The darkness had lifted. Neim slowly rose from from where he lay and sat up. His vision was still blurry from just waking up.
He started rubbing his eyes with the index finger of his right hand. He looked around a few times.
Duis was gone. Then he quickly looked around again.
"What happened? Where's Duis?" he thought, and suddenly stood up, scanning the whole mountain.
Then he saw Duis. He was a bit farther away, walking around around the top of the mountain; that's why Neim hadn't seen him.
"Duis wouldn't leave me... But why did I feel like he would?" Then he shook his head a few times.
Giving up on those thoughts, Neim raised one hand and waved, cupping the other beside his mouth so his voice would carry, and called out to Duis:
Neim: "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? COME OVER HERE!"
Duis had seen that Neim was awake. Because of the angry ball, he had to squint a little, of course.
He raised his right hand and started waving too.
Duis: "I'M COMING!"
Duis had gone out for a walk to get used to having just one arm.
"After all, this is how I'll live my life now... But how come it still feels like I can feel my arm?" he thought as he started walking towards Neim.
He looked to his left once more and said, "I guess the easiest part is the side where we slept... There are only a few trees here, nothing else. Where will we get water from?"
Duis's mouth was almost completely dry. He realised it right after saying "water."
"Damn, I haven't had any water since we woke up twice! Why is my voice so weak? And why am I so exhausted?" he lamented.
He still hadn't gotten used to the absence of his left arm, but it was better than dying.
Besides the pain of leaving his mother behind, he was also trying to figure out how to get down with one arm.
When he finally reached Neim, Duis slowly sat on the ground. At that moment, Neim was gathering up the blankets.
Duis: "Sorry I can't help."
Neim: "You think I'd make that a problem? Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"
Duis: "I'm just kidding."
Neim: "Alright. So... how's your arm? And since you were walking-did you see which way we should climb down?"
Duis: "My arm... it's kind of weird. It's there but not there. And there's a small thing-won't go away. I think that 'crystal' thing did it. I mean, it doesn't hurt... just feels strange. And this way down is the easiest. Once we're down, there's water right nearby. We really need to drink something."
Neim's attention was caught by the black thing on Duis' left arm. He tried to scratch it a bit with his fingernail, but it didn't come off.
"What's this thin line-like thing?" he wondered.
Neim had finished gathering up the blankets. He took one last look at the village-but this time, no one was there.
Neim: "Why is no one around? The darkness has lifted..."
Duis: "I don't know. Maybe they stayed awake for so long trying to tell us something that they finally crashed... That could be it. I didn't see my mother either..."
Neim: "The more you dwell on it, the more your mother will be sad, and the more you'll miss her. We can't go anywhere... Maybe there are more Kimas out there-we wouldn't survive. If you focus on this place too much... You already said your goodbyes."
Duis: "...You're right."
Neim had gathered everything they had. Just two blankets, Duis' dagger, and the execution sword.
No matter what happened, they had each other. Somehow, they'd find a way.
Duis: "I'd appreciate it if you'd go at my pace. I'll have to move a bit slower because of my arm."
Neim: "Of course. Don't worry."
The two slowly began descending the mountain. Duis had been right-this path was much easier. You almost didn't even need to use your hands.
By the time they were halfway down, they were completely drained. They felt like they might die of thirst.
As Duis was slowly sliding down while sitting, he suddenly lost control and began to slide dangerously!
Neim reacted quickly, grabbing Duis by the clothes.
Breathless, Neim said: "That was close..."
Duis: "Thanks."
Neim: "Don't mention it."
●●●
The two had barely managed to descend. They practically crawled to the water and plunged their heads in, drinking eagerly.
Duis: "Water… Water really is my favorite thing!"
Neim: "You're right. This is so good…"
After quenching their thirst, they sat down.
Duis: "I almost died this time for real."
Neim: "Tell me about it! You were in such a hurry. Because of the ones behind me, I couldn't catch up with you I was afraid you'd fall."
Duis: "I just wanted us to get down before darkness arrived. We don't know what might happen."
Neim: "You're right, but next time, tell me first."
Duis: "Alright."
Suddenly, Duis's stomach growled. Just as Neim was about to tease him, his own stomach growled too. They both covered their stomachs with their legs.
Duis: "Got any food?"
Neim: "Nope."
Duis: "Let's search around."
Neim: "Okay."
Neim placed the blankets beside the water.
They began checking the nearby trees. That's what came to mind first when thinking about food.
Duis spotted something on one of the trees that looked like apples.
Duis: "Hey, come here! I think there are young apples, green apples! Look, they're small too!"
Neim ran over quickly. At that moment, all he wanted was something to eat.
Neim: "Let me see."
The thing on the tree was green and had an irregular shape.
Duis: "Could you pick them, please? I might not be able to climb because of my arm."
Neim: "Alright."
Neim swiftly climbed the tree and picked a few of what he thought were apples, then came down.
He handed them to Duis, who took one.
Duis: "Let's eat then."
Neim also took one, and they both took a bite.
*Sour. *Sour.
What they had eaten wasn't a young apple. It was a pear. But they couldn't tell because they didn't know what a pear was.
Neim: "Better than being hungry."
Duis: "You're right…"
Both of them made sour faces as they ate. They ate so much, they finished the entire tree.
Neim: "Sour, but not inedible."
Duis: "Yeah… But that doesn't change the fact that we finished the whole tree. We might not find more."
Neim: "What else could we do, starve? By the way, not all apples out here are like this, right?"
Duis: "I hope not… I'm wondering if there are even other people out there."
Neim: "There must be."
Darkness had begun to fall.
Duis: "Seriously? Did we really spend that much time just eating? We haven't even explored the outside yet."
Neim: "We've got a long way ahead. We'll find something."
Duis: "I hope so…"
Neim: "Should we sleep then?"
Duis: "Yeah."
Suddenly, they heard a small sound, and something cold touched their bodies.
They quickly jumped up from where they sat.
Duis: "Is something happening?"
Neim: "There's no one here though…"
After standing on alert for a long time, they figured whatever it was didn't intend to harm them, and decided to sleep.
Darkness lifted… When they awoke, the thing was gone.
Neim: "Why did it do that to us, I wonder? I got really cold too."
Duis: "I don't know, but since it didn't harm us, we probably don't need to be afraid."
Neim: "You're right, you're right."
Duis: "So, what now?"
Neim: "I think we should get away from here a bit."
Duis: "What about the water? We can take the food and blankets, but we can't carry the water."
Neim: "Maybe we'll find more water."
Duis: "And if we don't?"
Neim: "Remember those big apples? The ones we couldn't eat because they were too hard? We could open them up and put water inside."
Duis: "That might keep us going for a bit, but one won't be enough. If we find like ten more, that could work."
Neim: "How will we seal them? Otherwise, the water will spill."
Duis: "We can trim bark from trees and cut it to fit the opening. And we only cut a small hole in the apples."
Neim: "That could actually work."
Duis: "Let's do it!"
Neim: "Wait, wait! Who's opening the apples, who's collecting them?"
Duis: "I'll get the apples. The big ones are closer, I think I can reach them by jumping."
Neim: "Alright, then I'll work on the bark and open the tops of the apples."
Neim tied one of the blankets to Duis so he could collect the apples, and they got to work.
They finished after three darkness arriving
Duis: "There are no more apples on the trees. I think that's enough."
Neim: "Didn't expect it to be so few. We barely found nine!"
Duis: "At least now we can start walking."
Neim: "But let's wait until darkness lifts. Otherwise, it's pointless."
Duis: "You spent a lot of time on the apples. Why?"
Neim: "I thought putting water directly in the apples might make it taste bad, so I washed some bark and put them inside like cups."
Duis: "Do you think bark tastes good?"
Neim: "…"
Duis: "Take them out!"
Neim: "Alright, I'll fix it."
Neim began removing the bark, chuckling strangely: "Hehehe."
● ● ●
Darkness had lifted. Neim took the biggest piece of bark he could find and placed the water-filled apples inside. He tied one blanket to himself and gave the other to Duis. He also secured the sword and dagger to Duis's blanket. He carried most of the apples himself. At last, they were ready to set off.
They walked for two full darkness lifting. They crossed hills and passed mini forests. But things hadn't gone as planned with the water.
Despite Neim's careful efforts, his arm got tired from time to time, and he ended up spilling nearly half the water. After they drank, only one apple remained with water.
They were nearly out of apples too. One more meal, and they'd be gone. They were now willing to risk everything to find more water.
They sat on top of a small hill. The angry ball was still in the sky there was still time before darkness.
Duis: "I feel like I'm about to die from thirst again."
Neim: "Me too. Me too."
Duis looked around and saw something in the distance.
Duis: "Neim! NEIM! THERE'S WATER! THERE'S WATER AHEAD!"
Neim: "WHAT? REALLY?"
Duis: "YES! LOOK!"
They were so excited they couldn't stay still. This also meant food.
They grabbed their things and rushed toward the water. But there was something in front of it.
They both quickly crouched by a tree and began whispering.
Neim: "Could it be like Kima?"
Duis: "Kima was taller than both of us. This only comes up to my leg. Let's try talking to it. If it doesn't work, we'll try to kill it."
Neim: "Alright. I'll take the sword, and you take your dagger. I'll go first. If it attacks, we both charge it. Let's hope it's not as strong as Kima."
Neim stepped forward slowly and examined the creature's body. Like Kima, it was four-legged, but it had fur and was much smaller.
Neim: "Hello. We won't hurt you. We just came to drink water."
The creature suddenly flinched and charged at Neim. Neim dodged to the side quickly, but the creature turned and came again.
At the right moment, Duis jumped on its leg and slashed its front leg. Seeing this, Neim drew his sword and slid in to cut the other front leg.
The creature thrashed on the ground. Neim and Duis looked at each other with pride they had won much more easily than expected.
Neim: "Who are you? If only you hadn't attacked us, we wouldn't have hurt you."
The creature made nothing but painful whimpers.
Duis: "I don't think it even knows what we are. We should end its pain… We're sorry."
Neim: "I'm sorry."
Neim raised his sword and ended the creature's suffering.
There was still time before darkness. Fearing it might start to smell, they dragged it away.
Duis: "I think we should start a fire. It'll keep us warm, maybe."
Neim: "I was just thinking… In the past, they had something called 'cooking.' And there were even people who cooked the dead and ate them. What if we try cooking this thing and eating it?"
Duis: "Are you crazy? I'd never do that!"
Neim: "We might have to. And if we don't know how, we could starve. Besides, you said this thing didn't even know what we are. Kima spoke before dying, but this one hasn't said a thing."
Duis: "It just feels so wrong…"
Neim: "It's weird coming from me, but, Duis… What will we do when there are no apples? We should at least learn how to cook it. If it's cooked wrong, it could kill us."
Duis: "So you're saying… let's be prepared?"
Neim: "Yes."
Duis: "Alright then, but I won't do this again unless we have to."
They spent a long time starting the fire and tried to cook the creature. They cut the meat into small pieces. Neim did the cutting.
The smell was unbearable. As Neim cut deeper, the inside opened up. "Is our insides like this too? Ugh… What am I thinking? Just focus on cooking!" he thought to himself.
After twenty-three tries, they figured it out. The taste was even better than apples.
Neim: "It's really good, but I'm not doing this for long."
Duis: "Believe me, neither am I…"
Neim: "We need to make our movements easier. Let's train."
Duis: "You're right. Let's not have another Kima situation."
Duis looked at his left arm. That thing had wrapped around it like a ring. It scared him a bit. Neim noticed it too. After rolling up Duis's sleeves, he began working on his arm.
At that moment, Duis noticed the same thing on Neim's right arm.
Duis: "Neim, you've got that thing too!"
Neim: "What?! How? Where?!"
Duis: "On your right arm."
Neim was shocked at what he saw. And very scared.
Duis: "Maybe this thing doesn't want to hurt us. It would've done something by now it's been several lifted already."
Neim: "You're actually right. And it's not that big of a thing…"
Neim and Duis didn't yet know what the black ring that appeared just above their elbows meant but they would.
Neim was trying to cut branches with his sword; Duis, getting used to his weakened arm, was attempting more agile moves with his dagger.
And so… long times passed. Days, weeks, maybe months.