"Follow me, princess."
Aelita blinked through the gloom. "Ulrich, I'm not sure if we're going the right way."
He glanced back at her. She was nervous, he could tell. She wanted to be home (or at least at Kadic). She wanted to be safe with Jeremie and the others. She didn't want to be on this mountain side. She was wishing she hadn't decided to go on Odd's 'shortcut'.
.
Odd competitive. "A race then, Ulrich. Why don't you take the shortcut, and I'll take the normal way!"
Ulrich reluctant. "Nuh uh. We don't know if it's safe. We don't even know where it leads."
"Take Jeremie with you. He's smart, he'll know directions and survival and stuff."
Jeremie unwilling. "No way. I'm sticking to the safe path, thank you."
Aelita willing to take a risk. "I'll go with you. Besides, anything is better than listening to you two bicker on the way down."
Smiling. Happy. Joking around…
.
Ulrich glanced back at her. "Don't worry Aelita. I'll get you off of here."
He sounded sure of himself. He wasn't going to let her know that they were lost. He'd find a way down.
.
"Ulrich?"
"Yes?"
"Are you sure we're going the right way? It feels like we've been out here forever."
"It's only been a few hours. Don't worry."
But she did worry. And she had reason to. It had been ten hours, the sun was going down.
And one guy, somewhat lacking in the knowledge of survival skills, and one girl who had been on Earth less than a year, were hardly equipped to know how to make it on their own…
.
"Ulrich, it's really getting dark. Shouldn't we have made it down by now?"
"I know what I'm doing. Stop pestering me."
.
The next morning, the sun rose, and the two set off, getting themselves hopelessly lost in the mountain range…
.
"Ulrich?"
"Ulrich, how long have we been here?"
"Ulrich, do you know where we're going?"
"Ulrich where are we?"
"Ulrich, where are we going?!"
"ULRICH?!"
.
Days run together. And you lose your way. And you lose sight of what's real. And you lose sight of what's not.
Days without food or sleep can do that.
Weeks with only a few sips of water from the occasional stream.
And even when you find something to eat. Something to drink. Even when you pass out from exhaustion. The weeks go on.
Hallucinations. Deliriums.
Silence.
What is real?
.
Her questions stopped long after his answers.
And long before they were found.
Had weeks passed?
Months?
But the two wouldn't say what had happened. Their eyes were still haunted. Their minds were haunted. They wouldn't talk. And when they were left alone, they would pace.
In circles.
Back and forth.
Anywhere.
Just to keep moving. To keep searching.
Because to them, they hadn't found safety.
In their minds, they're still on the mountain.
Still searching.
Still lost.