Dark Sun Rising

Chapter 3

"You alright?" Spike's voice echoed through the Greywood and reached Zari. She was standing some distance from him, staring at something on the ground.

"I said are you okay?" Spike repeated, approaching her with quick steps. His eyes followed her gaze but failed to see what her eyes had been looking at. Was it the muck that she found so fascinating or something else? Spike wondered as he stood by her shoulder, waiting for her to respond.

The truth was, Spike hadn't heard a single word from her since they started their journey. She was as silent as her steps were light. He had to constantly look back to see if she was even following. The girl who fought off the daevas on the train was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he saw a set of petrified eyes and shaky hands, fingers entwined and nervously playing with each other. Something was scaring her. But what? With that question in his mind, Spike lifted his hand and put it on Zari's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she stepped away, looking at Spike as though he had just violated her. She swiped her arm where he had touched her and walked in the direction Spike had been going.

"I was just...damn it," Spike sighed, trotting toward the girl who had made him feel like a criminal. "I was just worried for you. You seem out of it," he worried, matching her pace.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," Zari deflected, but Spike wasn't letting it go. His curious nature irked Zari. He spoke like a wise old man, but his appearance and demeanor said otherwise. To her, he was just a young boy, trying to impress her with fancy words he did not know of.

"Right then." Spike shook his head, surrendering. He was no longer going to ask questions, but it was a long way to go and the eerie silence of the woods wasn't making it any easier. The tall trees, reaching the very belly of the skies, or so it seemed, were a frightening sight made to terrify even the bravest, but the boy who walked the marshy, uneven ground wasn't bothered. At least not at the moment. The monochrome nature of the woods could play with the mind. Upon passing the tree line, everything you saw was black and white. Even your own body, upon entering, lost all coloring until you left the woods. Maybe that was what was distracting Zari. Was it her first time in here?

While Spike was busy navigating, Zari was occupied with thoughts of her own that were weighing her down. But it wasn't just her mind that felt heavy. Her body was slumping too. It looked as if the encounter with daevas had drained her energy. She would stop in her tracks, take a deep breath, and then follow Spike again, but as they continued to make headway on their path, her body ached even more. She was hungry and tired and felt a weakness in her muscles that she hadn't experienced before. And she was getting a headache.

"Can we stop?" she asked, spotting an abandoned log nearby. As she caught her breath, Spike approached her. He looked at her, sitting there exhausted, and knelt in front of her with concern.

"Whoa. You are not okay," he said, looking at the beads of sweat forming on Zari's forehead and meandering down her face. He looked up at the thick trees, covering the sky above. They acted as a canopy, obstructing any source of light or air from entering the atmosphere, which was becoming more suffocating with every passing minute. As Spike observed their surroundings, Zari grew disoriented. Her breath became slow and her eyes heavy.

Spike extended his hand and touched Zari's arm. "Stop. I am okay," Zari gritted out, her eyes weary. For some reason, being touched was making her angry right now. She was annoyed at everything and didn't know why.

"Yeah, I can see that," Spike scoffed and Zari jerked his hand away.

"I said, I'm fine!" she shrieked, pushing Spike. As he fell back, his face grew crimson and he stood up angrily. She didn't know why she was so angry with him. He was just concerned, but still, she felt irritated and overwhelmed by everything.