~Memories~
By Ola
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A/N~ sorry this part is so short. I'll make it up for you by posting another one during the week, ok?
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Part 8~
At first, she thought it was a joke. The pack weighed almost as much as she did. And what had she brought? Two pairs of pants, three shirts, a pair of extra boots, some underwear, a warm jacket and a bulky but warm and light cloak. Then there was food and all that heap of scrap metal (ferraille is a much better word here, for those who understand =) they had given her. Considering they would not be able to get anything for a month, it wasn't much. But it seemed to Lanea that she wouldn't be able to drag that thing over any little hill, much less mountains.
Tuck shouldered his share as if it was packed full of feathers. Dareel and Mat swore. Jek, as usual, didn't comment. Lan was relieved to see that Sindarin obviously sagged under his own pack. He wasn't the only one.
They didn't have much time to think about what fate had brought them. They began a fast walk immediately and except for two very short breaks, they didn't stop until late noon. Taking off her pack felt like flying, but not for long. Her heavy bladder dragged her instantly back down to earth and she had to go into the bushes. Far. And she tensed at every little sound, thinking that someone was bound to discover her in such a lady-like posture at any time. It would have been hard to explain. But no one did.
Nothing from her pack was used for lunch, and it stayed as full as before. At least, she didn't have to repack at the end. But it seemed that the infinitesimal dust that had succeeded in falling on her pack weighed immeasurably more than it should. As she put it back on her shoulders, waiting until the last minute to do so, she felt as if it was barely seconds since she had taken it off.
Toward the evening, the speed of the march had slowed down considerably. It got down to placing one foot after the other. Nothing else mattered. The company stopped a short while after sunset, when it became impossible to see well enough to go on.
"For a first day, it wasn't that bad, was it?"
Lan plopped down right where she was, not deeming it necessary to comment. From the front of the single file she heard swearing and another thud. Sindarin valiantly tried to keep standing for a while longer. Two minutes later he was sitting on his own bag. Even Tuck looked a bit tired.
"Up! Up! Get your asses up! No rest until you set camp. And let it be the last time I remind you of that!" the Captain's voice rang under the trees.
They grudgingly unpacked and watched the two officers setting their own tarp. Strings tied at each corner of the cloth around fist-sized balls of leaves so they wouldn't slip off by themselves, two sides attached to tree trunks, the other two to wood sticks found nearby and stuck into the ground. The lean to's weren't roomy, but big enough for two people and their packs to lie under. Everyone worked silently in the glow of the campfire except for Dareel and Mat, but by now, nobody paid attention to their incessant jabbering.
The food didn't taste like much, but at least it was warm. The fourth group, made up of the captain and the medic, took up the first watch. First and second groups would follow suit later that night. The third would rotate the next night, so that each group got one full night of sleep out of every four. The same went for cooking.
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Next day didn't get any better, and doubt as to the sensibility of Lanea's actions began to creep in. I'm the smallest one, and comparing body weight, pound for pound, also the lightest and the weakest. If it gets worse every day, I'll be the first one to go down, she thought with gloom, as they began ascending a large hill. No! Stop thinking like that! You're a lot more determined than they are! You have a goal to achieve. This is like war, everybody's fighting, but you have a goal to fight for. Doesn't matter you're a girl. You don't need a male's reproductive organ to walk over a hill and carry a pack. A small smile crept on her face and kept her going for a while. I'm a woman! I'm strong! I'm made to overcome pain! Pfua! If guys had to deliver babies, the human race would wither out and die because they would be too afraid of the pain to get pregnant in the first place!
By evening, all thoughts of pregnant males and strong women had vanished from her mind. She was exhausted. The first night, she had only been tired from one day's walk. Tonight, another one was added to the first, and her pain augmented accordingly. Long unused muscles protested at this barbaric treatment. Toes, feet, calves, back, shoulders…everything that had a name, and even some things that didn't.
It took Lan quite some effort not to lie own when she spread out the sleeping mat, and to get something to eat. As it turned out, Jek and Tuck were in rotation to cook supper, and at least one of them knew quite a bit about preparing food because it smelled delicious. The warm fire and a good chat was an attracting thought, but bed was a much better companion than any one else in the company, considering that she had to get up for the third watch, near morning.
She was surprised to see Sindarin follow suit, and even more so when, after a longish silence, she heard his soft "good night." It was the first time she had heard his voice; it had a specific quality she couldn't name right then.
"G'night."
She waited for him to say something more, but the only human sound that reached her was the soft laughter of Dareel and Matejas, who kept the first watchers company for a little while before they too retired to "bed." But by then, Lanea was deeply asleep, dreaming about horses.
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A/N~ as always, please review. Comments, advice…everything is welcome… even a line saying you don't like it at all…
~Ola~
