Fear

Chapter 9

It was early morning, the sun barely out, the rest of it covered by clouds. Pink and yellow broke across the sky, and I smiled. It was pretty. A sense of calm had overtaken me ever since I had woken up. Maybe it was because I had been able to sleep for more than a couple of hours. Or that I had a full meal.

I waited in the main room of Her building with the brothers, tapping my foot against the floor. Ed was talking with Carlos about one of the patterns on a piece of fabric, but their conversation stopped at the sound of the door opening. We all turned to face Her, and were greeted with a smile.

"Did you enjoy breakfast?" She asked in a sweet voice, reaching for a bag and putting supplies into it swiftly.

"You really didn't have to," I said, laughing nervously.

"It only used up a couple of potatoes, and thanks to you three, we'll have plenty in the next couple of weeks." The woman was happier now, but at the reminder of last night I always felt a tinge of guilt. She handed the bag to Carlos, and he nodded in thanks.

"So...what happened to her?" I couldn't help but wonder, and Ed shot me a look of warning. The woman sighed.

"I was willing to let her stay, but she said she wanted to leave." I looked down towards the floor, disappointed.

"Oh," Ed said, rubbing his arms.

"No worries, I gave her some water for her journey to...wherever it is she is going," the woman reassured us, gesturing us towards the door.

"Thanks, for not turning us in," I said to the woman, meeting her eyes.

"Well, thank you. I wish you luck." She held my hands in hers for a moment, a sad smile on her face. I pushed open the doors, Ed and Carlos murmuring 'thank you's' to the woman before following behind.

I rustled through the bag of all our belongings, finding something that felt like rough paper. I smiled, pulling it out. It was the last letter Mitch sent, with the map of Inayla. I opened the paper, and the brothers' walking slowed as they looked over my shoulder at the map.

"Where to next?" Carlos asked, a grin on his face. I scoured the map, looking for the closest thing to the textile town. But Ed beat me to it.

"There," he said, pointing to a triangle with trees surrounding it. It was to the north of the textile town but couldn't be too far away. I looked to the right where the map's key was, and saw that triangles meant campsites.

"So I'll have to disguise myself again," I said under my breath, sighing as I folded the paper back into my bag. I must have said it too loud though.

"It'll be fine," Ed said, Carlos rolling his eyes afterwards. I shrugged, waiting for them to get the compass out. Carlos handed it to Ed, who fastened his pace looking back at us to make sure we weren't too far behind. We were off to our next spot, with a bag full of food and water. I was hopeful.

...

The clouds had disappeared, letting the sun shine brightly over the forest. The amount of trees grew thicker as we walked towards the campsite, and so did the amount of leaves on the trees. Most had fallen down, creating subtle crunching sounds every time one of us would step. The dark brown dirt underneath was barely visible beneath all of the leaves, leaving the forest ground a collection of reds, oranges, and yellows.

Animals like foxes and squirrels occasionally scurried past us, and I had seen a couple of birds too, sitting on branches and singing to the sky. Today was pretty, the sky a pleasant light blue and the air not too cold. Winter was coming very soon, and days like this would be almost nonexistent. I would have to enjoy these days while they were still here. A pang of sadness hit me in that moment, in that silence between the three of us. Home was always sunny. Home was always pretty.