Over the River and Through the Woods (Adventures!AU Book 2)

Ch. 62 Fire and Ice

Time for a dark chapter with nothing but angst :)

Been a hot minute since we've been here, huh? *insert tik tok audio "does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes"*

TW: Panic attack, self blame, emotionally heavy scenes, painful nostalgia, minor character death, graphic descriptions of death.

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My fault.

This was all my fault!

Hunter just said what he did to make me feel better.

He blamed me too.

Of course he did!

This was my fault.

No!

No, it wasn't!

I didn't call the droids, James did!

But I antagonized him!

But I didn't control him!

Gripped by the cruel and unrelenting currents of the downward spiral, I felt the warning signs of an oncoming panic attack as I raced across the field to Wrecker and Crosshair. Without breaking stride, I crashed into Wrecker's arms and hugged him tightly.

If anyone, anyone, could keep me stable and safe from a panic attack, it was him.

He instantly embraced me, holding me close to his chest and running a hand down my back. "I gotcha, Wrecker's here. I gotcha," he whispered, pulling off his helmet.

Burying my face into his neck best I could with his armor, not giving a damn about the sweat and dirt, I tried to steady my breathing.

"Saw the smoke," Crosshair explained to Hunter as Wrecker continued to whisper gently to me. I could hear his Night Hunter chittering away too, but it still registered as garbled nonsense.

"Gotta grab Tech," Hunter panted.

"I'm here!" the engineer yelled as he and Sarah joined us.

"We need to get to the Outpost, fast," Hunter said, turning to Sarah. "The Hillguides-"

"Won't be fast enough!" Sarah looked up at Trevor. "Supercharge one of the transports in the ship!" she yelled, pointing at the ship over the hill.

Flying.

Great.

I hated flying.

I hated heights.

Damn it.

Damn it all!

"Sshhh, I'm here," Wrecker soothed, scooping me into his arms.

Wrapping my legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders, I held on tightly and continued to try and to get my breathing under control.

"Shadow, I have a relaxer-"

"No needles!" Wrecker growled, turning away from the engineer.

"Four by eight by four technique," Hunter instructed, stepping behind Wrecker so he could see my face. "In for four, hold for eight, out for four."

Did he think I wasn't trying that?

"Bring 'em, Wrecker. Let's go!" Hunter yelled, leading the way over the hills to the transport.

"Wait!" I gasped, looking at Sarah.

Would I ever see the woman again?

She gave me an encouraging smile. "Trevor's got my contact, I'll see you again. I promise. Now go!"