The Smi

12: The Map

I had asked Aaron how he could have all that memorized. Turned out, he had it in his backpack.

"Here." I put out my hand. I wanted to see the book. He handed it over. I flipped through the pages briefly, noticing that they were extremely thick. As I flipped, the pages were old and extremely fragile and I accidentally tore a page in the back.

"Crap! Sorry, Aaron." I was upset with myself for ruining this beautiful and mysterious antique, but as I looked closer I could see that in between the torn sections, the paper, or a paper, I should say, was somehow intact. I tugged at it gently, and it cooperated, slipping out of its thin, crisp hiding place. I blew the dust off, which was enough to make Rien cough, and ever so carefully, unfolded it.

"It's.....another letter." I sighed. I was not thrilled to see another parchment that told me only a very small fraction of what I was supposed to do. I flipped to the back of the book and mumbled, "Sorry, Aaron."

I had suddenly thought of something totally insane that I had seen someone on a TV show on my parents' 200 inch, old holo-screen from years ago. I tore the paper that covered the hardback of the book. I was amazed. Another parchment lay tucked away inside the binding. This time, a map. Thank the Gods, I thought. It had very strange markings on it. I couldn't read them, but apparently Aaron could.

"This means fire," He pointed to a small circle with four wiggly lines across it and a spark in the center. Then, he pointed to a triangle with a cloud in front of it. "This means mountain," Finally, he jabbed his finger three times on thin-lined circle with a blood-spattered crucifix overlapping it, and a demon with horns, overlapping the cross. "And this," He paused, as if he was confused. "Means... Hell."

I was worried because he looked so surprised, I wondered if he could be wrong. I looked to the sky and gasped.

"Guys, we need to find someplace to sleep!" Aaron agreed.

"She's right. Come on, let's look for a ditch or pit, guys."

We walked for a few minutes and eventually found a small sort of den. I stepped up to the entrance, ready to step in first, but Aaron grabbed my arm, and said, "Wait. I'll go first."

My soul burst with hopeless longing for him, and my chest swelled. I knew I couldn't have been more in love.

"Hey, Autumn, how's your back?" Rien tipped his chin towards my spine. "You've been walking really well for someone who's missing a vertebrae." He grinned.

"Um, yeah, it's great. I actually forgot I had the hole there." I smiled shyly as his mouth dropped in awe.

Aaron had finished the examination and the rest of us walked in. "Fall," Aaron nodded to me, "You sleep there, and Ambur will sleep behind you." He pointed to a curve, basically the end, in the den-hole. "Rien, you're the best watchman. You sleep at the mouth, and stand guard, and I'll sleep behind you, and we'll take turns." He pointed to the mouth of the tunnel.

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A few hours later, when everyone accept Rien was asleep, I asked Rien to turn around for a sec while I took off the bandages. He replied silently with tired eyes, a nod and a brief yawn. I turned to Ambur's end of the tunnel. She was facing the other way, so I flipped off my shirt. Unbeknownst to me, Aaron had silently awoken, facing my direction. I took out my hair tie and rusty bobby pins from my mom. I fluffed out my messy hair. It never seemed to want to be tamed. I always smiled at this. Trying to stay focused, I uncoupled the bandage clip. Aaron, silent as the night, and sat up, and glanced at my bandaged, bloody, torso. I let out a quiet sigh and began to unwrap the bandages. Once I had unraveled them all, I reapplied my tattered bra and winced as the strap and clips dug into the hole in my back. I reached my hand back and softly touched the spot where my vertebrae once was, but as I reached deeper, suddenly my finger bent under the pressure of bone. I gasped. It had begun to grow back! How was this possible?! I was baffled.

Aaron smiled. I reached for my shirt, but it was too far away, and I couldn't reach it. I groaned quietly, and stretched my arm as far as I could, but I still couldn't reach it. I gave up. Aaron got up noiselessly, and slowly reached for my shirt. He picked it up and handed it to me. "It's not like the Autumn I know, to give up." Aaron grinned a soft grin, and helped me up. I gazed up at him with overwhelmed eyes and bore a tiny, faint smile. I just barely let it crack through. I wondered if he had had to seen my terrible wound. I suddenly let go, and we both stopped and laid down in our spots. I was still smiling. I sat up, stretching my shirt back on. Goodnight, Aaron.