Eyes of Fire

He slowly came too, and with his eyes shut, he could see a bright yellow hue shining through his eyelids; he opened his eyes and saw a large campfire about fifteen feet away from him; it was night.

He felt cold despite the blanket. He grabbed the cloth and wrapped it tight around himself but the cold was still too much. He looked around but couldn't find her anywhere.

So he decided to crawl to the fire. He looked down at his belly and saw that the gash in his stomach was gone,

How did she do it? He said he felt nauseous like his insides were twisted and not in the right place.

She? Where is she?

He looked around but couldn't see her anywhere. Then he noticed some roosting over the fire. A silhouette of a pig, and with the fire flickering under it, he could clearly see some parts, and they all looked red and juicy; he could smell it too.

How didn't I see that before?

His mouth began to water; months of eating rotten carcasses and worms had left him with a great desire for something tasty.

He quickly got on his feet, almost without realizing it and he scurried off towards the fire. He dropped the blanket behind him and didn't care that he was now naked.

He got to the fire and started eating the meat right over the fire. He felt really warm, but the taste of it clouded his mind, and even if he couldn't remember his past, he felt better than he had in days.

The sound of a twig break echoed behind him, and he remembered—The war mother— before he could react, the war mother was standing behind him.

He felt her there, and though he couldn't see her, he felt that fear he had for her return; he felt the fire in her aura, and he turned around slowly. She was carrying a couple of dead wood in her arms.

Their eyes met and she kept her cold expression. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. Anything could be going on behind those eyes. He felt the awkward pause between them like they lasted for hours and even felt long when he realized he was naked.

She looked at his groin, and he realized he was naked; she grinned at him, and it sent shivers down his spine; he scurried away in fear, back towards the blanket.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was just really hungry.

She didn't say a word, she just moved closer to the fire. She dropped the firewood and stuck her hand into the fire, she moved it around like she was trying to steer the flame.

She's going to kill me! Eating her food? What was I thinking

Then she pulled out her hand, and it had no burns; she dropped her head, staring at the hand for a moment.

He turned and saw her, he quickly became curious as to what she must be thinking. He had heard war mothers didn't feel pain and they always felt cold to the touch.

Maybe that's what intrigued her. Maybe that's why she stuck her hand in the fire, to feel something.

He wondered if she was trying to keep him warm by setting up the campfire or if maybe the rumors were wrong, and she did feel cold and wanted to get warm.

What did she mean by the journey? Is she taking me to the Warmachine?

She broke her stare and grabbed the meat off the fire. He was still on the floor wrapping the blanket around himself.

She knew he feared him and she wanted to keep it that way.

He might get the wrong idea if I give him food, she thought. I better make it small.

"Hey!" she called out to him.

Oh, there it is; she's gonna kill me now, I know it. He turned back, being alert as he could. She cut out a chunk of the meat and tossed it to him. As he turned he saw throw something at him, he could see it was red and juicy but his initial thoughts were,

Grenade!

He dived away, leaving the chunk of meat to fall amongst the dead leaves and grasses.

She watches him fly over, shuffling his face into the dirt and all while butt naked and afraid. The war mother looked on with a grin on her face, but it twisted into a crooked smile, she seemed to be trying to hold herself back, fighting back her urges, but looking at the young man naked with his face in the dirt, her whole expression broke and she burst out laughing.

He raised his head and looked on in disbelief, not believing he'd ever see her laugh even more he found it hard to believe she'd give him food.

He could see the look in her eyes as she laughed at him; it was like a king to a jester enjoying the moment, but within them, disdain and a clear acknowledgment of the superiority she had over him, delighted she was king and not the fool.

She slowly stopped laughing and sat down on a stone by the fire. He turned away from her, and he looked at the chunk of meat on the floor; his stomach grumbled, and his mouth began to water again.

He pounced on it and ate it right off the floor, a hungry dog. She watched with no expression on her face, I wasn't as funny at this.

Then she calmly drew out a small blade from her back. She took off the sheet and then used it to cut out small slices of meat, which she ate off the sharp blade.

He looked up to her, he saw her calmly watching him. He felt embarrassed but that only made him feel more alive for he felt the past few days were haunted with great fear and terror, he couldn't remember much knew where he was and where he came from but it felt like something was blocking the whole picture from him and every time he tried to remember that block felt weaker but he felt even more scared to remember.

With the healing of the wound in his gut, he thought about what if it wasn't her doing. He remembered what she said about him healing himself, and he hoped it wasn't true; if it were, he would be a monster now.

He wondered what he was now; he wondered if she was really going to feed him to the Warmachine if he was indeed a monster.

A heavy wind blew past them and a chill ran down his spine. He wrapped the blanket tighter around himself but he still felt cold.

He looked at her, she was staring into the fire. He desired the fire the more the wind grazed his back

Doesn't she sleep? I'm scared of what she might do if I get closer. And she is still holding that blade.

He crawled on the floor, moving as slowly as he could, closer and closer to the fire, as discreetly as he could. He looked up at her and saw that she was looking up to the sky now.

She looked away, it's my chance. He increased his pace a bit, and he moved on, but then he looked at her to check again; she was still looking at the night sky.

He moved closer to the fire and wondered what she was finding so interesting up there. He looked up and saw a large mass of stars amidst the full moon

Wow, he thought. Maybe she has a thing for stars and fire. He dropped his head to see her again, but she was already looking at him.

I could see her thoughts flickering yellow flames of the campfire; the burning wood crackled, and owls howled, and her gaze made him uncomfortable as she cut a small chunk of meat, put it into her mouth, and chewed it down, all without breaking her gaze on him.

He felt like she could see every detail about him and he wasn't quite far off, as he was naked.

He wrapped the blanket tightly himself again, and he saw the initials KD on them, and the name Klyde Dunn came to mind.

Mr Dunn

The block on his memory shattered, and images flooded his mind, leaving drops of tears that crawled out his eyes and down his cheek.

Where's Mr Dunn?

"Where's Mr Dunn, what happened to him!"

She just looks at him, bearing an unconcerned look

How could I forget what's wrong with me, what's wrong with my head?

She turned to her and met her soft eyes and he blurted out in desperation

"Please tell me! What happened to him!?"

She cut off another chunk and bit into it

"How did I get here? How am I not with him? How I'm not with Estiah!"

She just looked at him with a vacant expression. Her cold blue eyes peered through the strands of blond hair that hung over her face; they seemed like lighter curtains that barely hid the scowl on her face.

He couldn't take it anymore. "Answer me!" he screamed at her; he had forgotten all his fear, and in its place was a beast-like intensity. He felt his face burn as it was quickly turning red. He began to cry blood, but he couldn't tell. She just looked at him, unmoved by his plea.

"I said answer me!" he screamed at her with a fiery rage and fangs bore out of his teeth. He stamps his fist hard on the ground, screaming at her and she breaks out in a grin.

She raised her hand and pointed at him. He looked at her not catching on to what she meant, and then she said,

"The blanket"

"What?"

He looked at it but didn't see what she meant. He took it off his back and didn't care that he had exposed himself to her again. The face of his loved ones flushed through his mind, his eyes welled in tears.

He didn't look through the blanket for long, as he saw a large spot of blood. He turned to her and she still had that grin on her face, he felt his rage overwhelming him and he screamed at her

"You killed them!"

She didn't say a word but fell back to her old nonexpression and carried on eating her roasted pig

"I'm gonna kill you!"

He got off his feet and ran at her in a fit of rage. He screamed at the top of his voice.

"I'm gonna end you!"