Call Wolf

Chapter Four

OliveS

"Here."
"W-what is this?"
"Food. As you requested."
Maria remained in her somewhat laying position on the porch's steps and didn't hide her disgust when looking at the pile of unprocessed meat on the grass in front of her. Flies were buzzing around, fighting for a piece. She waved some away when they got too close.
"I can't eat that," she said, risking sounding rude.
Charles stood above the meat, hands on his hips, wearing clothes still droopy with lake water. He watched the flies as well.
"I don't understand your aversion. You have to eat to get strong enough to move on."
Maria closed her eyes and turned her face back to the sun, feeling the last of the water leave her dress.
"I know," she countered. "But that will get me sick. It's raw and dirty and, oh, my god, is that a kidney?"
"Spleen," Charles corrected, looking disgruntled. "And this is all I have. Except perhaps... the underground cellar. I think I saw a few jars down there."
"Maybe that's better. Want help?"
Charles declined the offer and went on his own. As soon as his steps disappeared into the cabin, Maria sat herself upright. She reached for a piece of meat, the one seeming the most clean, and pressed it between her palms. As far as she could tell, Charles was an excellent hunter and this was all from some kind of storage he kept.
But she still didn't trust it.
Making sure she was alone, Maria closed her eyes. She allowed what she imagined as a small box she kept within her chest to open. Just a little, enough for her to handle. Power flowed out, seared within her flesh before entering the piece of meat and searing that, too. She allowed herself to enjoy the fire for a second before forcing the heat back where it belongs: deep within.
She hurried to eat the piece of meat, trying not to dwell too much on her inner workings.

As Charles returned with a jar of olives in his hand he could sense the smell of cooked flesh but didn't ponder too much. He gave Maria the jar and, though she didn't seem too hungry, she scooped up a few and let them drop into her mouth.
She offered him the one's left. He declined.
"Where is the nearest town?"
"Far away I suspect. The only one I know of is Vinnar and that is approximately a day's march," he threw his thumb over his shoulder, "that way."
Maria sighed. "That doesn't sound too good. But I'll need to leave soon. They could be back any second."
There was no need to further explain whom she meant. She held her breath, almost expected him to finally ask what Buck and Neal were to her, but he didn't. Not even close.
"You should head out some early morning. You don't want to be in these woods after nightfall."
"Yeah..." She stretched her legs, felt her toes crack, and yawned. The heat made her feel like a lazy cat, lounging around with its tail loosely flicking away company. But her mind was too stressed. "Know what I plan to do once I get out of here?"
"No, what?"
"Everything."
Her voice changed so suddenly that Charles' eyes momentarily went to her lips. She was smiling, but not at him.
"I'm going to rent a car - or steal one. Then I'll drive. For as long as I can. I hope to end up on the other side of the earth before I get tired."
"You know someone there?"
"No," she laughed. "That's what makes it so great."
He hummed but seemed to be holding something back. Maria noticed. She cocked her head.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I have responsibilities that await me once I'm done." He closed his eyes, made a face as if he had a headache nearing. "Actually, they cannot seem to wait even until then."
"Do you like it?"
He gave her an odd look, a silent question.
"Whatever it is that you do," she explained.
"A lot of people rely on me."
"And you still haven't answered."
Maria gave a cheeky grin before plopping another olive into her mouth. The metallic taste exploded as she bit down, it made her jaw clench. She offered him one. This time he accepted.
"I think it's going to work out, your soul searching. You're strong."
"Mhm."
Maria nodded once. Adamant. "I can tell."
She gave him another look, ate another olive. She grinned. Black olive skin covered her upper row of teeth and for the first time Charles gave in, a small smile playing in the corner of his mouth. Maria wiped the olive pieces off using her tongue and got to her feet.
"Well then! I'm heading inside - no, no, you can stay here. I've disturbed your meditation enough I'm guessing."
Charles settled himself on the boards as the front door slammed shut behind him. He drew in the afternoon air, thick and heavy, and closed his eyes.
But something was poking at his sense of smell. Something strange. He traced it to the jar of olives and carefully picked it up. He narrowed his eyes at the label. Over the faded letters rested a thin layer of something black, something that had made some of the paper turn yellow at the edges: soot.

A/n
This one's shorter but I promise the next one's gonna blow your mind.
Let me know if you like the story so far