An ear-splitting creak ushered itself into existence as I opened the front door of a small shack. The smell of dust and rotting food greeted our nostrils upon entry. Our feet pressured the planks of cwine-wood as we trudged into the nightly dark room.
“What is this place?” Aldera groaned. A tinge of disgust laced in her voice.
“My home. I don’t come here that often though, so no one near here probably knows that I live here.”
“I didn’t see any other places near here.”
“Trust me, there are,” I assured Aldera.
“Ok, but still. I’ve lived in Yoma all my life and didn’t know there was such a secluded area within its borders.”
“Makes sense.” I nodded toward her uniform. “Those that can’t afford to live in the city can comfortably afford these houses on the far outskirts of Yoma. Technically, I make enough to where I could live closer to the city, but I have been saving up to leave Xerra for years now.”
I grabbed a chunk of flint and threw some leftover sticks of water-wood into the fireplace. There was no furniture in the house, so even in the dark, it was easy to transverse around.
“Was it wise to leave your friend at the clinic?” Ze asked as I ran steel over the flint. Each swipe produced a curtain of sparks that smothered the wood beneath.
“Well, there is not much we can do to treat him ourselves,” A fire burst to life, “And correct me if I am wrong, but I doubt the Therta will try to hunt him down.”
“I suppose your right.” Aldera sighed.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Now that the room was lit. I could again see Aldera and Ze clearly. The sun had gone down a few hours ago, and after dropping Dert off at the clinic, we had pretty much been walking in the dark. My house was not an easy place to get to from where we started, especially because we made sure to take back roads and had to go through rolling fields of dunes.
Looking at Ze made me a bit jealous. Despite being tattered, scraped, and scarred, he looked like he had just heroically saved a child from a burning building. Arguably, his red skin added to that sense. Plus, there was Aldera who looked like the goddess of war. It was semi-depressing looking at them, so I decided that it was about time to rest.
“Now, let's go to bed. We can take shifts being awake, just in case. I doubt they will find us here anytime soon. Especially considering you didn’t even know about this place, Aldera. But I thought of an escape route if they do find us, so it all should be fine. And I hate to ask one of you two… or one… Ze, right? Are you able to see? I can’t tell if that blindfold is just something you wear to throw off your enemies or not.”
“No, I am blind, but I am still capable enough to keep watch out,” Ze said matter-of-factly.
“Okay then. Can one of you two keep watch then? I haven’t slept in the last 24 hours, so I need a quick nap.”
“I can do it, then,” Aldera nominated herself.
“Sounds good to me. In the morning, we can introduce ourselves and figure out what to do from here.”
“Why are you helping us?” Aldera asked as I sat near the fire. “Why get yourself involved? Even though you technically assaulted a Therta officer, they still probably wouldn’t remember you. You could turn back.”
I thought for a moment before replying, “I was planning on leaving this rock soon anyways. But now that is my only choice. And it is probably your guys’ only choice now as well.”
The war of shadows and light played over Aldera’s alluring, thin face from the flames behind me. Her eyes, another pair of flames, peered into my own as if trying to find my deepest secret.
“I want you to join me on my trip to Aqueden,” I said to break the awkward silence. “I can tell we are all already on uncharted waters. Why not work together to chart them?”
After that, I stretched out on the warm floor and drifted off to sleep.
End of Part 1