Amidst the smoke

Chapter 2

Riley had hoped to have distracted Bear from his question but after a few minutes of walking, it appeared not.

"Why were you staring off at nothing?" Riley sighed but didn't answer, "Did you go deaf? Because I was tapping you and talking and it was like you couldn't see me."

"That's blind, not deaf." Bear picked up a rock and examined it.

"What's the difference?"

"Blind is where you can't see, deaf is where you can't hear. You can have one or the other, or both depending on how unlucky you are." Bear looked up at the sky, which was sporting a rotten egg colour, and frowned as he processed the new information.

"Well then you're super unlucky because you had both." Riley nodded and hoped he would drop it. He didn't, "Why'd you go deaf and blind?" Riley sighed, she knew it was just his nosy, five year old hunger for information that was fuelling the interrogation but that didn't change the fact that it was still annoying. Riley crouched down in front of Bear, grabbing his full attention. 'I can't coddle him in comfortable lies forever, he deserves to understand what's happening. Especially since we're moving closer to the danger.'

"This is serious stuff, okay Bear? It's scary, are you sure you want me to tell you?" Bear nodded stubbornly.

"I'm not scared of anything." Riley grinned at his determination.

"The world has gone a little crazy, way crazier than it was before. You remember a few months ago there was all that news about the fires in Australia?" Bear nodded, "Well scientists found this weird plant that had been burned by the fires. When that weird plant gets burned, it releases a weird gas. The weird gas mixed with the smoke and made it spread all over the world. When you breath in the weird smoke, it makes you weird. That's how Missy turned invisible and Nipper grew another head. That's also what happened to Whirlaway." Bear nodded.

"And Jay." Riley frowned, she hadn't wanted him to find out.

"Yeah, and Jamie." Bear looked up at her, his eyes were filled with more understanding than any five year old should have.

"That's why you shot him, like Da shot Whirlaway." Riley winced and nodded, "I know you tried to hide it from me, you thought it would make me sad. It's okay, if you hadn't stopped him, he would have eaten me and you too." Riley nodded, she wished she could ease her conscience as easily as Bear did.

"What about Ma? Did she turn like Jay or die like Da?" Riley tried to swallow the lump in her throat, she could not cry in front of Bear.

"Like Dad." She managed to whisper.

"How?" Bear had a cross look on his face, like he was concentrating very hard on something.

"Whirlaway, that's why Dad shot him." Riley said quietly, Bear nodded again. Riley pulled him into a gentle hug, "Even brave people cry sometimes, so don't think you're not allowed too, yeah?" Bear nodded, a few tears spilling from his eyes as he did.

"I am sad, but we need to be strong, like you said." Riley smiled and wiped away her own stray tear.

"Exactly right, little Bear." They continued walking.

"So because animal and humans are going crazy, and turning like Jay and Whirlaway. That's why you brought Da's gun and knives?" Bear pointed at the shotgun attached to Riley's backpack and the hunting knife strapped to her leg. Riley knew they were hard to miss, but she had still been hoping Bear wouldn't notice.

"Yes." Bear nodded again.

"Will you teach me how to shoot? Or how to use a knife?" Riley stiffened.