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Chapter 43

We crawl through the cave on our bellies, like lowly Beasts, and it's all too much of a relief when we finally emerge from the darkness, into- Well, more darkness, though at least we're outside. We've been in the cave all day.
A cold wind blows in, lifting my hair off my shoulders. The crisp scent of the mountain fills my nose- The dry, dusty smell of the worn rock, and the musty stench of the cave behind me. But that's all overwhelmed, by far, by the smell of the Wold, the sweet smell of thousands upon thousands of trees, the spicy perfumes of poison flora, and then, the distant reek of the thousands of foul Beasts that lurk everywhere, as common- Perhaps even more, so, than their human counterparts. Almost hidden, though, obscured by numberless other smells, is the unmistakable, metallic stench of fresh blood in the air.
I glance at Stone, but he doesn't seem to have noticed, so I choose to leave it alone and maybe bring it up later- That is, if we survive till later.
At his insistence, we walk on a little further. The slope has lessened now (slightly), and if we lean into it enough, we're able to go up on two feet.
We don't talk much, but to warn one another of sudden drop offs and ridges. We're not feeling particularly unfriendly towards each other, but it's just that the climb now requires so much concentration, that keeping up a steady conversation now would be like juggling while cartwheeling. Okay, maybe not that difficult, but just about.
"You hear that?" Stone stops abruptly, without warning. I run into him, head-butting him between the shoulder blades, and we both collapse onto the ground.
He shushes me, and we sit in silence, peripherals going to town, trying to look in every direction at once, our eyes wide. We listen for almost an entire minute, and then-
"There! There it is again!" He says, getting to his feet and looking... Up.
"I don't hear anything." I grumble. Why can he hear things before me? That's not fair at all.
"And again!" He's standing on his tip-toes now, craning his neck upwards, black wolf ears sticking straight up from his mess of hair. I do the same, and find that only makes matters worse, because I still can't see the peak. And worse, after that, I look down.
A flock of geese flys by a hundred feet below, and a cloud passes by under them. Yes, the clouds are under us.
Getting a sense of vertigo, I look back at Stone, who now has his head cocked to one side, ears twitching.
"What is it?" I say tiredly, rubbing my eyes. I didn't sleep good last night, and it's already dark out- We're following the lantern and the light of the moon.
"Shhhhhhhh!" He hushes, pressing his pointer finger to his lips, not taking his eyes off... well, whatever he's looking at. It's as if he's imagining he can see the peak up there, hidden by thin, wispy mist, that he's picturing it's every detail. I think he's slowly losing his mind.
"What is it?" I whisper, just playing along. I'm beginning to grow a little concerned- Stone doesn't play pretend like some little three-year old... Either I'm just missing something, or he really believes he's hearing something that doesn't exist.
"It's like.... Voices..." He murmurs, still fixated on whatever he's staring at. Now I'm really starting to get scared. I've seen many Predators and other rejects lose their minds simply from witnessing all to many of the horrors in this world of ours... Could it be happening to Stone right before my eyes?
"Um, Stone? There's no voices..." Even as I'm speaking, my eyes widen as I realize I'm wrong.
Coming from somewhere far above us, from some place hidden in the mist and sky, no more than a whisper on the wind, is the soft, flowing murmur of voices... Actually human (Well, as human as it gets in the Wold...) voices. Or maybe I'm just forming them in my mind, the gnawing hunger in the pit of my stomach driving me to believe we're close.
What day is it? How long have we been climbing this mountain? Four days, was it? Three? The days are blending together, every second, every hour, blurring to become part of the one, long, endless day that is our journey.
My eyes are beginning to close of their own account, and suddenly all my limbs have turned to lead, forcing me to the ground. I mumble something about being tired, and then the path is rising up to meet me. I'm asleep before I hit the ground.