An Immortal's Favour

Jack- On the Road Again

*

By evening time the following day, we'd left Gomi miles behind us. Already, we'd stopped through two of the more rural villages to the north of the city and had gotten the chance to see the remains of a kamish- which, to me, looked more like the skeleton of a monkey glued to what was left of a giant bat's wings, but I digress. We'd met the local chiefs of both villages, one of whom turned out to be a fire caster and had gotten to take part in a festival or two.

Every time Gale searched through her things at the boot of the car, I'd jolt. Currently, she rooted through her trunks for a couple of blankets and I hoped she wouldn't have a sudden urge to ask about the vial. Dragging the blankets out, she jogged over to me, the strap of her shoulder bag hanging out from the bundled mess in her arms. From the hut behind, someone stepped out. It was one of the kids from the family that'd lent Gale and I a place to stay for the night. The boy led us to a small room where there was a little plastic table, some cushions, a wash basin and a lit lamp. We thanked him, watching as he scampered out. Gale went up to close the window shutters, handing the blankets to me first and dropping her bag to the floor. She came back as I laid the first blanket down, and helped me to spread the other out before taking another to throw over herself.

"Comfortable?" I asked.

"Very much so," she said, yawning as she snuggled into her thick blankets. "And you've brought the book."

"I'm halfway through," I snapped, another excuse forming in my head already.

"Don't stay up too long. I mean it."

"I won't. I'll be able to go through a few good chapters in the next hour."

"If you say so. Thanks again for the books. They'll really help those children."

"It's fine."

"I might as well try and get some rest. Goodnight." Gale shuffled, turning onto her other side, and said nothing else.

The books that Mother had picked up for me were just as useful as I'd hoped they'd be, but the dull brightness of the lamp, my fatigue, and the complex wording that I attempted to decipher only soured my mood. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open, but I managed.

I woke up the next day, much later than I would've liked, and delayed our journey by three hours.

"Morning," Gale said, rubbing an eye.

"Hey." I cracked my back. "Sorry, I overslept."

"Don't worry yourself. I thought you needed the extra rest, so I chose to not wake you. Do want any red tea?"

"I'm alright. Let's just get going."

"Where next?" 

"I've planned for us to visit a couple of other villages before crossing the border," I confirmed, standing up.

"Actually, now that I think about it...hold on, let me grab my map."

"You don't want to visit the villages," I confirmed, feeling an involuntary stab of impatience.

"It's not that, it's just- ah ha! Here it is!" Gale had one finger pressed triumphantly against the crumpled piece of parchment in her hand.

"What? I can't even see. Bring it closer."

"I think that's where we should go next."

I squinted at her map, confused. "Where the old transport tunnels start?"

"Transport tunnels?!" Gale looked at me as if I'd lost half my mind. Clicking her tongue, she folded the map, shoving it back into her shoulder bag. "Didn't they teach you any history in school?"