Episode 21

When Scarlet awoke, she realized that she was laying on her side with her head in Helfeirch's lap, his left hand resting on her shoulder. She took in a sharp breath as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her leg was still quite sore, but not throbbing as it had been.

"Did you sleep well?" she then heard Helfeirch ask.

"Yeah, thanks," she answered as she rubbed her head.

"Here, eat," he said as he reached into a pack and grabbed some food. It was more berries and some meat.

"What's this?" she asked as she looked down at the meat.

"Rat."

"...I can't wait to get out of here and eat some real food..." she said out loud to herself.

"What's the food like where you come from?" he then asked.

"Depends on what you're eating and who cooked it," she answered as she took a bite. "But there is a lot larger variety to choose from. And sauces to spruce up any otherwise questionable dish. Like this rat could use some serious barbeque sauce."

"Barbeque sauce?"

"Yeah, barbeque sauce. We get topside, I'll introduce you. It will change your life." It was then that Scarlet realized just how comfortable she'd come to be around the strange man, despite not knowing him for long. It struck her as odd. She normally wasn't a trusting person. But she'd learned to trust her instincts, and her instincts told her that she could relax around this man.

They were shortly on their way again with Scarlet in tow behind Helheirch. They would wander through the darkness for what she guessed was a few days, occasionally hiding from other Bwbach. They were quite successful at not drawing unwanted attention. The longer they walked, the fewer their encounters with the Bwbach became. Scarlet wondered if that just meant they were getting outside their territory.

Finally, the sight she'd been dying to see, daylight. Initially, it made her eyes hurt immensely, and she could not bear it without covering her eyes. Helfeirch had his goggles on, but even with them, he seemed to be struggling with the light. He simply slid down a wall and sat there cradling his head. She sat across from him with her eyes closed, feeling the breeze on her skin.

She could feel something tickling her arms. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw that they were sitting in an open area where the sun was blocked by another level above them. The floor was covered in dirt and wild grass. She guessed that they had washed down from the main level of Lygredd and settled here over time. Old metal bars, braces, and walls rose up out of the grass. Her eyes settled on the horizon and the endless sky that lay there. They were quite high up now. The ground and its bright desert were like a faraway illusion.

Helfeirch adjusted himself, drawing her attention, and for the first time, she got a real good look at him. His hair was slightly lighter than she had first supposed, and his skin was the palest she'd ever seen. His hands were strong and covered in scars. And she could tell even with them covering his face that he had defined facial features.

'All in all, he's actually a pretty attractive man… aside from his corpse-like skin tone.'

She simply sat there enjoying the breeze and the sunshine. She wanted to give him all the time he needed to adjust to the light change. He'd done her the same favor more than once. Her head dropped as her eyes drifted to her arms. The scabbing had nearly covered her entire body, even covering the wounds she'd suffered.

It didn't seem to affect her ability to move, and the scabbing itself didn't hurt. But it had begun to itch immensely, especially around her chest. She supposed she was a horrific sight to see. She didn't have the faintest idea as to what was happening to her body. She'd been trying to avoid thinking about it. The darkness had helped with that task, as she couldn't see herself.

Taking in a deep breath, she attempted to focus her mind elsewhere. 'I know I told Helfeirch that I would take him for barbeque, but I'm going to have to go somewhere else first. I've got to find out what is going on in my body and see if there is some way to fix it.'

She was pondering who she could go to that might have the equipment she would need when she scratched a small chunk of scabbing off her chest. She let out a hiss in response to the stinging sensation that it caused.

Looking down at her chest, she realized that part of the scabbing had separated away from the skin beneath. After thinking about it another moment, she wrapped her fingertips around the lifted edge and gave a strong pull.