Avenging Death

Several hours passed by the time I could hear mine and Tronzey’s stomach growling for another meal. We settled by a small lake, I tried hopelessly spearing for the swarming fish flashing throughout the water. It usually didn’t take me so long to get a catch but fish here seemed well experience about not lingering too close to the surface. I hated smart fish. The little girl patted me on the arm and pointed to a rock trying to indicate something.
“Show me,” I said.
She ran off toward the edge of the lake and tried to heave a hug rock into lake almost tumbling into the lake herself.
“Careful,“ I rushed to help her. “unless you think you’re quick enough to swim and catch the fish herself.”
I pushed the rock over as Tronzey shoved her hand into the soil that was under the rock and pulled out a lump of mud. She gestured the piled of the moist dirt toward me.
At first I just stared at the girl as if she had asked me to eat it. Then I realized what she was suggesting and saw the slimly worms squirming throughout the soil.
“Good idea,” I smiled at her. “let’s give it a try.”
Tronzey found some long leaf plants that we tied several worms on. I was able extend and throw into the water. Soon enough, once the fish thought they could be quick enough to suck one of the worms down, I plunge my dagger into the lake, pinning dinner. I caught about four, enough that Tronzey’s and my stomach would be fully satisfied with a decent meal.
Strange, I thought as I watched Tronzey bite into her roasted fish, I had never known a little girl her age who didn’t wine and squirm over plucking worms from the ground or handle any sort of bugs. Living in my village, when I was her age all the girls wanted to do was play with each other’s hair or play with dolls.
We both sucked the bones dry of our prized meals.
“Thirsty,” I asked Tronzey. She shook her head.
The meal was delicious, I just needed some cool water to wash it down. I headed toward the lake and form a bowl shape with my hands. I could feel the sweet coolness run down my throat as I began to hear a melody of humming. I headed back to the camp Tronzey wasn’t in sight but I could hear her humming nearby. The leftovers of the fish were gone that I had left by the fire place.
I peeped behind some brushes and found that Tronzey had dug a small hole. Before I could ask what she was doing, she lied the fish’s remains in the hole and scooted the dirt over the small grave. She bowed before the grave and mumbled something I could not understand.
I let her continue praying in peace and headed back to camp. It was strange to me that she gave something as simple as fish remains a ritual burial. She appeared from the brushes, her dress and trousers stained with dirt and greenness from the grass.
“It’s time to head out,” I told her. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can bathe.”
She frowned at the idea.

It was clear we had reached the desert. The ground was cracked and only a few plants dared to grow in this environment. I hadn’t seen many animals for a while only scorpions, snakes and a few buzzers were now and then soaring in sky. Probably waiting for me and Tronzey to be their meals. Unfortunately for them, I was not planning on dropping dead or letting Tronzey any time soon.
My throat was already starting to become parched, and I could feel the cold sweat stinging as it crawled down my skin. My canteen was nearly empty with the water from the lake. I took a look at Tronzey. This was definitely draining her. Her lips were dry and beginning to split like the earth’s crust. I handed her the canteen.
“Drink it all,” I told her. She looked at me reluctantly and shook her head. “I’ll be fine, I told her.”
She just stared at me.
I jumped off the horse and approach a cactus that looked like a flat oval shape. Many protruded into the air about five feet. Hundreds of thorns spurted over their surface. I retrieve my sword, hanging from the horse, slid it from its sheath, and sliced the thorns off. Finally when I shaved off all the cactus’s thorns, I cut it from stem and sure enough, juice splattered from its core. I quickly flipped it over before any more liquid was spilled and wasted. I sipped the pulped of plant. It was bitter and sour but it would quench my thirst.
“See,” I told her. “I have my own source of water.”
She looked at me skeptically but took the canteen and gulped the water down.
I needed to find water source fast. Tronzey could manage on the water from the canteen and I could manage from the pulp of the cactus but the horse wouldn’t survive if it didn’t get water soon.

Dusk was falling and I knew we would be safe from the sun’s agonizing glare. I also knew we would now have to worry about the freezing night. Once we stopped to camp, I started to search for branches and sticks so I could start and feed the fire as quickly as possible. Tronzey helped, I wouldn’t let her go too far. I could hear the coyotes howling in the distance. Maybe the wind was beginning to whip was carrying their howls, but I couldn’t take any chances. We gathered as many sticks and branches that we could find which wasn’t much.
Tronzey and I sat around small pile of sticks as I thresh two rocks together until they produce a spark and I set a flare. The fire burned for a while but then began slowly to shrink. Both Tronzey and I were already shivering if the fire died we would freeze to death.
I lied down in my cot as the fire burned and slowly died. Tronzey was trembling and I could hear her teeth rapidly striking together. She was rocking back and forth and wrapped her blanket around her tightly to try to keep warm. I had been through worse weather than this when the ground was buried in snow. Tronzey, though, was frail and young. She probably had never experienced this kind of cold. Where she and I were from there were no cold winters, our home was much too south for that. I had no doubt if she didn’t get warm she would freeze to death.
“Come,” I told her and gestured with my hand. “We will share our blankets, tonight. It will be better for both of us. We can keep each other warm.”
I lifted up the blanket so she could get under, then I spread her blanket over us. She was still trembling, it would take a while before she could warm up. Tronzey’s back was toward me as we lied on the ground. I could hear her quietly whimpering as she continued to tremble.
“Tronzey,” I called her.
She sniveled, and held her hands toward me.
I took them, they were freezing!
“Put them under my garment,” I said frantically.
She looked at me worriedly.
“It’s okay,” I told her. “they need warmth.”
She put her hands onto the bare skin of my stomach and her hands burned my skin, they were like ice. After a couple minutes she stop shaking.
“Better,” I asked her. After the last ember burned out. I could feel her nod her head under the covers.
She curled up into my stomach and I let her. I could feel her small body warm up against mine.
Memories flowed through my head of my younger sister who had been killed by Leer’s clan when she was five. We would often share a cot together especially on chilly nights. She would usually snug up against me. I would hate it, it felt like there was a large rock in my side. Now I knew, those were some of the most precious moments. She only wanted to be close to me because I was her older sister and she thought I could protect her. If only that had been true during that time.