Glitch

Roots

Chapter 2: Roots

I didn't look at him when I spoke, and I couldn't see him standing next to me, but I heard him when he left. The light crunch of leaves under his feet that faded as he got further away from me. But after a few minutes, the sound came back and I lifted my head to give him a warning look, only to find that he had come back with an armful of twigs and branches. He stopped several feet away from my and sat down. I had to move my arm a little to see what he was doing, which made some noise, but to my surprise, he didn't so much as glance my way.

Bail proceeded to clear away the leaves from one small area into a pile off to the side. Then he dug a small hole and layered the twigs in the whole like a tipi; with a few leaves and some dry grass in the center. I watched him as he searched for and picked up two rocks and struck them together near his tipi a few times. Pretty soon, he got the rocks to produce a spark, and the tinder caught fire quickly. He spent the next few minutes nurturing his new flame; adding more twigs and leaves, until he was able to put on a few of the bigger branches and sit back.

He spent a while just staring at the fire, I caught him glance over at me once, but almost immediately he was looking back at the fire. I waited a long time before I finally decided to give him a break, not that he deserved it, and I got up and inched closer to the warm flames. I sat down across from him, so that he would have to look over or through the fire to see me, but it also meant that I didn't have to look at him straight on. I was upset and trying to sort out my emotions, but at least he was trying to help.

I had to admit, he was decent, at least, at making fires.

I laid down and let the warmth envelope me, but I didn't fall asleep, I couldn't. I didn't know the boy who sat across from me, and I wasn't about to let myself look like I was comfortable around him. But the fire was so enticing and soon my eyelids became heavy, forcing me to close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

I dreamed of my time in the simulations: in fast forward, I fought creatures from levels one to ten. All the final blows to all the creatures that I've watched fade away. Then the dream slowed down, and I watched as the world faded around me, leaving nothing but vast whiteness. I turned frantically, searching for something, anything. I started running, looking for at least a trace of something. I wanted there to be someone there, someone who I knew would help keep me safe.

I turned again and I saw a body, standing with their back towards me. I didn't care who it was, I just wanted to be near them, comforted by their company.

I ran in the person's direction, and when I was nearly to them, they turned their head, then body towards me. Almost immediately, I knew who it was, and I tried to stop, but my legs betrayed me; forcing my feet to hit the ground in front of me, pulling me forwards and into the arms of the one person that I didn't want to see.

I woke up in a cold sweat, gasping to catch my breath. I looked around to see that Bail was sitting next to the dying fire, poking the remaining embers with a stick.

When he finally saw that I was awake, he pushed a wood around the fire pit, towards me. The wood was serving as a makeshift plate considering what was on it. On the plate were a few berries, and what looked like a part of a root that had been roasted. I ate the berries first, chewing them slowly so that the juice rested on my tongue. When they were all gone, I looked warily at the root. I brought it up to my nose and took a long breath. The root itself didn't really smell like anything in particular, but I could still smell the smoke on it.

I broke off a piece of it and threw it over the still glowing embers at Bail. He picked it up and gave me a very confused look.

"If I'm going to eat this thing, then you have to prove that it's edible." I said before he could say anything.