Cursed

Last Living Souls

When I wake the next morning Eir hasn't left yet, instead she's sitting by the remains of last night's fire drinking instant coffee from a chipped tin mug. the weathers warm so still in my singlet and shorts I approach her.

Eir is only ten years older than I am with a round soft face and small nose like a child. her eyes are large and brown with long blonde lashes. She looks like the motherly type you'd read about in book, the kind that married young and has little excitement in their life but is happy.

Eir is nothing like that at all and her soft features are always drawn into a scowl that make the huge scar across her lower face even more noticeable. I'm not sure I've ever seen Eir genuinely happy except for when we found some old guys gun collection and even then, it didn't take long before she was back to her morose self.

therefore, I'm so surprised when she turns around and smiles brightly at me. it's not until she offers me the rest of her coffee that I realise how forced her smile is.

"thanks" I say taking the cup and sipping, god how can she drink this stuff it's so bitter. noticing the look on my face Eir takes the cup back and begins to take another sip.

"I thought you'd be gone?" I ask

she shakes her head "I thought maybe today I'd hang around camp, you can tell me what you do all day."

"um sure"

Eir forces another smile before jumping up and brushing the charcoal dust of her knees

"okay then ready?"

cautiously I stand up and pull my hair up. it doesn't make sense for Eir to be acting this friendly but I'm sure it's nothing. I grab a drink bottle and stuff it into my bag, I don't take my Walkman though, that's one thing I most certainly won't be sharing.

"nova, you ready"

I nod and begin to scramble down the rocky slope at the caves exit.

outside its already hot and there's a slight shimmer in the air. at the bottom of the slop is a stream, it hasn't rained in months but the water still roars away strong enough to knock me under if I slipped.

feeling thankful for the hiking boots Eir found me last season I jump from rock to rock until I reach the other side. Eir is faster on her feet than me and I can sense her annoyance at how slow I am as we climb the slight slope on the opposite bank. when we reach the top, I can feel sweat on my for head and above my top lip, and my breath is coming in short gasps.

I flop down on a rock and un-cork my water while Eir walks to the edge of the hill and surveys the land.

"haven't been out this way before" she remarks turning back to me.

"really?" I ask wiping droplets of water from my mouth onto my shirt, and earning a disapproving look from Eir.

"mmh" she turns back to the view and I walk to join her.

below us is a small valley through which the stream we'd crossed winds , thinner and calmer since it split in two. on either side of the stream lies an expanse of pasture like a gold blanket due to the drying grass and wild flowers.

Eir pushes back the front of her hair tying it with an elastic band, then, with another forced smile at me, begins down the slope, her walk quickly becoming a jog and then a run as she builds up momentum.

slipping my bottle back into my bag I follow her nearly falling forwards as I get faster.

when I reach the flat plane Eir is already at the stream her brow furrowed.

"Nova" she stands up and turns to me

"yeah"

"have you drunk any of this water?"

"Of course, not"

Eir frowns more, I don't know why she asked, my first real memory is of her telling me never to drink water without her purifying it first. True I didn't always stick to that rule, the next winter when Eir went looking for supplies id become thirsty and taken a handful of snow. the next week id not been able to stomach any food, if we hadn't found that abandoned hospital still half filled with medicine and stomach pumps I would have died.

Eir crouches down again and runs her fingers through the water.

"what is it" I ask, finally reaching her side.

"nothing" she stands up giving me another of those forced smiles, "show me what you get up to all day."

A/N seems short chapters are becoming customary but at least I'm writing!!!!