Surviving the Jungle

Too Warm a Day

I didn't get much sleep last night as I only shivered all night. I think I might have caught a cold. On top of that, I barely ate anything this morning. I felt unwell and breakfast would have made me sick.

 I'm slow as I follow everybody to the yard. My head hurts. I find Blade going in the direction of his bench and walk straight behind him. When he arrives, he stops to look at his bench. It's wet. Because of me. I wrap my arms around myself and expect him to be angry, but simply wipes the water away with his hand. Once most of it is gone, he notices me standing beside him.

"You look like shit."

I shrug and sneeze. I watch him as he gets ready to work out, as usual. I'm embarrassed to admit, his large hands around the bar somewhat excite me. It's starting to get hot. I don't know how Blade and Stallion manage to stay in the sun all day. They rarely take shelter underneath the shadow cast by the prison wall. I also noticed that they didn't talk that much? They're friends, but most of the time they're distant. I've seen them sharing complicit looks, though.

After an hour or so, the sun is in its highest position foin the sky. I can't take the heat anymore. I can feel the sweat on my forehead, even though part of me is still cold. I sniff and shiver. My legs are tired, so I let myself fall on my knees. There's no point standing all day. Blade looks at me from his spot on the bench and waves me over. I struggle to get up but walk closer to him. He pulls me on the bench beside him. He straddles it, while I sit normally. Blade places his hand on my forehead and looks at me intensely. 

"You've got a fever."

This is probably why I feel so hot and cold. I sweat so much it can't be natural. From a distance, I see Marie looking at me warily. A few meters away stand Vix and her gang. Her face isn't as pretty as I first thought. She's the devil. 

With Blade's hand on my cheek, I close my eyes and ignore everything else. I'm still exhausted. Blade gets off the bench and takes me with him closer to the wall. I stumble as I walk beside him, but he holds me by my shoulders. He sits me against the wall and I close my eyes again. He talks to me, but I don't hear him. I just want to sleep.

"Did you eat enough this morning?"

I shake my head and feel him leave. I panic at the idea of being left alone in the yard and open my yards. Where has he gone? I look towards Marie, ready to run towards her in order to be safe, and that's when I find him. They're talking, then looking at me. Are they talking about me?

Blade comes back towards me and sits against the wall, his body against mine.

"She'll get you something to eat.

-I'm not hungry.

-You need it. Trust me."

I sigh and my head falls on his shoulder. I hope it doesn't bother him, because I don't plan on moving. For the first time, I smell him. It's an amazing scent, so different from most of the disgusting smells of the Jungle. It would be embarrassing if he found out that I'm breathing in his scent, but I don't care. It's comforting. 

I'm shaken awake when he removes his arm, but puts it around my shoulders immediately after. I'm too hot, and he can certainly feel my sweaty forehead against his chest, but I don't move. Marie arrives with a piece of bread, which she gives Blade discreetly before leaving and going back to her post. I blush as he starts feeding it to me, but accept his help. 

Is he helping me so as to get Marie's good graces? Or does he truly care? Whatever his reason is, I look weak pathetic.

"Did you tell Stallion about our agreement?

-Of course not.

-Can I ask you a question?

-Go ahead.

-Why are you here?

-Killed a few people.

-Why?

-Revenge.

-Revenge?

-Some assholes assaulted my mother. My father let them. I cut their throats, let them choke on their own blood."

He describes it as if he enjoyed the violence and the gore, but in my opinion, his reason was legitimate enough. He's not a heartless killer.

"Where is your mother now?

-Dead. Killed herself after she found the bodies in our living room. She was disappointed. Her son's a failure of a murderer. She's the one who called the Jungle officials to come get me...

-Was it a long time ago?

-Five years ago. What about you? Why are you here? Why Purity?

-I was convicted for murder.

-Explain.

-My dad had this terrible girlfriend who was kind of harassing my little sister. I didn't see it at first, but it really affected her. She would hit her and humiliate her in front of other family members. But my sister's depressed. She tends to have obsessive thoughts. I couldn't let anything happen to her. She'd been through enough already.

-So you killed the girlfriend.

-Not exactly... She did. My sister did it. But she's only 16. She's a teenager, and she's sick. I couldn't let her go to the Jungle. When the Jungle officials found out, I tried to make it look like a suicide, because my sister had pushed her down the stairs, but somehow they found some evidence that it was me. And I kept saying that I was innocent, so they called me Purity. Because if I did it to protect my sister, I did it out of love, out of the purity of my heart. Thankfully they never thought my sister could've done it.

-You shouldn't be here.

-I could've killed for my sister. The result would've been the same.

-Bullshit. You're an innocent in Zone 3. If anybody hears about that, you'll be the perfect prey for all those psychos. Don't tell anybody, not even Stallion.

-Okay."

I sigh and cuddle up to Blade's side. I'm glad I finally told someone the truth. I've been lonely for three months and now I have a friend to confide in. I believe it. Blade's my friend. He's not using me. I can trust him.