Your Trail of Blood in the Snow

Epilogue

One month later

It was late afternoon when Lucas looked up at the sky. It was a brownish-gray color and the clouds were moving with agility. He knew it was a sign that it would snow, although he didn't know for sure if the snowfall would be heavy or not. He turned his gaze in front of him. He was sitting on the snow, leaning on his two arms and smiling as he watched Ron and Richie's childish games. He heard them arguing about who had won the previous game of "hidden in the snow", and in the end they agreed that it was a clear tie. They asked Lucas and he nodded his head.

"The evidence is clear, children. It's a tie," he said, pretending to have a slightly huskier and louder voice to give his comment more weight.

Since Lucas had been with the children, Montimer and Larry, everything had been quiet. The nightmares that used to haunt him quite frequently were gone. He helped Montimer forage for food and at the same time he taught him about everything he had learned from Jordan which included gathering food, medicine and water. Only in emergency situations would they go to the oasis where Monti found Lucas. Regarding Larry, he could say that he was his best friend, although he was careful not to be too close to him to avoid Montimer's angry looks, which far from scaring him, he was amused. He even told him that he did not really share the same tastes, but it was useless anyway.

The wind blew, and a leaf came off the tree on the right.

"Okay, Ron and Richie, it's time to go back. There's a storm coming and I don't want you to catch a cold."

He saw them laugh. Both children put their hands to their snouts almost at the same time.

Lucas thought they were up to something, perhaps.

"Children..."

He only had a chance to cover his face with his right wing when the two little ones started throwing snowballs at him left and right.

"Ki-kids... believe me, if I get to... Ah! That went in my ear... You'll see! I'll give you a lesson in what a snow war is like!"

Lucas began to pick up fists of snow and throw them at the two children, with precision. He hit Richie first, in the torso, and he staggered a little, a moment that was used by Lucas to hit him with a snowball in the head. He fell backwards at the sight of Ronnie, who laughed at what happened to his brother.

"Agh! I'm hit! I'll... die... sis, tell my parents I love them very much..."

"Only them?"

"Well. I love you too, and tell Lucas that I love him, even if he killed me... Agh! How horrible it is to die!"

Richie motioned with his hands and then lay there in the snow, not moving... only for a while as he couldn't hold in his laughter and guffawed.

"I have to avenge my little brother!" Ron exclaimed as she threw several snowballs at Lucas who only dodged them.

"Ronnie, you're out of practice!" Lucas shouted and then laughed.

"That's what you think, brother."

A ball, well-aimed and accurate, hit Lucas in the face. He fell to the snow dramatically, raised his arm and then dropped it.

"It's true! How horrible is death!" exclaimed Lucas, emphasizing the syllables. "Ah, I've now died!"

He laid still, with his eyes closed and with the cold feeling of snow on his face.

Ron and Richie came up to him and jumped on top of him, guffawing, happily.

"All right, all right. You win this round. But next time I'll show no mercy," said Lucas.