The Back of The Mind: A Collection of Eerie Short Stories

Walk to Salvation: Part 6 of 8

The fox's meat had gone down with gratitude. Despite the previous night's events, he didn't dream that night. If he had, Erik was relieved that his mind hadn't held on to any memory of it.

His eyes opened as the stars began to disappear from the sky. No birds held his company yet, and the tiny nocturnal creatures were exhausted from their hardworking night. Only the heat from the dying coals next to him displayed any signs of life. His eyes swayed toward a sleeping Berk, still as a rock between a tree and dim coals.

He looked up through the branches above him to the shades of blue the sky held. He didn't feel like Erik anymore. He closed his eyes at this thought.

The sudden pain in his ribs was the next thing he remembered.

"Jesus fuck!" Erik winced in pain as he shot up.

Berk kicked him one last time for good measure and stood back. "Get up."

"Why would you kick me awake?" Erik rubbed his side.

"Sleep too much," Berk mumbled, picking up his weapons.

"That doesn't mean you should injure me, asshole."

"Berk. Not Ȁsol." Berk said it straight, but Erik couldn't help the smile creeping onto his face.

"Yeah, well, your name could be Shitface for all I care."

Berk stood to wait for Erik while he got his belongings together. These are the things his life had boiled down to: two pairs of worn clothes, one pair of well-worn shoes, an unwashed jacket, a dirty pillow and blanket, and a backpack to help keep it all together.

The sun was halfway peeking over the horizon when they left the three trees. The breeze that flowed past them wasn't as chilly as the previous morning's, which Erik welcomed.

"When will we reach where we're going?" he hated to feel like a child in the backseat, but time was starting to get to him.

"Soon," Berk said.

"Should I be ready to set up camp again?"

"Yes. After river."

"What fucking river?" Erik shot the words at Berk, and he hastened his pace to catch up with Berk.

"Cross river. Get to house," Berk replied.

Erik didn't want to waste his energy trying to get more information out of him. He wondered in which language he could get more out. What would Berk say to Erik if he knew how?

From there, Erik's mind drifted into a daydream for the rest of the morning. He noticed how the landscape developed life and greenery as they walked. Trees were becoming more common, along with the bushes next to and between them. He spotted another pair of antelopes different from what he ate. They were bigger, darker, and had thicker horns that could easily run you down. There were a handful of anthills on their path, and ants ran busily in all directions. Never a dull moment.

The pale brown shade of grass never truly disappeared; it just became ingrained into the green plant life. The new scenery felt refreshing, and it motivated Erik to reach the river.

It was well past noon when they first caught sight of the river. On the other side, herds of zebras, impalas, and other antelopes grazed together on the greenery surrounding the river. The water didn't seem to be flowing fast, but they would find out soon.

Berk made a turn to the right, a reasonable distance away from the water. As they marched upstream, the river visibly narrowed. Erik spotted a raft on the riverbank next to a small tree. As they got closer, he saw that the raft was tied to a rope that connected it to trees on opposite sides of the river.