SOJOURNER (III): tmr gally

45: I should see lights

Leo 45

The sun is beginning to set when I wake up. I'm never going to get used to that. I walk over to Sonya with my backpack. I unzip it, taking out the bottle of antibiotics. When I nudge her with my foot, she stirs. Her eyes flutter open. I hand her my water bottle, offering her a sip.

She takes it in her hands, swishes the bottle, and shakes her head. She dry swallows the pill again, glancing me up and down. "Finish that. You look worse than I do."

That seems impossible, but I am not going to challenge her. After all, my head is pounding, I can actively feel the dryness in my skin, and standing makes me dizzy. I drink the rest of the water in one gulp, but my throat is still parched. There isn't enough to fill me. I can't handle it.

She hands me back the antibiotics, and I put them in my backpack. People are waking up around us, packing their supplies. Sonya nudges Ella awake.

The Corpse. She certainly sleeps like one, but I doubt that is why the Creators chose that name. The Anchor, the Roots, the Hermit, and the Corpse. It sounds like the beginning of a joke. The four of us walk into a bar. Why would any of us ever fit together?

While people are packing, I venture farther away. The sun is beginning to set now. It reflects off the tops of mountains. It really is beautiful, despite how much pain it brings. There is some metaphor in there, but I am too lazy to think about it. I barely slept at all last night.

"Beth, calm down!" I am taken out of my serenity by the shouts of Saph.

The two are at the entrance to the cave, bickering. Saph pins herself against the rock wall, trying to melt into it. Obviously, she has no luck.

Beth's head twitches from side to side. She lifts her hands up to her head, tugging at the hair on her scalp. A few strands rip out, and she chucks them aside. I watch as she kicks the ground over and over, so much so that she looses balance and nearly falls over. I can feel my heart beating for her, over and over.

She's getting delirious. Since I don't want anything in my backpack to break if she tackles me, I drop it on the ground. Then, I stalk over towards Beth.

"Knock it off!" I call out.

Her head turns towards me. Beth's nostrils are flaring, her head is twitching. Her eyes are ablaze with hatred. I stop in my tracks. Am I going to have a heart attack? It feels like my heart is thumping so hard it might break my ribs.

"Was it you?" Beth moves closer to me. "Was she in love with you?"

What? "Beth, you're sick."

"Saph's hiding from me!" Beth sticks out an arm, pointing at the girl. Saph is crying against the wall. She holds her wrist limply. It's hard to tell from here if it's just hurting, or if it's broken. "She's not the same!"

"Beth, you should calm down," I don't let my voice get any louder. "You have the Flare. This isn't you."

"You don't know anything!" Beth shouts, biting her lip. Blood trails down her chin. Does she even notice? "You don't know me!"

She charges towards me, running. I place my hand at my belt. As she leaps into the air, I let her tackle me. My body hits the ground, the wind knocked out of me. My vision is going black, but I try to focus on my hand. I pull the needle of sedative out of my pocket. She is ripping at my hair, so I grind my teeth together instead of screaming.