Chapter 5- The rest-stop
When I woke up, I didn't move, I just stared up at the always starry sky. My heart pumped regularly, I diverted thoughts from my life, and thought about.... all sorts of stuff. I thought about science, history, literature. I thought about every book I had ever read and every word I had ever known. I daren’t look away from the sky; I could feel the weight of Isaac's corpse on my chest. It was cold, and my teeth were starting to chatter, so I closed my eyes, and sat up. I felt the weight of the body tumble down my side and onto the snow beside me. And then, I was not sure what I heard, but whatever it was, persuaded me too open my eyes. Beside me, a squealing, naked body lay, wriggling in the snow. I gaped at this miracle. It was impossible, but I sucked up the phenomenon, believed it. It had to be real. Isaac's skin was deathly pale, and he was shivering. His lips were blue. I briskly tucked him into my coat and breathed into the collar- trying to warm him up. The sky was dark, as always, and I wondered how long away the mountain was. We needed to get there, and soon.
Firstly, I needed to get my pack back. I found my way back to the clearing, and skulked into it. I couldn't see the wolves, but little yellow eyes coming from the dark tree told me that they were watching me. My pack was still there, its contents spilled out on the snow. I quickly stuffed the remains into the pack, and jogged back into the trees....
The wolves followed me for a while, skulking through the trees either side of me, darting across my unclear path. I wasn't scared of them, in a way, I felt reassured. If any other creature was nearby, the wolves would scatter and I would be warned.
Also, it made me happy to watch them, in the small glimpses I got.
A mother wolf, nudging her cub to move along. Two wolves sniffing, and nuzzling each other.
A community.
This astonished me. The only time I'd ever seen emotion was through Karina when she 'took' them. All my life, i had isolated myself because of my ability. The wolves reminded me there was such a thing as emotion, such a thing as love and commitment.
I continued walking through the trees. After a while, I realised the wolves weren't following me anymore, and I was left alone in the forest, with Isaac weakly squirming around inside my coat.
Steam from my breath billowed around me, and I stumbled through the woods. I guessed I was getting near the edge of the dense trees, as the snow was thicker under my feet, and I could feel a strong wind, working its way through the trees.
I was right.
The trees ended abruptly, revealing a major snow storm. The wind was blowing in all directions, and the air was thick with whirling snow. As soon as I walked into the blistering wind, I was almost blown over. I quickly ran back into the shelter of the trees. It was obvious I wasn't going any further today...
I set up camp in the trees, risking a fire, to warm us up. I sacrificed some paper from the excess pages at the back of the moth-eaten diary, which was leading us to our destiny.
I lay on my back, with Isaac still squirming inside my coat, and looked at the glimmering night sky; there were so many stars, they lit up the heavens. I let my aching muscles relax into my coat, the collar bunching up around my cold cheeks. The fire crackled, and the smoke surrounded me, encapsulated me.
It stung my eyes and throat as I breathed; I coughed, but didn't move. I liked doing this to myself. I like being in charge of the dangers I put myself through. I felt powerful...
But as soon as I heard a wheezy cough from inside my coat, I moved out of the smoke. Isaac was in a delicate state, and making him inhale smoke wasn't going to help.
As I waited for the smoke to ease, I ate some more bread, and attempted to feed Isaac some tinned baby food- he just won’t swallow! Soon, the smoke subsided, and I moved back into the direct heat of the sparking fire. Fire has always fascinated me. It's orange, red and yellow colours, roaring upwards. A miniature sun. A sun that should be in the sky.
Once, when I was 8, I set fire to a sofa in my parents 2nd apartment. I was already an avid reader, and had learnt all about the star that used to warm this earth. Yet, I didn't have the maturity to understand how big the sun actually was. I guess I thought I'd create another sun. I guess I thought I could save this earth....
Maybe I just wanted to feel the power of destroying something- just like the soul suckers had destroyed the human race.
Sparks flew onto me, scalding little brown dots onto my cream coat.
It was tranquil. Life felt okay then. I had hope, faith and ambition. We were going to get to the salvation camp. We were going to live, me and my son, with our emotions. Human.
I observed Isaac in my lap. He was already starting to inherit some of my features. My strong nose and broad mouth. He had my father’s eyes, and Karina's high cheekbones. He glowed a radiant caramel- he was salubrious.
Unnaturally radiant, he stood out amongst the shades of this world. Extraordinary. Unreal.
"But you are real", I insisted, "and will be for a long time".
Just then, the most heart-warming phenomenon occurred.
Isaac chuckled. His eyes squinted, yet brightened, and the corners of his mouth turned up into the most delightful smile. I was astounded! Grasping Isaac to my cheek, and smiled into his little soft body.
My son. The untouched. Unblemished by the long scar that was left from the soul suckers thieving touch...
“See, we're alike. You and me." I informed Isaac, who obviously didn’t understand me, but I continued.
" We can both feel, and love, and hate, be sad, be happy, be relaxed. It will be easier for you than it was for me though. You have your dad, and I didn’t have anyone. But now, life will be easier for me too, now I have you and the salvation camp..."
Isaac gurgled, and I smiled at him.
"I wasn't meant to be like this. It was all a mistake... A misunderstanding at birth..."
My mother went into labour at 2am, 19th November 4021. A doctor, specially trained by the soul suckers themselves for this exact purpose (delivering babies), was called quickly to the scene, and soon came to the conclusion that my mother would have to undergo a caesarean. Slicing quickly into the now sedated woman, the doctor cut accurately into the womb. Unfortunately, I had not been lying in position he had calculated. The sharp surgical instrument used to perform the C-Section, slashed underneath my jaw line- just the place the soul suckers use to remove a new-borns emotions.
The doctor did not realise at first, but as soon as I was washed, he discovered I had been wounded during the operation. He bandaged up the awkward wound, and then left...
2 weeks later, the soul sucker came for me. My parents had let it walk right past them, and into their room, where I had been sleeping in my cot.
It grabbed my tiny body, and jerked my soft neck to its toothless mouth...
It runner it’s long, slimy tongue under my jawline and closed its eyes...
It stopped. Something wasn't right. Inspecting my neck, it discovered the healing pink wound, almost a scar. Furious that its meal had already been consumed, it stormed off, back to wherever the soul suckers dwelled. I assume that it thought that one of its extra-terrestrial friends had already come to feed....
Of course, that last scene was all imagined by me. There was no one there to witness the soul suckers reaction. Later in my life, when I was investigating why I was different to everyone else, I had asked my mother what this pilfering villain looked like, all she ever said was, "It was tall..." in that detached manner.
“A mistake, that could of saved me a lot of hindrance... but could have cost me you, too." I finished, running my finger across Isaac's flawless cheek. His eyes fluttered to a close, and his breathing evened out. He slept, and I had to do the same.
Tomorrow I would start my hike up the mountain would start, and I needed as much rest as possible.
Settling onto my side, with Isaac wrapped up warmly; I let the basking heat and crackling sound of the fire lull me to sleep.
I dreamt of warm beaches of a time before...
). Since the weight of his corpse had nothing to do with you looking up at the sky, you should make this into 2 separate sentences.
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