Chaos Theorem

Chapter 9: Nobody Hurts My Friends

The world reformed around me in waves. First sound, then sight, and then the rest of it in small installments. I was aware of how my body was stiff, and I was aware of the warmth beside me, and I was aware of the stinging.
  I slowly lifted up my battered head, seeing the cuts all over my body. I winced, each one oozing with blood. Hopefully they wouldn't get infected, but really that was the Keats of my issues. I wiped blood away from one of them on my arm, and let that arm flop down, sighing as my brain ached to try to create a plan.
  What had happened before? I couldn't remember...
  I used the arm I'd flopped down to twist myself over painfully. I grunted as my joints screamed in protest, but I had to see the source of the warmth. That's when I saw the train wreck in its useless heap, fire and debris littering the ledge we were on.
  Oh god, Penny.
  Forgetting my injuries, I clawed my way up off of the ground and started to dig through the train wreckage, stumbling on my way there.
  "PENNY! PENNY!" I screamed, using my broken nails to scrape through the rubble. She had to be in there somewhere!
  I heard Nate, Will and Tricky climb over the wreckage towards me, but I didn't look up. There were only three sets of footsteps. That many she was still under there.
  "Kat, you're up!" Nate gasped, panting. I looked at him briefly and saw the cuts on his face, but I didn't focus on them. I just went back to digging.
  "Pe- Penny's under here!" I stuttered frantically, grabbing a shard of metal and discarding it behind me.
  Tricky placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked at her, "Kat, how did you know that it was Penny who was gone? You only just woke up."
  I panted and breathed shakily, "I saw her carriage go off the edge! She was- she was IN the carriage! But I- I- I don't know if I saw it wrong or... or..."
  And then I threw up all over the patch of destruction I was searching through, the liquid sour and bitter tasting at the same time. Tears flooded from my eyes and I continued to dig.
  "Whoa, Kat, stop!" Nate demanded.
  I didn't stop. My fingers were slick with with the sick.
  "STOP!" Nate repeated angrily, and he grabbed me and pulled me away.
  "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" I bawled, "She's still in there, I- I HAVE TO FIND HER!"
  "Oh my..." Tricky whimpered, and then she closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands. She fell to her knees and stayed there.
  Will looked to the ground and started to shake silently.
  What were they doing? We had to find her! I sunk my hands back into the wreckage. I pulled my hand out, yelping as I sliced my finger on a sharp shard of glass.
  Nate grabbed me again and shook me, clamping onto my shoulders, "KAT, STOP! SHE'S NOT HERE!"
  "No-!"
  I yanked myself away from Nate, and turned and ran towards the edge of the cliff, looking over the edge. My eyes widened at the sight of the burning wreckage, and I shut them tightly straight afterwards and turned away. I rubbed my face with my hands.
  This was all a nightmare. In a minute, I'd wake up, and it'd be fine. I'd be back home, with my friends. Penny wasn't real. Nate wasn't real. They weren't real!
  "Does this mean..?" Will swallowed, turning to Nate grimly, "That she's really gone?"
  I cut Nate off before he even started, arguing, "No! She's still out there, we just need to find her! We need to get down there and- and help her!"
  Tricky started to break down, wiping her eyes and groaning, "No..."
  Will choked up and started to sniffle as well, coving his mask with his hands and squeezing it tightly. I envied that they weren't lying to themselves. Unfortunately, lying was all I could do to keep my sanity.
  "No. No, stop giving up!" I choked, stealing the last glimmers of hope so that nobody else could take them from me.
  And then Nate came over and hugged me, letting the glimmers fall to the floor, "Kat, she's gone. It's over. I'm sorry."
  But would she be gone? She was so smart, and she could totally have found a way out of the carriage. She wouldn't just let it happen! She'd seen all of Alice in Borderland! She'd studied death games! She knew too much!
  "Kat, stop making excuses." he commanded, starting to get frustrated.
  No, never...
  "Kat!"
  I let him catch me as I slumped into his arms. Shadows surrounded me, and I'd never find the way out.