LONG ROAD AHEAD

10

Phoenix flinched with the gunfire outside. She closed her eyes against the horrible truth. They did not have to see it to know what was happening. They both knew Titus and Peter were, at that very moment, fighting for their very lives. It was a risk they had taken coming into the ruins, as did he and Phoenix.

            Suddenly the gunfire ceased, and the night took on an eerie quiet. Death was in the air. A tear rolled down Phoenix’s cheek. Craven found it odd that she could shed a tear in mourning for the very men who had been trying to kill them. “They would have killed us had they not died,” he whispered, a quiet reminder to ease her pain.

            Phoenix shook her head. “No man deserves to die like that,” she whispered back. “I hate this place,” was all she said, resting her back against the table.

            He empathized with her. He did not like the wasteland any more than she did. The kill or be killed nature of things — the utter horror of every place and every night. There was not a good thing about the wasteland — not a single thing he would miss about it. Craven watched as Phoenix took her long golden locks and began to braid the heavy, unruly curls into one thick braid once more. It was a great disappointment. She looked so wonderful with her hair loose, cascading down her back and over her shoulders like liquid sunlight. She looked tussled, flushed, and positively ravaged. Craven smiled. It was a good look on her.

            What had happened between them had been unexpected. One kiss had caused them both to lose their heads. He had wanted her so badly, and when she had returned his kiss, he had found it impossible to stop himself from taking her, but the heat between them had run cold as soon as the moment passed. Phoenix had withdrawn, pulling away from him almost immediately, her demeanour cool. The intimacy between them had been an obvious mistake.

            Craven wished to discuss the matter with her, but as he opened his mouth, shadows passed by the window once more, they both pressed their backs against the table and remained still and silent. It was going to be a long night. They did not get any sleep that night, both on their guard all evening, ready to fight or run if the need arose.

            As the morning light crept through the window, the streets became still once more. They were both tired, but neither one wished to be caught inside the ruins another night. Readying their weapons, they pulled back the table barricading the door and carefully exited the building. Stepping out into the sun, they kept their weapons up, and their eyes open. Craven scanned the upper windows in the off chance that one of the brothers might have escaped the night before.            

            They moved quickly through the streets at a brisk jog. Tired and weary, they kept the pace up, pushing their bodies to the limits. They were out of the ruins by the late afternoon. They could have stopped, slowed down and rested, but they each preferred to put the ruins as far behind them as possible.

            They had gone through their rations and were left without food. Once they were safely away from the ruins, they trudged along slowly. There was no more danger forcing them to hurry. They succumb to their weary state. They wandered the desert, the sun beating down on them. Their hoods pulled low over their faces to protect them from the sun.

            There were mountains in the distance, and according to their maps, that was where they were headed. The mountains were visible but a good day away, maybe two. Vultures circled above, waiting for them to keel over and die. They paused at some boulders taking a seat to quench their thirst. They were down to their last canteen each.

            Craven drank, trying to ration what was left of his water. He looked up at the vultures above. “Those damn birds are mocking us,” he muttered. “Looking at us as food.”

            Phoenix drank from her canteen and reattached it to her side. She stared straight up, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun. “They need to eat the same as us.”

            “I will be damned if I end up lunch for the buzzards,” he grumbled. Craven remembered Phoenix’s skill at bringing down the hawk and wondered if she could repeat the feat. As she had said, they had to eat, and as far as he could see, this was the only meat they had come across. “Can you shoot that bird down?” He asked, wondering if they might eat that night.

            Phoenix stared up at the circling birds. “I don’t know. The hawk came down. Those aren’t going to come down unless one of us dies. It presents a harder target,” she said, taking her bow and drawing an arrow from her quiver. She placed her arrow in the bow and pulled back, pointing straight up, trying to aim. Craven watched as she moved in a circle, trying to predict how the bird would move so she could hit it. “I recommend moving if I miss. When the arrow falls back down, it could kill you,” she warned.

            Phoenix pulled back on her bow and released it. The arrow ripped through the air, narrowly missing one of the vultures and ascending many more feet into the air. They both moved out of the way as the arrow slowed to a stop, and gravity brought the arrow plunging back to earth. It embedded itself into the dirt.

            Frustrated, Phoenix pulled the arrow from the dirt and gave it another try muttering incoherently to herself. She pulled back the bow and aimed again. Then she moved ahead of her prey and released. Her arrow soared up, and Craven watched as the vulture flew right into it. The arrow pierced the bird, and it dropped out of the sky.

            Phoenix quickly pulled another arrow and placed it in her bow as the second vulture swept down to snatch up the first. Phoenix pulled the bow tight and released. The arrow took out the second bird, and Phoenix lowered her bow. Craven offered her a weak smile; she might have just spared them slow starvation. He walked over to collect the birds. She had been kind enough to kill them. The least he could do was clean them.

            “Why don’t you rest a bit? I will make us something to eat,” he offered, seeing how tired she was. No sleep in two days had taken its toll. Phoenix had wedged herself comfortably between some boulders, with her cloak wrapped snugly around her. It did not take her long to fall asleep.

            Craven wandered a bit to gather what wood he could find to build a fire. Once he had what he needed, he took out his hunting knife and began the tedious task of cleaning the birds. They stunk, but meat was meat, and they were starving. He wondered what sort of food they would be hunting in Cyprus. Certainly not scavenging for buzzards and rodents. At least he hoped not.

            What would happen to them when they reached Cyprus? Would he and Phoenix part ways, their companionship dissolved once they reached their mutual destination? After all, she had only travelled with him because there were only one book and two of them. Had she had her map, he was sure she would have made the trip alone. She kept herself closed off from people, from him, and the events of last night did little to improve that.

            He smiled at the memory of her body against his. The sweet soft sounds she made, the way her hair swung as their bodies moved as one. Her body had been so beautiful, so perfect, despite one thick scar marring her flawless skin. He knew a stab wound when he saw one. It had been long healed but visible. It must have been very bad when inflicted, near-fatal. He had wondered how she got it, but it had hardly been the time to ask.

            Craven was becoming quite fond of Phoenix. Sure, she was a bit headstrong and stubborn, but she had proven good company. Craven had cleaned and cooked the birds butchering the meat to more portable sizes. Once his task was done, Craven filled the satchel with their food and went over to wake Phoenix from her sleep.

            She looked so peaceful. He reached out his fingertips lightly touching her hair. He wanted to kiss her once more, to feel her lips beneath his. His fingers caressed her face, and her eyes fluttered open. Phoenix stared up at him, confused for a moment. “It is time to get moving once more. Before the sun goes down,” he said, offering her his hand to help her to her feet.

            Once upright, Phoenix tossed her bow and quiver over her shoulder and started to follow him. Craven offered her some of the meat he had prepared, and she took it happily, devouring it as they walked. Like him, Phoenix was just happy to get some food in her belly.

            “How long was I asleep?” She asked as they headed on toward the mountains.

            “Almost two hours,” he said as he finished the meat he had rationed for himself.

            “You got no rest for yourself,” she observed.

            “I will rest when we find shelter,” he said.

            “Have you ever been to the mountains?” Phoenix asked with great curiosity.

            “No,” he answered. He was not sure anyone had. The mountains were nothing but rock. There was no vegetation, no animals, nothing but endless valleys and peaks of rock, but according to their maps, they had to go through those very mountains. “We’re going off the known maps here. There is a town two days walk to the east of here, but those mountains mark the limit of what most have travelled.”

            They had reached the point of no return. Once they entered those mountains, it was no man’s land. They were at the mercy of the landscape. There were no more towns in which to buy provisions. They were completely on their own. The sun had begun to set, brilliant oranges and reds crept across the sky. Craven drew his pistol as the night drew near, and they still had found no shelter.

            Predators would soon be out, and they were completely exposed. They needed a bunker, a cave, an abandoned shack, anything they could hold up in for the night. Only nothing presented itself. As the moon rose high and the stars filled the night sky, it was starting to look like they were not going to find shelter. They would be forced to sleep out in the open.

            “We will have to sleep in shifts,” he suggested as they found a spot to lay down for the night.

            “I will take the first watch,” Phoenix offered, being that she was the only one of the two of them who had slept at all that day. Craven did not argue. He had more than earned some shut-eye. They did not bother to make a fire. A fire would only attract predators. Phoenix sat at Craven’s side, her gun ready, and her eyes open.

            Craven pulled his cloak around him as he lay close beside her trying to get comfortable. Thoughts of last night still plaguing his mind. “Phoenix, about last night, what happened between us…” He said softly, keeping his voice low so as not to attract anything.

            “Forget it,” she said coolly. “It didn’t even happen. Too much Scotch, it went right to our heads. We could not be held accountable for our actions,” she was trying to prove that what happened had not affected her. Erecting a wall between them, perhaps to protect herself from him, to prevent him from hurting her. “Get some sleep,” she instructed. “I don’t know how long I can stay awake.”