Toward the Center

Stanley slept through the night near the small fire they had kept going throughout the night. When he woke up in the morning, Red was half asleep herself, staring around her with her eyes barely open.

The old woman was more tired than Red it seemed, so she was still asleep.

"Red, you can sleep now," Stanley said as he stretched wide. "I'll look out henceforth."

Red slowly nodded and dropped to the side, sleeping on top of a small sheet with a blanket on top of her. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

Stanley looked around him at the place he had been sleeping in. It was the middle of nowhere, with barely any protection from the elements. And the sky was getting dark as if it would pour at any moment.

"Nope, that's not snow," Stanley said to himself with a sigh. It seemed it was going to be raining. That was slightly problematic, but not as much as it would have been without the old woman's presence there.