Misty II

[48] The Southerners Have Arrived-III

The sound of twigs burning was echoing in the cave.

Thomas had covered the little fire with rocks to save it from the wind that was reaching inside to us. The sudden silence from outside was showing that it had stopped raining but not properly. The little rain drops were still busying the night.

After convincing me to not feel guilty about wishing to cross the border, Thomas thought about taking a look at my feet when I had winced in between the talk.

"Is it bad?" I was worried about not being able to run with my full energy.

Thomas observed my left foot and clicked his tongue. "Just need some warmth. But first, I'll have to wash the dirt off."

He got up immediately and walked towards the exit of the cave. I was on alert, watching him returning with rainwater in his big palms. He poured the water on my feet, making two more rounds and repeating the process.

He tried to remove the dirt off my feet with the tip of his finger when a loud wince escaped from me.

Why did it feel like the condition of my feet was worst than he was showing?

"Oh, come on. We just need to wrap them. The cold dirt and continuous running, not a piece of cake. Is it?" He said while looking around and patting his pockets. He was probably looking for some spare cloth.

He was in jeans and a T-shirt. While I had an extra cloak. A warm one.

"Will this work?" I asked while removing the cloak and forwarding it to him.

He nodded slightly and took the cloak from me. "How have been the days?"

My eyes observed his actions in the faint light coming from the little fire. He held the hem of the cloak to spread it a little and stretched his hand with a jolt.

His nails protruded into large claws with a swish sound, making my eyebrows raise in endearment. I rubbed the goosebumps on my forearms slowly.

"They are far behind the time; behind the world outside the border," I mumbled absentmindedly, watching him cutting down three to four straps of the cloak beginning from the hem. "I have been going insane."

"You won't anymore," said Thomas while rubbing the straps against his jeans to wash off any dirt from them.

His words held the confidence with which they made this plan. They were comforting but even now, I couldn't just stay calm. I would only be when we would across the border.

I had spent more than a month living in the same room with Karam. I could never understand how he could sneak in and out of that room without making a sound and be alert all the time. There also had been many instances when I had observed that I couldn't just fool him so easily.

He had found me in that forest when I was looking for Chelsea. He had been able to hear my screams from the temple too.

Tonight, I didn't have the intention to fool or betray him. I was simply gone. Disappeared. I was desperate to meet Eva and Keira. I hadn't even thought the possibility of me going along with them.

But Karam had raised the reputation in my heart for him in these past weeks by his advanced thoughts and unpredictable acts. I couldn't digest that after being all loving and sweet to me during the bonfire party, he won't be able to sniff the absence of my scent on his large bed.

Every night, we would sleep in each other's arms. Even if I'd get up to leave for washroom, on my return, he'd be awake to pull me to him for cuddles.

My eyelids twitched at feeling the extreme pain under my feet. I was staring at the fire when sound of pea-sized rocks hitting the ground reached my ears. Thomas was removing them from my feet and I was too scared to take a look at them by myself.