Wings

4: What Doesn't Kill You Mutates And Tries Again

NPOV

Track: What Doesn't Kill You Mutates And Tries Again, iamnotshane

Will eats a lot more than I thought he would. For dinner, he eats the berries that are left, but I get the feeling he's still hungry, so I groan and tell him we can go back into town for more food after it's dark. He's impatient enough that he spends nearly an hour complaining that the sun won't go down quickly enough.

Finally, he becomes annoying enough that we leave at sunset. I figure it'll be dark by the time we get to the village anyway. This will just make it a bit easier to steal food for ourselves; it felt strange stealing in broad daylight. Not that I've never done that before, but I avoid it when I can.

I think Will is getting more and more accustomed to flying. This time, instead of clinging fearfully to me, he tentatively attempts to spread his arms a little—he closes his eyes briefly to feel the wind rustling his hair. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that he trusts me not to drop him. On one hand, the chances of him attempting to kill me are lower if he likes me as a person, but on the other, he should probably be more careful to make sure I don't drop him. Just, like, from a pure safety standpoint. It's not easy carrying another person.

I land on the same roof as earlier today. I like this one because the chimney is a little wider than the others. It's easier to hide behind. There's also a ladder heading down to the ground, so if there was an emergency and Will needed to escape, he wouldn't be stranded on the roof.

"Alright. Now we just need to figure out what we want," I whisper. The town's marketplace is already quiet—people generally don't stay out once it gets dark. It's not worth it for the businesses anyway because not many consumers are out and about, ready to buy their wares, if the sun has already gone down.

"You choose this time," Will suggests. "I picked lunch. It's your turn."

I raise an eyebrow at him. My choice was the berries. He ate them.

"Fine," I say. "I'll pick. You stay here and stay out of sight, okay? I'll be back soon."

I turn away from him, peeking around the chimney to survey the marketplace again. There's some activity around the church on the far south side of the town commons—it kind of looks like they're hosting a funeral., though I can't see well I feel a pang of sympathy for the mourning townspeople.

I tear my eyes away from the dark clothing that makes up the crowd around the church. If it's a funeral, they probably won't be paying much attention to the marketplace. I'll still be careful, obviously, but it should lessen the risk.

I squint at the crowd, waiting until I know that no one is looking this way. A priest stands at a wooden podium and begins to speak—and the moment the first words leave his mouth, capturing the audience's attention, I dive off the roof.

And it's not until I'm already on the ground that I faintly make out the words: "Ladies and gentlemen... It is with great sorrow that we gather here today to mourn the death of William Solace."

I freeze in the middle of the street. They're mourning the guy who is currently hiding on the roof. I glance back at Will, and he's watching the funeral, too. He must have heard them say his name as well—he knows he's witnessing his own funeral.

And then I realize I really shouldn't stop moving when I'm in the middle of the street. I sprint behind a stand that usually sells rice cakes. I kneel behind the table and find a crate that's sealed closed—probably the goods they didn't sell today. Someone will probably secure it somewhere else after they get back from the funeral, but for now, it's open for the taking.