Requiem

Chapter Eight:

Legs burning and lungs constricting so tight I could scream, I fall to my butt at the base of a dead tree and hunch forward, propping myself up with my hands. I gulp in air, panting loudly like a dog. Jasper’s right hand is gripping a tree branch tightly, no doubt holding him up. Strands of his honey hair fall into his eyes and others stick up in every direction. His face is angled away from mine, so I can’t see his expression, but the tension in his shoulders and his clenched fist tell me he’s still pretty angry with me. 

Monique has plopped down in the middle of our mini-clearing, chest heaving as she struggles to catch her breath. 

Sebastian is the only one not out of breath. He leans against another tree, arms folded across his chest, a sour look on his face. 

“How…how far…how far have we come?” Monique gasps. 

Sebastian’s steely eyes shift my way. I groan loudly. I knew I’d regret showing him my awesome climbing abilities. “Let me catch my breath.” I can still hear my heart pounding wildly in my chest –it pounds behind my ears at an uncomfortable volume. 

We lapse into an uncomfortable silence, only our ragged breaths and racing heartbeats thump through the air like a stereo blasting. After a couple of minutes, the branch Jasper holds snaps. 

I jump and Monique yelps, sitting up hastily. Sebastian merely looks over. 

“Sorry.” Jasper grunts and throws the branch into the trees. 

I watch him for a few moments. His jaw is clenched so tightly I’m afraid it’ll break. He stares after the branch, as if he wants to go retrieve it and throw it again,  his hands clenching and unclenching into tight fists. 

And this is my fault; I shouldn’t have overreacted…

Standing hastily, I whip around and grab the tree behind me. I refuse to allow myself to think like that. It is bad enough I have to apologize. The tree screams beneath my weight, but I ignore it. Let it break. Let me fall to my death. Then maybe I won’t have to apologize. I won’t ever have to deal with stupid Jasper again. 

He won’t ever make me feel this way again. 

I scramble up the tree, all the way to the top. The tree bends and hisses. I stop -a surge of panic rushing through me. 

Okay, I lied; I really don’t want to die. 

Luckily, the tree doesn’t snap. Hugging the trunk tightly, I look out over the tops of the other trees. It’s another sheet of gray - of death - and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I don’t see the small sliver of light; the trick. And my stomach sinks through my feet. 

“I don’t know where we are.” I announce, feet thumping against the ground. 

“Wonderful.” Monique lies back down. She spreads her arms out wide, like she’s making a snow angel in the dirt.