle was strong, but she decided otherwise.

Not daring to go any further wearing just her underwear, she put on her pants again and broke into the denser part of the forest barefoot. Birds, snakes, and squirrels seemed like the only source of food. However, Remnya had never killed an animal nor was willing to change that, not even if Merle ordered her to do so.

Remnya walked for half an hour when she noticed smoke in the distance. Halting behind a bush, Remnya remained still with her eyes focused on the source of that smoke. Unintelligible voices reached her ears along with the smell of burning incense, irritating her nose. Despite her curiosity, getting closer would mean an unnecessary risk, so she decided to return.