Fic: Chase the Morning {22/37}

[scarlet_gryphon]

Chapter Two: Journey



Date: August 18, A.I. 7 [2007]

Location: Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, USA


Henry trudged through the rapidly darkening woods, collecting what dry pieces of fallen branches and tree limbs he could find. He and Will had stopped for the night, pausing in a thick stand of trees that was situated on the edge of what once had been farmland. From an initial glance, Henry guessed that the farm used to grow fruit crops; he could smell the rapidly ripening apples and peaches that now grew wild and unharvested. He noted the location, and figured that a breakfast of fruit would be a nice change from the dried meat and MREs that had been the staple of his and Will’s meals for the past few weeks.

When he judged he had enough kindling and large pieces of wood, Henry returned to the makeshift campsite to find that Will had already laid out their bedrolls and had made a fire ring with some rocks he’d dug out of the soft earth. Will looked up when Henry approached, his hand pausing on the grip of his gun before relaxing.

‘Hey.’ Will said, giving a brief nod to Henry as he continued to clear the fire ring of leaves and other debris. ‘I’m almost done here; did you collect enough wood to last the night?’

‘Yep,’ Henry replied, setting the wood down near the fire ring. ‘There’s an orchard on the other side of this wood; we could have fresh fruit for breakfast tomorrow if you want.’

‘Sounds good,’ Will said, sitting back on his heels and examining his work for a moment before turning to his pack. ‘But for tonight, it’s MREs again.’

‘Wonderful.’ Henry said dryly. ‘I can’t wait.’

Will snorted softly in amusement but didn’t make any further comment as he withdrew two MREs from his pack. Henry busied himself with the fire, using a small lighter that he’d taken from the Old City Sanctuary to ignite the tinder. The lighter seemed to have an ever-lasting fuel source, and was one of Henry’s most prized possessions, as he had been given it by Magnus. It took a while for the smaller pieces of wood to catch, but once they did, Henry carefully laid a few of the larger chunks of timber on the flames and sat back, enjoying the sight of his handiwork.

‘The MREs are done,’ Will announced a few minutes later. ‘It’s rice and chicken for both of us, tonight.’ He handed Henry an MRE and then dug into his own, nose wrinkling gently at the thought of having to eat the prepackaged food once more, but ate it anyways. Henry started eating, having found that not actually thinking about what he was eating made it that much more palatable in the long run. When they finished their meals, Henry and Will played a few rounds of cards before settling in for the night. Will took the first watch while Henry dozed, sleeping lightly as he had for some time now.

Will woke Henry for his watch three hours later, nudging him carefully in the shoulder before turning in and going to bed himself. Henry sighed, wrapped his blanket around his shoulders, and sat with his back against a tree, idly poking at the dying embers of the fire. He looked up at the sky, wanting to see the stars, and found his view blocked by the tree branch above him.

‘Damn.’ He muttered, pulling his blanket tighter around him. For it being summer, it sure did get chilly at night. Then again, they were in the mountains, so that probably had something to do with it. The movement Henry made, unfortunately, made him realize that there was a pressing need he had to attend to, so he got to his feet and quickly made his way to the latrine pit that had been dug earlier in the day. He made speedy use of it, keeping one eye on the campsite and the other on the surrounding area. Once he’d finished, Henry covered over the portion of the pit he’d used and returned to the campsite, using a small portion of the water in his canteen to rinse off his hands.

Sitting back down once more, Henry leaned back against the tree, watching the few last embers of the fire slowly dim and then go out. A light breeze sprang up a short while later, stirring the ashes and making them dance in the light of the half-moon just visible over the crown of the trees. Henry watched the show for a moment, and then relaxed, listening to the night sounds around him. Crickets chirruped, owls hooted, and leaves rustled in the breeze. It was almost comforting, and Henry found that it proved to be a sort of lullaby. He had to fight to stay awake, and loosened his blanket so that he wouldn’t get too warm and drift off to sleep before his watch was over. Henry drew a deep breath in and let it out slowly. This was going to be a long night.


Will woke him later that morning, right about when the sun had just peeked through the branches of a nearby tree. ‘Breakfast time,’ Will said in a way of a morning greeting. ‘We could go get some of that fruit you saw yesterday.’

‘Yeah, sounds good.’ Henry yawned, belatedly remembering to cover his mouth with one hand. ‘Just give me a minute to wake up.’

‘No problem.’ Will started packing up, scattering the ashes of their fire and making it look as if they’d never been there in the first place. Henry followed suit, attaching his bedroll to his pack and then burying what was left of the latrine pit after using it one last time. Once everything had been taken care of, he and Will started off once more, heading towards the orchard that Henry had seen the previous day. When they reached the edge of the woods, however, the two men drew to a stop, Will swearing softly underneath his breath.

The scene before them was slightly worrisome. A group of people were scattered around the orchard below the small rise that the wood stood on, gathering the ripe fruit hanging from the trees. There were only a few people on the edge closest to Will and Henry, and as they watched, two out of the three harvesters moved on to parts of the orchard farther afield, leaving their companion alone picking apples.

‘Now what?’ Henry asked as he and Will ducked behind some nearby bushes. ‘We can’t go in there, and I don’t know if there’s a way around.’

‘I thought you said that this was a wild orchard?’

‘It certainly looked that way yesterday!’ Henry said, risking a glance at the workers down below. ‘I mean, the trees weren’t trimmed or anything, and there was plenty of fruit just lying on the ground.’

‘Hmm. There’s probably a village or settlement nearby, then.’ Will mused. ‘Or maybe they’re some sort of travelling caravan or something.’

‘The real question, though, is if they’re allied with the Wraith or not.’ Henry pointed out. ‘It won’t matter where they live if they’re Wraith worshipers.’

‘God, I hope not.’

‘Yeah, me too.’