I couldn't even feel mucus in my throat. The dry heaving feeling I had in my lungs. I couldn't look back. I couldn't move my legs in any direction but forward without them falling apart. Black kept a strong pace. His younger bones kept up strong.
As my vision blurred, I noticed a sudden difference in the ground. Something grey covered a small spot of the field, and that sudden small change to the scenery was enough to spike my energy back up.
We approached it and came to a halt. The small spot was a pile of rocks that surrounded a handful of carrot stems. Beneath it was black soot that seemed to mark along the rocks with strange shapes. Black coughed as he caught his breath. I gripped at my knees, trying not to hurl.
"This fire pit will be our rest stop for a while."
I just coughed in response. Black kneeled and reached his hand into the pile of carrot stems. He dug out a small, metal box. He clicked it open as a small flame sparked amongst the rocks. The stems lit up into a bright light.
"We should collect carrots and stems. We can cook the carrots and burn the stems."
Black didn't waste any time and began pulling carrots from the dirt. I stood there with so many questions.
"Are we safe here?" "How long will we be here?" "Will that thing come back?"
Black looked up at me with his long hair. He silently set the carrot stems he had collected into the fire. He looked back down and continued to pick in silence. I got my chest rising at a normal pace and stood there scanning the horizon.
Hours had to pass where I stood by the fire. I could feel the heat hit my legs. I couldn't peel my eyes from the rolling hills and white void. I don't know if it was paranoia or if I was hoping to see something new. My legs had become extremely tired.
And with that, I finally fell to my knees and embraced the warm dirt that lived around the fire pit. As I sat, Black stopped collecting carrots and began to glare at me. I returned the stare in confusion to our situation. Black walked up to the fireplace and sat crisscrossed across from me.
"I don't know how long we will have to be here, but we are safe."
I gave him a look of concern. He understood I was thinking, "How would you know that?" I don't think he could translate the part of that look where I fixated, "Blue is fucking dead, and it is my fault."
Black rested on his arms and looked up into the white void above us. "There is someone you are going to meet soon. They saved me when I made my trip to the shrine. They shot the arrow when the monster chased us."
My eyes widened to the idea. I scanned the horizon again, searching for any movement as my hair stood from the feeling that someone was watching.
"But you won't see them yet. They gave me clear instructions."
I turned my attention back to Black.
"They said, "If you are ever to be in danger, light that fire with carrot stem. And you must keep it lit. I will find you, and I will save you."
Black formed his pale lips into a smile. It felt forced upon me.
"So, you can rest easy. Sleep, and I will keep the fire lit while I have the energy."
It took a moment for me to accept the offer. Black got back up and began collecting carrots once again. I rested on my side, allowing the heat of the fire to blanket my body. It didn't take long to allow the sleep to consume me.
The house was so, so warm. The kitchen table was empty, but the house was filled with the aroma of cooked carrots. I got up from the table to search for the rabbits that lived there.
"Alice." I gripped my face in sudden surprise as I just spoke without opening my mouth. I repeated myself. "Alice."
I walked through the kitchen. The counter was covered in piles of carrots. As I scanned the room, I noticed more and more carrots in places they shouldn't be. Carrots were stuffed in the cupboards, in the drawers, in the oven. Suddenly, I heard someone running outside.
I quickly ran up to the front door and shoved it open. I squinted in instinct to the white void, but my eyes weren't blinded. Instead, they widened as I witnessed the sky explode in yellow and grey light. Lightning danced violently across the horizon.
My heart began to beat quickly. I couldn't catch my breath. I searched around the front of the house for any sign of life. My eyes got caught on footprint marks in the dirt.
I ran next to the prints as they led toward the familiar pond. The water was dark and thick. I couldn't find the confidence to step into it. Bubbles began to rise from the bottom. Each pop released the smell of cooked carrots, but this time the smell left my head unpleasant.
Out from the bubbles rose the ears of a rabbit helmet. I couldn't look away. I knew which one it was. I knew the color of each woven string and each stitched button. I knew whose blood stained it.
I couldn't stand to stare at it any longer. But there was no looking away.
"Wake up."
I opened my eyes to the red glow of the fire which reddened my face. I wiped the sweat from my face and flicked my tongue around my dry mouth.
"Drink this. You are dehydrated."
It was a large flask which I put to my lips with zero hesitation. The feeling of warm water flooding my throat was almost enough to cry over. After a few solid gulps, I held it back up to Black who took it and set it aside a pile of supplies.
I pointed it out, noticing that it wasn't there before he fell asleep. Black responded like he read my mind. "Those are supplies I guess were left here by them."
Black took a step back and looked over toward the supplies with a sigh.
"Unfortunately for us, I wasn't planning on being here with another person so we might be left with nothing sooner than later."
"Why don't we go back?" I quietly said to Black. Black turned to me. As he stood over me, I could see his eyes beneath his hair. They were glistening. Each iris was so, so sad.
He turned away and looked at the fire. He curled his fist. I noticed it shake from the intense force he crushed his palm with.
"Leave, and I won't save you. You aren't my family. I don't even really know you. So, if you choose to leave, I won't stop you."
It sent a small shiver down my spine. I knew he wasn't wrong, but something kept me glued to the ground. I looked toward the warm fire. I knew as long as we fed it, the fire would stay warm. And if what Black said was true, if the fire was warm, we were safe.
I got up to my feet. I turned to the nearest carrot and ripped it from the dirt. The roots bled with water as I pulled the stem from its orange body. I placed the stem amongst the fire and watched it consume it like a simple breath of air. I took the raw carrot and bit it. I wasn't hungry but killing this living plant felt wasteful if not eaten.