The Beast and The Brain.

By about mid afternoon is when the rain started. It suddenly went from sunny to total down pour. I had stopped under a tree for about five minutes as I rearranged packs so I could drape an oiled cloak over J so the rain would run off so she wouldn’t get wet. Then we were on our way again. I was already soaked through, but I kept the hood of my cloak up and tight around me. The horse was surprisingly calm through the storm, though it was lightning, and thundering. The horse kept his head; he almost seemed to understand the urgency of the situation.

We came to a fork in the road, and I went left, just as the Innkeeper had told me to do when Anne had been getting J settled in the cart. I shivered as the rain ran down my neck. In an hour, J would need another cube. I urged the horse to go faster, but I was already pushing him so I let him remain at the steady trot.

I stopped an hour later to give J a new cube. I untied the sack from my belt, loosened the drawstrings, and reached inside for another cube. Just then, lightning struck not fifteen feet away. I instinctively ducked, the horse reared up. The white of his eyes showed as he tried to break free from the cart. I looked up and the tree was scorched and smoking. “That was a close call.” I went up to calm the horse. “Shhhh.” I soothed, holding his bridle and stroking his neck. “Shh, there nothing to be afraid of.”

After the horse calmed a bit I walked to the back of the cart and picked up the sack again. I panicked. “No, no, no!” I yelled over the rain. There were two cubes missing. “Where are they!?” I yelled to no one particular. I was frantically looking in the mud, grass, and underbrush. The cubes must have fallen out when I ducked from the lightning. “NO!” I yelled again. This could not be happening. We were cutting it close already, but with two cubes, missing there was no hope!

I clawed at the earth like an animal, acting truly like a beast. I found one cube by the wheel of the cart; I stuffed it in the sack and searched for the other one but to no avail. It was gone.

I wanted to cry. There was no hope that I would make it to the town in time. J would die, and I would be left to figure things out on my own. She had, had a plan for the two of us. However, I never learned what it was, as much as I hated to say it. I needed her. The strange woman who had walked into my life by sheer change. I need her. I cried and yelled, and rain seemed to pour harder, as if crying with me. I put a cube under her tongue.

“I’ll try my best.” I promised her. I climbed onto the cart and flicked the reigns, the horse was eager to go and I pushed him to his limits. I would make it there in time. She would be all right. She had to be.

~ ~ ~ ~

The storm never let up, it was if the God’s were cursing me. Willing me not to reach my goal in time. Anne had told me not to lose a cube, and to make haste. I had lost a cube, and I was doing my best to make haste. I flicked the reigns again, but the horse was going as quickly as he could in the mud and rain. The dirt road had long since soaked in the rain, making it nearly impossible to go any faster than a fast trot. The horse was getting a bit of foam on his mouth, and if it hadn’t been raining I would have bet that he would have had foam on his chest as well. That was never a good sign. He needed rest, but we didn’t have time to rest.

It was night now. I still had a ways to go before I reached the village. J was still under the oiled cloak, and out of the rain. I was beyond soaked. My whole body felt like my very blood was made of water. I was shivering all over. Lighting lit the sky in the distance; the horse snorted but pushed on. “Come on.” I urged him, “We have to make it. For J.” He never slowed, even though I knew he was beyond tired. Like me.

Then late in the night, the last cube dissolved. I felt the bag just to make sure there wasn’t another one. There wasn’t. I cursed and threw the bag in frustration. We were still hours from the village, and I was lost of all hope. I stood at the end of the cart staring at J; there was nothing I could do to save her. I didn’t even know what was wrong with her. I shivered. The bitter rain seeped down my neck, it didn’t care that J was dying. The world didn’t care. I felt utterly alone in the middle of the road, late at night.

That’s when I saw it. At first, I thought it was a trick of the light. A shadow from a tree blowing in the winds, but there was no light to make shadows, not ones so distinct anyway. My heart stopped cold, I had met only three people on the roads all day, and now late in the night, during a thunderstorm, who would be insane enough to travel? Besides me. I looked in the cart frantically, I saw J’s knife strapped to the saddle I pulled it out of its sheath and held it ready.

The figure moved slowly against the rain and wind, they moved off to the side of the road, trying without luck to stay out of the mud. My hands tightened on the handle, it seemed that the figure hadn’t noticed us yet. My mouth was suddenly dry, even though all day I had been in the rain and wet. The figure was only fifty feet away now.

They moved another ten, before they finally looked up and noticed me there. They stopped, I couldn’t see past the cowl of their hood, and I realized that they probably couldn’t see past mine but I knew they were looking at me.

The stranger now moved to the center of the road, ignoring the mud, they kept their head up and headed straight for us. “Stop right there!” I yelled above the rain. The stranger stopped, then lifted their hands slowly and pulled back their hood.

I nearly dropped the knife. It was a girl no older than fifteen. It was too dark to make out any details like eye color and hair color. But she was young, with very curly hair. She then proceeded to put her hands on her hips, “Well are you going to let me get close and help?” She asked above the storm. I hesitated unsure, “Who are you?” I yelled back.

She grinned, “I’m the healer of course.” She rolled her eyes and this time I really did drop the knife.