Chapter two! Tell us how you like it please!
Living in caves like animals is not how any of the four cloaked figures saw themselves living. They pictures living normally. With a family, kids, a dog. The works. Not running from the military like deer from a wildfire. Hidan threw his head back, "This is ridiculous!"
The remaining three stayed quiet.
"We haven't eaten in days, we live in this smelly cave with nothing to live off of but water dripping off the ceiling and..."
Malem cut him off, "Sit down, Hidan."
"You're not going to agree with me here?!"
"She said sit, Hidan!" Kanna enforced.
"I am just so sick and tired of living like this!" Hidan yelled.
"That doesn't mean you need to take it out on us." Gaara said calmly.
"I'm sorry, okay? It's just, I really hate this war. I mean, look at us. We're orphans, our parents killed just because they protected us! And look out ourselves! Kanna used to be a cheerful, happy girl and now she cried almost every day, her boundless energy is gone. Malem has lost a lot of her happy nature too, I rarely see her smile anymore! You've become colder! And I just can't stand it!" Hidan fumed. Kanna tried to bite back the tears that threatened to fall.
"Don't you think we know this!" She yelled, the tears no longer restrained, "We suffer just as much as you do! But what can we do! We are just four kids, we can't stand up to the two most powerful countries in the world!"
"That doesn't mean we still can't try and survive!" He snapped, "I'm sick of eating roots, I'm sick of sleeping on rocks, I'm sick of living in a filthy cave, I'm sick of keeping watch each and every night"
Malem let out a sob as he continued, before she could stop herself she stood and slapped him as hard as she could across the face, another sob escaping her.
"Stop." She whispered, "Stop."
"Please, stop fighting." Kanna cried. Hidan sighed, he seemed like he was about to cry himself.
"I'm so sorry, guys. I just really hate living like this. You don't deserve to be yelled at." He said, his head hanging. Malem smiled and hugged him. Kanna grabbed Gaara and they hugged Hidan too.
"We will make it through this, together." Malem whispered.
"Thank you. I don't think a guy could ask for better friends." Hidan said, finally calmed down. As everyone released their hug, Malem still clung to him. And it was then he got his first good look at her face in a while. Her face was dirty and tear streaked. Her eyes were dark with worry and exhaustion. He then realized that they all probably looked like that. Malem released and went to sit back down, shivering though it wasn't to cold out.
"How about we go look for somewhere better to stay." Hidan suggested, smiling slightly at his friends, "If we don't wanna stay here, we might as well try to find somewhere better" Kanna, Malem, and Gaara nodded. Standing and huddling together. Hidan led them, holding Malem's cold hand in his own.
-
The woods were merciless on the four weary teens. Every blow of wind sounded like soldiers come to claim them, every twig snap sent shivers of uneasiness throughout them. Tree branches snagged in their hair and cloaks as they continued forward. Occasionally, Malem coughed brutally, but she waved off their concern and they kept moving. They wandered for days through the wilderness, finding little to eat and sleeping was tough. The four found themselves getting weaker weaker, but Malem seemed to suffer the most.
"If we don't get food soon, I don't know what is going to happen to us." Kanna said, shivering as a cold breeze blew through the tree trunks. Hidan remained silent, like he didn't know that already?
Malem bit her lip, "Maybe we should split up and look for a nearby village..."
"No." Gaara said, "We can't split up. It's too dangerous."
Malem coughed again, this time turning away to hide the blood on her hands. Kanna heard her cough and looked over at her friend in concern.
"Are you okay, Malem? You don't seem to be doing very well these past few days. Are you coming down with something?" She asked, crawling over to the other girl. Malem quickly wiped away the blood on a tree, she turned to her orange haired friend with a bright smile.
"Yes. I'm fine. It's just a cold is all. Nothing to worry about. I don't want you to worry."
Kanna gave her a skeptical look, "You'd tell us, wouldn't you?"
"Of course!"
Hidan motioned for their attention, "Let's keep moving. We can't sit here forever. It's only going to get colder and it feels like snow tonight."
"I agree with Hidan." Gaara said, standing up, "We should be moving anyway, to see if we can find some food."
"Good idea," Malem nodded. Kanna continued to stare at her. The four trudged onward and dark quickly fell and like Hidan predicted, it began to snow.
"Just what we need," Kanna growled.
"At least come good can come from these eyes" Malem said, "They do allow us to see in the dark."
"Yes, but how are we going to disguise them if we do find a village or something?" Kanna asked, for there are two ways to distinguish a nenorocire, a superhuman, from normal people just by looks. One is their eyes, which change color involuntarily. The other is a specific marking on the side of all of their necks, a cross with wings, one angel and one demon. The death angel cross, as it is called.
Malem ran cold fingers across her neck. The dark flying cross birthmark, with no exaggeration, was warm to touch. She kept her hand there, warming it, holding in coughs as she did so. There seemed to be no break in the forest or snow.
"Hey, I think I see something!" Kanna said in a hushed tone. They stopped and crouched down, sneaking in the direction Kanna had pointed.
"It's a house!" Hidan said in a surprised whisper. Malem came up beside him and gasped in awe.
"No way! All the way out here?"
"Come on!" Hidan grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer, causing her to cough hard as she tried to catch her breath.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Kanna asked.
"We are going to go get some food, that's what." Hidan replied.
"B-but we can't steal! That's mean!" Kanna cried.
"Would you rather starve?" He snapped.
"Stop! Stop! Everybody just stop!" Malem coughed, breaking to a stop.
"Malem? Are you okay?" Kanna asked. Malem was about to reply when she collapsed, falling to the snowy ground.
The wind seemed to blow harder as soon as she hit the snow. Blood dripped from her lips, staining the white ground.
Kanna dropped to her knees, "Malem! Oh god! Nothing like this has ever happened before! What do we do?"
"Move!" Hidan pushed her out of the way and scooped the small white haired girl into his arms, "Follow me." He said starting toward the old looking farmhouse. They ran through the dark forest to the farm. Kanna and Gaara opened the barn doors and Hidan ran in with Malem, setting her down on a pile of hay. Kanna began to cry and Gaara hugged her.
"What's going to happen to her?" Kanna asked through her tears.
"I don't know. I really don't know." Hidan replied sadly. Malem's breath came short and uneven and her body rattled like an earthquake.
Hidan took off his cloak and laid it on top of her as an extra blanket. Everyone's heart skipped a beat as the barn door lock unlocked from the outside and an elderly man stepped in, holding up a shot gun in their direction. The three looked at him with wide, frightened eyes and the man lowered the gun.
"What are you children doing in here?" He asked, "These are dangerous times for youngsters like you to be runnin around in the cold."
"You must help us!" Kanna cried as tears streamed down her face, "Our friend is sick and we don't know what to do to help her." The old man took some steps forward and took a long look at Malem who lay rattling in the pile of hay.
"Oh dear. Bring her inside, we'll see what the mistress can do."
Hidan picked Malem up again and followed the old man out of the barn. Kanna was about to follow when Gaara stopped her.
"Are you sure you can't do anything for her? Your power is healing after all." He asked her. Kanna shook her head.
"No, I can't. I don't know what is wrong so I can't do anything to help it."
"Right through here." The old man let them through the small farm house and into a small, bright, comfortable bedroom. Hidan gently laid Malem down on the soft mattress and covered her with the blankets.
The old man brought in a warm wet rag and placed it on her forehead while another one was used to wipe up the blood she coughed up.
"Dear, is something going on?" A sleepy old lady walked into the room. "Oh my" She said as soon she laid eyes on Malem.
"I found them in the barn. They seemed to need help." The man replied.
The woman looked them over with a cautious gaze, "Who are they?" She asked her husband.
Her husband shrugged, "But i couldn't just leave them out there to freeze. They're children!"
"Oh, don't worry, you old fool. I would have done the same thing. Now you three come with me and I'll make some tea to warm you right up." The woman signaled for Kanna, Gaara, and Hidan to follow her.
"But what about Malem?" Gaara asked the lady.
"Yes yes of course. Put the kettle on!" She instructed the old man who nodded. The old woman went over to Malem and felt her pulse. "She should be fine. All she needs is some warmth, rest, and good food." The woman reported. The three teens let out a collective sigh of relief.
"What was wrong in the first place?" Kanna asked.
"Her lungs froze, that's what brought on the blood, and she was suffering from severe hypothermia and starvation. How long has it been since you kids ate or slept inside?" The stopped and thought.
"Well" Kanna began, "We spent that one night in that church about two weeks ago, but it wasn't that warm. And we had some mushrooms the other day..."
The old lady gasped, "You poor dears. No wonder you're all thin as sticks! Come with me, i'll start dinner early."
"Thank you so much." Kanna said, tears starting to well up, "You have no idea how much this means to us."
The woman placed her warm hands on Kanna's cheeks, "Don't you mind it one bit, dear!" She waddled into the kitchen and began chopping vegetables. Kanna eagerly followed after her, willing to help in any way that she could. Hidan pulled up a chair beside Malem's bed and rested his head on her shoulder, soon falling asleep. Gaara. confused about being left alone, went in to help with dinner as well.
"Well, aren't you a useful one." The lady said to Kanna, who smiled brightly at her from the cutting board. Kanna smiled happily for once in a long time as she sliced meat into tiny bits and placed them in the stew pot. Gaara gave a small smile at Kanna's happiness.
"Oh, I am just glad to help!" She replied with a smile.
The old lady smiled kindly, her face brightening, "I had a daughter who looked like you." She said after a while of silence. Kanna was tempted to ask what happened to that daughter, but she sensed the sadness coming from the woman and did not. Gaara remained silent as he stirred in the vegetables. They enjoyed the peace of the kitchen, for it was the first time they had felt such a thing in a long time.