Ashes of Eden

Eric stirred when familiar footfalls came closer. Eric's eyes opened inches just when his brother crouched at his side. Carter offered one of his sweet, reassuring smiles—or as Eric liked to call them, the big brother smile.

"Are you cold?" Carter asked. Eric noticed he'd curled up after falling asleep. Plus, he was shivering, goosebumps poking all down his arms. "Guess that's a stupid question. It's just for tonight. Fi says we're close to a small city called Callibur. He says people are... friendly there." Carter rubbed a hand up-and-down Eric's back, forcing some warmth into him. "I promise I'll get you home, okay? We'll get out of this mess, little brother."

"Stop... worrying about me..." Eric mumbled through a sleepy daze, tucking his face against his pillow for tonight, his arm.

Carter was still smiling… Maybe it was just sleep talking, but he looked sullen. "That's the one thing I can't do."

Despite the chill and lingering hunger, Eric's eyes drifted shut again. Almost like his body knew it shouldn't expect any improvements to the situation, that sleep was the only way to go.

***

Someone was shaking him. He didn't panic or reach for Erebus. Eyes startling open, he saw fiery-red strands peeking out from under a hood, like expected. The young man stood over Eric with an impish face. Even though the greenish hood cast so many shadows, Eric would've recognized this man from a mile away.

"Sleeping again, heh? Did you faint this time or was it consensual?"

Eric shook himself and the hand on his shoulder, groaning. He sat up. Where had he slept? Scratching his neck, Eric battled a yawn. They were a few feet off the ground. Dark wood twisted around them. He had fallen asleep in Fauna's favorite winter tree. It was tall, its trunk rising to the sky in lopsided twists and thick knots where one could easily lie on. Eric moved to stretch out. His body protested, bones popping across his spine. Aw, bliss.

"When have I ever fainted?" Eric shot in a gruff tone.

"I can name a few times." His friend told him. "Let's go then. You don't want to keep her waiting." Eric's friend made his way down the tree by jumping. Eric watched as he landed in a perfectly practiced crouch.

"Ah," Eric agonized. "Why did you go along with such a plan?" he shouted, still on the lowest tree branch.

"It's an adventure, my friend. Things have been awfully dull around these parts lately. Why not introduce a little variety into our lives?"

Eric rolled his eyes, "Because she's not paying nearly enough for me to allow myself to become a pawn." He grabbed Erebus with one hand. His sword weighed nothing, like a feather in his grasp. Eric wasn't surprised that armies wanted his support. He wielded a sword longer than his body and made it look like child's play.

"Come now, don't say it like that. You make it sound dirty."

Eric stopped staring at the dark metal only to glare down below, suddenly feeling very hot. Especially his face—it was fuming.

"Don't be an idiot. I only agreed to join her ranks because you pressured me into it."

"Since when do you heed my words?" The red-head said, faking dismay…

"Eric?" He heard somewhere. Someone pulling him away—no, what? No. Someone was calling him back. But… he hadn't gone anywhere. "Eric? Wake up, it's time to go."

"Does he always sleep like this?" a whiny voice asked.

"Nah. He's a pretty light sleeper." It was Carter.

"Oh really? Looks to me that he sleeps like the dead."

Eric's eyes twitched. Carter stopped shaking him. Eric's hand felt the withered straw underneath him. He was at the mill. Blinking, he propped himself on an elbow, looking around. Why the hell had he expected to be somewhere else? Of course, Eric thought stupidly, he'd expected to wake up in his bed like every other day. On Earth. That made sense. Eric yawned, rubbing across his eyes. Too bad this craziness with Fairies and supernatural boars hadn't been a dream.

A dream, it lingered for a few seconds. Making him wonder again…

Fi's butterfly wings were beating heatedly as he hovered his brother's head. Eric glared openly at the Fairy.

"Good morning, grumpy." Fi greeted him. "You look as pleasant as sunshine today. Such an improvement on your mood from last night."

Eric gripped his sword out of anger, "Listen you little shit, how about I pluck your wings and roast you as my breakfast?"

"Eric," Carter admonished. "Can you please not threaten to eat our guide?"

"Yeah, jerk. Fi is our best hope at figuring out how the hell we get back home." Nadia stumbled on her words at the end. "Did... I just say that? I did. We need to go back to Earth." She paused again, lips thinning. "We're not on Earth." She whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We need to find a way back... to Earth. Nope. No matter how many times I say this, it won't change the fact that I think I've gone insane." Looked like her non-believer phase hadn't improved since last night.

"You haven't," Carter looked over his shoulder. Eric just knew how soft his eyes were, trying to give off as much confidence to calm Nadia, even if she was a stranger who'd happened to land where they had. "I mean, it's not that farfetched to believe other worlds exist in a different reality. The universe is a pretty big place, wouldn't it be weird if our existence was the only one? Some people believe in aliens. Why not believe this, Nadia?"

Nadia breathed deeply dodging Carter's gaze. A sign that Eric's brother made a dent in this stubborn girl's mental barrier. Good. Because this wasn't a dream or a freaky hallucination, Eric thought, mind made up. This was real. A new world. No way could someone dream inside a dream. So, this was reality and they needed to get a move on, find out how they could get back to Earth. A shiver creepy-crawled around Eric's insides—his forehead creased. Excitement? He grabbed his longsword from the crumbling woodened floor. His fingers were tingly. Actually, Eric's entire body was mushy. Huh, his stomach grumbled.

Dejectedly, Eric turned on their Fairy guide, "Hey, how long until we get to that city… Excallibur… or whatever."

"Callibur," Fi corrected, huffing. "It depends on how fast you three can walk."

"How come you're so chipper? Don't Fairies eat?"

Fi's look of superiority would've earned him a swat if Carter wasn't watching. "Of course, we do. But we can draw on the spiritual energy to replenish our own."

"Spiritual energy?" Nadia asked, picking up her bag.

"Are you talking about ghosts?" Eric asked, just for kicks.

Fi didn't balk at his words, "Ghosts? Well, there are those—"

"What?" the Nike bag fell at her feet. The expression on her face was too comical for Eric not to laugh. Hell, even Carter stapled two fingers against his mouth. "Don't laugh at me, asshole. Maybe back home you could laugh, but… but here—here it's real."

"She's right, her fear is justified." Fi perched himself on Nadia's shoulder, swinging his naked feet back and forth. "Everything has a spirit. They're just different. Spirits of nature and elements are represented by Nymphs. They can make themselves invisible to humans, so, most don't believe in their existence. Animals have spirits, too, and once they die they become pure energy. When humans pass on, their spirit goes to another plane. We call it the Spiritual Plane. See, this plane we're in right now, is the Living Plane where flesh, blood and bone exist."

Nadia was still petrified. And Eric's every cell was focused on not laughing. She whispered, "But if there are ghosts…"

"Ghosts must be born from spirits who lose their way." Carter supplied.

Fi nodded quickly, "Yes. It happens when a spirit gets lost after death and wanders the Living Plane. Don't worry, though, there were no lingering spirits here last night. And I don't sense any now."

Eric heard Nadia muttering 'good' under her breath as she bent for her fallen bag. Eric walked outside, throwing up an arm to shield his sensitive eyes from the blinding sunlight.

"No wonder that man thought you were a Fae," Fi was saying. Eric glanced over a broad shoulder, watching the little pest caressing Nadia's blue hair tips. "I thought there wasn't glamour or Magik where you come from."

"Glamour?"

"Watch," Fi flew back and pointed at his hair. Sure enough, it went from black to blue. Like someone grabbed an eraser, said goodbye black and colored it in with vibrant blue. "See? Now we match." Fi danced in front of Nadia's face.

Eric stopped turning around, mouth gone dry. Can you remember the last time you had something to drink, moron? An angry voice bit. Yep, it had nothing to do with Nadia's shadow of a barely-there smile. Eric looked ahead before she caught him staring. No need for a fight to breakout.

"Let's get going." Eric could taste the impatience in Carter's always laid-back voice. Eric sent his brother a questioning look, but Carter smiled looking okey-dokey.

Fi led them onto the dirt road. Eric was tired of seeing the same broad trees on either side, tired of walking on an empty stomach, feeling like he'd keel over at any second. He never opened his big mouth to complain, not like it'd do him any good. Eric thought back to what Carter promised last night. It made sense how determined his brother looked. When Carter got something in his head it was final.

"I was thinking…" Fi stopped, hovering before them. Eric rested the blunt side of his sword on his shoulder. "Your clothes are very strange. Everyone will be glaring your way."

Nadia gestured at the dark-haired Fairy, "What about you? I didn't read a lot about Fairies and stuff—like Mr. Bookworm over there—but I thought you guys didn't live around humans."

"We don't," he stuck out his tongue, winking. "We do interact with some, though. Some humans are nice when they're not worried silly about us stealing their first born or something equally horrendous."

By the look on Nadia's face, Eric wasn't the only one not feeling at ease with Fi's words. Still, Fi gave his word to help them get home and they needed to believe a Fae's word was worth more than their lives, like it had been in all the fantasy stories Carter read as a kid.

"So, won't they freak when they see a Fairy flying around?" Fi made a funny face at Eric. What? Oh, slang. Right. "Won't they be afraid?"

"Ah! Yes, some would. Others would be idiots and would try catching me." Fi laced his hands behind his head. "They won't see me, though. I'll cast a glamour and fool their eyes into believing I don't exist."

"Can't you do the same with us?"

"We're probably too much for a lone Fairy to glamour."

Fi turned surprised eyes on Carter. Geez, even in Fairy-land his brother got A's.

"Overachieve much?" Eric chuckled tapping his booted foot. His stomach was acting up again, coupled with a sharp headache from dehydration.

Carter tapped his right temple, "Don't hate this big brain." Eric didn't. When they were kids, Carter awed him with how much he could store in there. His brother had memorized the periodic table after two reads. Both had taken five minutes. He could probably name all elements, ordered by atomic number and shit, if Eric asked. "We can buy some new clothes with the money I grabbed off those smugglers once we're in Callibur."

Fi swayed in the air around Carter, like he was seizing his brother up. Nothing weird about—holy shit. Eric's jaw slacked open. How…? His brother's jeans were suddenly dark trousers. His shirt was longer, with baggy sleeves stretching down to his hands. The white shirt reached below his hips, a leather belt was tied around Carter's mid-section.

"Oh," Carter mumbled looking down at himself, just as surprised as Eric and Nadia. "Well. If you can keep the glamour on… I can go into town and buy us some local clothes." Satisfied with his work, Fi plopped his butt on Carter's shoulder, leaning against his neck.

The glamour didn't fade for a second as they continued. Fi pointed out stuff occasionally, like a bus tour guide. By now, all three of them knew this humongous forest was called Ebbe forest. Also, this road they'd been walking since yesterday and for good part of the morning, led straight into Callibur's vicinity. Ebbe forest withered once mid-afternoon rolled around. The road-side nature became less leafy and vigorous, thinning into a cemetery of naked tree branches, some were even broken. A squishing sound made Eric's head snap and his fingers grip the sword's hilt strongly. He relaxed. Nadia had walked into a muddy patch. She let out a sigh, stepping aside. Eric flexed his hands to stop some shaking.

"That's it?" Eric heard his brother ask, up ahead.

Eric walked to where Carter stood. Down a steep slope, were tall stone walls, but the walls weren't taller than some of the buildings they were guarding. It was like seeing a medieval fair. Carter's gaze lingered for a minute on the horizon overseeing Callibur. Eric thought he was going to fan-boy over it non-stop, instead, his older brother inhaled glancing at him and Nadia with a hopeful expression.

"You two wait here for us. And please don't kill each other. Stay over there—" he pointed to one of the largest shrubberies in these parts. "The last thing we need is attention."

The glimmer in Nadia's eye told Eric she didn't like the idea of being bossed around, but he could've guessed it. "Why should you go into town?"

"How about this: because between both of us, I actually have a reason to come back." His brother jerked his chin at Eric. "You on the other hand, have nothing. You're not our friend and like you've said, you don't want to know us. Fine by me. But you do want to get home," Carter stashed the coin bag into a front pocket. "I want to get home, too, Nadia. I know that we're strangers and you can believe whatever you want, but I don't just leave people behind. It's not my style. So, as I see it, you have two options." Nadia's neck arched elegantly, almost in a regal sort of way. Like she meant it as an intimidation technique. Carter didn't look spooked, "You stick with us or you split and take a third of the money. Fi stays with us since I struck the deal with him."

Carter didn't blink. Neither did she. Eric saw Nadia's head tilt and her eyes slit before she exhaled, shoulders dropping, as if accepting the terms of a secret alliance between Carter and her. She whirled, going past Eric. Giving a light shrug, Eric stepped up to Carter.

"Just hurry up," Eric stole a fleeting glance at Nadia's retreating back. Eric heaved, "Please."

Carter smiled crookedly, "Sure. I'm serious, though, Eric. Don't antagonize the poor girl. She's freaked out enough without fighting off your smartass comments and teenage mood swings." Eric stomped the childish words of 'she started it', blowing a strand of hair off his forehead. Carter tsked, "Just be on your best behavior. Imagine you ended up here alone, without me. You'd probably act like her. Okay? And stay on guard. I'll come back as soon as possible…"

Eric lurched for his brother's wrist. Carter's eyebrow perked questioningly.

"Wait. What if… I mean, what if something happens? In this town?"

Fi bobbed to awareness, his red, slightly transparent, wings beating eagerly as he stretched his arms. "Callibur has nice town folk. Mostly. Carter should be fine."

"Should?" Eric despised the fear pouring into his voice.

Carter squeezed Eric's shoulder gently, "It'll be fine. We're just buying some clothes. I'll come back for you two as soon as that's done."

Eric's fingers tightened on the hilt until they blanched. He wasn't down with letting Carter go off alone, not one bit, but fighting his brother was pointless. Kind of like when Eric tried convincing him that he'd make a much better full-time worker than student, that he should drop out. Carter would fight him tooth and nail and Eric would still fall on his ass, defeated.

"Okay," Eric gritted. His grip on Carter's wrist amplified, "If you're not back in one hour I'll come look for you."

"You think you can count that high?" his brother joked. Eric felt his cheeks heat. Carter smirked, nodding, brown hair framing his cheeks. "Deal, little brother."

Eric stayed at the hill's edge, watching Carter scale down, back against the late sun. He hoped Fi's glamour or whatever kept working. Below, Carter reached the lonely archway, guarded by no one. He strolled right past a sleeping mutt with greying fur—that only seemed to lift its head to make sure Carter wasn't a threat. Eric followed after his unwanted partner in waiting, counting the first sixty seconds. When he hunkered down beside Nadia almost two minutes had gone by.

Eric kept a healthy distance from Nadia. They were quietly avoiding each other in any way possible, until Eric caught her distorted reflection on his blade. Her eyes were watching their surroundings in a hawk-like fashion. The big bush hid them from anyone who traveled the dirt road, but it didn't shelter them from the deep forest. Was she searching for a better hiding spot?

"So," Eric's eyes flew from his sword to her. "What kind of lunatic caries around a double-edged sword?"

Eric ignored the baiting tone, "I fence."

"I didn't know fencing used real swords. Definitely not sharp swords that can kill animals." She got him there. Eric didn't use this sword in class, well, he only ever used it for fun—to practice at home. "I just think it's convenient that you had a real sword with you the moment you were pulled into a medieval dimension."

Eric drew a leg to his chest, glaring Nadia's way. "Are you saying Carter and I had something to do with this?"

"Your words, not mine." She pulled her hair behind her ears, dismissing Eric's flare of anger. Eric felt a muscle in his eye tick. Nadia's rose-bud lips edged into a cold smile, "Just stay away from me or there will be hell to pay, kid."

Eric's response died away with the sudden rustle of dead autumn leaves. The air grew cold around them, a chilling embrace howling throughout the great big forest. Eric felt it pound into his bones, a shudder caused every hair on his body to stand. The wind settled, but the cold sensation stuck on his skin, like cold morning dew. Eric chanced a glance at his suddenly mute frenemy.

Eric frowned, "What's wrong with you? Don't tell me you're scared of a little cold wind, too?" Nadia didn't grow out of her stupor. "Hey. Nadia." He called again, shaking her shoulder.

Nadia jerked, grabbing Eric's wrist. A twisting motion later, Eric was yelling at her, glaring daggers.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" Eric didn't care if Carter arrived and heard them fight. This girl was nuts. Beyond nuts. Freaking mental. Making sure his wrist was just sore, Eric slid further away from the crazy girl. "I don't know what your deal is, princess, but keep antagonizing me like this and I'll snap." That got her attention faster than a warm cheeseburger with fries on the side would have.

"Did you just threaten me?" she spat.

Eric held his reddened wrist for her to see, furious.

"You almost sprained my wrist."

"Maybe you should keep your hands to yourself. It'll save you a hella' lot of hurting."

Eric hung back, speechless. He'd touched her fucking shoulder. Because he'd been trying to shake her out of whatever deep shit thoughts she'd had going on. Hell, for a second Eric almost let himself think she'd looked terrified. Of what? He couldn't say. There was nothing here besides them.

Their next half hour was spent in uncomfortable silence. The only sounds came from leaves running across grass or from Eric smacking his lips (he was so thirsty) and Nadia's snappy sighs. Eric never felt happier to have a heap of clothes dropped on his head. Number one: his brother was back safe and sound and number two, no more alone time with Nadia.

"Glad to see you two are still alive and breathing. Good job." Carter had no idea the willpower Eric had exercised so that he wouldn't twist Nadia's wrists as payback. Eric spared a scornful glare at the girl with strawberry blond hair and blue tips. "Here," Carter shoved dark trousers into his hands, along with a brown leather vest. "I hope those fit. It's not like I could pick sizes…"

Right. At least the pants weren't leather. Eric donned the short-sleeved jacket, before his brother grabbed Eric's very sharp sword and grabbed hold of Eric's t-shirt. Eric stared, wide eyed, as Carter cleaved the front of his shirt into a slight V. Carter did the same to his. His brother must've changed somewhere else, because he wasn't wearing jeans and the trousers he had on now were different from Fi's glamour. They looked like Viking pants, baggy until below the knee, where the material was tucked into Carter's boots.

"Making these seem older and worn won't make us such a target for thieves." Carter and his plans. "The better you look, the more money you're worth."

"Where do you come up with that stuff?"

"It's logical, little brother." Carter answered coolly, dropping Eric's sword once the damage was done. Eric felt a strange knot in his stomach. He flexed his jaw, lowering his icy eyes to his new clothes. The clenching eased. Just hungry, Eric told himself, denying any hint of jealousy. "I didn't think you'd like dresses, so I brought you these." Out of an eye corner, Eric saw skinnier trousers being handed to Nadia, along with a whitish chemise and… a cloak. "From what I saw in town—and what I know about history—it's not common for women to wear pants. Wear the cloak to hide your clothes, alright?" Nadia kept quiet, feeling the material between her fingers. Eric saw a shroud of gratitude? Cross her eyes.

Eric shook his head. He could never think ahead like Carter. He was a winging it kind of guy. Even when he fenced, Eric always strayed from the moves he'd been taught. The people in his class thought he was a show off and his teacher stopped listing Eric for matches. Because he'd use some banned move and cause their team to lose. He couldn't help it, in the heat of things… It was like he knew the exact moves to win. Any moves.

Eric kicked off his boots and was about to undo his pants… He glanced up. Nadia's back was to him already. Good. He shoved his jeans off viciously, reaching for the trousers. Eric didn't let himself wonder about where they'd come from, if they'd belonged to someone else before, or about possible STD's in Eden. Eric got up and was joined by Carter. They kept their backs to Nadia while she changed.

"Has he been sleeping the whole time?"

Fi's eyes peeked open, "I'm awake. A Fairy doesn't sleep when there's a job to be done." He claimed, lounging against Carter's neck. "I guided your brother through Callibur's market perfectly. Tell him, Carter." Fi's demand made Carter chuckle. It looked like Fi enjoyed using his brother for a sleeping cushion.

"I saw an Inn in town. We should go there for some food and a place to spend the night. It seemed nice—way nicer than camping out here." Carter dug into his pocket, showing Eric a couple of quadrangular coins. Eden's money, he guessed. There were thirteen coins. "I spent most of it on our clothes." He poked Eric's vest. "That wasn't cheap."

"Yeah! And Carter bargained for it. I must say, for a human, he knows the art of dealing very well." That might have something to do with Carter studying law.

"I'm done," came Nadia's voice. Eric glimpsed at her, watching her secure the cloak with two firm knots at her neck. Her Nike bag was hidden underneath it, too. "I can't just leave it. It's got stuff I need back home and it wasn't exactly cheap." Eric shrugged. He hadn't asked a thing.

He faced ahead, starting down the ravine. Carter told him to wait. He didn't. He was hungry, thirsty and maybe he was imagining things, but Eric was starting to smell warm soup. Which he never ate, but was making his stomach gurgle in anticipation. He waited for them at the bottom, afraid of waltzing through the open gates and accidentally stepping on the dog's tail or something equally moronic. Eric's bad luck had taught him to watch his every move whenever he could. The old dog was a hound. It was awake now, licking one of his hind legs.

"You're in a hurry."

Eric bumped the blunt side of his sword on his knee, "I smell food."

"Wow. You can fence and sniff out food? Any other hidden talents, wonder boy?"

If Nadia wanted him to stay away, she shouldn't bait him. She was putting Eric's mind in a tizzy. It was like he'd hopped on a never-ending merry-go-round. Letting her sarcasm wash off, Eric fell in step with his brother, who was marching inside Callibur like he belonged. Someone who'd been away for a few years and was now returning for a short visit. Eric's eyes were all over the place. There was a lot of people. Horses—yes, they looked like the horses back home—were tied to wooden poles, being cared by young boys, just outside of some establishment. All the houses were made of the same material, though Eric didn't have a clue what. Not bricks or wood. Some roofs were made of straw. The street was dirt, not stone. Muddy patches like the one Nadia stepped in earlier were scattered all around, with some children playing in them, boys and girls. The oldest looked about ten and the youngest maybe four? Five? Eric wasn't familiar with kids. Eric's icy stare found a shop he recognized off the bat—by the smell wafting from it. Nadia would've laughed if she knew. The scent of metal was thick in the air, though. It was a… blacksmith's shop. Yeah, that was it.

One of Fi's long explanation as their tour-guide came back, "Callibur is a town of hunt. The woods outside are filled with creatures. Wolves, Babi's, big preying birds—they're all big game that live deep in the forest. When anyone goes hunting, it's always in large numbers. I've heard stories about twenty men going inside and less than half coming back…" he'd gulped. "Eden's surrounded by sea, you know, but not all towns and villages can reach it. To reach the ocean from Callibur you'd need to march to the limits of Ebb forest where the beasts are worst."

Now, Fi was hiding with his glamour from everyone's eyes, including theirs. Eric saw Nadia frowning at his brother's back. What was she thinking now? Actually, he didn't want to know. This girl was way too complicated for a straight-forward guy like himself.

Carter knew the streets well. He probably spent some time snooping around before he'd gone back, Eric thought. When they arrived at a tallish building, three floors up, Eric almost drooled. They stepped inside and the people's reaction was instant. They all looked at them. Nope, not them. At Eric. First, he didn't get it. Was he drooling? Then he followed a man's gaze. It led to his sword. Oh. Right. It didn't have a sheath.

Carter lifted a hand in a placating gesture, "It's alright. My brother won this sword in a dice game a few days ago. Sadly, no sheath came with it." Carter took the lead, smiling an easy, trusty smile that had everyone relaxing around them. He stepped up to the worn counter as the people turned back to their loud conversations, booze and others kept staring after Nadia. Eric threw a glance at her hair, seeing if any blue tips were peaking out. They were good, the lower part of her hair was hidden by the cloak. "We were hoping for a place to spend the night?"

"Three of you?" the man said with a nasal voice.

"Yes, sir."

"Yea. I have a room free, boy. Sasha!" the man yelled after handing Carter an iron key. A girl on the other side of the keep reared her head, leaving the dirty dishes on the table she'd been cleaning. "Show these three to their room."

"Thank you," Carter bid the man with a smile. "Also, could we trouble you for some food and water?"

"Dinner will be done in a couple of hours. Sasha will fetch you water, but paying comes first, boy."

"How much?"

"Six quadras."

Nodding, Carter reached into his pocket and threw the quadrangular coins onto the counter, one by one. Happy with the profit, the man snatched the money away and gave Sasha the green light to guide them. She was tall, like the man at the counter, not as thin. The man looked like a skeleton, bone showing under taut skin and his balding head didn't help. Maybe they were father and daughter, Eric could see the resemblance.

"Here y'are." She said and Carter twisted the key, pushing the door open. Three bunker beds adorned the small room. The only other piece of furniture was a small vanity. "I'll bring yer' water right away, sirs."

Carter thanked her and strangely enough, so did Nadia. She watched the girl go and Eric watched her, thinking that maybe his brother was correct. Nadia didn't seem always crazy and aggressive. Those thoughts drifted away once Eric sat on a bed. It was hard, not as hard as the ground they'd slept on the night before, but close. That didn't matter to him, he was used to camping. Loved it. Sometimes, when he got insomnias, he slept on the floor. When Sasha came bearing gifts, one large jug of fresh water and three metal cups, Eric almost snatched the pitcher and jugged it like he'd seen Carter jug three beers in a row.