Shadows

Chapter #5

I wake up slightly damp and have a knot in my neck. When I put my hands down to sit up it feels like there's grass under my hands. I open my eyes and am instantly blinded by a bright light. I blink and rub my eyes a few times before I can make out a bunch of trees and grass. Oh, I must have fallen asleep outside when I came out here with Adaline.
Adaline, I look over and see her, she's sleeping. I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear and she smiles in her sleep. I look back at the trees and remember why we have to live so far from anywhere. The Storm will find us if we don't.
I groan and put my head in my hands as the memories I've tried to suppress all these years come flooding back. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and a hand brush it away.
"You okay?" She asks.
"Yeah, just thinking."
"Well, the flood gates are open."
"I know."
"So, what were you thinking about?"
"The Storm, my family, you."
She smiles, "All good things I hope."
"Sort of."
"About me I meant. I don't think there's anything good you could say about the freaking shit storm." I smile at that.
"Not really, except I'm always amazed what they get people to believe about us 'criminals'." I say making air quotes.
"Oh, well have you heard that you apparently are stealing babies and implanting them?"
"No actually."
"They even got some couple to go up and say that you took their child. The couple totally got paid for that though."
"Hmmm..."
Are you dead? David asks.
No, you idiot! J man, where are you? Peter says.
I'm okay just taking a breather. I tell them.
Nice, in the hatch already! You work quick my man. David says.
Jeremy, I will find David and slap him for you.
Never!
Really guys, not necessary.
I look at Adaline and she's looking at me funny.
"What?" I ask.
"You were just staring into space for a long time."
"Oh, sorry. My friends are being idiots."
She tilts her head to one side and cocks an eyebrow at me.
"Telepathy, one of the many benefits of the Chip."
"Cool, I guess."
Suddenly, I hear a humming sound from overhead. I look up and see a big, black hoverbarge that has the Storm's markings all over it. I listen closely and hear several more in the distance. I grab Adaline's hand and pull her out of the clearing.
"We have to hide. If we stay here that hoverbarge will see us and the Storm will find the Sanctuary." I say and she nods.
She takes off running and I follow her deeper into the forest.
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We've been running for a long time and my clothes and shoes are torn to threads. The area the Sanctuary is in such an unnotable area there's no caves or things to hide in. Adaline ducks under a willow tree and I follow her.
My heart's thumping and I'm sweating like crazy. I look over at Adaline who's leaning up against the trunk. She has a large gash down her cheek and her white T-shirt looks more green and is ripped like a crop top. She's panting and her face glistens with sweat. She smiles weakly at me and sinks to sit against the tree.
"You're bleeding," She says.
"You're one to talk." I tell her, walking over and ripping a strip off my torn T-shirt. I try to wipe some of the blood off her face and she winces. "Sorry."
"I'm fine. Really, it's just a scratch." She lies. My efforts to clean it seem to be wasted, it's to deep. No matter how much I wipe, the blood keeps oozing.
The sound of the hoverbarges seems to be closer and closer so I throw the rag on the ground and help Adaline up.
"We need to keep going." I say.
We start running again.
That's a long breather. Says Peter.
The Storm is chasing us, they have about 7 hoverbarges.
What?
Storm. Chasing. Hoverbarges.
Shit! Are you okay?
Yeah, just tired but Adaline's scratched up pretty bad.
Adaline?
She told me her name.
Oh. Coordinates?
Not sure, I can't stop to check.
Section?
Seven, maybe? I don't know.
I'll go tell Lyanne.
Okay.
We run for a little longer until we come to a clearing. We stay in the trees and I look behind me. The hoverbarges are to close to go around the clearing but it's so big they'll see us.
"We have to run." She says and I turn to look at her. Her eyes are wide with fear and adrenaline. She's breathing heavily and she turns to me and says, "If we get captured, there's something I have to do first."
She puts her arms around my neck and crashes her lips against mine. I'm stunned for a minute but I put my arms around her and pull her closer. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. Like a fire coursing through my veins, pulling us closer and I want to see what'll happen.
There's bullets hitting the ground behind us and Adaline pulls away. We're both panting and she smiles at me. I smile sadly, remembering why she kissed me. The bullets grow closer, one snaps a branch on a tree nearby.
"See you on the other side." She says as she sprints ahead.
The other side of what? I ask myself. I guess I'll just have to ask her. So I run as fast as I can, bullets raining down on every side. Adaline is about half way across. I try to drown out everything but my feet. Them pounding against the ground, bringing me one step, two steps, three steps, ... closer to Adaline.
She's almost to the other side when a bullet hits her leg. She makes it another few steps until she crumbles. Suddenly, all of the noise comes back and I stumble a few steps. I scream and start to run even faster, the Chip working it's adrenaline controlling magic. But now twice as many guns are trained on me. She's trying to pull herself along using her arms. I'm almost to her.
I grab her and carry her over my shoulder like firefighters used to before they invented Hosers. She cries out in pain and I put my arm over her to shield her from bullets, even if it won't do much.
We're into cover now and way out of the area around the Sanctuary but I don't care. All I care about is protecting Adaline, no matter the cost.
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A.N.
I don't think I need an author's note.