Shattered Horizon

05 Bo

We get to the camp, she tells Liam to pull off on the side when we enter the gate, everyone who was out was looking at the vehicle. We all get out of the car, Annalina in my arms,
"This way" she says and we walk with her, "the medical building is a couple mins away "How is she doing" she asked me
Liam touches her head " She's pretty hot!" he says
"She might have an infection," she says picking up the pace
We all stay in silence, a building approaches, we walk in to it, "Simon" Iris yells, a tall skinny guy with a hair bun comes in to view "Well hello, there Iris" he says then looks up at us "Who do we have here!" He looks both of us up and down.
"His sister needs help, she has a temperature and she was injured," iris said
He looks at annalina, "Ok bring her with me," we head down a hallway and into a open room, "lay her on the bed," he says "I'll get the doctor" he says
I lay her on the bed and we gather around, on the side closest to the wall, the doctor comes in "can you tell me what happened"? She said
I told her everything, she examined her, "Looks like she has a slight infection, whoever bandged her and that, did a good job will take it from here" she says, then she looks at Iris, "Why don't you find them somewhere to sleep it going to take a couple days before, she is able to leave."
"Okay" Iris said and got up leaving the room then stopped "you two coming?" she asks
I look at Liam, he nods and we leave the room, "she in good hands" Iris said
We leave the medical building down a pathway to the campgrounds. "I'm sorry," she says. "But I think we only have one tent to spare."
Liam looks at me. "I don't mind sharing with Bo." He thanks Iris, assuring her we plan to leave as soon as Annalina is well enough to walk.
Iris shakes her head. "It's no problem. My tent is by the fire pit. Meet me there, okay?" She hesitates. "Dinner starts at dusk."
Liam and I enter the tent. It's cramped, and I set my bag down. "What do you think of this place so far?" he asks.
"It seems safe. The people are nice," I say, sitting next to him.
He agrees, then lays back. "I've never been in a tent before."
"It's not the most comfortable." i say
"At least there are pillows," he says, closing his eyes.
Suddenly, I shriek. "Liam, a bug!" He leaps up, frantic, tearing off his shirt. "I think I'll sleep in the car," he mumbles.
We laugh, then a comfortable silence falls as I look at him taking in every detail, he is slim but has muscles, a tan line on his arms suggesting he never takes his shirt off, he has a hairline going from his belly button and down passed his button on his jeans, he turns to put his shirt back on and I see scars on his back... "Liam," I ask softly, "how did you get those?"
"Oh..." His voice trails off. "Nothing…. Important. I was in a car accident when I was younger." He pauses, I can see that he is not telling me the full truth but I don't put it. "I'm going to take a nap. Long few days." He lays back tentatively, scanning for insects. I reassure him, and he drifts off. I sigh thinking back to Max, I hope he is okay, then I look at Liam, I sigh and open my book.
Liam wakes me. "Time for dinner with Iris?"
"How long were we out?"
"Couple of hours, maybe."
We leave the tent, Liam grabbing his book. "You always carry that?"
"Yeah, in case there's something to draw," he replies.
"Would love to see more of your work." i say.
Iris greets us, she walks up over inline with everyone, we take a plate and she does too, we get our food, i look at liam plate, "your not hungry?" i ask him
"I don't like beans," he mumbled, taking a bite of bread. I offered him my own piece, saying, "Eat this too."
A few minutes later, Iris approached and glanced at his plate. "Protein is good for you," she commented.
"I don't like beans," Liam repeated.
Iris smiled and left the table, returning with a small bowl. "Here, eat this," she said, placing a serving of corn and spinach in front of him.
"Thank you," Liam replied as she sat back down.
Then, she beams. "The solar eclipse is the day after tomorrow!"
I nod, remembering my town's preparations. Liam looks confused. "What's a solar eclipse?"
Iris and I stare at him. "You don't know? You seem my age..." Then she softens. "It happens every eight years. Your family didn't talk about it?"
"Nope. My grandfather only had World War books," he admits.
I tell Iris the details of Annalina's shooting. She's amazed my sister held on, then asked our plans. I mention the settlement posters.
"Maybe I can come with you guys!" she suggests.
Liam, absorbed in his sketching by the firelight, ignored the world around him. Iris called his name, but he didn't respond. She chuckled and turned to me, "Are you two together?"
"No," I replied, glancing at Liam, who remained oblivious. Iris smiled at me silently, causing a blush to creep onto my face.
"Well, I'm sorry to leave so early, but I'm tired," Iris announced. "It's been a long day, and I think I'll head to bed."
I nodded, and she rose to her feet. "Iris," I said.
She looked at me. "Thank you for saving us today," I expressed my gratitude. She shook her head and walked away, placing a hand on Liam's shoulder as she said, "Goodnight."
Liam looked up, smiled at her, and replied, "Goodnight." Then he returned to his drawing.
Finally, I told Liam I was tired and heading to the tent.
"Okay, Bo," he replied with a gentle smile. "I'm going to finish this."
I walked away, glancing back to see him engrossed in his work. As I reached the tent and lay down, my thoughts drifted to Liam, filled with feelings I thought were reserved for Max.
The next morning, I woke to the feeling of an arm around me. It was Liam's, his warmth comforting against my chest. I smiled, savoring the moment, and didn't move for a few minutes, letting the peaceful embrace linger.
He shifted slightly, his arm and hand falling back to his side of the tent. I didn't want to wake him; he looked so serene. Carefully, I got up and slipped out of the tent.
Peeking back inside, I confirmed he was still asleep. I decided to let him rest and wake him up after visiting Annalina.
I remember the way to the medical building, the trees are waving in the wind, kids echoing as they play outside with others, i hear pans clicking as they are being washed, the flowers that bloomed are fresh in the air, letting it all sink in, i finally get to the medical building, i open the door, "Well hello there Handsome" simon said
I wave at him, he falls me into the annalina room, opening the clipboard from the doctor.
"Looks like she's going to be fine. Perfect stitching, whoever did it!" Simon declares.
My relief is immense. "Liam saved her life. I owe him everything."
"Seems like you have a wonderful boyfriend!" Simon beams.
Flustered, I stammer, "He's...not my boyfriend."
Simon chuckles. "Oh, sorry. Well, does that mean he's straight? Or...?"
"How do you even know I like guys?" I blurt out. Simon's playful probing feels intrusive after how much we've been through.
"Honey, I just know," he says with a wink. "Don't get too worked up about him."
Simon leaves the room to let me be with Annlina.
After spending hours with my sister, I left the building to find Liam. He wasn't in our tent, nor was Iris in hers. "Hmm," I muttered to myself, a sense of unease creeping in.
I tried to remain calm, telling myself he might be by the car. But as I walked towards the parking area, the worry grew. Surely he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye?
The car was still parked in its spot, but Liam was nowhere to be seen. Panic finally took hold, and I frantically searched the community, my mind racing with worst-case scenarios
Noticing a playground and a large building, I head in that direction. Suddenly, I'm yanked into an alleyway. It's Iris, breathless and in tears.
"I tried," she sobs. "Where's Liam?"
I try to calm her down. "They've taken him, Bo. They plan to perform a ritual on him during the eclipse," she reveals, her voice shaking.
My heart pounds. "Where is he?" "Who took him?"
"We went back to town," she says, trying to control her crying.
"Okay,okay calm down" I tell her as she gives me a giant hug.
"We thought, we give you a little time and maybe we could spot his grandfather, then a group of raiders came."
She pauses and starts to cry again.
"They gathered around us, they tried too…." she pauses again.
"Liam saved me, when he pulled his gun, he shot one of their friends. They pushed me aside and I got away. Liam tried shooting again but his gun seemed to only have one bullet." She said
I couldn't think of anything to say. I hugged her again and I told her "we need to get him back."
"Bo, we can't just walk into the raiders camp!" She said
"Iris, I'm going to go without you either way, I'll find the camp myself if I have to."
Iris hesitates. "I know the place. But it'll be dangerous."
"Who else knows, Iris? And how much time do we have?"
"No one else, you're the first person I found." She says. "There is one more thing you should know."
I looked at her and she said "We were hiding and one of the raiders said that they needed one more person for the ceremony tomorrow."
"What ceremony?" I ask
"It might have to do with the eclipses, I read that in long ago they used to sacrifice humans to a god as a blood offering" iris said
My stomach hurts. Felt like I was going to throw up, where they were really planning to sacrifice Liam for safety from the deceased. I should've never left them. I don't know why Liam would go without me.
"We need to find help, I'm getting him back Iris!"
She moved around slightly and was upset. She looked like she was fighting with herself.
"Okay," she said finally, "I'll take you to them."