And Chapter 4 is done and dusted.

The 2nd draft rolls on! Three chapters left to go (unfortunately, 5 and 7 are the longest, probably around 25,000 words each. Jesus Christ.)

So yeah. Another snippet after the cut. Happy Valentines Day, folks!

—

They set up camp that night in a north-south valley, avoiding a westerly wind that threatened to blow away their fire altogether. The only wood Rei could find to burn was stripped from soggy bushes, and it smoked atrociously. She sat as far away as she could manage, trying to balance losing the heat and having greenwood cinders blow into her eyes. Pal sat close by, not touching but glancing at her shyly from time to time. She didn’t know if she wanted him closer or not. Wrestling with him had felt good. For a moment, she’d almost forgotten where they were.

Across from them, poor Aus was being pulled between Alix and Marissa; one was demanding that he discuss the next day’s trek, and the other just wanted him near by. Foster was on his own, the furthest from the fire. He had untied his bundle, spread his cans around him and sat down on the rags to keep his pants dry.

Marissa’s voice drifted in the night air, muffled by the cracking and popping of twigs in the fire and the weight of her exhaustion. Rei tried to eavesdrop, but everything seemed the same as every other conversation: “need to stop… can’t keep going with nothing… hungry…”

Foster lay back with his hands crossed behind his head. He never took part in the arguments; Rei couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to be a part of something important. Maybe he was just mulling things over. She’d have to ask some time. If she didn’t, well… she’d made that mistake before.

She caught Pal’s eyes and he shuffled over until they sat cross-legged, side by side. “You okay?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Blanking out. Like my stomach is connected to my brain.”

“Alix would probably tell you that it is.”

“Ha!” Pal grinned too, and for a second everything seemed a little brighter. “She doesn’t look in the mood to be asked.”

“You can ask. I don’t want her biting my head off.” Pal cracked his neck. The noise was sharp in the night air. “Ow. Anyway… I just want to rest, you know? Take a day off.”

Rei coughed. “We can’t afford it. The meat is all gone. If we slow down…”

“I know. We starve.” Pal leaned over slowly, resting his head on her shoulder. “Do you mind?”

“No,” she said, and he relaxed into her. Bony as he was, it was comforting to have him close. Next time, she hoped, he wouldn’t feel the need to ask. She yawned, and a familiar fuzziness descended over her eyes. She could hear her own heartbeat.

“Rei.”

“Yeah?” Her body became lighter, the grass feeling as if it was dropping away.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

She thought for a few seconds. “No.”

“Yeah. Me neither.”

“Does it matter?”

“No.”

They slept.