WhiteScratch

One Thing After Another

I once again emerge from my sleep, a dreamless one thank God. I open my eyes and find I am cuddled into Jake's arms still while he is asleep next to me. Its still light out as if night never falls on this lifeless, desert terrain. Its scorching hot which doesn't help with my wound. I try to sit up slowly as I try not to wake Jake but as soon as I'm in the slightest of motion he jolts up and tightens his grip on me. His eyes are wide with worry and anxiety.

"I'm ok Jake! Its ok. I was just trying to see if I could sit up without waking you but that clearly didn't work." I smile at him and laugh softly which seems to calm him down. He loosens his grip and helps me sit up. It still hurts immensely, but not nearly as badly as it did before I fell asleep.

"Are you ok? Do you feel good enough to keep moving? Is there anything else I can do to help?" Jake says with urgency. I know he is worried about me but he doesn't let the worry cloud his mind. He has a deep sense of care in his eyes and his words. And it makes me wonder...what if?

"Yes, I'm ok. Its still kinda sore but I think I have enough strength to carry me on as long as you help me." I say as calmly as I can. "How can I help you? I'll do anything." He says so lovingly. "Just help me stand and be there. I don't know how far I'll be able to go on my own before I collapse." Just then, there is a horrible burn that I feel on my neck, spreading around. I groan in pain and lay down, holding my head in my hands. The earth beneath us starts to shake violently and a crack appears on the ground as though its being cut open. I start to scream now. Oh how it bruns!! Jake looks around, analyzing the situation. He spots a crack coming right for us and he swiftly but gently, picks me up and starts to run. The crack crawls with urgency toward us but Jake doesn't give up running. He runs and runs in the open space. Looking everywhere for an escape from the ground we're on. After what seemed like an eternity of running and pain, he spots a ledge that climbs upward. He lays me on the ledge, hops up himself, and repeats until we are at least 10 feet higher than the earth we were just on. The second he finally puts me down for good, I black out. 12 minutes later, I'm conscious and the burning is gone still leaving the soreness in its place. 

"Rachel, are you ok?!" 
"Yes, I'm fine. Do we have any food or water? That might help the healing."
"You blacked out for 12 minutes exactly Rachel and you aren't gonna even acknowledge it?"
"Wait what? I thought I fell asleep. I remember falling asleep in your arms just outside that death trap's borders and next thing I know, I wake up in a completely new area, 10 feet in the air."
"So you don't remember the pain you were in? You don't remember the cracks in the ground trying to swallow us whole? You don't remember the shaking? None of this rings a bell?"
"Uhhh, no. I don't. The only pain I'm in right now is from that creature tearing my flesh off. I just want it to feel better again. It sucks Jake." 
He sighs and looks down at the ground, muttering to himself "What is going on?".  He reaches into his bag and pulls a water bottle and some bread out. He hands it to me and I try with all my power to eat and drink slowly. He does the same, not saying a single word. 

"Are you ok?" I ask him sincerely.  
"Honestly, no I'm not. I can't do much to help you when you're in so much pain daily. I will never see my parents again who probably are dead from WhiteScratch by now. I am trying to protect you and I will keep trying even though it seems like I'll never be able to do enough. I could be the reason you die Rachel...I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I allowed that to happen. I don't know whats going on here but I intend to find out. With you. I promise I'll protect you. I will."

I stare at him for a few seconds before I take his hands in mine and look him dead in the eye. "I don't know whats going on either. Everyday, some new challenge pops up that we need to overcome and we have...we've done it together. You have done the best you can in protecting me and I appreciate that beyond words but I'll be ok. I'm a tough cookie." 
I smile and embrace him tightly while he does the same to me. 
"I know you are. You surly are a survivor."
"So are you."
He smiles and lays back, looking at the sky that is filled with only a yellow haze. In minutes he is asleep and I am left with my thoughts. 

Everyone back at home, everyone else out there on this planet, Jake, and even me. We are all born into a hopeless world, plagued by an incurable disease. The people back at that horror stricken city had been the victims of WhiteScratch. That is what they all become after getting beyond the symptoms. Its hard to imagine my father and mother, Jake's parents, and all our friends being transformed into cold-blooded killing machines, completely against their will. Yet our planet is still living somehow through all the death and all the disease. How can this be?  A single tear drops from my eye to the ground beneath me as I think about this. I whisper to myself, "You live, you Die...with no purpose."

I will find this planet's life source and I will use that to create a cure for WhiteScratch. I will save everyone I can with it but I need to find it first. I won't give up, no matter what happens to me. I will keep searching until I die and then, hopefully, Jake will finish this for me and cure everyone. It needs to be done...and it will be done.