Light

                                    

                                          
It takes us five long days to arrive at bottom of the canyon. The tourist population is sparse, their prominent muscles chizzled like Michelangelo's marble statues. Misa walks with an extra bounce in her step, but my feet are heavy and shuffle shoe-tracks behind me. 
                          
We set up for camp in a shrubby area and calculate our rations for snacks and water.
                          
"We're running out, Light..." Misa motions to our small pile and pleads, "can we go back home now? I'll starve if we don't..."
                          
"Misa, love, you're right; if we don't turn back now, you might starve," I rest my head in my palms, "but it will set the demise of everyone in this park in stone.
                          
We're the only ones that can stop the Chief's massacre from happening, so please, bear with me and we'll try to get through this mess. We only have one moon rise left to find Achak, so let's make the best of it."
                          
I lift my head and give Misa a wan smile. Her arms cross over her breasts, and she looks down at me with glassy eyes. 
                          
"But Light... who cares about all of those people? You know that Ryuk saves us from deaths caused by supernatural beings. We are bound to the Death Note, and he intends that it is not time for us to part with it."
                          
Her face becomes grim, "Plus, what do you care; you've killed so many at the stroke of a pen, so how could giving up on this silly quest be any different?"
                          
I immediately clench my fists, drawing blood with my sharp fingernails. I know that she's fucking right, and I hate it. 
                          
"God dammit woman. How can you be so self centered?" I yell back, shifting the blame onto her, "We're talking about innocent fathers, mothers, children,  who will die because of something they didn't even know existed!" 
                          
I scan her up and down, sneering, "You can't be talking; you're just as heartless as me." 
                          
Misa's lips tighten to the point of invisibility, the light in her eyes dull. She stares straight ahead.
                          
The rays of the setting sun bathes her in warm colors. Her lips part as if she wants to say something, but nothing comes out. The canyon wind rustles around us, cradling her empty words and releasing them for the sky to hear. 
                          
I brush the hair out of my face and realize that Misa is no longer standing there. I sigh with remorse as I hear quiet sniffling from the tent. With the horizon now a velvet purple, I decide to start a small fire. The brisk breeze fights against my efforts, but eventually the roaring entity wins, my face turning a bright orange. 
                          
I've screwed it all up. With Ryusaki, Misa, the 17,000 people that file through here each day... Why can't I do anything right? 
                          
I take my finger and draw small loops in the soft terrain; it's a mindless motion... A blanket of self pity and carelessness envelops over me. 
                          
I am so tired, so fucking tired...
                          
The wind suddenly wails in my ears, loud and distressed like a young child. Its coolness pierces my head like a knife, and I bend with my hands clasped over my ears. 
                          
Make it stop. MAKE IT STOP. 
                          
The noise only gets louder, and the fire explodes with a vivacious burst of energy. I slowly look up at the flames to see pitless eyes staring back at me. The fire resembles a small figure, the mouth drawn to the corners of its cheeks in agony. It holds a wooden bow and arrow intricately carved with animals that roam the area. 
                          
His cloak is stamped with the design of the relic that will save us all. 
                          
"Achak!"