Cress

Chapter 28

  They decided to spend an  extra  day  in the  camp,  to  make   sure Cress 
   was  fully recovered,  but  set  out early  the   following morning, packing  up
    their  tents and mats beneath a still-dark sky. Jina told  Cress   that  they 
    should  would  cover  a  lot late afternoon, and  that by getting such an 
   early  start,  they would  cover  a  lot of ground before the scorching heat
   claimed  the  sand. They  ate  a  quick  meal  of dried meats, gathered some
    wild dates  from the  trees,  and  left  the  sanctuary  of the oasis.
          Though it required a  lot  of careful   repacking  of trade goods and
   equipment, Cress was given a camel  to  ride. She  was  grateful—the  mere 
   thought  of   walking made her  want to  break down  in  sobs—and  yet  she
    soon found that  the beast was not  the epitome   of  comfort   either. Within
     hours,  her  hands  ached  from clenching  the  reins and  her calves  were red
    and   irritated. The   cloak   that   the caravaners  loaned  her  kept  her better
     protected from  the  sun,  but  as  the   day stretched on, there was no respite
    from the heat.
    They traveled  east,  parallel  with  the  mountains. Thorne  stayed  at  her 
     side,  a steadying  hand  on  one  of  the saddlebags and  the  tip  of  his  new, 
      lighter  cane skimming the sand. Still wearing the blindfold,  he walked
    with deceptive ease. Cress offered to let him ride the camel numerous times,
      but he   always   declined.   She  sensed  that   it   was   becoming   a matter
      of  pride. He   was   proving,  perhaps  to himself, that  he  could walk without
     assistance,  that  he  could be independent, that he could keep a confident
       smile on his as he did so.
      They  spent  most  of  the  morning  in  silence, and Cress couldn't   help
        losing herself  in daydreams  that  mostly revolved around  his   fingertips
        tracing  patterns on the inside of her wrist."
    By midday, they were under  attack  by  the  relentless heat and  windblown 
       sand that pummeled  them, trying its best  to  seep   into    the    folds of 
      their  clothes. But the sun was no longer on their faces, and  gradually the
      dunes  gave  way  to  a  hard, rocky plateau.
        In the  afternoon, when  the  sun  was  at  its  worst   they came across   a  
         dried up riverbed and stopped to rest. They  found  a   shaded   spot   in  the 
         overhang  of  a squat cliff, and two of the  men  wandered  off  and  returned
       a while  later   with  alltheir water canteens full  to  the  brim. Jina  explained
       that  there  was  a  water  hole hidden in a nearby cope of rocks  that  was  fed
       from  the  same    underground spring Kufra was situated on—the trading
       city where they were headed.
          Climbing back onto the camel after the break was   torture, but Cress  
         reminded herself that anything was better than walking.
   The afternoon  brought  more  rocky lowlands,   followed bye   a   few hours 
            of dunes. They passed a snake and Cress  found that she  was the only one
            who  was afraid of   it,  despite   Kwende   confirming  that it   was poisonous.
     The  snake curled up  on   itself   and    watched  them  pass  by  the  lazy eyes,
           not  even  bothering  to   hiss or bare its  fangs like  the snakes  on the  net dramas
    always  did.   Still,   from her   vantage   point,    Cress carefully    monitored
     where Thorne   stepped    and   her   heartbeat  didn't slow  until  the   snake
           could no longer be seen behind them.
      Then, when Cress  was  sure  the  insides  of  her  thighs had  been rubbed 
         raw, Thorne reached up and fumbled around until his palm landed on
      her knee.
"Do you hear that?"
She listened, but  all  she  heard  was  the  familiar  soft clopping  of the 
  camels."What?"
        "Civilization."