Tea for Two

"They never seem to lose their beauty, no matter what is going on, hey?" Says Jim as he takes a seat beside me outside of the cave.  It's our turn to be on the night watch.  We've been resting for a few days now. 

Tomorrow is the night we execute our plan of attack.

"Nope." I tell him as I continue to look at the stars dangling close to the horizon just above the tree tops. 

There's four of us on duty tonight.  The other two keep to themselves which allows Jim and I some time to catch up.  We've made a tea of sorts using the hot rocks from a small fire that burns safely on the other side of the mountain during the day.  The wind carries the smoke away from the mountain in the opposite direction from our camp and the forest; and so it is safe to do so -- but only during the day.  Come nightfall the rocks are brought up to our cave where they act as a sort of hearth.  Using a bowl shaped rock that someone found in the riverbed, Jim and I melt the licorice vine into river water to make our hot drink.

We seem to be the only ones with a taste for it. 

"I never did learn the constellations," I confess to him as we sip our teas from our bark containers and continue to scan ahead to see if we can see any movement in the night.

"That's Venus," Jim says and points to a bright one just to the left of me.

"Hi, Venus." I say outloud and raise my makeshift cup.

"To Venus!" Jim chimes in and raises his.  A moment passes as we let the silence seep into the conversation to allow for nightwatch duties.

This night is particularly clear; so much so that in certain patches on the field between the mountain and the forest's edge -- the ground appears lighter in colour.  It's a bright night with minimal clouds -- and so the stars are acting as a sort of muted spot light on parts of the field below.

"What if they're all gone by the time we get there?" I ask Jim but continue to look straight ahead.

"We owe it to them either way," he tells me as we continue to sip and scan. 

As a group, we've made a decision to take back our camp from the mutants, but we've been gone for almost a week and I wonder if there is anyone left to rescue?

I haven't felt an essence on the wind since this morning.  In my heart I fear that the mutants have eaten their full. 

As I sit there,  I continue to scan back and forth across the grassy field between the forest and our mountain.  

My thoughts begin to drift towards what tomorrow will bring, but then I feel Jim's hand on my knee.  He points straight ahead to a brighter patch on the grass in front of us that lays halfway between the base of the mountain and the forest's edge.

"Watch," he tells me as I fixate on it.

My heart is racing -- but a moment later I see what Jim was talking about:  a shadow passes through the bright patch.  It's difficult to make out exactly what it is -- but since the animals are gone it can only be one of two probabilites.

A moment later another shadow passes through.  Then another.  And another.
I stand to get a better view, to make sure with absolute certainty that it is not my imagination.

We continue to watch as one shadow after the other passes through this brighter patch on the ground below. 

There is no mistaking it. 

The mutants are headed our way.

"I'll go wake the others," says Jim as he gulps the rest of his tea and heads into the cave.  I continue to keep watch while counting the shadows in my head as they approach.  There are just over a dozen before the bright patch disappears behind a stream of clouds and I am once again blind. 

Judging from their pace they will reach us within the hour. 

"Thank you," I whisper to whomever held back the clouds long enough for us to see them.  I turn my thoughts towards waking the others and preparing for our next move.  I try my best not to focus on the only reason the mutants would have left our camp.  I don't want to think about that right now.  Right now, I need to concentrate on what is about to happen.

I'll grieve for the rest later.