𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐔𝐬

06. Bob the Builder.

S I X
Bob the Builder.

My hands gather water, bringing it up to my face I try not to lose too much of it, before rubbing at the skin around my nose, getting the blood off, and turning the water a copper colour. The skin is tender and my head still thumps, I keep wetting the skin, going until I can't feel any blood and the water that runs in between my lips doesn't taste like metal.

The lack of talking makes the nature around us sound deafening, the trickling of the water, the birds flying around, talking to each other and bugs chirping. It all feels so loud. I think the concussion I definitely have doesn't help.

After cleaning my face I soak the top of my shirt, trying to get the blood out, frigid water runs down my skin, sending a chill down my spine. I take off my jacket and do the same to the shoulder where I wiped my face.

I walk back from the steam, sitting myself on a rock, watching the water. Tugging the band off the end of my hair I pull it out, running my hands through I rebraid it. Pulling the hair tight somehow hurts my nose and worsens my headache, but I persevere, it's getting to be a mess. Once I do the two sides I run out of things to occupy my mind, thoughts begin creeping in, ones I'd rather not think about.

Joel and Ellie are back where we dumped our things. I need to go back, I don't have a weapon.

I walk up the hill, using the trees to steady myself, everything is compiling on top of each other, my body feels heavy and my eyelids are begging to close.

Ellie sits against a tree, Joel's jacket laid over her knees.

I gingerly get down to sit beside her, my head leaning back onto the rough bark. The ground is damp underneath me, I'm freezing cold with the front of my shirt wet.

"You want your jacket back?" Ellie asks as Joel goes through his backpack. I shut my eyes, just to rest them for a few seconds. I don't hear Joel respond, but I hear something fly through the air and land next to Ellie.

A few seconds pass, I can hear her chewing on something, her foot kicks my outstretched legs, my eyes open, they take a second to focus. She leans over and puts the item in my hand, a few nuts wrapped in paper. I'm not even slightly hungry but I'll pass out if I don't eat anything so I take a few, making myself eat them, then pass them back to Ellie. My head goes back against the tree and my eyes fall closed again.

"I've never been in the woods. More bugs than I thought." Ellie says, probably uncomfortable with the silence, I've noticed she doesn't like them.

No one talks back to her, I can't even be bothered to humour her.

"Look, I've been thinking about-" she tries to say something.

"I don't want your sorries," Joel cuts her off, sympathy being the last thing he wants.

"I wasn't gonna say I'm sorry. I was gonna say that I've been thinking about what happened. Nobody made either of you, or Tess take me. Nobody made either of you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery or whatever, and I don't know what you got out of this deal," Ellie sounds almost annoyed she doesn't get why I'm here, because I'm here not of my own free will. She has an incessant need for knowledge. "And you all made a choice. So don't blame me for something that isn't my fault."

Well, that was not even close to a sorry.

I can hear the rifle being picked up and Ellie stands up a second later, she kicks my leg again and my eyes open. It takes me a few seconds to get up without falling over, but I do and begin following Joel and Ellie.

"How much longer?" She asks.

"Five-hour hike," he answers.

Kill me now.