Shocked, the boy takes a step back from his mocking companion.
How does he know?
For a moment, for a very embarrassing moment Dust wonders if Suspicious is reading his mind.
Then reason finds him, he tries somehow to remember everything he said. Hell.
It would seem that he indeed called his companion by this nickname when he was fleeing...
The boy no longer knows where to stand or where to turn his gaze. He opens his mouth then closes it. He doesn't quite know what to say. It's only now that he realizes that "Suspicious" isn't exactly a very nice name. At reflection "Purple-belly" either.
he feels a little guilty.
Dust decides to apologize but before a word even leaves his mouth the other shortens the distance created between them again.
So Dust can only raises his head not knowing what to do.
Since when does he like to smile so much?
The red haired man's broad shoulders are shaking but otherwise he is motionless, his smile widening even further, to the point where his two canines are visible. His blue-rimmed pupils watch him with a teasing glow.
But because the features of his face are too marked this expression gives him an aggressive appearance.
The words get stuck in his throat under the intensity of the gaze, Dust swallows his saliva and tries to say a simple "Sorry".
But once again his companion is ahead of him:
-I guess it's better than Roast.
He shrugs, tilts his head, his eyes still reflecting Dust. His voice is a little hoarser than usual. He thinks then adds:
-Seriously you can call me...Red I guess.
Suspicious or Red sits up, his smile fading in sudden loss of interest when the joke is over. Dust remains silent.
He has understood that the other man is not offended by the nickname.
They both follow the tracks in the rain.
Soon they are soaked.
The boy's shoes are filled with water, when he walks it makes a sound like an angry mouse.
"Squeak" squeak".
Describing it is quite amusing.
To live much less.
His situation has not changed much, on the contrary it has deteriorated.
He's cold, he's always hungry, and he's coughed so many times that there's simply no denying he's sick.
He tries to distract himself by thinking of something else.
For example on his real identity or that of Suspi-Red.
The red-haired man looks to be in his 20s. What is his job? Or is it a student?
What kind of studies could he take?
Immersed in this kind of thought Dust follows his companion without giving it any further thought. It is only when a branch brushes against his forehead and gets tangled in his hair that he raises his head. And there he sees a spider web.
His fingers grab Red's soaking wet top.
The man stops and gives him a questioning look.
With his free hand Dust pulls his tangled hair from the branch. His voice is feverish when he asks:
-Let's find another way!
His eyes go back and forth between the web and Suspicious, looking for the shadow of a spider.
- The lake is over there.
Thanks. I know.
Dust thinks rolling his eyes.
A drop of water or two falls from the sky and hit his eye.
He looks down and drops Red's piece of cloth.
-Let's go around the area. There are spiders, huge spiders around here attacking humans.
The red-haired man seems to hesitate, Dust does not wait for his answer and is already moving away quickly from this part of the forest. After a second or two he notices with relief that his companion is following him. The landscape is monotonous and does not really change during their walk.
Trees and trees as far as the eye can see. Tall grasses and yellow flowers crushed under their soles soaking in the mud. The night does not come and maybe Dust thinks it will never come.
Suspicious looking pensive, locks himself in silence again, not even asking him for more explanation about the eight-legged insects.
The weather cools with the rain, the mist rises.
As they have stopped following the footsteps of the natives, one of them must choose another tall tree.
Red looks at the boy and the boy looks at Red without moving. No words are exchanged, the tallest of the two understand that will have to climb again.
So he climbs.
Then he comes back down.
With a vague movement of the hand he points in a direction, with a laconic sentence to accompany the gesture.
-It's over there.
They continue. After a while they arrive in a sort of small lake where a few islands of land allow one or two trees to rise above the brown water. They exchange a look before crossing said lake. The water comes up to Dust's torso, who tries to hold his backpack above his head while manipulating his stick under the surface to avoid any hole that can break his ankle.
There, the boy quickens his pace.
The water is so brown that you can't see anything below the surface. If he had to imagine a place where crocodiles would hide, it would be in this kind of puddle of water.
Fortunately, it must be too cold here for this type of animal. At least Dust hopes so. When he comes across a dead log floating on the surface he almost thinks it is one. Arriving on the other side in one piece they are blocked by quicksands.
Suspicious decides to circumvent by dropping a new laconic "This way". The problem is that just a hundred meters further on they both fall on... Bloody ribcages pierced by spears.
Planted in the ground in a parody of horrifying totem. From the flesh protrude the bones of the ribs like claws. The blood is dry enough to be black. Dust swallow. Suspicious recoils when he realizes what he is seeing, his lantern flickering along his arm.