Chapter 2 :Reminisce

‘Hhaa, the first thing I tell you and the first thing you do.’

‘Huh, who are you?’

‘I thought you would have remembered me by now.’

‘Oh, right the creepy guy from my dream.’

I feel myself start to relax when there’s a stabbing pain in my chest and there’s a flash of light that’s coming from myself, ‘Ugghh!’

‘KATIE!’ The man gets close to me and tries to lay his hands on me. But he’s thrown back and collapses on the ground. He winces once in pain, yet he comes forth.

‘No don’t come any closer to me.’

‘But you’re not alright in the least. I have to help.’ The man tries to get close to me again but he’s thrown backwards once more and crushes into the floor with his shoulder. There was a snap, ‘Uugghh! Katie, don’t worry I’m coming.’ He starts towards me a third time.

‘NO! I don’t want to hurt you.’ And he stops cold on his tracks.

The image starts to fade and I hear him scream, ‘No, wait. Katie . . . ,’ He’s far away now, ‘. . . I have to . . . ,’ so far away, ‘tell you . . . ,’ so very far, ‘who you are!’ And everything fades and is lost forever.

* * *

Huh, my chest hurts. I open my eyes and see that I’m in a hospital room; Kevin and Carmen nearby. Kevin is by my side clutching my hand. He’s resting on the hospital bed half sitting in one of the chairs that are provided in the rooms. Carmen is on a couch fast asleep. I try to move but I’m unable to. Kevin awakes up and smiles brightly to see me awake. He gets up in a rush and wakes Carmen. She wakes up in a hast and slaps Kevin across the face for waking her without warning.

“Hahahaa, LOL,” I laugh, “I think I should have warned you about that but you moved so quickly I couldn’t tell you,” I smiled at them brightly.

“Ah! KATIE!” Carmen recovers and rushes over and hugs me tightly, “YOU IDIOT! You shouldn’t do that to me,” Carmen howls at me right in the ear. I wince.

“I understand,” I smile weakly, “How long have I been out?”

“One month,” Kevin says. I stare widely at him. Carmen closes in on Kevin and smaches him in the back of the head, “You asshole, don’t say that if I knew; I wouldn’t have let you stay.” Kevin made a face as remembering what he had to do in order to stay, “Man, that took a lot of begging and crying.”

“You cried,” I asked astonished.

“Like a Bitch. That’s with a capital ‘B’ by the way,” Carmen grins mischievously and forms an ‘L’ with her fingers and lets Kevin have it, “Loser.”

Kevin just looks at Carmen. Then at me. Then at his feet, “I got worried and wanted to be sure that you were going to be ‘OK’,” he glances at me and smiles faintly then drops his gaze and a faint pink-red appears in the center and spreads across his face.

“Kevin, how cute you’re blushing,” I tease. He gets even redder, “I am not.”

“Then how come you turned bright red, huh?” Carmen reaches for Kevin’s cheek and lightly shakes it then lets it go. Laughs and grins from Carmen and I.

“Nah, really how long have I been out?”

“You pasted out on Wednesday . . . so it’s been, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. It’s been almost five whole days. Today is Sunday,” Carmen explains.

“Oh?”

“What do you mean by ‘oh’ Katie,” Kevin asks. I look away and stare at the window that’s to my left. It’s sunset. The sky is cloudy; tainted with reds, purples, yellows, oranges and red-oranges. It’s reminds of the day I went to the sea and saw a beautiful sunset with Carmen. We took pictures and all. Put them away in a safe place so we can always remember that day. Later that night, Carmen and I were fast asleep after an exciting day. I woke up to the smell of smoke. I thought Carmen was having a late night’s snack and burned whatever she was going to eat. I got up ready to scowl at her like she does when it happens to me. I got to the kitchen in our hotel room, and flames started to consume the kitchen. The fire was quickly spreading. Carmen came into the kitchen and saw the flames and me standing there. Doing nothing. Just standing there. I walked closer to the fire with an out stretched hand as to touch the flames. I felt Carmen pull me and told me to snap out of it. ‘This is what he wants, Katie. You have to awake up! KATIE!’

Carmen dragged me out of the room and the hotel. Outside people were rushing over and try extinguishing the flames that ate the hotel alive. I heard screaming. I looked up and saw a little girl on the second floor crying for help; telling her father to go and get her.

‘Daddy! Please come get me. Mommy doesn’t wake up and the fire is eating her! Daddy!’

‘It’s okay sweetie. Daddy’s coming to get you. Just stay where you are!’

The little girl nodded and clutched her stuffed bunny closer to her. She looked up at the ceiling in her room. Screamed once, 'Daddy!' And a piece of the roof fell and that was the end of her.

Her father let out a gut wrenching cry, 'Tracy!' The man dropped to the ground rocking back and forth. Wail after wail the man cried his daughter’s name, Tracy.

After four months of the incident, forty-two people died that night. Including, children, adults, older-adults, and newborns.

No one knew how the fire had started or how it happened. But only that forty-two people had died in their sleep that night. A week later I found out the little girl was only five and she was diagnosed with cancer a few days after her fourth birthday. She and her parents were traveling to the best hospital where she could be treated. That hotel was only fifty miles away from the hospital.

In the morning they were to finish their trip but the fire happened.

Five months after Tracy’s death and her father couldn’t take it. In a mental hospital where he was locked up, he hung himself. After blaming himself for not being there when his daughter most needed him.

“Katie? Are you alright?”

“Katie? Are you remembering that little girl,” Carmen asked me, “What was her name? It was . . .”

“Tracy. Tracy Fallnor. She was only five.”

I can feel tears start to slowly stroll down my face as a I remembered the little girl. I know that I could had had done something. Anything was good. Even if I really couldn’t save her, but I’ll know that least I tried. But even though I didn’t move a muscle to try and save her. Nothing.

“I did nothing. Nothing. Just . . . stand there and . . .”

“Katie,” Carmen calls to me softly, “there was nothing left to do. I was told that type of cancer the little girl had was nothing more than a dead end. It has no cure. All they were doing was prolonging her life a few years, months, weeks, even days. In the end for what? Just to see her die slowly and painfully,” Carmen shook her head, “There was absolutely nothing. NOTHING! You could for that little girl, Katie.”

I can’t help but feel guilty.

“What little girl?”

I look at Kevin sadly for forgetting he was here but go over the story anyway.

“So sad,” was his only responds, but could see that I got him right in the feels.

* * *

The next few days are all about catching up since the day I pasted out. I’ve been sent to the nurse on a regular basis. Just because we cracking up in the hospital room and it seems that my heart is too weak to undertake too much stress for certain activities. They found so sort of tumor in one the heart’s chambers. It doesn’t grow and it doesn’t completely harm me. But the problem is still there.

“Katie?”

“Yes?”

“You need to go to the nurse now,” Mr. Izawa nodded to the door, “Miss Tokito, will you do me the favor of escorting Miss Michaelis to nurse’s office?”

“Yes, Sir.”

As we walked down the hallway I’m able to hear footsteps coming our way.

“Hey, cuties,” Kevin greeted us, “Heading to the nurse’s office?”

“I was told to go,” I say.

“I got asked to escort her since you know, you weren’t there Master Flecker,” Carmen teased.

“I had to go to the toilet,” he apologized.

We walk the rest of the way in silence. Once there, I took notice that the door was a fraction opened and I could hear people talking on the other side.

“We should just kill her,” a man’s voice says.

“We can’t. Those are not our orders. Besides she has a fragment of the Artifact and every user has died. Even that five year-old. She is no exception,” I recognized the voice. It’s the nurse that always tends to me, but who are they talking about?

“HHaah! Oh, no they found out,” Carmen gasped, “We have to get you out of here.”

“Wait, what in the world are you talking about,” I asked.

“Yeah, what are you talking about,” Kevin questioned.

“I promise I’ll explain but right now we have to get her out of here now. Did you come in your car?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go. In silence,” Carmen instructed us. Kevin moved forward to lead us to his car but bumped into a the trash can and made it fall to the ground next to us. CRASH! Carmen yelled at us, “Get your ass moving before I kick them.” We run as every demon in hell was behind us. The nurse and the man that was with her run out of the office. Look around and spot us run up the hallway, “There she is,” the man pointed me out, “Let’s go get her now that we have the chance,” and he starts to run right after us. The nurse stretches out in attempt to grab the man but he’s out her reach, “NO! Those are not our orders come back,” the nurse starts to run after him telling, begging, pleading, ordering him to stop; but the man is stubborn. We take a right and head for the doors that are just a few meters away.

“Julian!”

“No! Do not try to stop me now Nancy. I have to catch her,” the man, Julian, gasped. He barks something in a weird language, "ςενι," and I fly back towards him, “Gotcha!”

“NO! CARMEN! KEVIN! HELP ME,” I plead them. I kick and turn in Julian’s arms trying to escape his gasp. I stomp on his left foot, elbow him in the nose then his ribcage. He let’s go of me immediately and I take off. Burning the soles of my shoes. Leaving Julian and Nancy behind.

“Where the hell is your car Kevin,” Carmen shouts.

“Over there,” he points to a black Nissan Rogue that’s close to the exit.

“We have to hurry,” Carmen say as we board the car. Kevin inserts the key, turns and the engine comes to life.

“Where to,” Kevin asks.

“Just get to the freeway and I’ll tell you from there,” Carmen explains.

On the freeway, Carmen directed us to a hotel to stay the night and prepare for tomorrow’s road trip, “It’s very far so just bear with it until we are safe. Only then will I be able to explain everything,” she says.

I’m on the roof top. Carmen knows that it means I want to be alone so I can think clearly. It’s a beautiful night. The moon is full and the sky is clear. There’s a thin fog that helps give away the illusion that moonshine’s is yellow. The roof top is filled with small plant pots all around the edge. Each pot has a different type of plant, roses, lilies, daisies, and moon laces.

After an hour of being up here, I went to the front office and asked if I could plant a moon lace. The manger gives me a pot and the seed of a moon lace with some special home-made fertilizer that he makes. I walk back to the room Carmen asked specifically; and hear her making a call.

“I can’t take her there. The road is too dangerous. Yes I know. But . . .”

Who is she arguing with?

“. . . but you don’t understand. The council hasn’t decided yet. No, no, no, no. I haven’t told her yet. No. Not until we’re safe. OF COURSE NOT! I don’t want them tracking us down. ”

Carmen?

“Alright. I’ll give her to you,” she laughs weakly, “What choice do I have? Alright, then. Yes. Bye,” she hangs up. When she turns I could see she’s been crying. She has traces of dried and fresh tears on her face and she’s still sniffing, “Oh, Katie. How long have you been there?”

“Not long. Just coming. I went to go get some things to plant a moon lace. I asked the manager if I could and he gave me all these things and some helpful tips to it.”

“Oh, okay you do that. But come back as quickly as possible so we can all sleep and be rested up for tomorrow’s trip,” she told me.

“Alright,” I smiled. That night I finished planting and went to bed like I was told.

* * *

‘Huh? Now what?’ I look around and take notice that I’m near a lake with a full moon, ‘It’s so beautiful,’ I whisper to myself.

‘Thought you’ll like it,’ said a familiar voice. I look back startled and see that it’s the man that I’ve seen since the day I fell asleep in class. He raised his hands, ‘I mean no harm.’

‘I can see that. I’m surprised that you didn’t tie me to a chair.’

‘Do you want me to? I still can if you like.’

‘No. That’s okay. Why did you bring me here?’

‘Because you like these things. And I love how your eyes look in the moonlight.’

I feel myself blush so I look down, ‘I’ve always hate it how my eyes look,’ I say.

‘Ah, how cute.’

‘What’s cute?’

‘That you blush every time I say something nice about you,’ he teases me. I cover my face with my hands and feel my face bright red.

‘Oh, come on. Let me see you,’ he pleas as he tries to move my hands out of the way with a gentle touch.

‘Nnoo,’ I say like a child.

‘Pretty please,’ he begs. Just then there was a snapping to our right near some trees that surrounded the lake, ‘What was that,’ I say looking up no longer with the flush of red. The man waves my question aside. We start towards the trees where the snapping came from. In the dark of the trees, there was a light. It was red. Deep red, ‘Run,’ the man whispers to me, ‘Go now that you still can.’ The red turned to eyes and a shadowy figure leaps from the trees through the air and onto the ground.

‘KATIE! RUN,’ the man shouts at me.

‘I want to help,’ I tell him. The shadowy figure slams into the man before I could reach them and image starts to fade. Instinct kicks in and I shoot forward to the man. The shadow has him by the neck with the left hand and keeps there while the right digs into the man’s stomach and pulls out handfuls of guts, intestines, blood, and more things that would make anyone vomit. I crash into the shadow and knock it down. It sneers, ‘You shouldn’t treat your master like that,’ he tuts. Its form starts to be more defined. It still a shadowy figure but its eyes shape is more defined and clear blood red.

‘Master?’

‘Yes. You must obey me.’

‘No, Katie this is what he wants,’ the man tells me as he repairs the damage caused by the shadow . I stop and remember the night at the hotel. I remember Carmen saying the exact same thing, “This is what he wants.” I turn and face the man, ‘Who is he and what does he from me?’

‘Oh, no Katie you shouldn’t talk to him like that. All you need to know is that he stole you from me,’ says the shadow. The man takes me by the shoulders, ‘Katie, you have to remember,’ he shakes gently and hugs me tightly, ‘I’m sorry for this.’

‘For what? Ah—’

‘I’m so sorry,’ the man cries softly in my ear. I look down in between us and see a dagger jammed into my lower abdomen. He buries and turns the dagger some more. I wail and wince.

‘Oh, William. Why did you risk seeing her here? Her favorite place. Knowing that I might come and you know that I always do,’ the shadow tuts. The man, William, looks down to me with watery eyes as tears slowly burst from the sides and slowly stroll down his cheek and onto his chin then onto my face near my lips, ‘My love, you’re beautiful from every angle. Do what you have to do. Let no one tell you otherwise,’ he says. He lowers his lips to mine and a gentle kiss is given to me by a man I don’t remember. At least . . . not yet.

* * *

“Katie wake up. Are you okay,” I hear Carmen ask. I try to move but Carmen keeps me down, “No, don’t move,” she orders.

“Carmen? I don’t feel so good,” I say.

“Holy fuckin’ shit,” I hear Kevin exclaim, “What happened? I just went to get the tank full and now this.”

“I know,” Carmen says irritated, “Katie, what happened to you. What did you do? Don’t tell me you’re going suicidal on me."

“Huh?”

“No. Don’t tell me you don’t remember,” Carmen says with concern and disappointment.

“Remember what,” I ask weakly, “Carmen? What happened? Please tell me,” I beg her.

“You got up before I was able to go get the water. Thought that you were eager to know what’s the story behind all this. You walked to the kitchen, got a knife and just . . . jammed into yourself,” she explains.

“Where exactly,” I ask. Carmen licks her parted lips and responds, “The lower abdomen. Katie I know you wanted to be a mom when the time was right but . . .” she trails off but finishes anyway, “. . . you won’t be able to have children anymore. The wound is too awful and by the time it closes and heals properly—your womb won’t be strong enough to carry the babies’ weight.”

Tears burst from the edges of my eyes as the news hits me.

Kevin helps Carmen wrap me up with a bandage that she had in case of an emergency. According to Carmen the bandage has a base of cotton mixed with elastic strands that are composed of bio-chemical organisms that eat anyway the dead skin and construct new skin that helps speed up the healing process. It also has a basic healing spell that Carmen casted upon the bandage. She warned me that at some point the pain will get worse but there’s not she can do about it. I asked her about buying pain killers or aspirins but she said, “No that would back fire. Magic and medicine don’t always go hand in hand and right now that’s your case.”

“Then can’t you cast a calming spell to keep the majority of the pain away,” Kevin asks on my behalf.

“No.”

“But, why?”

“That will pin-point our location and we can’t have any unwelcomed visitors. Not special now cause of Katie’s condition,” she explained. The next twelve hours were nothing more than uncomfortable silence. I’ve dosed off every now and then. Kevin is with me in the back seat now that it’s Carmen’s turn to drive. It was agreed that I wouldn’t drive unless it was completely necessary; otherwise it was a no even if I begged them to let me drive.

“So? How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay, I guess,” I say softly.

“Are you sad that you can’t have kids anymore,” he asks carefully.

“Sort of.”

“How come?”

“I can always adopt. Pretty sure there are a lot of children that want a mom,” I respond while looking out of the window. He takes my hand in his, “Katie? I haven’t had the chance to tell wha—”

“Hey!? You two back there I better not start hearing any kissing. NO PDA. Is that clear,” Carmen interrupts.

“Yes, Mistress,” we groan, “She ruined the mood,” Kevin jokes.

“Yeah, I guess she did,” I laugh. It’s been three days of driving nonstop except for fuel and sleep. We come to a stop near some woods, “'kay, this is where we stop and leave the car behind,” Carmen grins.

“What,” Kevin and I exclaim.

“We have to leave the evidence behind I can’t risk anyone or anything following us. The woods are dangerous but it’s the fast way.”

“To where?”

“Where we can keep you safe, Katie. Now, off the car,” she ordered. In the woods, we’ve been walking for hours now, “Carmen,” I gasp.

“Yes?”

“Can we rest now? I don’t feel okay,” I confess.

“Alright we’ll stop here,” she breathed and tossed her bag in front of us and dug three water bottles. We all drink thirstily and finish the water in the bottles, “Do we have more,” Kevin asks. Carmen digs into her bag but comes out empty-handed, “Sorry big fella. Just ran out.”

“Damn!”

“It’s okay. There’s a stream up ahead that slope. We can refill the bottles there,” she points.

“I don’t think Katie is doing so well,” Kevin remarks.

“How come?”

“Well you know; Kevin has been literally dragging me around and about the place so yeah,” I grin weakly.

“I’m sorry. I’ll carry her for what’s left of the way,” Carmen apologizes.

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Kevin waves the shame away, “Besides. I’m the man here. I’m suppose to carry her anyway.”

“What do mean you’re suppose to carry me anyway,” I snap playfully. ‘The Man’ here just grins at me and Carmen. He doesn’t stop until we are all laughing our ass off. Then the chest pain comes back combined with the one in my torso and I grunt.

“Katie are yo—” Carmen stops to the sound of a snapping twig. Everything is silent. Still.

“We should get moving,” Carmen whispers very softly, “Kevin do you think you can run with Katie if you carry her?”

“I could but I have the pack to deal with mine bag and Katie’s,” he replies.

“That’s okay. I’ll carry the packs. In fact give them to me now,” she demands still looking around. Kevin helps me slide off my pack and hands both packs to Carmen.

“I’ll give the order and you take off running with Katie to the mountain slope I just told you about.”

“What about you,” I ask.

“Don’t worry about me. I promise that I’ll be right behind, okay,” she says, “That’s a promise.” Another snap of a twig but closer this time, “Ready?” We nodded our heads, “Go! Now!”

Kevin grabs me by the waist and carries like a sack of flour. I feel my wound reopen a bit and wince, “Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“Nah, just the normal pain I get, don’t worry,” I lie.

Kevin begins to struggle with the weight. He’s tired but determined to keep me safe, “RUN FASTER,” we heard Carmen scream at us. Kevin turns around to see what the fuss is all about. Behind a running Carmen was a pack of wolves or shadow wolves, because only their eyes are visible and their bodies change constantly. Kevin didn’t need to be told twice, he turned bolted through the woods. New force found by the rejuvenating force of fear. I see Carmen trying to slow down some of them by casting a few spells that stopped them or they crashed into something invisible. Way to go Carmen! I hope she can teach me a few of those spells. She digs into one of the packs comes up with a few soda cans. Takes the lighter she always carries, pops open a can, picks up a couple of dried up leafs, puts out a card from a special deck she keeps on her persona, cuts it in half, drops one of the halves into the can. She shakes the can violently, put some of the dried up leafs on top of the can. She stops to set it alight and she take off again while she does the same thing to the other cans in the pack. The first can exploded; the shadowy figures went flying right into the sky, then one after another the explosions continued to blow up all of our foes, “What was that,” Kevin asked me.

“Oh, Carmen made a few grenades while she was running and set them off,” I explained.

“With what did she made them,” he asks.

“With some soda cans,” I say simply.

“So that’s why she want so . . . many . . . soda cans,” Kevin stated getting short of breath.

“What?”

“She . . . made me buy . . . soda cans,” Kevin tried to explain, but he was grasping so hard he came to a stop and put me down. “She . . . made me buy . . . a . . . twenty-four . . . pack an . . . and load . . . them . . . into a pack. Said . . . not . . . to touch them.” He’s panting hard. I don’t think he can carry me anymore, “Kevin, can you still run,” I asked while I gently touch his chest and feel his heart-rate. “Yeah,” he waves a hand then looks up at me, “but not carrying you . . . not anymore,” he gasps. I look up to where Carmen is still setting up soda cans and making gestures telling us to move. “Don’t worry. I just had a good rest. I can run. At least for a short while," I say. Kevin looks at me not very convinced.

"Hopefully by then you can carry me again,” I say quickly.

Kevin looks at me, “Are you sure,” still catching his breath.

“Yes.”

“Carmen is going to kill me if you get worse,” he half smiled and nodded forward. We start to run as fast as we can. We are almost at the mountain slope. We heard something starting to catch up with us. We have to run faster, “Thought you said you weren’t feeling okay,” said a familiar voice. It was Carmen that just caught up with us. I smiled at her and slip. Carmen and Kevin quickly take hold of my arms and hands as I fall. I looked up at them with a scared expression. They put me up onto the safety of the slope’s ground. We look at each other and laugh after a close to death experience, “That was a close one,” Kevin says still laughing weakly like we are.

“Look there’s the stream,” Carmen points out, “Like I promised,” she smiles still grasping from running and my slip. I get onto my feet, “Okay then. Let’s go. I feel thirsty again,” I grin and they chuckle. We walk for a another two miles and a half to where the stream is. The stream is about half a mile wide and is as long as the eye can see and it’s water is clear and running with fish. Carmen, Kevin and I dip our bottles into the stream. Kevin was about to drink some of it when, “No! Wait!” Carmen exclaimed.

“What? Why?” Kevin protested.

“We have to purify it.”

“With what,” I ask curiously. Carmen pulls out a small flask with a clear substance, “With this,” she grins, “This is iodine. Just a few drops, like five at the most. Let half an hour pass and we can drink.” We nod not too content, specially Kevin, “You can whine later unless you want to go ahead and drink just the way it is.” Kevin grins and dips his hands into the water and process to drink when Carmen is about to say something else about the water. I quickly put a hand between Kevin’s lips and his hands with the water. He looks at me angrily, “What the hell Katie?”

“Carmen is right. We have to wait and purify the water,” I say calmly and turn to see the water. The clear water that was once there turned to a murky pink-red liquid and the fish that were there are nothing more than mere corpses. The running water was still. Kevin looks at the water in the stream then at his hands and splashes water on the ground and on me just where the bandages are.

“What, the water wasn’t like that a second ago.”

“I know,” I say, “It’s the bacteria in the water. It eats anything that’s in the stream fresh and soft flesh. Like a wound or a small cut.”

“How do you now that,” Kevin asked me.

“Because she’s finally remembering,” Carmen answered for me. My wound begins to burn and I wrap both arms around my torso. Carmen and Kevin come closer, both move my arms and stare eye-opened.

“What’s wrong,” I ask. Kevin just points at the at me with his free hand. I look down. Blood. One simple word that described everything. Blood coated my bandages through my shirt and jacket. I start to feel woozy and almost fall into the stream. I feel someone catch me but I’m unable to see my savior and black out.

* * *

‘Katie,’ I hear a voice, ‘Katie? Wake up. You’re safe know.’

‘Ah? Who are you? Where am I?’

‘Don’t worry,’ the voice says warmly and brushes a few small fingers against my face with a gentle touch comforting me, ‘You’ll know soon enough. For now just rest.’

* * *

I open my eyes and stare at the blackens of the night sky. I try to sit but a hand makes stay where I am. I turn my head left and notice the fire burning a small rabbit. A Kevin slowly turning the stick that is attached to the meal and feverishly Carmen working on my wounds. I croak and she hushes me with one finger. Kevin looks at me and smiles briefly. Carmen glares at Kevin, “I’m going to throw you into the river if Katie doesn’t get any better.”

“I said I was sorry,” Kevin says miserably.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. You saying ‘sorry’ isn’t going to make Katie better.”

“Lay off him Carmen,” I says weakly. Both turn and look at me with surprised expressions, “What?”

“You shouldn’t be able to talk yet,” Carmen explained.

“Well it seems that I am.”

“So that means she’s getting better, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” she muttered.

“How much do I have to hold up until you can tell us the story,” I asked. Carmen smirks at me weakly, “You just can’t wait can you?” I grin, “Nope.”

“Just wait till we reach the mountain that’s up the stream,” she explained. Kevin just stared at her, “What,” she asked. Kevin responded, “I thought you said this was the fastest way.”

“Oh, it is. This way only takes four days to get there. Two or less if Katie’s condition were better.”

“What about the other way,” Kevin asked.

“It’s safer but it’s takes longer to get there.”

“How much,” I say.

“About a week or more cause of your condition,” Carmen explains smoothly, “but don’t worry. We’ll be there in no time. Kevin, how’s the rabbit going?”

“Pretty well,” he beamed.

“Okay, I will go look for a good rock to wash our clothes and see if I brought something useful to mash your food,” Carmen says as she looks around the dark forest. I look at her and she grins, “Hey, just cause you can talk doesn’t mean you’re ready to chew.”

I smiled weakly.

“Yeah, sure, why not,” I replay with a nod.

“Kevin keep an eye on her till I come back,” she ordered Kevin and takes off.

“So do you want to sit up while Carmen is out and about,” Kevin asks me.

“Yeah,” I sigh, “why not. I'm starting to feel a bit tired of laying down for gods know how long.”

As Kevin helps me lean against a rock nearby, “I’m sorry Katie. If it weren’t for me . . .” his words trail off.

“Hey, it’s okay. You didn’t know until after I explained,” I say calmly.

“So how did you about the water and all,” Kevin asks me with a curious expression. I shift unknowing how to answer, “Honestly. I don’t know. It’s just that . . . it was if I knew that since I was told.”

“Well, I asked Carmen how come you knew. And she gave the same answer as before. ‘She’s beginning to remember.’ I couldn’t get a different response out of her,” Kevin told me with a miserable nod.

“Don’t worry it’s probably one her weird pranks,” I smiled.

“But still, how did you know,” Kevin questioned me. I shift once more and we remain in awkward silence.

Carmen doesn’t come untill an hour later, “Sorry I was late but I found a good rock to wash our clothes.”

“Alright! But . . . ah . . . where’s the rock,” I ask.

“Yeah . . . that’s the thing. We have to go over where to the rock is,” she chuckles weakly. We sigh, “Okay, let’s go,” I say and start to stand, “No,” Carmen pointed at me, “grab her Kevin and don’t let her stand,” Carmen order him.

Kevin grabs my arm and forces me down, “No Katie; you’re going to make your wound worse.”

“I doubted it can get anymore worse than this,” I chuckle. Carmen just stares at me; ‘I’m warning you’, is what her stare is all about. I sigh and nod, “Okay, then what do you have in mind,” I questioned.

Carmen only grins.