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Tears filled Eve’s eyes and her throat ached with an urge to sob. They were lost without food, without fireberry juice.
“Why did I even listen to you!” she snapped, turning toward Luke. “Let’s face it. We’re not going to make it back. We should have just spent the day swimming and playing toss-ball, like we usually do on our days off. Why —“
“I know.” Luke whispered, his tone heavy with defeat. Eve would have pitied him if she weren’t so angry. “I’m so sorry. This was a stupid idea, and I didn’t really think this through. The map looked so straightforward.”
Eve’s anger receded slightly but not her frustration. “Well, they never did teach us much about the outside world. No wonder curiosity about such things is frowned upon. This entire forest is Chaos.”
Dim, silvery moonlight had replaced the fading sunlight. Owls hooted in the trees and nocturnal creatures stirred. Eve tensed. Hadn’t she learned as a small child that there were dangerous creatures beyond New Eden’s borders? What if they met some of them? Were any of the Banished ever eaten by these animals?
Another sound caught her ears. It was distant but promising, a faint stirring that reminded her of the manmade river that flowed across New Eden, ending in a small waterfall that spilled into Placid Lake. “Luke, listen,” she urged. “Do you hear that?”
He raised his head, his tear-filled eyes bright with moonlight.
“It sounds like a river! I doubt it is New Eden’s — that doesn’t flow into these hills — but it’s water. I’m burning with thirst.”
“Me, too,” Eve gasped as they stumbled in the direction of the noise, tripping over exposed roots and uneven ground.
Relief filled Eve as the trees cleared slightly, revealing a narrow river that gurgled gently over rocks and glinted in the moonlight. It was certainly more primitive than new Eden’s, but that hardly mattered. Eve dropped to her knees, not caring that the pebbles bit into her knees through her cottony kirtle, cupped her hands into the cool water, and drank deeply. It tasted of silt and minerals but, at this moment, was as refreshing as fireberry juice. She could hear Luke slurping next to her. She splashed her face then stood, feeling slightly better than she had for the last few hours. Her belly remained empty, and a terrible craving for fireberry juice tore at her. At least the thirst had vanished.
Warmth still clung to the summer evening air with no hint of the rains that fell over New Eden late each night. Eve felt sticky and smelly. Perhaps a dip in the river would refresh her and distract her from the fireberry urge. She had never gone so long without it before. Could a person die from lack of fireberry juice? she wondered as she absently slipped out of her clothes and stepped into the water.
The chill of the water bit at her feet, and the rocks were sharp and slick. No. This was nothing like New Eden’s river, which was comfortably warm and smooth.
She was also suddenly acutely aware of her nakedness. She looked over at Luke, who had stripped off his tunic and trousers with the same intent of bathing.
A flush touched his face, and he quickly turned away. Eve’s eyes briefly slid over his bare body, which had a silvery tinge in the moonlight. Her cheeks burned as she took note of every curve, every muscle, every feature…
A queer stirring that she had never experienced before filled her. She felt an urge to kiss Luke in a way that was more than a simple peck on the cheek, to… she wasn’t sure, but it screamed of Chaos.
She quickly averted her eyes and scrambled for her clothes. She could hear Luke rustling about, doing the same.
“Perhaps I can do without a bath tonight,” she gasped in a high, airy voice.
“Same with me,” Like gushed. “I’m just going to go to sleep. We’ll worry about finding our way back in the morning.”
About Donna Marie Robb
