LONG ROAD AHEAD

21

They started early the next day, their new cloaks wrapped around their shoulders, and the hoods pulled up over their heads, keeping the harsh sun off them as they walked through the ruins. Their weapons were drawn in the off chance they met hostilities. They would be prepared to defend themselves. It took over five hours to get through the city, putting the ruins behind them and trudged through the sand and dirt.

            They walked along, making good time. Craven kept pace with Phoenix. She was feeling much better than the last few days. Her stomach still felt ill, but with some food, water and protection from the sun, she felt considerably better then she had the days before. They stopped briefly when she felt the need to be sick, but Phoenix refused to let it slow them down. Every time she stopped to vomit, Crave stood over her with his weapon at the ready, keeping a watchful eye out for predators or any other threats.

            They stopped for supper and watched the sunset against the horizon. With no safe place to sleep for the night, they decided to keep moving. It was wide open spaces, and they certainly could see anything coming from some distance, even in the dark. Above them, the sky was scattered with bright stars — a sight they had not often seen back in the shanty towns. Like the other night, the atmosphere here was so clear, and the moon was full, allowing for easy visibility.

            They walked along in the dark, their senses sharp watching for predators in the night. It was some time before they both were far too tired to continue. There was no wood, nothing they could burn to start a fire. They curled up in one another’s arms and pulled their cloaks tight around them.

            In the morning, they were up and off again. Heading north, they kept walking, unsure of just where they were headed and what they might find. They walked for four days. The desert went on forever; it never seemed to end. After days of marching through dunes, the sand became dirt, the dirt became rock, and soon they were facing yet another mountain range ahead of them. They could not recall if there were more mountains in the maps they had lost. They could only hope they were headed where they were supposed to.

            Phoenix cringed as she faced those daunting mountains. The last thing she wanted was to climb those peaks once more. She was too tired, too sick to make that climb again. Phoenix stopped in her tracks. Her hands planted firmly on her knees. She leaned over and took a deep breath. She felt terrible. Her body ached, and her stomach turned. She felt light-headed.

            “Are you ok?” Craven asked with concern, his hand on her back.

            “I can’t do it,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t cross through mountains again. It’s all too much. I don’t have it in me.”

            “Yes, you do,” he said sternly. He was not willing to accept her wishes to quit. “You are the strongest woman I know. You can do this.”

            She shook her head again. “No,” she whimpered. She had to face the truth. “I’m sick,” she was sure they must have wandered through some hot spots, exposing them to dangerous radiation levels. She had made it this far in life only to wind up ill.

            “You can do it,” he repeated, stroking her back supportively.

            “No!” She yelled with frustration and swatted his hand away. It made her angry to come so far only to end up sick like everyone else. Even if they did find Cyprus, she would likely die from what she was exposed to getting there. “We have to face reality. I’m sick, Craven. I’m going to die.”

            “Maybe not,” he tried to calm her.

            “That is bull, and we both know it. You know as well as I do no one survives once they get radiation sickness,” Phoenix growled. She did not need him trying to fill her head with false hope. She was not stupid enough to believe she had a long full life ahead of her. Phoenix sighed and sat down on the nearest rock. She was fatigued. She had been for so long.

            Craven stood in silence, not debating what she had just said. He finally took a step forward to confront her. “Ok, maybe you are right about what is going to happen, but answer me this. Do you want to die out here in this Godforsaken wasteland, or do you want to see paradise before you expire?” Craven asked. He was right, sadly. Phoenix hated living in the wasteland. The last thing she wanted was to die out here. Craven took her hand in his and helped her to her feet. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

            Exhausted, Phoenix rose to her feet. Craven was right; they had to keep moving. If they stopped now, they were as good as dead. “Alright,” she said weakly as they started walking once more. “But you have to promise me I’ll see Cyprus before I die.”

            “You have my word. I will get you there,” Craven promised.

***

            Craven stood on the rocky edge, looking out over the terrain ahead of them. There were low valleys and high peaks. There was a sea of endless grey threes and not a sign of life in days. Even the vultures did not fly here. Phoenix was resting on the hard ground behind him as he surveyed the best way to proceed.

            He was lost. Unsure of where to go or what to do. They had been aimlessly wandering the mountains for days and seemed no closer to finding their way out. Phoenix was sick and getting sicker by the day. She was almost too sick to travel. She had no appetite, and it took some doing on his part to convince her to eat anything, and if she did, her body would not keep it down. She drank the water, but she had become weak with fatigue and hunger. She had slowed down, barely able to keep up, and they frequently stopped to let her rest. She slept far more than usual.

            It made his heart ache to think about her future. She had not developed the blisters and sores yet, nor was she coughing up blood yet, but with the way she was deteriorating, it would not be long before more serious symptoms began to present. She would die, and he would be left without her. It was a fate he dreaded to acknowledge.

            Craven had made a promise to her, and he was bound and determined to keep it. She would not die in this hell hole. He looked up, watching the sun as it crept across the afternoon sky. The sun and the stars acted as their navigation beacons. Helping them find their way across this unfamiliar landscape. They tried to cover as much ground as they could each day, but as the days passed, Phoenix grew weaker.

            It was getting late, and they needed to get moving again. Crave walked back to Phoenix and crouched down. He placed his hand on her shoulder and nudged her. She sighed, and her eyes fluttered open. “We should go,” he said softly. “Before we lose the sun.”

            “Let’s just stay here tonight,” she whispered, closing her eyes once more. “I’m so tired.”

            Craven slipped his arms beneath her legs and back then lifted her into his arms. He cradled her tiny body against his own and carried her along. He had been forced to do so more frequently in the past few days. Phoenix was slipping quickly. She needed food, needed to be able to keep something down to build her strength once more. It broke his heart to watch her fall apart. He was not ready to let her go.

***

            Phoenix trudged along. Her stomach ached, and her head hurt from the heat and hunger. They had been walking in circles for days. They were lost, and she knew it. There was no way out of these damned mountains. Craven had offered her some roasted meat, but she just turned up her nose at it and shook her head. The smell of it made her ill.

            “You have to eat something,” he said as they walked along.

            “I’m not hungry,” she lied. The truth was she was starving to death, but she knew her body would not allow her to keep anything down even if she tried.

            “You have not eaten in days,” he observed. “You have to eat, or you will expire from starvation.”    

            “Who cares,” she sighed, “I’m dead anyway.”  

            Craven shook his head. “What happened to the fight you once had? The fire in your belly? Where is that woman?” He snapped with irritation. “You aren’t even trying.”

            What did he know? She was the one sick, not him. He had no idea how hard it was to keep going each day. How much she just wanted to lay down and close her eyes.

            “That woman was lost back in the sand,” she snapped with annoyance.

            Craven began to climb the side of the rock. “That woman didn’t know the meaning of giving up,” he said as Phoenix tirelessly followed him up.

            “That woman was not doomed and lost,” she hissed back, looking up to see him reach the top and get up on his feet.

            Craven paused, his eyes widened as he looked out over the next valley. “Oh my God,” she heard him gasp. His astonishment did not fill her with confidence. Phoenix climbed to the top, and Craven took her hand, helping her up onto the level ground. “Look at this,” he said as Phoenix came to her feet at his side.

            Phoenix looked out over the valley below, and her jaw dropped at what she saw. An endless blanket of trees fell over the valley below and up the sides of the distant mountains. It was not this sight that caused her to be speechless, but the fact that the valley was alive. An endless sea of green. Millions of thriving trees and brush just below them. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. A sight that was more beautiful than any of the finest gems and jewels.

            The very sight of life brought a tear to her eye. Like any child, she had heard the stories, she had dreamt the dreams, but she had never dared to believe it was real. In a world of death, there was life. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” She asked, unsure she was not hallucinating for the heat and hunger.

            “I see it,” Craven said as astounded as she was, “and it is breathtaking.”

            “It is real,” she smiled, her hope renewed.

            Craven smiled, and he hugged her tight. “It is real. We did it. We found Cyprus.”

            “No,” she shook her head. Cyprus was a colony, a city perhaps, a town at the very least. Even that fool Adam had admitted as much. Somewhere out there were people. They had to find them. “But we will,” she smiled up at him with new confidence.

            Craven grinned. He was happy to see her fighting spirit renewed. “What are we waiting for?” He said, taking her hand in his and starting down the mountain.

Phoenix was right behind him with a sudden burst of energy as she absorbed the beautiful sight below. As they moved farther down the mountain and into the valley, the dry, dusty dirt beneath their boots became moist and dark, rich and fertile, able to grow life within it. It could be tilled and farmed. Something she had only heard of in old stories.

            They reached the tree line, and Phoenix reached up to touch the prickly green pine needles. She had never seen a living tree. It was the most incredible experience of her life. A moment she would never forget. She touched the leaves of the surrounding brush and bushes. They were soft and smooth, each bush different from the last. She did not know whether to laugh or cry. She had never believed she would live to see this moment.

            “Look what I’ve found,” Craven said, pulling something off one of the bushes. It was red and soft. He squished it with easy between his fingers, and red liquid came forth. The bushes were covered with them. He lifted his fingers to his mouth and licked off the strange fruit. “It’s delicious, and I don’t believe it’s poisonous.”

            Phoenix plucked one red berry from the branches and placed it in her mouth. It was like an explosion of sweet liquid on her tongue. The most delicious thing she had ever tasted. Her hunger rose in full force, and Phoenix began to greedily eat from the bush.

            Craven chuckled. “Well, it’s good to see your appetite has returned,” with such an extraordinary taste, how could it not? “Perhaps we shall rest while you get your fill,” he offered.

            Phoenix gathered a handful. “No, let’s keep moving. I will eat as we walk. There are many more bushes to explore,” she smiled. “Why stop now?”

            They ate as they went, plucking berries from the bushes — first red and later blue, each incredibly delicious. As Phoenix filled her belly, she found her strength and stamina grow. Her energy was renewed. Her stomach no longer turned, and she found herself feeling less ill as they bushwhacked through the valley — the tall canopies above shading them from the unforgiving sun.

            Phoenix pushed her hood back and her cloak back over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and smiled as the cool breeze gently caressed her skin like a lover’s touch — a refreshing sensation. A flock of winged creatures flew over their heads — a beautiful array of red and white. Neither of them had ever seen anything like them, but Phoenix was confident they were harmless. They were far too small to be a predator.

            Everything was so beautiful. It was nothing like the wasteland. It exceeded her wildest dreams. Her mother had told Phoenix stories about Cyprus. About how lush and temperate it would be. She must have asked her mother a million times whether or not Cyprus was real. Her mother would always smile and kiss the top of her head. “I’m sure it must, and when we are to leave this world, God will bless us in the next.”

            She, as Phoenix did, had believed Cyprus was Heaven. Something to hope for in the next life. Something that could make survival in the wasteland easier to bear, believing that peace and tranquillity awaited them after the hardships of life. If only her mother had lived to see this heaven on earth. Phoenix could only hope that wherever her spirit had ended up was as incredible as where Phoenix now stood.

            Craven stopped and stared at Phoenix with concern in his eyes. “Are you alright? Are you feeling ill again?”

            Phoenix shook her head. She had felt much better since she had eaten those berries. Some food and shade had proven to be all she needed, but she did feel grief thinking of the fate her mother had suffered because of her. “I was just thinking,” she whispered her reply.

            “About?” He asked, coming to stand by her side.

            “My mother,” she confessed. “She died because I ran away,” Craven made an understanding sound. “Now she is gone, and I’m here.”

            He shook his head, and his expression became solemn. “I know how hard it is to lose a parent who loved you,” after all, he had lost two. “You have to believe that this is what she would have wanted for you. She made the ultimate sacrifice so that you could live a better life than the one she was trapped in. This is exactly where she would have wanted you to be.”

            His kind words warmed her heart. He was right. Nothing would bring her mother back, and she should not let her death be in vain. She smiled once more and nodded in agreement. “You are right. This is where our parents would have wanted us to end up,” she said. That knowledge did not ease the loss she still felt, but at least she could go on free of her guilt.

            They started walking once more side by side — a smile curved Phoenix’s lips when Craven’s hand slipped into hers. Their fingers entwined as they strolled along. It astounded her how much their relationship had changed throughout their journey. Craven had gone from a cold-hearted threat to a warm and caring man.

            Her pulse raced when he touched her. When he smiled, she felt a warm glow wash over her. Phoenix did not understand the feeling, the emotions this man kindled within her. All she knew was that she could never have come this far without him. It was strange the way she felt. She had never felt this way about anyone. Even if they never found another soul, Phoenix could die happy with Craven.

She wanted to tell him so. She wanted to tell him how he made her feel. “Craven,” she spoke, pulling on his arms to stop him. Craven turned and looked at her.

“Are you feeling ill again?” He asked with concern. “Do you need to rest? We can rest,” he said, looking around for a place to take a break.

“No, Craven, I’m fine. I just…” she paused as he watched her intently waiting for her to finish. He was so troubled about her welfare. His concern was sweet, but she feared his concern was just that of a man fearful for his companion and nothing more. Fear came over her, and Phoenix could not find the nerve to say how she truly felt about him. She was too afraid he would reject her feelings, and she did not think she could go on living if he did.

“What?” He prompted when she did not finish her thought.

“Nothing,” she lied, “it’s nothing. I’m fine. Let’s just keep moving.”    

***

            They had been walking for over a day when they came to a wide shallow river. The rock bed was wide from the tree line to the water. The water was crystal clear. They could see the bottom of the river. There was no bridge, no fallen tree to act as a safe way across the water. It was starting to look like they would have to wade their way across.

            Craven looked at Phoenix, knowing that what he was about to suggest hand not worked out well for them in the past. Phoenix smirked knowingly. He need not say a word as she stepped out into the water. Phoenix was a trooper. It did not seem to matter how many times he nearly got them killed; Phoenix followed him through hell and back without too much complaint.

            He was not sure what they might find living in the water, but he hoped to make it across without incident. He drew a knife, ready to kill anything that would possibly attack them. He would be prepared this time. Phoenix tried to repress her amusement at his sudden caution. Craven only smiled back at her. “Better safe than sorry,” he said light-hearted.

            “A bit nervous this time, are you?” She teased.

            “I learn from my mistakes. I don’t know how you feel on the matter, but I’m uninterested in taking another ride down the rapids,” he grinned. They cautiously waded through the water. Making sure they had sure footing with each step before taking another. It was shallow, no deeper than Phoenix’s hips at its deepest point. The water was surprisingly warm. They were halfway across when Craven felt something brush against him. Alarmed, he paused and looked down into the water. A strange small animal swam passed him and then another. They could not have been more than twenty pounds, long small animals that seemed to barely notice him. “What on earth is that?” He queried uneasily.

            Phoenix turned around and stared into the water. “I don’t know,” she said, drawing her blade. “Is it hostile?”

            Craven watched as more of the strange animal swam passed them. One after another, they did not seem to deem Phoenix nor himself a threat, nor did they bother them in any way. They did not try to bite or attack. They simply swam around them. “I don’t think so. I don’t think they even notice us,” Craven returned his knife to its sheath and slowly held his hands ready to pounce. “I think I may be able to catch one,” he said.

            There were many of them, and they came right up to him. He was sure if he waited for the right moment and moved quickly, he could snatch one from the water. He would only have one shot before he scared the others away. He stood in silence, waiting for the opportune moment. Quickly Craven lunged his arms into the water and grabbed hold of a big fat one. It fought against him, thrashing around. It was surprisingly strong and slippery, but Craven was stronger and determined to win. He pulled the animal from the river. It floundered in his arms, but after a moment, the fight stopped. He held his catch up proudly and smiled at Phoenix. “Look, lunch.”