Running Red

Chapter 12 - The Consumption

Here's the second half of Ch. 11. Originally they were supposed to be uploaded as a whole so these chapters might lack somewhat in substance, but as a whole they make a little more sense. Anwyays, enjoy! I'll keep you posted on the next upload. I know exactly what's going to happen, so shouldn't be too much longer. -FlyOn97

I woke up in my domed tent, wrapped comfortably in my blankets, though the air was like ice. I rested there for a while, letting the reeling in my head catch up with my life. So much had changed so fast.

Senrid was lying on the ground next to my bed. He had borrowed a couple of blankets off of my excessive pile and slept on the ground. He was not awake, breathing rhythmically in his deep sleep. He looked peaceful.

I decided then, that no matter what Senrid had done to hurt or confuse me, that I genuinely liked him. He was a good person at heart, if a bit awkward on the outside, but a good person with honest intentions. Fate had brought us together. It was only fair not to ignore it.

Senrid woke after a while, stirring fuzzily in his sleep before sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“Are you as hungry as I am?” he asked, his eyes almost comically drooped and bloodshot.

I nodded my confirmation.

Senrid got up, handed me my cloak from the floor, put on his own, and pushed back the tent flap. We found the sky grey and overcast and that it had snowed heavily while we were sleeping, adding a foot of powdery white fluff to the frozen two inches.

“What I wouldn’t give for a pair of shoes right now. . .” I heard Senrid mutter.

The snow was cold and colder still when it stuck to my feet and melted into little droplets of water. I did my best to ignore it and trudged after Senrid.

The camp had changed during the night. The first thing I noticed was the noise. Where silence and gloom had dominated on my first visit, people now talked and moved around, giving the camp a refreshing sense of life. I could hear laughter and the clangs of tools and equipment and people talking. There was an acrid tinge of wood smoke clinging to the still air and I could smell something cooking. My stomach rumbled hungrily.

I found myself smiling. Grinning, really. It was good to smile.

Senrid was giving me a suspicious look. “What are you doing?”

I stopped beaming like a fool and replied, “I am just. . .”I took a deep breath of the sharp air, “happy to be alive.”

Senrid gave me a flashing grin of shiny white teeth. A legitimate grin, not the evil smirk that I had thus far received. “Me too.”

Senrid walked me to the source of the cooking smell, Ollo’s pot, where we found hot broth with big vegetable chunks and a cup of warm tea.

I felt half starved and Senrid and I found a spot under some trees where the snow was not quite as thick.

We did not speak a word as we hungrily devoured our meals. I ignored the scorching I was inflicting on my tongue, and spooned mouthful after mouthful of the stew into my mouth, downing the tea in between bites.

Almost instantly I felt stronger. I sighed in contentment and sipped the rest of my tea, which was bitter, but hoping to make it last anyway.

We sat for a few minutes, our noses and cheeks pink from the cold. I smelled the air, thick with the tang of pine needles and wet earth.

Senrid stood and brushed snow and dirt off of his pants. “How would you like to see camp, Dheul?” he asked.

“There is more than this?” I asked.