Finches

Chapter 20 - The Birds And The Trees

Three days passed with little excitement, which was fantastic in Colt's opinion. It had gotten to a point where nothing excited him more than trekking through the forest with no excitement. This was likely due to the fact that the excitement, whatever it happened to be, nearly always wanted him dead. So with a near-death counter of 0 over the past few days, he and Shelly had been able to actually make some progress on their journey.

They'd been walking along the path in Gold Forest all day everyday with hardly any stops. Shelly never complained about the walk or getting tired, probably because she knew that Colt was doing the same trek while carrying a million-pound barrel along with him. And since Shelly wasn't requesting any breaks, there was no way that Colt would say he needed one. So they kept on walking, only ever stopping once and awhile to check the map and make sure they were still on track.

And they were on track, all right. They'd covered some good distance recently, so Colt estimated they'd arrive at the Authority base in only a few more days of traveling. The journey was beginning to come to an end, he could feel. Soon they'd be at the base and he'd be getting the information he needed. Then he could leave Goldtown behind and go off on his own. He would be able to make progress on his voyage to find the lost captain without having a captain to boss him around or a crew to consult with. It'd be him all on his own, just how he wanted. At least, that's what he thought he wanted.

For now, though, it was still a two-man process. Shelly had stayed with him the entire time, so there was no chance that she'd leave now that they were this close. But Colt didn't really mind, not as much as he used to. They had mostly kept to themselves the past few days. They would strategize their plans for the journey together, but that was mostly it. While they were walking they kept in their own heads. There was practically no small talk and definitely no deep conversations happening. Maybe that was for the best, though. Maybe they understood each other, and the fact that they both had very different paths. They just happened to need to get to the same place, for reasons that were unknown to the other. They had a common goal, and were both becoming increasingly aware that the common goal was about to be reached. And then they'd go their separate ways. And that would be that.

Colt was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice when Shelly stopped walking. He carried on for a moment more before realizing she was gone and turning back. She'd stopped in her tracks with a faraway look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Colt asked.

He walked back over to her, wondering if she'd heard something strange. He trusted her sense of hearing by now much more than he did his own, so if she heard something he believed it. Maybe their days of peaceful strolling through Gold Forest were coming to an end.

"I heard a soft rumbling noise," she said.

Colt frowned. "Do you..."

"Shh!" she interrupted. "There it is again."

Then realization dawned on him. He waved it off and continued walking. "Oh, don't worry about that," he said. "It's not a threat. To you, anyway."

Shelly jogged to catch up with him, a look of confusion across her face. "What do you mean?"

"That soft rumbling noise," Colt said, "was my stomach. The only danger is me becoming too hungry."

"Oh." Shelly looked relieved at this. Their good luck continued. "I suppose we should eat something."

"Yeah, that might do the trick," Colt agreed.

Shelly folded up the map and stowed it away in her pants pocket. Then she reached into her satchel and pulled out their latest meal. She tossed some bread and a flask of water to Colt, then retrieved the same for herself.