Forty minutes later From a distance, Shelia could be seen dragging something across the ground. She had one hand filled with a pile of fruits and the other holding what seemed to look like a tail.
After quite some time of walking, she finally stopped. Shelia wiped the sweat off of her forehead as her eyes drifted to the boy leaning against the tree.
âIâm exhausted. Luckily, I didnât get lost. Are you hungry, Van?â Victor did not go anywhere.
The truth was that, he was capable of walking nonstop for forty minutes.
However, he was completely clueless as to why he did not take his leave.
Perhaps, he was too injured to walk. Victor tried to convince himself this was the reason he didnât leave. His eyes followed the sweat dripping from her forehead before looking at what was behind her.
From a distance, he couldnât quite tell what she was dragging around.It was a dead wolf. The same exact one that Victor killed.
âWhy did you bring that here?â Victor asked in confusion.
There was a smile on Sheliaâs lips as she turned to get a glimpse of the dead wolf.
âFor food!â
âFood?â
âYeah, but the thing is, I have no idea if would meat would be delicious. Still, itâs better than nothing.
Iâve thought about it. We canât always just eat fruits all the time. Besides, you need to eat something good in order to recover from your injuries. Thatâs why I went back to the place where you fainted last night to check if the wolves were still there.â
Exhaustion ran on Sheliaâs nerves. After all, she had been walking for quite some time now. She picked up a fruit and took a generous bite of it.
âI didnât anticipate for them to still be there. Maybe God really is looking after us.â Victorâs eyes drifted from the dead wolf towards Shelia.
Not a single word escaped his lips. The smell of the blood from his throat grew stronger.
Suddenly, he felt suffocated. He had the urge to cough, but he knew very well that once he did, blood would come out of his mouth. Despite having rested the entire night, he still did not get better. He was barely able to hold on.
There was a throbbing pain in his temples and his eyesight was so blurred that he could barely see anything. All he wanted to do was sleep. He was exhausted.
Shelia stood up and walked towards Victor. She put her hand against his forehead.
âItâs so hot.â Victor felt how cool her hand was.
Suddenly, a sense of comfort rushed into his heart. However, that moment did not last long since Shelia moved her hand away âYouâre feverish,â Shelia said.
Coming to his senses, Victor said, âIâm fine. Iâll be better once I get some rest.â
Sheliaâs lips formed into a straight line as her eyes drifted to the jar of water next to Victorâs hand.
It seemed that he did not drink it at all. Her eyes focused on Victorâs lips. They were chapped and dry because of dehydration and blood loss.Youâre not feeling well. Why donât you drink some water?â
Shelia couldnât understand why Victor did not drink a single drop of water.
For a while now, she had been holding her tongue because she knew that it was none of her business.
However, seeing how uncomfortable he was, she could no longer keep her curiosity to herself. Victor raised his head a bit and looked into Sheliaâs eyes.
Unable to hold their gaze, Shelia blinked her eyes a couple of times before finally looking away. She picked up the | jar of water, unscrewed the lid and took a sip.
âI think itâs safe to drink.â
Victor did not expect what she did.
Before he could even react, Shelia handed him the jar.
âDonât you really want to drink? Even just a little? You should hydrate yourself now that youâre sick.â
âThank you,â Victor said as he took a sip.
The filtered water from the river felt cold as it flowed down his throat, washing away the smell of blood in his mouth.
Raising her hand to block the sunlight from her line of sight, Shelia looked around.
âItâs not even noon yet. Do you want to close your eyes and rest for a bit?â she asked. Indeed, Victor was exhausted.
âWhat about you?â he asked as he put the jar of water down.
âMe? Iâll be right here. Iâll clean the wolf while I watch over you.â
Pointing at the wolfâs carcass, Shelia added, âGO get some sleep. When you wake up, youâd finally be able to enjoy some meat. We can leave when weâre no longer hungry.â
There was silence in the air as Victor gazed at her. His eyes that seemed to pierce through her soul made Shelia feel a little uncomfortable. Touching the tip of her nose, she asked, âWhatâs wrong? Is there something on my face?â
âNothing. Iâm going to sleep for a bit.â Victorâs voice sounded hoarse.
âAlright. Iâll wake you up once Iâve finished cooking.â
Suddenly, an idea occurred to him.
âIf Norton really sent Shelia to kill me, why hasnât she done anything yet?â
Not too long after closing his eyes, Victor fell into a deep slumber. The wonderful smell of roasted meat wafted through Victorâs nostrils, waking him up. Slowly, he opened his eyes. His vision was still blurred.
âShelia,â he called out. As if on cue, Shelia looked back and walked over.
âI was about to wake you up but you already did before I could even come to you.â Victorâs eyes shifted to the piece of roasted meat in her hand.
âYouâ¦â Before he could even finish his words, Shelia handed him the piece of meat and said, âI roasted the meat. Give it a try. I marinated it with some fruit juice. It should taste good.â
Her face was flushed and covered with sweat because of the heat from the fire. Taking the piece of roasted meat into his hand, Victor took a bite. It tasted quite off and was still a bit undercooked.
âWhat do you think?â Shelia asked. For a moment, Victor was silent. His eyes drifted to the cut on her hand. Instead of answering her question, he asked, âWhat happened to your hand?â
âOhâ¦I cut myself while I was chopping the meat,â Shelia answered as she looked at the wound on her hand. She didnât seem to care about it at all.
Again, she asked, âHow is it? Am I a good cook?â There was a hint of expectation in her voice. Victor could not bring himself to tell her the truth.
âIt is delicious,â he lied.
âThatâs great! I was afraid you wouldnât like it.â
Heaving a sigh of relief, Shelia continued, âIâll cook some more for you!â
After having some sleep, Victor felt a little invigorated.
He stood up and sat next to Shelia. There was a bonfire right in front of them. She used a dart to poke some holes into the meat and then used a branch as a skewer before roasting it over the fire.
âVan, you didnât get lost, did you?â Shelia asked out of the blue.
Victor was taken by surprise.
âWhile you were asleep, I wanted to do something about your fever. I accidentally saw the wounds on your body, Initially, I thought that your injuries were from your encounter with the wolves. Later on, I realized that theydonât you were beaten up. Plus, you didnât want to drink the water I gave you.â Shelia turned around.
âVan, are your enemies hunting you down? You were worried that I was going to poison you so you didnât drink the water, right?â Victor looked intently into her eyes.
One of his hands was behind his back, gripping on the knife he had hidden. with the gentle press of his thumb, the tip of the knife popped out.