The Quarry: Ryan x Reader

Chapter 4 - Part 1

630 words

"It was horrible... It was.... I don't even know what it was. It was so fast and-and there was- there was a hunter... And it was just" Abi stutters.

"Oh Abi" Kaitlyn picks up her notebook, "here try drawing".

"Drawing what?"

"Can you draw what attacked you?"

She scribbles in the book.

Nick and Ryan walk in, I stand up, walking straight to them and place Nick's arm around my shoulder, guiding him to another log.

We slowly place him onto the floor. His face is covered in blood. His torso too. He breathes sharply.

Ryan glances to me, he looks worried.

"Nick, hey buddy. Can you tell us what happened?" he questions Nick calmly.

"Animal attacked... Where's Abi?"

Dylan walks over, "He's super out of it, man"

"We need to know what happened" Ryan presses.

I gently rub Nick's shoulder, unsure of where he was injured.

"Right, there was.... There was a guy there... But... There was some kind of... Some kind of animal-"

"What fucking kind of animal does this?" Dylan turns to me. Ryan opens his mouth to say something.

"Do not say a bear..." I say to him. He smiles slightly.

"Did... Did I get... Is Abi?" Nick stutters.

"Hey, hey, she's okay, dude, she's right over there" Ryan comforts, he's surprisingly good at that. You know, with him being all 'mysterious and brooding'.

Nick huffs, "Big claws and... Teeth right on top of me... I think it was a bear". Me and Ryan look to each other.

"Nick, honey, I don't think a bear could do this" I say, endearingly.

Ryan hums in agreement, "A full sized bear would have crushed him. Theres no way", he looks between me and Dylan.

"I- i thought we don't get bears around here?" Dylan questions us.

"No- agh!" Nick squirms around.

"Oh fuck. Look at that!" Dylan points to his leg. It's cut open, with black streaks around it, like he's infected.

"Oh shit" I exclaim, "the black stuff. That's... That's an infection. I think it's spreading..."

"This is really bad dude" Dylan says. He sits there and stares off at the fire for a few seconds, "We should amputate." Me and Ryan just stare at him. "We should cut it off before the infection spreads."

"Cut it off with what, though?" I ask.

"What?!" Nick shouts, obviously disagreeing with the idea.

"Why would we do that?" Ryan questions, slight sassy-ness in his voice.

"I dunno man. Look at that black stuff."

"What... What do you think it is?" He asks.

"Do I look like a doctor?" Dylan quips.

"Why'd you suggest amputating his leg then?" I question.

Abi continues talking to Kaitlyn about what she does and doesn't remember.

The bushes rustle.

We all stop talking and turn to look at the direction of the noise.

"Fuck" Ryan mumbles as he stands up, grabbing the gun.

He aims it towards the bushes.

I walk up to him and place my hand on his shoulder, "Wait, what if its Emma, or Jacob?" I whisper.

He nods, "Hey! I've got a gun. And I know how to use it. Sort of..." I guess he's being cautious.

We wait a few more seconds.

Nothing happens.

"Maybe it was nothing..." Kaitlyn states.

"Yeah, but is it gone?" Ryan asks. "Yeah, you better run!" he shouts.

"Very brave" Kaitlyn mocks.

"Atleast he stood up for all of us" I defend him.

"Okay, okay" Kaitlyn puts her hands up and laughs, I smile back at her.

Ryan turns to me and kisses my cheek, "Thank you" he whispers.

I give him a thumbs up in response.

He faces everyone else, "Alright. So, uh... Lodge is sounding pretty good right about now, yeah?"

The bush rustles.

Ryan aims the gun.