The Key to the Warriors (completed)

Chapter 40

40Charlie

Once the glow in the crystal had gone out, I handed it back to Rory. "Thank you. You don't know how much that meant to me."

Smiling, she wrapped the chain around her neck and shoved the gemstone down between her breasts. "You're welcome. It will need to rest awhile before it can be used again. Maybe once we reach the giants you'll be able to reach out to them."

I nodded, and we hefted our packs up to continue walking, not stopping until we had reached the base of another large mountain several miles away. Unlike the others, the mountain was not erupting. If it was volcanic at all, it seemed dormant, for which I was grateful. Though there was no greenery around it, there was a small pond a short distance away, and we crossed it to with hope, the three of us falling to our knees at its edge.

Rory bent close and sniffed the water, as did Zak. Their brows were tight with uncertainty when they leaned forward again.

"It doesn't smell like sulfur." Rory announced.

Zak was less than certain as he rose to stand. "I don't know... we probably ought to boil it to just to be sure."

I nodded. "Good idea." I scooted back to slide my pack around into my lap, my fingers digging through the outer pockets for the flint. I checked one side, then the other, then raised my eyes to Zak. "Do you have the flint?"

He shook his head. "No, it was in your pack."

"Well it's gone. It must have fallen out. Maybe when I tripped last night."

"Great. What are we supposed to do then?"

I shrugged. "How much water is left in your skins?"

He shook his head. "I've got one full one. You?"

"Less than that."

I should have been more sparing, but in a place like Longdrop common sense had a habit of fleeing you in times of desperate thirst. Frowning, I looked at the water, then scooted away from its surface and pulled off my backpack to unsheathe my sword. Rory and Zak watched as I used the blade to dig into the hard-packed, dry earth, grunting with the effort.

"What are you doing?" Zak asked.

"When I was digging for worms, the hole kept filling with water." I explained. "Having to pass through a foot or two of soil like that would filter it at least a little, right?"

"A very little, maybe."

I shrugged. "I saw it on Survivorman once, so it's worth a shot."

Zak scooted to my side and helped me dig once the sword had broken through the harder bits. As I'd hoped, once we'd dug down half a foot, water started seeping into the hole. When we had a sizeable puddle, I leaned close and smelled it.

"It doesn't smell bad. What do you think?"

Zak bent and smelled it also. "Would be better boiled, but it might be okay. Either way, I'm betting it'll be a long time before we come across anything else, so we ought to take advantage of it."

Nodding, I scooped my hands into the water. It was gritty when I cupped it in my palms, and I let it drop out before digging into my pack again. Taking the unused bandage from my medical supplies, I wrapped it around the opening of a water skin to filter out the dirt, then sank it into the puddle.

"I'm only going to fill one in case we come across anything cleaner." I said, and Zak nodded.

"Good thinking."

Lifting the canteen I'd filled, I took a long drink. It was warm and tasted like dirt, with a sour aftertaste that was off-putting, but it was wet and soothing to an otherwise parched throat. I drank half the contents, then filled it again, not bothering with the bandage as I saw Zak struggling to roll it back up. I noticed he did not fill a canteen but didn't ask about it.