Mira's Hope Read Free Page B

one handful of food and
stuffed into his mouth. It was an odd mixture. A taste of fruit, a
bit of cheese, some pieces of bread here and there. Swallowing, he
stuffed the other handful in and dusted his hands off. His stomach
growled loudly, unsatisfied with the meager amount of food it just
received. Tark was finishing up as well. He stood and began packing
what little they’d gotten out back into the bags.
    It was Elenio’s turn to carry Galena. After
her last bout, he silently prayed she would rest for a while so
they could move more quickly. He walked over to her and prying her
mouth open, he checked her tongue and was pleased to see the
bleeding had stopped. She was still twitching though and it looked
as if her eyes were fighting a battle of their own under her lids.
She was sweating more than she had been as well. All of these signs
worried Elenio. It seemed to him she had to fight harder to stay
with them. Looking up at the mountain, he sighed. They’d come quite
a ways, but still had a long way left to travel. At least another
day or two and there was still no guarantee they were even on the
right mountain. Looking back at her face, he couldn’t help
wondering if she would last that long.
    “Let’s get started. I expect to see torlics
before long,” Tark said as he helped Elenio strap Galena to his
back.
    Elenio nodded; he had been wondering the same
thing.
    “We’ll start checking under rocks as we go.
Whatever you find that is even remotely edible, eat it. I have a
feeling before we’re finished here, we’re going to need a lot more
energy than what the two of us have combined.”
    Elenio stood and looked around once more
while Tark grabbed the packs and swords. He waited patiently as
Tark refilled their flasks from the tiny stream that flowed nearby.
Finally, they started out.
    The climb was hard. Much harder than Elenio
remembered it being. Then again, a good portion of the first climb,
Galena had flown them up and they’d been more rested and had more
food supplies. Elenio’s arms and legs burned and protested with
every move. His hands shook from hunger. On many occasions, he had
to stop because he felt he was on the verge of blacking out from
tiredness.
    They needed to stop more frequently because
of Galena’s fits as well. They were definitely increasing in
intensity and frequency. Stopping at many different rocks, they
found a few insects and grubs that they ate. However, because of
the cold, even those were hard to find. Elenio had to fight his gag
instinct every time he ate one. Elves did not naturally eat the
flesh of any living thing and this felt wrong on every level, but
he knew it was a necessity.
    Half way up the mountain, Elenio found
himself covered in sweat, waves of sickness threatened him with
every move, because of his hunger. He looked at Tark and found that
the elf had sat down on a rock, his head between his knees.
    “I’ve got to stop,” Elenio said.
    Tark just nodded and stood to help him with
Galena. “We have to search for some food or we’re not going to make
it,” Tark said. He stood with his hands on his hips and searched
the area briefly.
    Falling to his knees from weakness, Elenio
reached for his flask and found that it was empty. He silently
prayed to Mira for food. If they were going to get Galena to her
healing pool and defeat Rau, they needed some help and they needed
it badly. There was no way they were going to make it to the top
without her assistance.
    Elenio braced himself to stand when Tark
suddenly collapsed. Elenio crawled over to him quickly and flipped
him over onto his back. He saw that Tark was gray faced and sweaty,
but otherwise, appeared fine.
    “I’m hungry that’s all,” he said thickly. He
brought a hand to his face and covered his eyes for a moment before
attempting to sit up.
    Elenio stopped him before he got very far.
“Rest for a moment while I get us water and look for something to
eat.”
    Tark didn’t even nod, but rolled over