Storm of the End: Book One

Chapter XIX.V: Dance With Death

Jared shuffled in his seat, "Hmm... I guess we should start looking for a place to stay soon, huh?"

"Yeah," Sarah said, "Though maybe we could just sleep in the van."

Aaron shook his head quickly, "But the one of those things could see us really easily..."

Sarah sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. It would be like sitting out in the open, huh?"

Jared glanced back, "What do you think, Richard?"

Richard perked up in the backseat. I found it a little weird that he hadn't spoken in a while. He didn't say anything, just shrugged and kept looking at us.

I felt a slight twinge in my stomach, but I didn't really know why.

"You okay back there, Richard?" I asked him, slightly worried.

His eyes flickered, but his smile didn't fade. He nodded.

There was something about his smile that always made me feel a little weird. It was like he was faking it. He always managed to keep a light mood, but I felt like he was hiding something beneath the surface. He was probably just worried like the rest of us. Yeah, he was definitely just putting up an act of bravado. But still, I appreciated it even if it was just an act. It kept the morale up.

"Oh, don't be like that Markus!" Sarah pouted at me, "Richard's always been a little quiet, you know?"

This time there was a slight twinge on my temples.

Jared chuckled, "But when he does talk, it's always something hilarious, right? He always keeps the mood light."

My head started throbbing. What was wrong with me?

"Anyway, we should keep driving for a little while. Maybe until five or six, then we'll find a place to stay," Jared said, and we went back to our own inner contemplation as I continued to drive on.

I kept glancing into the rear view mirror at Richard.

Was he just... staring at me?

He almost seemed suspicious of me or something.

Did something I said upset him?

Shit... My head was really starting to hurt. I brought my hand up to my temple.

Aaron kept glancing back at Richard too. His expression seemed to tilt back and forth between one of realization, bordering on worry, and one of calm.

Around ten minutes had passed, and my headache just wouldn't go away. I was tempted to ask Richard if I said anything that upset him, because he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore: he was glaring right at me through the rear view mirror.

I felt a sharp pain, like a knife being driven into my head.

"Richard!" I suddenly almost shouted, "Is everything okay, man?! You're not angry at me for some reason, are you? If I upset you, well, I apologize."

His eyes fluttered, and the glaring look vanished. His smile widened as if to reassure me. Aaron was staring at him.

"Jeeze, what's got you so worked up, Markus?" Sarah turned to me, "Richard's fine. Don't worry about it."

I muttered something apologetic and nodded.

A sudden thought entered my mind and with it a chill coursed down my spine:

When did we first meet Richard?

I remembered his personality, things he had said... but...

Where did he come from...?

It felt like a jackhammer was pounding on my head as I peered at him through the mirror.

What the hell was wrong with me? Richard had been with us since...

Since... Since when? Was it just this headache that was messing with my head? Fuck, it was seriously really starting to hurt.

My vision started to get blurry. All I could see was the reflection of Richard's wide eyes and toothy grin.

I thought I would collapse. I started to swerve a bit on the road.

Jared spoke, but to me his words sounded like they were coming from underwater, "I think now's a good time to eat, Markus you should pull over and then we'll get the food out of the bags we managed to bring with us."

I had already started to slow the car before Jared had even said that, unconsciously. I was really losing my grip. Was I just falling asleep? Yeah... huh, I must be tired. It would be nice to just get a little rest...