Reaper ~ THG AU

Ch. 20: Trail

We run until the sun is fully visible above us. My legs burn with every step, my lungs and throat raw. The pain in my arm and stinging on my palms and fingers causing me to finally stop.

"Stop..stop.."

Acacius comes to a slow stop beside me. He eyes the area around us, just as out of breath as me. I gulp, stumbling over towards a large bolder to sit. My mouth is dry, my lips crusty from the lack of water. I haven't had any since yesterday morning and it's starting to take its effect.

"What did the parachute have?"

Acacius opens the satchel strapped across his torso. He pulls out a small, silver canister before unscrewing it. He takes a seat next to me, facing the opposite direction as me before holding it towards me.

"I think it's medicine for your cut."

I nod, moving to take off the backpack with a grimace. Acacius takes it from me as soon as he sees my face. I grab the edge of my dark brown jacket, exhaling a huff as the sticky fabric leaves my skin. The bandage we put on it last night is soaked red. Dried blood sticks to my skin, some in a solid strip down past my elbow.

"Jeez...Z...why didn't you let me get it?"

"Ace. You are at least fifty pounds heavier than me. That branch would have snapped the first time you touched it."

I sigh, removing the soaked bandage as he gets out the med-kit. I toss the bandage towards the side, hissing as he starts to wipe up my arm with an alcohol wipe. I grab the can of medicine as another sigh leaves me.

"Besides...I've been climbing trees for half my life, it's about time that skill came in handy."

Acacius gives me a look, obviously not amused. I smile one telling him not to be mad. He looks back down at my arm, wiping away all the dried blood stuck to my skin.

"How many times did you almost fall?"

"Just the once."

He looks up, clearly not believing me. He tosses the wipe where I tossed the bandage, moving to prepare another bandage. I let out a sigh, moving to get a small amount of the medicine onto my left hand.

"Fine. Twice." He looks up with a clenched jaw and disappointment in his eyes. "But I'm not used to climbing in boots!"

I point towards him before applying the medicine to my wound. He watches me, clearly, once again, not amused. He narrows his eyes, clicking his tongue as he gestures towards my cut.

"You tore your cut. You scraped up your hands, and you almost died. Don't try and turn this into something else when this who game depends on life and death."

I sigh, looking up to meet his eyes. His face is completely serious, as serious as I've ever witnessed it to be. This isn't Atlas. This is Acacius. He's the one that would make me laugh in a serious situation. Not scold me.

"I'm sorry."

He sighs, moving to place the fresh bandage onto my arm. He gives me a hard look as he smooths out the white cloth and tape.

"You better be. Especially after the beat down I got last night for getting a look around."

I let out a soft laugh, looking down. I rub the excess medicine onto the scrapes on my palms and fingers. Once it's rubbed in enough, I move to slip back on my jacket. Acacius grabs an apple out of my backpack, cutting it in half as I zip up my jacket.

"I guess reckless behavior runs in the family..."

"Hey. You're the one who volunteered."

He hands me half of the apple, taking a bite of his own half. I sigh, taking a bite. The juiciness of the fruit does little to quench my thirst, but it's enough to settle my rumbling stomach. I finish off the fruit quickly as Acacius does the same. Once we're both done eating, the cores tossed to the side next to the bloody bandage and wipe, Acacius stands.

"We should get going. No use staying here for them to find. It's already bad enough we're leaving a trail."

"Alright."

——

Acacius and I walk side by side through the woods. The only sound coming from either of us is our footfalls hitting the forest floor. My arm stopped hurting about an hour ago, my hands the same. I glance down at them as we walk, seeing most of the scabs gone and healed.

I wouldn't doubt my arm is healed up. What's left of the canister of medicine is stuffed into the med-kit in Acacius's satchel. We still haven't found any water, the only thing keeping us going being the juice from the apple we split earlier.

Sweat drips down my forehead and into my eye, causing a blurry sting to shoot through it. I huff, closing that eye to allow it to flush out naturally. Acacius clears his throat, adjusting the bag in his back.

Boom!

The sound of the canon goes off, making both Acacius and I jump before crouching down to hide. The canon was close, meaning the death was probably close by as well. Acacius clears his throat, drawing my attention towards him. He nods above, where a large tree stands tall with plenty of green leaves.

I nod, moving to climb up into the cover of the leaves. My brother follows silently, both of us staying as quiet as possible. We settle higher up than last night. The sound of laughter and approaching footsteps make both of us hold our breath.

"Did you see her face!"

"I know! She was definitely shocked!"

The two girls laugh, the tall blonde cleaning blood off her spear as they walk. Augustus and Dante walk silently, keeping an eye out as Jovie tosses a knife with every step. I gulp, sharing a look with Acacius as they draw closer.

"Can you two keep it down? I'm hoping to find those two from 11 before the night falls."

"Come on, Augustus! We're just joking around!"

"Yeah! Besides...we know one of them is hurt from the trail we were following."

"The trail went cold an hour ago."

"So? They have to be close. And when we find them, I'm killing that Holier-than-thou bitch and her brother."

"Not if I kill them first!"

The two girls laugh, prancing together as Augustus rolls his eyes. Dante doesn't seem to care much for the conversation, keeping his eyes out with an arrow notched onto his bow. Gulping, I share a look with Acacius as they pass by underneath us.

Acacius puts a finger to his lips as I watch the four careers walk farther away. Once they're out of earshot and completely out of view, I let out a deep breath. Acacius does the same beside me, his finger tapping against his mouth. I nod, letting a few more minutes pass before shifting.

I hop down from the tree, wiping my hands before turning towards Acacius. He hops down beside me, both of us sighing before looking towards the way they went. Without a word, we begin to walk the opposite way. I pull out one of my swords as I feel the tightness in my jar loosens.

That was close.

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