Dust (Of Dust and Darkness) - By Devon Ashley Page 0,65
dry, and horrible thoughts continuously break my heart long before a glow creeps down from above. My heart jumps to my throat with a deep gasp, not sure whether to leap with joy over Jack’s arrival, or in absolute fear of Finley’s approach. The wavy brown hair is unmistakable, and a smile strains to fight off the previous hours of dread. I thought I’d be ecstatic to see Jack, but the unnecessary trauma I put myself through today has completely drained the life right out of me.
I feel it. I want to scream unto the heavens, oh, thank you, Mother Nature, but I just don’t have it in me.
He touches down slowly, his body jerking a bit. Maybe it’s the light reflecting badly off his skin, but he looks like I feel. “Hey,” I say, the single syllable absolutely lifeless.
“Hey.” He roughly stumbles to the ground, his body seemingly heavy.
“You okay? ‘Cause you kind of remind me of me a few weeks ago,” I scoff.
His smile is so weak it only goes half way. His face droops and he arches his neck so the crown of his head rests against the wall. “Kind of feel that way too. Sorry I’m late. I feel like absolute crap today. I just couldn’t get going until now.”
He looks like he went a few rounds with a spriggan, his head so pale and swollen it actually looks a little misshapen. As much as I yearn for him to stay, what I want and what he needs are two completely different things. It pains me to see him this way. “Maybe you should go back to bed. Lying on the rocks and breathing in this stuffy air will only make you feel worse.”
“I’m going to stay up top because I don’t want to get you sick.”
“Or, even better,” I urge, “going back to bed. I can take care of myself, Jack. Go get some rest.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t make me kick your butt!” I threaten, giving in to the annoyance rising inside me. “Go home!”
He chuckles weakly, and it looks like it hurts. He groans and pathetically pushes himself back on his feet. Unzipping his satchel, he tosses a mixed bag of pine nuts and fresh mini strawberries onto my lap. “I’ll get you some water in a bit, once I’m able to rest a little.”
Angry, I yell, “Mother Nature, you stubborn–”
Interrupting, he snaps with all his might, “I won’t leave you alone, Rosalie! Not when Finley could show up any minute! I won’t leave you here to face him alone! Now I’m going up top so this doesn’t happen to you. Being sick is the last thing you need right now.”
I’m speechless as he rises, completely numb to the bone. He wavers as he ascends, probably dizzy from yelling.
No, Jack. The last thing I need is to spend more time without you.
“Are you completely incapable of staying down in that hole?” a voice bellows above, waking me from a light sleep. Finley!
I gasp, fear ripping the edge of every nerve in my body. I quickly drench my hair with water, doing my best not to saturate the rest of my body, then aimlessly dump the rest of the bucket on the floor. I blow out the lantern Jack left behind, immersing myself in complete darkness.
“It’s too hot to stay down there all day long.” I suppose the adrenaline is helping Jack snap back, because we both know he’s been topside for three days now. Though feeling a little better, he’s bound and determined to stay away so long as he’s still feeling sick. “Now if you’d like me to take her some place where I can actually breathe a little, then fine, I’ll work on her more hours in the day.”
“You insolent little pest. I never should have allowed your father to use this prison to shape you up. You’re a hopeless cause.”
“My father?” Jack growls. “I thought it was your idea to punish me here.”
“Like I’d really bother myself with the punishment of a spoiled brat and his stupid pranks. I don’t care if you screw up your life. All I care about is whether you’ve broken sixty-eight yet, or if I’ll have to do the job myself.”
“She’s close,” Jack spits. “She can’t endure much more.” He’s keeping his cool better than I am, because we both know it’s a complete lie. I have to do something. Unless the makeup on my skin is absolutely flawless after several days of me mindlessly smudging it,