The Last Victor

Chapter 35

Round Four - Part 3

Night fell fast upon us. No more than an hour after our river fiasco, the sky was painted with hues of red, orange and pink, but all colour has now faded leaving only a matt black canvas above us.

Exhausted, we decided it best to set up camp for the night and get some much needed rest. After trekking back up the river a little bit and away from the rough currents of the waterfall, we found a nice, calm little spot near the shore to hike out.

We didn't want to stray far from the river, especially at night, due to the possibility that the robo-bugs might come back.

Currently, the three of us were all huddled close around the small campfire we built.

The heat from the campfire seems to be sucked into the frigid air before ever reaching our frozen hands. I try to move closer to feel the radiating warmth, holding my numbed hands out so they can defrost.

With our only clothes still wet from earlier, staying warm has turned out to be difficult, especially through the night breeze.

On top of that, we found ourselves short on supplies, nearly all of it swept away in the river after our jump.

I glance over at Pax who is shivering in his seat, rubbing his hands together over the fire. His lips are blue with cold and I can practically hear his teeth chattering.

I take my jacket off of my shoulders and hold it out to him.

"Here. We can't have you freezing to death right after we just got you back, now can we?" I offer playfully.

He looks down at it and then back up to meet my eyes before shaking his head, teeth still chattering. "No, no, I–I couldn't."

I raise an eyebrow at him with a small smile. "Pax, you need it more than me. It's okay, really. I'm fine."

There's hesitancy in his movements but he eventually reaches out and takes it from me. He glances up at me sheepishly with thankful eyes. "T-Thank you."

At the same time, Asher walks back over and adds more wood to the fire, poking it with a long stick. At first, it seems to die a little as if unsure of itself, unready to devour the new offerings.

But after a time it finds it's confidence and grows until the heat warms us, orange flames celebrating with their wild flickering dance.

"You know, it all makes sense now." I say, thinking out loud.

Asher gives me a sidelong glance from where he's standing. "What does?"

"The Sapient," I answer. "He must have been stung by the bugs."

"R-Robots....." Pax corrects me.

I roll my eyes but continue on.

"You know what I mean. Just think about it....he was not in the right headspace in the slightest. Pax said himself that high dosages of the serum can drive a person completely mad!"

"Yeah, well he forgot to mention that it itches like hell too..." Asher grumbles under his breath to himself, scratching at the skin where he's been stung.