Glitched

~Chapter Eleven~

I don't know exactly how long we ran for. I do, however, remember hitting my broken foot against a tree and subsequently blacking out. I don't know how long I was out, but I was lying against a building when I woke up. It looked like... the back of the auditorium? The place where Morgan is supposed to kill me?

"Colt...?" I called out softly, holding my hand against my forehead as I looked around. Colt was standing a ways off, leaning against a shovel sticking out of the ground. He was standing on the side of a deep, wide hole. It looked to be about six feet long and six feet deep. Was he digging... a grave? Was it for Riley?

"You're finally awake, thank God." Colt smiled down at me and watched as his shovel fell to the ground before falling down himself beside it. "This was utterly exhausting to dig all by myself. I know you wouldn't have been much help even if you were awake, but still."

"Geez, thanks." I rolled my eyes and straightened myself up against the wall, watching as the clouds drifted past overhead.

"I didn't mean it like that, and you know it!" Colt pouted and sat up quickly, folding his arms over his chest as he puffed out his lower lip.

With that look on his face, a part of me couldn't help but find him adorable deep down. I swallowed those thoughts back to where they came from, shaking them from my mind before wiping my eyes and looking back at Colt. "Is this behind the auditorium? The place where, you know... Cassi said Morgan is supposed to quite literally end my life?" My tone started off calm, but it soon became panicked and accurately reflected how I felt inside.

"Well, yeah," Colt said nonchalantly as he rose to his feet. "Which is why it's the perfect place for you to hide. I've never thought to bring someone back here before, so Morgan won't expect it. Besides, the back area here is our little makeshift graveyard, and it's burial time. Morgan may be insane, but she's not inhumane. So she'll leave us alone for an hour or two, so we can bury Riley properly."

I nodded on the outside, but on the inside, none of this made sense. Morgan insane, yes. Inhumane, also yes. Why would she agree to a peace treaty for anything, even if it was for a funeral?

Colt took a deep breath and twisted his torso, popping his back before speaking. "I'm guessing you want to come with me to retrieve Riley's body? You should be able to walk now. Granted, it will be painful, though. You can stay here if you'd be more-"

"Don't leave me!" I found myself crying out to him without meaning to. "I-I mean..."

Colt looked down at me and smiled, then chuckled, then full out laughed at me. "You're so needy, Hannah. Come on, let's go, little Miss Needy Pants." He held out his hand to me, and I took it without a second thought.

"Okay, as long as I have a say in it, that is not going to be your nickname for me."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you don't get to pick your own nicknames." Colt sneered at me and helped me to my feet, his arm securely underneath both of mine. "I can help you until we get there, but on the way back, unless we can change Cassi, you'll be walking on your own. Think you can do that?"

"It's just walking. How hard can it be?" I immediately regretted that statement as soon as I took a step. My ankle was still searing with pain, but it wasn't enough for me to blackout anymore. It was still torture, but it felt quite a bit better than the last time I had tried to use it. I remembered what they had told me, about how the longer I stayed here, the faster my body would heal. Did that mean I was becoming part of the game? Could I even leave anymore? "How long have I been here, exactly? Do you know?"

"Four hours, twenty-seven minutes, two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds. You get it." Colt tapped the face of his wristwatch and smirked down at me. "You can wear it if you want."

"No, it's yours. I couldn't take it from you."

"I have more somewhere. It's nothing special to me or anything. Just take it." He unfastened the watch from his wrist and placed it on mine. "You entered Project M at exactly nine hours, fourteen minutes, and 11 seconds in the morning. I set an alarm for that exact time tomorrow morning when your twenty-four hours will be up. It'll start beeping and crap, so don't feel like you have to keep up with the time. I know you still will, though." Colt chuckled and held onto me tightly as we walked forwards. He's only known me for a few hours, but it baffles me how he already knows me so well.

Every other step I took was filled with pain for several minutes at first. Still, after a while, my brain either got used to it or sent enough adrenaline to block out the injury. Either way, I was completely fine with it. The less pain I experienced meant the more I could run if the need came around.

After quite a long time of walking, we arrived at the forest. Several minutes later, we found ourselves coming upon the deceased corpse of Riley. We stopped beside the body, and I couldn't even force myself to look away. The grass around Riley had been stained an awful colour I couldn't even bear to name anymore. And then Riley's chest... His shirt was slashed open; it looked like he had been stabbed right through the heart. But he was simply standing there, like any of us... How could he have died in such a way? No one even touched him, and he just collapsed... I didn't have a chance to think about this for much longer. Vomit rose in my throat, and I quickly spun around, crouching on the ground besides Colt before puking up what little food still remained in my stomach. I hadn't eaten in so long - I don't think I had eaten anything this morning at all. Please let them have food here. Please let them eat.

"I'm sorry, Hannah..." Colt sighed and knelt beside me, holding my hair out of the way and rubbing my back. "Just get it out, okay? You don't have to watch if you don't want to. I know it's a lot to take in at once."

I wiped my mouth and took a deep breath, trying my best to calm down. "You're being awfully nice and not at all sarcastic for a change."

"What, would you prefer me to be a smartass?"

"And there it is." I sighed and closed my eyes, paying attention to my breathing. Slow. Calm.