The Forest Trials | Newt

008

She took in a gasp of air. Her bloodshot eyes shot open. She looked around quickly. Her arm was shooting pain across the whole right side of her body. Her head was pounding, her vision blurry, her hair dripping wet down her face.

"Jennifer," Newt breathed, she went to reply but just erupted into a coughing fit full of salty river water. "Your alive,"

"No shit," she coughed and leant back, running a hand through her wet hair getting it from her face.

"What the hell we're you thinking?"

"...when?"

"Jumping down here like that? You could've died,"

"Uh... how long have I been out for?"

"Maybe an hour or so?"

"You waited for me to wake up?" She furrowed her brows at him as she rested her head against the rocky wall.

"Of course I did, I thought you were dead," it went quiet again as Jennifer glanced down trying to figure out what happened. "You jumped down here, landed in the river. Think you hit a pretty nasty rock by the looks of your head," she raised her hand gently to her head wincing when her fingertip touched a wound.

She hadn't even noticed that was why her head was pounding so badly. "Uh..." she trailed, leaning down to the bottom of her cargo and ripping a piece off. She grabbed a small rock and wrapped the fabric around the rock and dunked it underwater. Placing it very slowly against her wound.

"Ouch," Newt said as he flinched slightly, his hand moving to his head.

"What's wrong with you?"

"...I don't know, my head just. Hurts like... really bad,"

"Did you hit your head too?"

"Yeah... not bad like yours. Mine was covered in sea grass. Softened it or something,"

"Oh," she breathed, she tried to rearrange the way she sat before her foot slipped. She glanced down at the rocky pebbles that covered the floor. Only then did she spot drops of blood and black fur stained with it. Black fur...

Merlin.

"Merlin," she said quickly, her voice urgent. "Merlin!" She repeated loudly "Newt, where is Merlin?" She looked around so quickly that she didn't even notice him sitting on a stack of rocks. Bird in his mouth and a fish beside him. "Merlin," she said again, this time out of relief as he jumped down towards her.

"He's good at hunting," Newt said,

"Has to be. Hey you know... whatever the hell just happened?"

"Mhm,"

"Could we... not tell the group?"

"Yeah sure," Newt shrugged.

"Thanks,"

"I think they might know though,"

"Why?"

"Well you have a limp and your heads bleeding out... really bad. And I have a cut on my arm," she said pulling his sleeve up revealing his forearm. A deep cut glided throughout the whole of his arm, bright red.

"We got attacked by a Crank," Jennifer shrugged

"Why can't we just tell them?"

"Because then they're going to know I care about that cat. Once people know what you care about that it, your as good as dead,"

"They wouldn't hurt Merlin,"

"Newt, you just don't tell them okay?" She asked "Now let's get out of here," she said glancing at the rocky wall covered in ivy. Newt hadn't noticed the ivy until now, the Glade flashed through his mind.

Covered every wall head to toe. When he first arrived it was only about 10% ivy but when he left it was all green. He missed the Glade, the simple repetition of day-to-day life. But he was here with Jennifer and she was... struggling to climb the vines?

Funny really, Newt hadn't seen her struggle really at anything. Even after being unconscious for at least an hour, she was fine just minutes later yet she was struggling to climb some ivy.

"Please stop staring!" She yelled from up above.

"Are you okay?" He asked back to her turning his head to the side and watching her.

"Yes I'm- I'm fine," she replied as she very slowly worked her way up the ivy.

"Uh- don't look down," he suggested to her noticing she was terrified.

"What? No just, shut up!"

"Okay!"

"No don't! Keep talking, just about something else!"

"What like!"

"I don't know! Distract me!"

"How!"

"Think Newt!"

"Uh-"

"Just, Shut up!" She shook her head continuing up very slowly. Having to stop and squeeze her eyes occasionally. Was she... afraid of heights? This almost made Newt smile, Jennifer was afraid of heights. How ridiculous.

Someone who acted so... strong was scared of being high up. After what felt like an eternity of pure hell Jennifer saw the grass and foliage of the forest floor. She said her final blessing as she pulled herself up onto the ground. Lying on it breathing heavily.

She felt so stupid, she hated the fact Newt had not only seen her fall, pass out, and panic, and now watched her freak the hell out about Ivy. This was her hell. Maybe she was dead she thought.

Within minutes Newt met her up there, joined by Merlin who hopped rock to rock with a fish and bird in his mouth. It wasn't much but it was enough for breakfast.

*  *  *

She placed the featherless and lifeless bird's body onto the fire and leant back taking in a deep breath. She rinsed out her hair into the ground, leaving it damp. Newt moved next to her, sticking his forearm out to her.

She nodded and began to clean it with a wet dew leaf. Running it over the wound, her arm was killing with every move. It was almost unbearable, she could barely hold in the amount of pain it causes her.

"Hold on," she pushed out moving her hand to her bare arm. There was no mark or anything it just killed. As if it too had been sliced open and was now being tampered with. She thought maybe she broke it, but that wouldn't make sense with the shooting pain. But it was enough for her to continue with Newt's cut.

He was wincing and the occasional groan would escape his mouth as he watched her wrap the bandage around. Her facial expressions distracted him slightly, she looked as though she was in as much pain as him. But that wasn't possible.