Built on smoke and mirrors

Chapter 26

"How is your side doing?" Ezra asked the next morning as we continued to walk through a field. 

I lifted up my shirt to show the bandaged was lightly red. "It's alright," I replied trying to downplay my pain. I wouldn't mention how I tossed and turned on the hard ground all night, trying to find a comfortable position, or how the pain wasn't improving. 

Ezra frowned. "We probably should change those bandages." 

I nodded as I took a seat on a tree stump, welcoming the chance to sit down. We hadn't walked far, but with my side throbbing and blisters on my feet, already I felt like I needed a break. 

Ezra kneeled down beside me and pulled out white bandages from his coat pocket. He gently took the bandages off my side and bit his lip silently. 

I could see the concern in his eyes before he even said anything. 

My eyes drifted off to my wound to see it oozing a cream-colored puss. I turned my heard away, unable to look at it for long.

"It looks like it's getting infected."

I sighed as I tried to remain calm. Out here, there wasn't a chance to get any medical attention. We didn't have the luxury to stop at the nearest hospital. We just had to continue. We had no choice. "Well, let's get to Hell quickly so I can get this treated." 

Ezra nodded as he carefully placed a new bandage over the wound. He offered his hand to help me up and I took it.

"Do you know how much longer we have?" I asked.

Ezra shook his head. "I was hoping you knew the answer to that. Does anything look familiar to you?"

I hadn't seen anything that looked familiar to me. But then again, I never left the city boarders so my space or recognition would be small. "No, nothing looks familiar yet."

He sighed as he looked around, but I still managed to get a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes. He probably thought we would be in Hell by now. Honestly, I thought we would too.

"Ok, well, let's continue on. If you need to stop, let me know." 

I nodded, although I knew there wasn't much luxury in stopping now. We were on a one-way path for home, help, and civilization. 

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"The sun is strong today," Ezra said as he looked up at the burning mass in the sky. 

Hours have passed and the sun was high in the sky now. Hell was still no where to be seen and at this point I wondered if we were going in the right direction. Ezra made it sound like the walk would be only a few hours, but we were now going on a day and a half of walking and maybe he was as lost as I was. 

My side was burning, and I longed for a break, but what good would a break do? It would just slow us down even more. 

"Do you see that?" Ezra asked as he pointed to a small house in the distance. 

I rubbed my eyes, fearing that I was imagining things. Nope. It was a house. I saw the small structure, had to be no larger than a few rooms. But it was a house. First house we had seen since leaving the hovercraft. 

This could mean so many things. Maybe we were close to something. Maybe Hell was just over the horizon. I couldn't get my hopes up, but my heart did beat a little faster.

Ezra held his hand over his eyes and squinted. "There is a man, maybe he would know." He pointed to a small speck moving by a log cabin down the path. 

I shook my head. "We can't ask for help."

"Why?" 

"Because we Commonwealth people can never town hop. Asking for directions will scream that we don't belong here. He could report us."