Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

Caves In

They landed with a loud thump and twin cries of pain. A little bit away from them, the creature landed in a river, making a loud splash and spraying water over Anne and Fei Fei. In a way, Fei Fei was almost glad. Maybe she'd just imagined it, but that creature had the look of a demon, and even though it was for sure dead, Fei Fei wasn't sure that she wanted to face it again.

They wanted for a long time. Well, not waited, exactly, they were... hesitating. Anne's hand felt like it was broken. Fei Fei's back hurt. They stared at the small bits of blue in through the trees above them, and neither wanted to move. Maybe they even fell asleep. They weren't sure.

All the two of them knew was that as the moon started peeking over the trees, Fei Fei forced herself up, wincing as pain shot through her back.

"Ow..." Anne whined, the first thing said in a long while. "I... can't believe that didn't work."

"I can't believe we even did it," Fei Fei replied. "Come on. We should move."

"Move to a safer place so we can sleep, right?" Anne asked her, and Fei Fei gave her a confused look. "We ARE sleeping, right?"

"No, we-." Fei Fei cut herself off as she stood up, nearly falling over again. "...We should rest."

"Oh, good," Anne sighed, relieved. As she moved her wrist, she winced. Probably not broken, but definitely sprained. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"My back."

"Only that, huh?" Anne asked, and Fei Fei glanced down at her.

"Is something hurt with you?" Fei Fei asked her, and Anne raised her right wrist in answer. Fei Fei frowned.

"Oh no..."

"Just sprained," Anne assured her. "I think."

"We should treat it," Fei Fei decided, despite the fact that they had none of the tools of which to do that, nor any idea of how to use them if they did. "Yes, you're right, we should find a safe place to sleep."

"Nice, nice," Anne said, and with her good hand, she pointed to the cliff. "Over there looks safe."

Fei Fei looked. "The-The dirt cave, you mean?"

"Uh huh."

Fei Fei looked from the cave to Anne and then back, trying to figure out if she was joking. "Really? Is that safe?"

Anne shrugged. "I don't know. The only reason I'm really pointing it out is because it looks cool, if I'm gonna be honest."

Fei Fei frowned, looked back to the dirt cave, and then shrugged. It did look cool.

Fei Fei helped Anne to her feet, despite the fact that her back screamed in pain and that there was nothing wrong with Anne other than her wrist, and together, they made their way to the dirt cave. But as they got closer, Fei Fei started to have doubts. Anne, too, but unlike Fei Fei she kept those hidden.

"This doesn't look like a dirt cave anymore," Fei Fei remarked. "More like a dirt tunnel."

"Huh," Anne said. She and Fei Fei shared a quick glance before the both of them shrugged. "It'll work."

"I'm too sore to go anywhere else anyway," Fei Fei groaned. The two stumbled into the entrance, and sat along the walls with a sigh of satisfaction. The walls were rocky and dirty, with pebbles falling on them every time they shifted positions, but despite the fact that the two barely did any walking, they were exhausted. They sat in silence for a long time.

Eventually, Anne sat up, rubbing at her arms. "It's kind of cold in here, isn't it?"

"I don't know."

Anne frowned at Fei Fei. "...Aren't you feeling cold?"