Page 13 of Dead By Dusk

I guess I won’t be doing that again, I think to myself as I begin to fully take in my surroundings. The trees are so tightly packed that the sun doesn’t do much else besides cast a gentle glow around us. The fog is lighter today, giving us a little more visibility, and I can’t help but admire the way that the light beams through the branches and falls onto the Earth as if it were raining gold and monochromatic yellow hues.

“Dawn was not too long ago, I was going to wake you in a few minutes. You crashed pretty hard, even started mumbling a little bit, though I couldn’t understand much of what you were saying.” I stand as she says that, trying to shake off any remnants of sleep that still cling to me knowing I need to be as alert as possible for the rest of the day.

“Thank you for letting me sleep, but we need to go ahead and get moving. I don’t know how much daylight we’ll get, but we need to take advantage of every second.”

She doesn’t make any comment about my abrupt tone of voice, and honestly, I wish she would, though I can already tellit’s not in her nature to. Instead, she just picks herself up off the ground, stretches her long limbs, and dips her chin towards me in acknowledgment before we both start our journey.

Yesterday, we covered a lot of ground, so today we should be able to walk more as long as we cover our tracks and frequently change the direction in which we’re walking. Though we don’t know where anyone else left off before nightfall yesterday, I do know that changing directions often enough should keep them off our trail. And yes, we’ll have to run eventually, but I’d rather pace ourselves to maintain our energy rather than deplete so early in the day, especially since we haven’t found a water source yet.

We walk in silence, watching the ground bend beneath our feet with each step while I think of blue eyes, and the ghost of his lips still trapped against my skin.

Ronan.

What was it that I told you? Why did you react the way you did? What happened after? Who are you to me? And do any of these things have to do with me being here? If they do, would you come for me?

Would you find me? Even here?

Something tells me I already know the answer.

Always.

7

Walking Into Hell: Ronan

Iam not a superstitious man and, even with the limited information I have about myself at the moment, I can say I’m not really the poetic type either. I look at the facts and speak in actualities more than anything else. These are things that I know to be true.

But after we set up camp for the night, I can confidently say that I could write sonnets about Silene if I had to. A woman I’ve dreamt of twice in less than twenty four hours. I know more about her than I know about myself, and if given the chance, I would write verses about how her hair falls down her back in dark chocolate waves, something that could bring any man to his knees. The way her whole demeanor changes when she laughs could destroy and rebuild empires in her name. Her voice, so enchanting, is more beautiful than any siren’s song. Her will would be my every command, and I’d follow it into the darkest pits of hell as long as it meant I could stand by her side.

But most of all, the way she looks at me like I’m somebody worth knowing…I know that in itself will always be my undoing.

These are the thoughts that have haunted me since I was woken up for watch duty. The ones that still plague me as we walk through this forest. Nate has been quiet since we left the house yesterday. We might be better for it. Though it does seem odd, considering he appointed himself leader. He was the one to explain the situation to us. He is the only one who actually knows more than he’s telling, though how much, is still unknown.

The air around us is thick, though the fog has mostly settled, giving us a better view of what we’re working with, and what we’re working with is a whole lot of forest. Green as far as the eye can see, somewhat muddy earth beneath our feet, and silence. So much silence that you wouldn’t believe there’s any form of life around us, but for the sake of our survival, I’m going to have to believe that isn’t the case. A forest this large, there has to be a food supply. There has to besomethingsomewhere. But it remains unchanging for a while, the absence of life becoming more and more harrowing with every step we take.

No one talks much other than Nate. When hedoesspeak, his voice, which had been clear yesterday, now ripples in between breaths. He mumbles so quietly that he’s near incomprehensible. We stop frequently, and I assume it’s in search of signs of life. I can only assume that’s what he’s looking for as he examines the Earth beneath our feet. What else would he be searching for if not footprints, human or animal alike?

Other than these small breaks in the silence, no one else utters a word. Maybe it’s because there isn’t much to talk about, though the silence often makes me wonder if that is when there is the most to be said. In the chaos of all that is still and quiet, wouldn’t that be when you desire your voice to be heard the most? When there is no other choice but to be heard, to speakthe truths that no one else has yet learned, to beg someone to tell you what and how they know?

I wish to speak, though to truly understand, I must wait in the silence. To learn what my companions wish to conceal, I have to listen when there’s nothing to be heard. After all, that is when we often speak the loudest. To know what we are too ashamed or guilty to admit.

And right now, that’s what we all are. Too guilty or ashamed to speak about what brought us here. Even if we don’t know the “what” yet, we will eventually. No one is branded with a death sentence without reason. We all have secrets.

Secrets, waiting to escape us completely until not even time remembers they had ever existed. And I will wait as long as I must to discover what they are.

Next to me, a deep voice breaks the silence like a million shards of glass yet when he speaks, his words come out smooth like freshly melted chocolate.

“Do you know what exactly we are looking for out here? Feels like we’re just walking to walk, but if there’s a purpose, you should tell us. Now. I’m not one to blindly follow someone like a dog.”

Fair. He’s being fair. Direct, yes, though that’s what we all should be right now. There shouldn’t be dancing around truths. Our current situation is bleak at best.

“You’ve said nothing to us since we left the house other than to divide up the shifts. Now what? What’s the plan?” Nate’s jaw ticks for a moment as he lets a deep breath escape him before finally looking toward us.

“You’re right,” he starts, and let me tell you, those were definitely the correct two words to begin with. “I apologize, I’ve kind of just taken the lead and haven’t explained much to either of you, and it was wrong. Rather than offer you the respect that I should have, not just as two grown men, but two grown men whoseem much more equipped to handle things out here than I am, I left you both as far in the dark as I could. Granted, I don’t know much, but I do know what I’m looking for and who we might run into, and I haven’t spoken a word about it.”

He speaks with sincerity, his voice even, as his gaze flickers between us. While Nate seems much thinner than us both, his baggy clothes make it hard to tell. The way he navigated down the roof and jumped off was done with far too much ease for him to not have at least some training. I tuck that observation away for the time being though. Despite the silence leading up to this moment, he seems genuine in his apology, and I’m willing to listen further before I decide my next steps.

“I’m looking for any signs of life at the moment. Whether animal or human, both could aid in our survival. Answers would be helpful, but won’t do us any good if we don’t stay alive long enough to get them.”

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