Blood Supermoon

3. A New Companion

Josandra woke up lying on a bed sheet. She wasn't sure where she was, only that it seemed to be late afternoon. She sat up, holding onto her back. Was she in a cave? Very little light was coming from the entrance nearby. She twisted left and right and realized she was only sore; she didn't have any broken bones.

Leaves rustled as someone approached the entrance. Josandra grabbed the nearest thing she could find, a thick, short branch and forced herself to rise.

It was the mysterious woman. She was holding a metal canteen. Her expression gave nothing away as she met Josandra's eyes. She simply tossed the canteen down at her foot.

Josandra hesitated, trying to swallow, but her throat was so dry. She scrambled for the bottle and drank thirstily. She was careful not to finish all of it though she could've. She tossed it back to the woman.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"In the hills. About a few miles shy from town," the woman said.

"What happened?" Josandra asked.

"You passed out," the woman said.

"I mean what happened to the townspeople."

"I don't know," the woman said.

Josandra crumbled down to the floor, holding her knees to her chest. She always knew that she would leave Ingrich. As soon as she saved up enough money in whatever way. She just never thought she'd leave like this. She wiped at her face, feeling the dirt and smudge. She felt grimy all over. Grimy and tired.

She couldn't stop thinking about her aunt, Emely and Dorian. They were all she had. Had they gotten away? She felt the urge to return to the town and check.

The woman sat on a rock, spreading her thighs apart while gripping her knees. She eyed Josandra.

"How soon can you draw the map?" the woman asked.

"I'm not sure," Josandra replied, in a daze.

"Can you really draw it?"

Josandra blinked and nodded.

"How long?" the woman asked.

Josandra sighed, "Maybe a month or two—"

"That long?"

"I'll be drawing it from memory. And not even that, but I'll need to find the right kind of paper, pens and pencils. I can't use just anything."

The woman paused, "You aren't lying, thinking I'll change my mind and let you follow me around, are you?"

"No."

"Fine. Two months. I'll tolerate you for two months. That's it. Once you hand over that map, we're going our separate ways," the woman said.

"Got it," Josandra said.

She made sure to show no emotion, though she wasn't too pleased to be following this woman around anymore. Not how she probably would've been when she first asked her a few weeks ago. This woman was selfish and tough. It would be a hellish couple of months, but she had no other option.

There was also one fact that she was forgetting to admit: she had never drawn a map before. She knew the map of Mara by memory, but there was a difference between remembering something and drawing it with accuracy.

The woman rose, placing her hands on her hips. She circled the small area before facing Josandra again. Everything she did, from the way she spoke to the way she acted, was serious.

"I don't have anything on me," she said. "No food, no money, nothing."

"Neither do I," Josandra said.