Chapter 7 (part 2): Walking On
Jack continued to walk on, each step becoming a little easier. He was grateful that Sue was there and wanted to get out of this place if for nothing else than to tell Sue that he loved her. He had never been more sure of anything in his life than he was of this now. He loved her and had to tell her. The only thing he had to do now was get out of this black desert. He had been walking gradually, resting often. Now he was starting to require a few less stops, but he still couldn't walk steadily on. Sue had been silent for a long time, so it surprised him when she started talking. It took him a moment to realize that she was talking to Bobby again. What she said didn't make much sense, but he couldn't hear what Bobby was saying, so maybe it did. At least to her it did.
"So did I." She was saying. "… you doing?" Bobby's response was quiet and Jack could hardly tell if he'd said anything, but Sue said, "Yeah. He… doing better."
I'm glad I am. Jack thought to himself, but I still want to be better than this. Looking around, he still couldn't see anything to indicate where he was going, and he couldn't tell where the pit was anymore. Everything seemed to blend together here. The only thing that was infinitely different was Sue's pale hand in his own. She had removed her other hand only a while before, undoubtedly to use it for something else. It had taken a few moments for Jack to realize that Sue was probably eating since, by his estimation of time, it was morning. He hoped that he was right, because if he wasn't, he was going to be seriously confused. He realized that he had been standing still for a few minutes now, and it was time to move on. Taking a deep breath, he once again started on his tedious journey across the shifting black sands into the black horizon. He almost laughed at the sheer ludicrousness of that. In the movies it was always a bright sunny desert and a sunset, or at least a bright horizon. Here it was almost exactly opposite. There was very little light and no sun to create a sunset.