It’s also safer when there are predators, and when other tribes think we are too close and attack.
Finding the water in the growing darkness takes too long. My throat aches and there is a dull throb in my skull. At first we search the ground near the trees. We can’t both be imagining the sound of running water.
Then I notice one side of the area, which is no bigger than my ship, is greener. There are more grasses and shrubs, and the three trees are on that side. Since the water isn’t on the ground, it has to be on the rocky walls.
Ruby releases my hand and runs her fingers over the rocks.
I smile as I watch her. She doesn’t need light. She’ll feel it. When she stops, I walk over, lifting my hand high.
There’s a fissure in the rock through which water trickles out. I’m ready to lick the rock, not caring where the water has come from. I run my tongue over my cracked lip. Lasting another day would’ve been unpleasant at best.
“Do you think it’s safe?” I can hear her need in her words.
I glance up to see if there’s any indication of where it came from. But it appears out the middle of the fissure an arm’s length over my head.
“I can climb up and look, see if there is a pond of water up there, feeding it.” I hope that’s not the case.
She stares at the rock wall, lips pressed together in a grimace. I don’t want to climb anymore than she wants to ask. It’s the smart thing to do, as getting sick from bad water will be a brutal way to die.
Her chemical will only clean one skin of water. I need more than that. She needs more than that.
I undo my sword belt and hand it to her. “Use it to cut some firewood so we can cook dinner.”
Even though all I want to do is eat and watch the stars, I claw my way up the rock face. It’s not high, a bit more than two body lengths.
I’m breathing hard when I reach the top.
There’s nothing up here but more rock. To one side, it slopes up toward the mountain ridge. To the other, it drops away. I cross the plateau to see how difficult tomorrow will be.
It’s hard to tell, but there are trees which gives me hope. I lift my gaze until I find the river. It widens to a lake, then disappears into trees. Beyond that is more land and then finally the ocean.
I turn, catching sight of the river, and keep turning until I lose sight of it again. There are snow-covered mountains that must feed it. They are beyond where I think her colony is. I drag my gaze from the mountains to the forest and back, searching for her people.
I’m looking for fires.
That isn’t what I find.
I see a few glowing lights, as if there are Honey out there.
What did she call it? Electricity?
Humans know how to make it, but not with their bodies.
When she sees her colony tomorrow, will she change her mind?
If she does, it is not my place to argue. It’s not my place to help, either.
I scuff my boot against the rock. She’s not Honey, but I still crave to be chosen. It’s a need that I cannot find a logical explanation for. It must be something deep within, a part of my being, that stops me from taking. From choosing her as mine.
Though that is what I want.
With a sigh, I turn around and make my way back to where I climbed up. I don’t need to climb all the way down, though. I lower myself over the edge, then drop the rest of the way. My feet hit the ground and my knees soften to take the impact.
“Is it safe to drink? I don’t want to waste the iodine if it’s safe.” Her voice is soft, but I can hear the desperation.
“It is safe. It comes from within the mountain.” I step up to the trickle of water and press my lips to the rock and drink. The cold water fills my mouth and slides down my throat. I groan. I have never tasted water so good.
Ruby joins me.
