Let down again

We stand around the cart in silence.

«Nothing to do, the wheel’s completely shattered,» the merchant declares as he straightens up. «Judging by the moon’s height, dawn is almost here. Move the cart off the road and cover it up, we’ll deal with repairs tomorrow.»

I glance at Laila, but she doesn’t look like she intends to help. So I try to lift the cart where the wheel broke, but my back still hurts and I can’t move it an inch.

«Uuuuuhhh, leave it. We’ll just cover it,» the merchant huffs, pulling me back roughly with one hand. He swings the sack from his shoulders to the front, opens it, and pulls out a scrap of cloth. «Take it and pull it out.»

I grab a corner, though I wonder how on earth we’re supposed to cover a whole cart with it. «W-what’s it for?»

«Don’t make me repeat myself. Pull it out and stop whining.» Without hesitating further, I tug at the cloth, but it just keeps coming. Nadia joins in to help. We pull and pull until, finally, we drag out a massive sheet. We grab the shorter edges and spread it over the cart.

The boy then pulls out ropes, stakes, and a mallet. «Use these to secure the sheet,» he orders while untying the beast and shifting it onto the tilted cart.

“I don’t want to make Nadia work more. I already feel guilty with Laila, I don’t want to become even more of a burden.” I take the ropes, testing different ways to fasten them, trying to recall how the knots go. After a few attempts, I settle on a self-locking tension knot. Then I take the mallet and, one by one, hammer the stakes into the ground, pinning down the cover.

The merchant walks by, inspecting each knot. «At least they look decent. Where’d you learn that?»

“Is he seriously complimenting this lousy work?” «Well, um… I had a lot of free time,» I mutter, lowering my head. “Time I completely wasted.”

«Good for you. Now get out of here and find some shelter to sleep in. If I’m not mistaken, there should be a small underground spring nearby.»

«Alright.» I look around, but there’s no shelter in sight, and the others have already disappeared. “I could try climbing into the trees, but they’re too tall—and after recent experiences, I’d rather not. Maybe I’ll try the hollow of a trunk.”

I wander for a while until I find a cavity big enough. I crouch inside; it’s far from comfortable, and the aches persist.

The moon sinks and the sky bleeds red. Grass retracts into the earth, leaves into branches, moss, mushrooms—everything—leaving behind a barren landscape, winter-like. At the horizon, the white crown of a black sun begins to rise. The ground and the trunks seem to lean toward its macabre hue.

It’s the opposite of my world. There, the moon brings a bright, breathtaking night, while the sun erases everything in darkness. But this darkness is strange—unlike the night I know, here the shapes remain visible. Could it be the scarlet sky? “Now I understand why Laila said it was better not to see the day—and why every time the moon set, she built shelters without windows.” After a while, sleep finally claims me.

°°°

My throat is dry, my tongue thick. “Ah, damn… I open my eyes. I’m thirsty…” Exhausted, I fumble at my belt for the canteen. “Laila… she… she made this for me.” At the memory, my chest lightens, my face loosens—but the relief fades quickly. “What have I done… I don’t deserve to drink from this… But I’m so thirsty.” I uncap it, close my eyes, and take a sip. I spit it out. «Ugh, disgusting.» “Did it sit too long? I’m dying of thirst… Ah! Didn’t the merchant say there was a spring around here somewhere?”

I scan the bleak landscape, and horror movies I once watched with a laugh come back to mind. Well, I’m not laughing now. “Perfect, now I also have to piss. What a shitty day.”

Wary, moving like a chameleon, I rise to my feet, every muscle aching from earlier work. I walk, aimless. I don’t know how to find this spring, nor where it might be, but I can’t stay here.

No sound, no shadow, not even a breath of wind. “Right now, I’d actually prefer hearing an animal, or a branch snapping.” Something in the sky catches my eye. “What’s that white thing with two huge red eyes scanning the ground?” I change direction.

Hope drains away—along with my piss.

I hear footsteps behind me, whirl around—nothing. “On the right! Oh, it’s just a tree.” I keep walking. Someone’s watching me, I’m sure of it, but whenever I turn, there’s nothing—only bare earth and skeletal trees. I back into something, flinch, and bolt.

Panting hard, I stop, bracing on my knees. “Where am I?” My eyes dart. “Is… is that a hand?! Ah, no, just a bush.” I straighten, step back, slip, and tumble down a slope until I crash into a tree.

“Ow…” I sit up, rubbing my head. A black patch draws my attention: a pool of water. “There it is! But I don’t think this is what the merchant meant. It’s so dark it doesn’t even reflect the sky. Not exactly the clear spring I imagined—but whatever.” I kneel, dip my hand in, and bring the water to my lips. I spit it out instantly; it tastes just as foul as the canteen.

I empty the canteen, noticing the water inside is the same color as the pool. “So my trip was pointless. This water’s ruined too.”

Before I can dwell on the disappointment, I notice ripples spreading across the surface. “Hell no, I’m not sticking around!” I dash to the right, ignoring my body’s protests. At the faintest splash, I fling myself behind a nearby tree. My heart pounds in my chest. I cover my mouth to muffle the sound. My body leans out slightly to peek. “Stupid body! You’ll get us killed!”

From the pool rises the tentacled head of a faceless creature, black as the night. As more of it emerges, I recognize a humanoid shape.

It looks like a woman, three times my height, with grotesquely long limbs. Its hands and feet resemble an iguana’s, and from its lower back stretches a long tail ending in a shark’s fin.

It floats a meter above the pool, hair and tail drifting in the air. It doesn’t move—just lingers there, still.

“Shit. I’m screwed. How do I get out of here? Even looking around, there’s nothing I can use.” My stomach growls, the creature snaps its head toward me, then whirls its whole body around, I look up, that white thing I saw earlier is coming from the opposite side, its huge bloodshot eyes fixed on me: I run.

I glance back—the creature from the pool is closing in fast, I stumble, roll on the ground, try to get up, but I can only push onto my elbows, I look toward the other thing—see a leg. My head spins. I glance down at my body: It’s mine.