The Stockings and The Eyes

Chapter Twelve

  I had the smell of vanilla and brown sugar going around in my head. I had forgotten Azure had me lay with her. I looked around the sky was bright and the sun was overhead.

"It's just about one o'clock," Sasha said as she watched a sundial she made, "You had started losing blood when we got to the cliff. We let you rest here. That's why we stopped."

"I could have carried him," Caroline said as she came up the tree with a bag, "Then we could have made it to the lake."

"Then what would you do? We would have been completely starved by then," Arin pull a bunch of cooked meat out of the bag and tossed a piece at me, "Eat. You need more energy that the rest of us. We'll steal an espresso machine when we reach the closest city."

"You don't need to do that," I replied, "I don't even drink coffee."

"Alright we'll find you another source of caffeine," Arin said, "You wanna survive in this world, you need to start getting a little wild."

"We're not going to force him to change," Azure removed the pin and stuck a flower on it, "He's already one of us. You'll see. He's got the appearance of a bunny but he's a mad hare if you twist him the wrong way."

"Since when?" I was shocked she thought of me that way.

"You always have been," Azure put the pin back in my hair with the flower and got up, "Let's go eat before all the food is gone."

We ate and saved the leftovers. Azure stayed near me the rest of the way. She slowed down everyone else if I seemed to be lagging behind. Caroline soon insisted on leaving me for dead. Azure ignored her and helped me on any rocky and unstable areas. They don't seem crazy to me, I thought as we walked, Azure is a bit wild but she's not crazy. The others seem normal too. None of this make sense to me.

We had walked for hours and hours. The sky had become filled with stars. The milky way was the brightest thing in the sky. With the moon gone I had an idea to put everyone at ease. We had reached the lake while taking no breaks. Caroline sat with a gun she pulled from the backpack Sasha had made. Arin sat in a tree. I took off everything but my boxers and bandages. I jumped into the lake, but with regret. It was freezing! I felt like I was in an ice box. I walked until the water reached my waist. I stood there rubbing my arms as the others laughed.

"He is crazy," Arin said between breaths, "crazy stupid."

"I'm n-n-n-not..." I spoke through my chattering teeth, "s-st- stu-stu-pid."

Azure walked in and helped me out. She wasn't laughing like the others. She took out a towel she had packed and dried me off. She kissed my scar and passed me my clothes. She continued to dry my hair after I was dressed.

"I should have warned you," Azure held me as she leaned against a tree, "This water is extremely cold. Just stay here with me. I'll keep you warm."

We had the last of the meat and went to bed. We got up early the next day. The sun was just starting to rise and the air was colder. Caroline shot her gun at a bird and started laughing. Azure put me on her back and started to run along the side of the lake. I had no idea what was going on. Am I still asleep? I wondered, What's going on? I yawned as I rested my head on Azure's shoulder, trying to figure out what was going on. I hardly noticed Sasha, Arin, and Caroline running behind us. I slept a while longer.

I woke up to sudden rain. I was soaked like everyone else. Azure's light blue shirt stuck to her skin, the smell of brown sugar and vanilla faded. We ran under the roots of another large tree. Azure went down first and pulled me down afterwards. Caroline, Arin, and Sasha came in afterwards. It was small, cramped, and impossible to have your own space. Azure was on top of Arin's leg and Caroline's arm. Sasha's legs were behind me. I was being pressed against Azure.

"The rain should wash away our tracks and scent," Arin said.

"That's good news," Sasha said, "I hate those dogs."

"In the meantime, Azure," Caroline ran she fingers up and down my back, "why not someone else hold the baggage?"

In that moment I saw the demonic spider Caroline was. Her eyes red and bright, with three smaller eyes underneath. Four more arms to add to the two she already had. Her smile felt like it had fangs to go with it.

"Not a chance," Azure held me tighter, "None of you go near him. Unless it's absolutely necessary."

I wanted to let Azure know she was squishing me, but in this situation I didn't think it mattered. We planned to continue our escape when the rain stopped.

The rain had stopped and we continued on our way. We spent many days going through the woods. It felt like weeks of hunting and drinking collected rain water. We eventually made it to a small town. It had a few stores and shops, but other than that it was fairly empty. Azure made up a meeting spot and time. Then we split up to get what we wanted and what we needed. Azure had me go with her. We walked into a clothes shop first.

"Hey wipe your feet first you filthy animals!" one of the staff members yelled.

I looked down. Covered in solid mud up to our knees. Every other part of us was covered in dirt. Azure pulled me along as I removed my shoes. She ignored the shouts of the staff member. She went through a bunch of the clothes. She grabbed a shirt that was tied in the middle with a thin, black ribbon. It was colored a dark purple. She also grabbed a pair of shorts and sneakers. She finished the outfit with a black jeaned jacket. She folded her stocking so you couldn't see the mud. She the grabbed a shirt with purple sleeves and collar, every other part was white. She grabbed a pair of loose jeans and sneakers. She grabbed a large furry black jacket, and pair of socks. She grabbed a bag of boxers and panties. She pulled me into one of the changing rooms. She looked around. There was a vent leading outside under the bench.

"We change, then leave with our old clothes wrapping them in the towel I packed," Azure said.

"So were stealing?" I asked.

"It's already out for the public," Azure kissed me, "We're just not trading with them."

We got changed and Azure wrapped our old clothes in the towel before putting them into the backpack. I went through the vent first. Azure followed me. We ran out to the next shop. We had taken a larger backpack, four water bottles, shampoo, a brush, antiseptic, and bandages. We met up with Caroline first. She had a backpack of her own. She had on a pair of boots with light gray pants and a white tank top. Other than that she looked the same. Sasha had on black leggings and a green t shirt. Arin had a long sleeved, black shirt, and dark navy blue jeans. Both Sasha and Arin had black high tops on. It wasn't long until all the shop owners ran out yelling at us. We out onto the road and followed it to our destination.