We, who Survived

Warmth and comfort, something I found myself clutching to like a child. I knew whose chest my head was resting on, knew the arm around my waist belonged to but I found my body dismissing the urge to roll away due to fatigue. Even tired, my body would have itched and crawled at the contact yet at that moment I was wanting to cling close to him.

“They look so cute together.” Maria’s whisper pricked my ears, drawing me away from slumber. “It’s just too bad he’s broken and unable to tell what Spark feels for him.”

It took everything for me to resist jumping up and spitting something nasty back. Yes, I can’t exactly put a finger on things Spark says and does but where the fuck did broken imply that?

“I’m going to disagree. Nate has seen and been through shit that most of us never have and will but that doesn’t make him a twig ready to snap under pressure. He will pick up on those emotions eventually since he’s hanging around people.” Charlie’s voice joined in, an angry undertone hiding under his calm words. “Better hope he is fast asleep and didn’t hear what you did or else you’re out of the friend group.”

Their boots thumped out of the room. No sign of them coming back was made. Taking a deep breath, I stretched and opened my eyes. Spark moved under me, olive-green eyes fluttering open to stare up at the ceiling as his muscles grew taut as he stretched. I tried to sit up but my own muscles protested, bones popping with the effort. Spark’s hand moved from my waist to my side rubbing gentle circles.

“If you are going to do that, please do it on my back.” Giving up, I rested my head on his chest, trying my best to relax my body alongside his. He chuckled at my words, beginning to massage my lower back. Sighing from relief, I closed my eyes and let my left arm stretch over his stomach. Spark hummed as he worked causing me to yawn.

“I better stop before you fall asleep again, we still have some adventuring to do,” He whispered, moving his hand to my cheek as I opened my eyes and pouted. “Come on, when we get to the safe house, I promise to give you a proper back massage.”

It might have been an hour of us searching for the Trident base. As planned, three groups were spread out amongst the destroyed streets supposedly having the base in them. Each group had one leader with them, besides our group which had two. Max and two sisters were with Spark and me. Maria and Joon had chosen to stay behind with the main group. Charlie and Dean were a part of team two while Jae was by himself with team three.

At the moment, we were in a street, if the map read correctly, labelled Hearthshaw. So far, the luck of finding anything resembling Trident’s smashed and aged logo was nowhere in sight.

“What time do we head back?” Alex, a navigator, asked. Her blonde hair was tied back loosely with a thin vine, her piercing blue eyes staring up at the dark blue sky, tracking the sun’s movement.

“I told everyone by midday we were to go back so we don’t waste any more energy. We have three to four hours left,” Spark informed, folding his arms over his chest. Alex nodded before going back to talk to her sister, Sam. She looked exactly like Alex but with darker hair, cracked glasses and pronounced muscles from being a part of the defence.

“You see anything?” Max asked me, doing a small turn to watch our surroundings.

“No, but I feel like we are being watched.” Max looked at me, his brow furrowed. Pursing my lips, I continued. “I keep feeling their gaze on us. Do a slow turn and take in every detail.” He did as asked, making a muffled gasp.

“Movement up in a building with a caved side, vegetation and vines hanging off its ridge, to your left shoulder. No wind, no sign of birds at the moment. It could be a nest of some sort up there though,” Max described, shaking his head. “Maybe you are being paranoid after the whole leach and serpent attacks?”

“Maybe,” I muttered. The stinging feeling of someone watching lingered though. Glancing around, I knew something was out there, it just didn’t want to be seen. “Let’s keep going before we run out of time, I want that back rub.”

Max smiled and swung his arm over my shoulders. Spark gave me a quizzical look before joining the sisters in our failing search.

Our time was up and no such luck of finding Trident’s building came to us. No berry bushes were around to fill our empty stomachs and the want for actual meat was beginning to make me feel weaker. The itch of being followed and watched was still bothering me, making my anxiety trigger painful stomach cramps that not even calm breathing could fix. For all, we knew it was a predator looking for an easy meal and found us stumbling into its claws. All it had to do then was lunge forward with gnashing teeth. Shaking my head, I slowed down to a stop, massaging my hip.

“Hey, Bookworm, you need to keep up or you’ll be left behind,” Spark called as he walked backwards with a grin. I wanted him to fall so badly, just to get a laugh in and chase away the feeling of being watched. The image of a red-faced Spark grumbling about his fall while rubbing his backside made me grin on the inside. I began walking again but a limp had started to make itself known where my hipbone ground into its socket. “Maybe- Are you guys, okay to carry on while Nate takes a rest? We can catch up easily if needed.”

By then I had caught up with them to hear Spark’s question. I went to walk past them when he grabbed onto my shoulder. “I can still carry on, Spark, let’s just go back already. I don’t need a break.”

“Yes, you do, Nathan. I saw that limp and you are breathing hard. Just rest up a bit before catching up with us, plus you have Spark,” Sam reasoned as she folded her arms over her chest in that older sister's way, her chin-length hair moving with the slight breeze. “We can walk slowly to make it easier.” I had little to say after that and soon Max was being pulled by his hand by Alex as they left.

“Come on, Nate, sit down here,” Spark finally said, taking me to a pile of rubble and pushing me down before sitting next to me. I leaned forward to catch my breath, feeling the sting of eyes on me. It was not Spark since I knew his stare. This was the same one following us. Watching us. Stalking us.

“Spark, we need to go.”

“You need to rest first, you don’t have the same energy reserves as us at the moment.”

“I don’t care, we need to go right now. Something just doesn’t feel right!”

Spark stared at me after my outburst, thoughts racing in his head with the expression he was giving me.

“Why do you say that?” Eventually, he asked, voice low.

“It feels like something is hunting us almost with every step we take. I can’t be seeing things or being paranoid after my attack. Have you never questioned why there are no animals around us? We have not seen anything since entering that forest, no birds even though we hear them.” My voice was weak, struggling to manage against the lump in my throat. Spark studied me before standing. “Come on, you have to sense that offish feeling around us!”

“Let’s go, maybe one of the other groups found something.” Without looking back, he began walking. I stood up slowly and followed, staying behind him as we went.

Silence stayed with us, no birdsong, no crunch of leaves or the stamp of our boots. Nothing. It was not good silence either, it was the one that made you think and think until you got a headache from all the thoughts you managed to create before wanting to cry from all the depressive situations you were and still are going to be in. No, it was not good silence.

“Bookworm.” Glancing up, I almost bumped into Spark when he stopped abruptly. He held out his hand, reaching for mine. I let him take it and he pulled me to stand in front of him, back against his chest as he pointed to something out in the distance. “I think we found that animal you were talking about.”

I saw it then. A dark-coloured moose hybrid with large vine-covered horns. Red spirals marked its flanks and from our position, the muzzle seemed to have two tusks jutting out from its jaws. The moose had its head held high up in our direction as it snorted before going back to grazing, moving to more grassy patches.

“Amazing right?” Spark rested his chin on my shoulder, arms wrapped around my waist. I nodded, leaning into him.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Smiling, I gazed at the new creature, moving my hands to hold onto Spark’s.