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The three hunters walked through the woods, each one of them holding a knife and a basket, Marisa holding an extra basket and Sparna holding an extra knife. Marisa had ended up sharing the mint leaves, and both Sparna and Liam were extremely grateful. Sparna tried a few more berries, and the three of them were relieved to find that she was completely fine. Liam and Marisa each had a couple, even though they were tempted to eat all of them.
The sun was setting, clouds covering light from the sky. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. The only thing that could make their hunting harder was the dark.
"Do either of you know how to start a fire?" Sparna asked. Marisa looked Liam.
"I might be able to figure it out?" He said, but it sounded more like a question. "Just give me a few rocks and a large stick."
Marisa nodded and ran around, desperately trying to find what he asked for before she could no longer see clearly. She came back with what he needed, and he started rubbing the stones together, trying to get enough friction to spark a flame.
After a few minutes of trying, the stick caught fire, and he quickly held it up.
"This should help for a little," He said, standing up. "It's a long stick, so maybe about thirty minutes?"
"What about after that? We can't just keep lighting sticks every few minutes." Sparna pointed out.
"We might have to," Liam said.
There was a moment of silence before either of the girls said anything in resistance. "Maybe we should go back..." Marisa said quietly, trailing off.
"Are you serious?" Liam blurted out. "We left for a reason, and we barely have anything!"
"Maybe, but we've been gone for too long. Zeke might have already told them where we are." Marisa tugged on her sleeve, looking down. "Plus, it's dangerous. I-I don't want to end up like William."
"We'll be okay. We just need a little more time."
"If we don't find anything in that time, you'll make us stay out here even longer until we stumble across something." Marisa took a breath, her voice even quieter.
"I-I didn't want to have to admit this, but I'm scared." Her voice trembled, along with her hands. "So many people have died already, and most of them were because of those...those things."
Sparna walked over to Marisa and grabbed her hand. "It's okay to be scared," She said reassuringly, stroking her palm. "I am too."
