Fool's Gold

Chapter 3-

The top of the hill finally came into sight and it gave me a fresh burst of energy. By now the sky was dark, the moon had risen, and everyone was looking forward to resting. My shoes were worn and dirty, and my whole body ached, I could not wait to sleep. 

One foot in front of the other.

Just one more step.

Almost there.

I kept replaying these thoughts in my mind.

“Are you tired?” Coy asked. I laughed.

“Are you?” 

He moved closer. 

“We’re almost there. From the hills we’ll be able to see exactly what damage the attackers have done.” The happiness in his voice faded out. He was probably thinking of his little sister. After all she did have less of a chance of surviving than my parents. I had every faith my parents would come to meet us, father would’ve taken the remaining children with him if he’d realised there was no hope. 

“Inka? Inka!” he hit me lightly on the arm. “Inka!” 

“What?” I snapped back.

“You weren’t listening. Look,” He pointed to a large clearing a few metres ahead of us, “We’re here.” 

“At last. Safety.” I said as I exhaled loudly. 

—————

The adults had already started constructing huts for us to sleep in. They said we would only be staying here for a short time, just until everyone from the village had escaped and caught up with us. Strangely enough Coy, Toto and I were the only children here. Coy’s father said it was probably because the other children went on another route. I only hoped now, that father and mother were staying with another group, and so was Coy’s sister.

The adults had divided themselves into small groups and assigned each one to a hut, while Coy, Toto and I shared another one. 

“Children go to sleep please. It’s getting dark now.” Said one of the adults. A few of us were sitting in a circle, eating some berries we had picked in the nearby bushes. 

“Come on Toto.” I said as I slowly picked myself up. He groaned.

“I’m not tired, Inka! Please let me stay up for a bit.” He looked up pleadingly, practising his well-rehearsed trick that he knew would always catch Papa out. 

“Toto, that doesn’t work on me. You know that.” His wide eyes drooped a little as he grabbed my skins to hoist himself up. A small yawn escaped his mouth and he quickly raised his sleeve to his mouth to muffle the sound. I chuckled lightly to myself and faked a similar yawn. Toto giggled back, instantly forgetting his sulky mood. 

I bent down and grabbed him from behind, startling him. Then I lifted him up and twirled him around. 

“Inka!” He said in between giggles, “Put me down!” My arms began to ache after a few twirls so I carefully set him down on the ground, my heart sank a little, he was no longer the tiny two-winter-old that only weighed as much as my fur boot. 

We reached the entrance of the hut and I lifted up the skins covering the opening. He ducked under my arm and I followed him in. 

The hut was circular and about four metres in diameter, built entirely from wooden sticks and the roof from leaves. It was surprisingly warm considering it only took a few hours to construct. 

The adults had already laid out three sets of furs on the floor for us to sleep on, and Toto flopped down on the one furthest away from the door. I chose the spot next to him and brushed my fingers along the fur. The bristles were soft and cold underneath my fingertips. 

Suddenly the tiredness I had been fighting the whole evening crept up on me, and I fell back onto the cushiony furs. 

“Inka?” I heard a thin whisper from next to my ear and I jumped up, my back rigid. 

It was Coy.

“So you’re awake then.”

“Now I am.” 

I threw a sideways glance at Toto, who by now had fallen into a deep sleep and was curled up in a tight ball. Gingerly, I put another set of furs over him, he squirmed around a little before settling down.

“Poor Toto, he must be so tired.” Coy whispered. I spoke in the same tone.

“Yes, I’m not even sure if he’s made sense of what happened today, whether he knows that Mama and Papa might not be coming back tomorrow.” 

Those last words hung heavily in the air, and the silence was eerie. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to word it like that, I just…don’t like to raise false hopes, in myself or in Toto.” 

He didn't reply but nodded his head lightly, as if to say ‘I agree’. I knew I had made the atmosphere awkward now, but at least we could sleep it off, and hopefully he would have forgotten my comment by the morning. 

“Goodnight.” Coy said softly. 

“Goodnight.” I replied. 

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A/N 

Im so sorry for not updating or being on Wattpad but I hope you liked this chapter :) comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, 

what_the_dickens xxx