Julien
wasn't sure how long he had been on the road, but it was slowly getting cooler.
The light also slowly began to dim. So it was time to gather some wood and find
a good place to sleep. So he went off the path deeper into the forest. He
gathered up some dry branches and then looked for a place to sleep.
After a
short time he found a small chain of stones. He piled up half of the twigs and
lit them, the rest he put aside to keep adding more in the dark so that it
didn't go out.
Then he took out the blankets and prepared his
bed. He sat down on the blankets. He wrapped one around himself and then leaned
his back against the rocks behind him. He stared into the fire and lost himself
in the memories the old one had brought out in him.
The
flames of the fire danced in the dark. Jun was mesmerized. The longer he stared
at the dancing flames, the heavier his eyelids became. At some point, it was
probably midnight, he fell over and fell asleep. The air cooled down more and
more and slowly a stronger wind came up. The rustling of the trees was only
weak at first, but slowly grew stronger. But Jun didn't notice any of that
anymore. He lay safe and protected behind the rocks as the wind blew over him,
bringing heavy rain-laden clouds over the area.
The day
was already breaking, but because of the heavy rain clouds it just didn't get
light. Jun still lay, cuddled deep in his thin blanket, sleeping in front of
the slowly dwindling fire. Here and there it began to hiss as stray raindrops
landed in the dying fire. But some of them also hit the sleeping boy.
Only
very reluctantly and also in a very bad mood, because of the ugly wake-up call,
he opened his eyes. More and more drops landed on his face and put the fire
out. Suddenly it was not only wet but also terribly cold. He really wasn't
lucky. He hastily packed his things together to protect the blankets from the
wet. He quickly pulled the sack over his shoulders and a long coat over it to
protect the things and him from the pouring rain that was getting heavier and
heavier.
Less
than 3 hours away was a burned down old farm. Jun ran. Three hours running in
the pouring rain wasn't easy. Even if he was in good condition, his strength
would eventually dwindle. It was 4.5 hours before he reached the derelict
burned farm. Julien was wet and his clothes too.
In the
dilapidated building he looked for a dry place. This was very cheap. It was
close to the chimney and there was a small roof above it. Just before the
ceiling was a small hidden ledge. He was lying near the fireplace. For him that
meant a small, dry, warm ledge with a good view of the whole room. He dropped
the sack from his shoulders and took out all the blankets. All but one were
wet. He trampled the wet ones in front of the still cold fireplace like a
sleeping place in which someone was lying. But he was already throwing the dry
blanket up onto the ledge, as well as a bottle of the water. Then he went out
to find some wood to make a fire.
He
didn't find much. Most of the wood was already too wet from the rain. What he
found and a few small pieces of wood from some furniture, he quickly brought to
the fireplace and lit it. Then he went out again to bring in wood that was not
quite so damp, to dry it a little before the fire. Then he climbed up the
ledge. Again he snuggled into the blanket. Leaned his back against the slowly
warming fireplace wall and drank some of the water.
Slowly
he realized that time was against him. He actually wanted to reach the next
village within three days, but he hadn't even gotten halfway there. It was also
questionable whether the rain would stop anytime soon. He only had 3 bottles of
water and some tea leaves in his backpack. Three days without food, only water
or tea was no problem for him. Even under more or less great effort. But he
hadn't eaten anything for 2 days. He was hungry and finding something to eat in
this rain just wasn't easy. So all he could do was sleep and drink water until
the rain stopped.
Jun took
one last sip, since he didn't know how long he was stuck here, he had to save
water. He drew his knees as close to his body as possible and wrapped himself
in the blanket as tightly as possible. Then he closed his eyes. He didn't sleep
but listened to the rain and everything that was going on out there. Even the
screams of death that could be heard muffled in the distance.
The
screams grew louder. And slowly it was heard that someone was being hunted. Jun
sat up. The mob came closer and closer. He quickly jumped out of his hiding
place and put out the fire in the fireplace. He hides his bag in a corner, more
or less. It was getting dark outside. He slowly crept around the ruined farm to
see how far away the angry villagers were. It was clear that there had to be
farmers from the village who wanted to go into it. The way they cursed was
clearly recognizable.
Now he
started cursing. Someone, it looked like another thief, had already visited the
village. That's why the farmers were so upset and if strangers continued to
visit the village, they would be watched closely. The first torches could
already be seen at the edge of the forest. He sighed and at that moment he
caught a shadow hobbling past him out of the corner of his eye.
He
followed the shadows with his eyes. This figure, he knew this person from
somewhere. It was a tall, slender figure with very elegant movements. Jun
started swearing even more to himself. That couldn't be. It had been weeks since
he had met him on one of his last raids. But both had a longer history and
often kept an eye on one and the same stolen goods. The two had met each other
several times. They were rivals and at the moment there was a tie between the
two. Several times he used to be faster than Jun and then the other way around
and Jun emerged victorious.
He
didn't know his real name. Once he had heard that he was called Sin and that
there was a large bounty on his head. He probably didn't just get his name
because he was good-looking, but because he was known for having a simple game
with lonely naive hearts. Mostly women he could rob so easily and have fun
doing it.
Jun was
disgusted. A married farmer's wife or one of the daughters had probably seduced
them and then deprived them of their jewelry and money. That's probably why the
peasants were so upset. The thought of seeing that bastard slain by the angry
crowd surprised even him. Actually, Julien was more of the calm and relaxed
type, but when Sin was around he just wanted to kill him. It's been like this
since they first met.
Just
like Jun earlier that day, Sin was looking for a good hiding place. But the
farm was far too damaged to really find anything good. Also, it was dark, and
the spot Jun had found earlier was not visible. The young man followed Sin into
the building. Sin didn't notice him as Jun stayed under the cover of darkness
the whole time. Also, he was busy hiding from the angry pawns and unprepared to
meet his rival. It was Jun's chance and he crept past him quietly and climbed
back onto the ledge without making a sound.
From
there he got a good look and saw Sin getting more and more nervous. For Jun it
was satisfaction. Now the bastard would get what he created. Nevertheless, the
gloating became less and less as the peasants approached. On the one hand he
wanted to see him hang, on the other hand he wouldn't have anyone to compete
with. With a loud sigh, he reached out his hand to Sin and cursed loudly,
"You bastard."
Jun saw
the startled expression on his face that he wasn't alone. He grabbed Sin's hand
and pulled him onto the ledge. When he saw the other thief start grinning, he
just rolled his eyes. He quickly pulled the dark blanket over both of them to
become one with the darkness and the wall. Sin lay directly on top of Jun and
as the peasants entered the farmhouse, he felt Sin press his body more against
him. Through a small hole Jun tried to find out where the pawns were, feeling
Sin's breath on his neck just below his ear.
Julien tried to hold her breath while the
peasants searched the room and then left. Angry and screaming loudly, they
moved on. Jun held his breath for as long as he could until he was sure that
the two of them were alone. He pulled the blanket off himself and pushed Sin away so
that he fell onto the floor. "Damn bastard." He cursed again and then
sat up on the ledge.
