A LEAP OF FAITH

Chapter 38: Fighting isn't ideal at a time like this.

Sharlet woke up, her whole body aching. She had forgotten to bandage her wounds up the night before. She had no idea on how to fix her back, but she figured she'd just work on her forearm for now. Reaching into her backpack, she took out the bandages that the school provided for them. She ripped off a piece with her teeth and slowly but surely, began to wrap up her wound. It was quiet and still, the sun was gradually making its way into the sky. Sharlet glanced over at Kiren when she heard him waking up. He eased himself up onto his elbows, looking at Sharlet with tired eyes.

"Do you need help with that-?" He asked quietly.

"Uh... yeah, can you fix... that?" She pointed towards her back.

Kiren gave a soft nod and sat behind her, "Geez, what happened?" He frowned, staring at the huge scratch mark.

"It's, um, a long story..." mumbled Sharlet. She didn't feel like explaining the whole incident. "Here." She handed him the bandages before slipping off her shirt so he could wrap the wound easier. He took the bandages and began to wrap her torso up, covering the scratch. "Thanks, Kiren." She sighed and pulled her shirt back on. She took what was left of the bandages, shoving them back into her backpack. Now she had both hers and Sugar's backpack, she had retrieved them from Amoura's grasp before she left the room.

"You're welcome," said Kiren quietly. He glanced over, realizing that Maverick had been awake the whole night. "Shoot, did we forget to power you off-?" He asked.

"Yeah," Maverick replied. He had been clinging onto Ari's body for the whole night.

"Sorry, dude, you want me to do that now-?" Kiren walked over to him.

Maverick shook his head, "I'm fine, thanks," he muttered quietly. He was a lot quieter than usual, all of them were. Sugar had died, and Ari may die as well. Sharlet concluded that he may be in a coma, but she had no idea. Sugar was the one with all of the knowledge on the human body. Which... Sharlet realized what all of her research on it was. It was to gain immortality. Sharlet remembered all of the times she mentioned it.

Why didn't I understand what all of that meant? Guess I'm just bad at connecting dots.

Mugi probably would've been able to heal Ari as well, he had access to all kinds of herbs and such that healed infections and wounds. Sharlet, Kiren, and Maverick were definitely not the best trio. Neither of them knew what they were doing. And with Ari temporarily gone, they were stuck in the desert. They didn't want to leave until he woke up. If... he did end up waking up.

Several hours passed, nobody said a word. Sharlet and Kiren slept while Maverick stared at Ari. He anxiously waited for him like a dog waiting for its owner to get back from work.

"Come on, Ari..." he whispered. "Just wake up, will you?" He gently shook him, doing anything just to wake him up. "I promise I'll never let you get blown up again if you wake up... I should've never let you get hurt..." He rested his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was slow, but not completely gone. Maverick continued to talk to Ari to keep himself sane. He couldn't stand silence, especially not after living in a closet for several years of his life. When Lawrence wasn't 'playing' with him, he was shoved in a closet by himself. Lawrence never powered him off for whatever reason. Perhaps he just liked torturing him. Maverick hated being alone, which is why he put up with Sinclair for so long. He just didn't want to be by himself. He didn't know what he'd do if Ari did die. Most likely, he'd power himself off and never awake. If he were to die, it'd be ideal for him to die beside Ari. He gripped Ari's hat tightly, shaking in fear. "I'm sorry..." he whispered. "If you wake up, I promise I'll never let you get blown up again..."

"Maverick?" Sharlet called out.

"Yeah, what?" Maverick mumbled.

"Um... me and Kiren decided that we should probably start walking..." she said softly, feeling a bit bad about making him get up. Maverick gave a soft nod and stood up. "Do you want me to carry Ari...? Or should we just leave him-"