Temple of Truth

Chapter 13

"Bathing"

"It must have been freezing."

Only silence followed. Zhang had probably answered with motions instead of words again. It was typical for him to do this. That he did answer already expressed a care about Fatty than Zhang didn't show to many people.

Wu Xi would have be incredibly jealouse, if he hadn't known that Zhang would also have answered him. And if he wasn't so depressed right now, he would have been mad that Fatty had stolen his chance to talk to him. But talking right now probably wasn't the best idea. He could feel his troat was still tight.

Wu Xi knew that it meant that soon everything will be better again. And he will enjoy Zhangs company again more than anything else. He wouldn't feel the sorrow of not having him but the sheer joy of his presence.

It was just then that he felt a hand on his side trough the sleeping bag. It was Zhang for sure.

"Wu Xi?" He called out to him.

"What?"

"I took your dinner rations with me, you haven't eaten yet."

"I'm not hungry."

It was rather a I don't feel like eating right now. It wouldn't be the first time he skipped a meal because he didn't feel hungry.

"Please, eat something."

Fine, if Zhang asked him to, he would at least try. He probably would keep most of the food in his backpack. Wu Xi struggled one hand free and held it up. Zhang put the package into it. Wu Xi took the package, and ripped it open, of course it was the normal cracker.

He took a small bite. He really wasn't hungry. He took the next small bite, even a mouse could eat more.

It took a while until Wu Xi felt Zhang pulling his hand back. Then he left, sitting down again several feet away from him. And were his hand had been, Wu Xis side fealt colder, missing Zhangs proximity.

Totay there was no need for him to take a night shift, so he simply tried to relax into the darkness. Listening to the sounds of the fire, ignoring the small commotion in the main camp he could drift away into his dreamlands once again.

Wu Xi only woke up when the sun rose again. And started packing up again. He wasn't the first one up, Zhang had already left, leaving only his empty sleeping bag behind. Wu Xi was already used to this. Zhang has always been an early riser. How he dealt with having less sleep was the only mystery.

As he knew his friends Zhang was on a walk again, Fatty would only rise when woken up. So this time Wu Xi went to pick up their rations. Cracker again.

Before waking Fatty, he exchanges the opened cracker from dinner with his breakfast. A closed package was better to transport without making a mess.

Only after taking a few bites he woke Fatty up, giving him his cracker.

"Zhang is missing again?"

It was more of a statement than anything else.

Zhang returned only a few minutes later, takinghis ration. They were all silently eating next to each other. It was too earlyfor Fatty and Wu Xi to bicker, so they only watched the rest of the teampacking up camp and eating breakfast.