Sky Dust

Chapter 19

Vivia folded her arms. Spencer approached to look at the army. Most of the time, they looked attentive, but some were distracted.

"Leggo," Vivia tugged on him, and he had barely realized what she wanted him to do when they were out.

"Now run," she said, starting to sprint. Spencer ran after her, surprised by how fast she was. He held back the urge to look around and see how far they were from the army. Even when it ached everywhere, and he didn't seem to be able to continue, he kept running.

He had never known he could be that strong. Vivia, however, didn't even seem to be bothered. She even gave him a relaxed smile. Spencer didn't have the power to say anything, so he just kept running.

The way Vivia slowed down was sudden and quick. Spencer thought this was the time he would collapse, but after a blink, he was still standing.

"We don't need to run anymore," Vivia pointed out. "Casep is far away."

"Where are we going now?"

"Desrid is extremely distant from here, but we might give it a try," Vivia raised an eyebrow. "We won't be able to sleep tonight, though. We'll walk until tomorrow."

"Maybe in the wild, there's still some sky dust," Spencer said.

"I doubt that. The sky dust crisis seems to be too big."

Spencer still had the feeling that he was being chased. He was slightly uncomfortable, and among that discomfort, he found that he was thirsty.

But they had no choice. No matter how horrifying walking all night sounded, he would do it. At least because of the sky dust. He had now been infected by Vivia's habit of constantly watching the pouch; he couldn't look away, checking it every second.

Vivia cracked up.

"But damn, you were so miserable. Wish you could see it."

He managed a weak, breaking smile.

"I've neved jumped on roofs, you know."

"I understand. You'll have to learn, though," she kept laughing, and this time, Spencer laughed more. It was the only distraction from everything around him, or, at least, it seemed to be.

He looked at the sky dust again.

"It's safe," Vivia commented. "Don't worry, I'm looking after it."

"We've grown to be similar," Spencer chuckled again. Vivia cracked up and gave him a wide, dreamy grin.

They passed by another lake. Vivia came up to it carefully, snow sliding down under her feet. She spread her arms as she slipped onto the ice and skated on it.

"It's fun! Want to try?" She asked Spencer. He shook his head, but in a few seconds, he turned around and also slid down. He felt the snow break, adrenaline hitting his head every time. Vivia gave him a hand, and he tumbled on the ice.

He wondered how long it had been since he woke up, but suddenly, he realized that he didn't care.