Call Spirits in Your Past **Book Two**

Chapter 2 (Tuesday)

"Verspri...we're eating. Bat and cactus stew," Teremki peered into the small, dark cavern at Verspri's silhouette, either lying or sitting down.

Verspri grunted. His outline shifted.

"I just thought you should know."

"I'm not hungry," Verspri said.

Teremki hesitated at the growl of a stomach. "Look, Verspri, you need to eat. There's no way we'll make it out of here if we don't keep our strength up."

"Easy for you to say."

Teremki opened his mouth to ask what that even meant, but shut it again. "I'm not talking about the future here."

"Then what are you talking about? Because it sure sounds like it."

"I'm talking about you. And how you're not eating."

"Dryda isn't."

"She's partly a plant. And--"

"Kami isn't."

Silence.

"Kami's dead. She--"

"Kami's not dead!" the small cavern echoed. Further back the tunnel, conversation around the fire lulled.

"Just because she's a spirit essence ghost...thing doesn't mean she's not still dead. And Verspri," he added softly, "dead people don't need to eat. Alive people do."

The cavern went quiet again. "Duh. You think I haven't noticed?" Verspri didn't move.

Teremki folded his arms, hesitated, but silently ducked out of the cavern.

***

Razón handed Teremki a small bowl, holding the carapace husk carefully. Teremki took it, stomach growling, and stared at the dismal, brown-green contents. He took a sip, the lukewarm "stew" barely tasting of anything. Until he swallowed.

"Bleh," his tongue curled. "How is it that bitter?"

Razón shrugged. "Better than the sagebrush-looking stuff from last night though, right?"

Teremki took another slow sip, because the sagebrush had been truly awful. He knew it was actually edible because he hadn't thrown it up yet.

He winced again at the stew's taste but slurped down the rest of it. An odd, brownish lump at the bottom slid toward his mouth and he suppressed a shiver. It slopped in. He tried not to chew it much. Or think about what he was chewing.

"Here's some water," Razón lifted a jug from the floor, also made of Manuel's carapace. He poured a few swallows into Teremki's bowl, then turned and poured some for Niko.

Teremki stared at the swirling liquid. But his thirst got the better of him and he slurped it all, so little he wasn't sure if he actually stopped feeling thirsty.

He padded to the corner of the cave where everyone else had decided to stack their bowls. They had no real way to wash them, except Ryn making forcefields between the grime and the brown material and then Tago or Kessa blasting it.

Stew finished, the cave dispersed into small groups, except for Razón, who set the nearly empty water jug by the bowls, then ducked into the wall of darkness. It was his turn to take watch; at least until they'd packed up everything and started walking again.

Teremki turned down the tunnel deeper into the cave, since someone had to remind Verspri they were leaving. He passed Kessa and Tamy, busily putting out the fire, one of them shooting cold lasers at it, and the other compressing the ashes together. That was basically their toothpaste. And soap. When they had enough water. Which, that had only happened once when it rained for a few minutes.

"Verspri?" Teremki called, approaching the small hole.

"Yeah, I know, we're leaving," scraping sounds echoed in the chamber and Verspri pushed himself to his feet. "We're leaving so we can walk the rest of the night and hope there's a better shelter before the beating sun rises."

Teremki closed his eyes, trying to collect himself. "We're trying to find an actual settlement."

Verspri muttered something, and Teremki pretended he hadn't heard it. But he could pretty much piece it together from "burn" and "too."

"Verspri..."

Verspri pushed past, shuffling into the tunnel towards the exit. Teremki sighed at his retreating backside.