Reaper ~ THG AU

Ch. 26: Lucky

The walk back to the cave seems longer than it did before. Acacius grunts with each movement, his hand holding his cut side. I see the hovercraft approaching as I pass the boulder that the parachute landed on last night.

"Come on...almost there..."

I don't know if I'm telling him or myself that. My body screams to stop, still not fully recovered from the dehydration that still threatens us. Acacius is still able to walk, but a good portion of his weight is pushed onto me. His movement are slow compared to me, his feet almost dragging behind us.

The opening to the cave comes into view, pushing me to move faster. Acacius grunts, gripping me tighter as I'm almost running now. I pull him to move faster, my own grip on him strong.

We both stumble into the small cave, our belongings still where we left them. I sigh, moving us both over towards the cool cave wall. Acacius grunts as he moves to sit. I support him the whole way down, huffing from my racing heart and worry.

I feel my hands shaking as I stand back up. Acacius gasps as he holds his wound. His head falls back against the stone wall, his eyes shut. My head is covered with sweat, my ears ringing as I turn fast. I don't think, just rushing towards Acacius's satchel where the med-kit is. With the strap in hand, I stumble back to Acacius's side.

"Take your jacket off."

I huff, unzipping the bag before dumping it out onto the stone floor of the cave. Acacius grimaced as he slips off his jacket. His breathing becomes a wheeze, his chest rapidly moving. I grab the med-kit, getting out one of the alcohol wipes before moving to grab his shirt.

"This might hurt."

"Just do it."

I nod, wiping away any blood that's in my way. The cut isn't as deep as I previously thought, but deep enough to still be bleeding. The cut it's self is as long as my hand, palm to fingertips. I grab one of the bandages, pressing it to the wound before grabbing his hand for him to take over.

"It's a good thing we have some of that me-medicine left, huh?"

He tries to laugh, smiling towards me as I grab the canister. I glance up, my face only showing my worry. He grunts, a cough taking over. I unscrew the cap to the medicine, my hands shaking and unsteady.

"Move the bandage, please..."

He grunts, moving the bloody cloth out the way. I scoop up a glob of the sticky medicine, spreading it across the still bleeding cut. Acacius almost immediately calms, his eyes closing as his breathing slowly slows. I focus on his wound, making sure to cover every inch of his cut.

"Okay..."

I use the last of the medicine to cover his cut in a thick layer. A bit is still on my fingers, enough for the cut on his head. I cover the wound with a bandage before placing his hand back over it. I grab his chin, turning his head towards me where I can see the cut near his temple better.

"What were you doing out there with no weapon anyways?"

"I don't remember...I woke up with this feeling of..I can't explain it. I guess I wa-ah..was still delirious from the lack of water..."

"You're lucky..."

I sigh, leaning back to grab the tape now that the last of the medicine is on his cuts. He laughs a little, his eyes falling shut once more. His tongue darts out, wetting his lips a little.

"I guess the odds were in my favor..."

"The odds are never in our favor..."

"What?"

Acacius looks down at me, my own eyes staying on his wound and cloth. I sigh, smoothing the last piece of tape into place. I lean back before moving to replace the things that could still be used.

"Nothing..." I stuff the tap and unused bandages back into the med-kit. "I'm still a little delirious myself. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be just fine."

I watch him for a moment, not knowing if I can believe him. His breathing is still heavy, his eyes shut in clear pain. Sweat drips from his forehead, running down his face that looks faint and clammy.

I let out a sigh, zippering back up the med-kit before moving to put everything back into the satchel. The medicine jar goes in with the water bottle and med-kit. It could be useful.

My eyes scan everything else, deciding exactly what to do next. We can't stay here. Especially with how many people are left. My brows draw together as I count our weapons.

"Shit..."

"What?"

"I left my sword and his machete..." I stand, just now remembering the bag strapped to my torso. "I'll be right back."

"No. It's not worth it..."

"We might need them. I'll be back before you can say...Herbaceous Perennial Bellis perennis..."

I send a smile, grabbing the remaining sword. I step towards the exit of the cave. The clearing is just over thirty feet from the cave, surprisingly far with how bad we were last night. I move fast and quietly, keeping my head low incase any threats show up again.

It takes me less than five minutes to get to the trees surrounding the clearing. The boy with the green jacket is long gone from where he once laid, only dark grass staid from his blood. I can see the silver blades near the water, shining in the bright sunshine.

A smile overtakes my face, a sigh leaving me. My foot takes a step, smashing green grass into the red dirt. I could be across the clearing and back to Acacius before ten minutes are even up. My movements immediately pause, my breathing freezing.

"This has got to be it..."

Dante walks out first, his bow ready as he eyes the area. His dark brown hair and tan tan skin soaking up the sun rays. Jovie and Caraty walk out next, the former with a hard glare on her face.

"You don't say, Jack-hole."

"Damn, Jovie...are you really still mad about yesterday?"

"She was mine and he took her!"

"Who cares."

"I do, Augustus. I do. And so does Caraty."

"Wha-I didn't say anything."

"Just shut the hell up! We're this close to finding those two form 11. I'm not gonna lose them because of your idiotic egos! Do you hear me, Jov-"

I don't stick around to hear the rest. My body is running before I can even comprehend what I just heard. With every step, I see what could lead them right to us. Footprints..blood spots..broken branches..

I keep moving, seeing the cave coming into view fast. I sprint in, immediately grabbing up everything and stuffing them into the closet bags. Acacius looks at me like I'm mad as I sling my backpack over my shoulders and the bag that's still on me.

"We gotta move. Now."

"What's-"

"The careers are less than thirty feet away and looking for us. We left a trail earlier with your blood and footprints..."

I help him up, slipping his bags onto him before clipping his knife belt onto his waist. He already has his jacket back on him, no doubt his doing when I left. He wobbles a bit, gripping his side and the cave wall. I steady him, eyeing him with worry. He sighs before nodding for me to let go.

I sigh, turning to take one last look around the cave. The parachute sits in the corner, blood everywhere from his cut. Bloody wipes and bandages lay by my feet, marking another indicator that we were here. Nothing we can do about it now.

"Come on. We gotta move before they find us."

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