Whisper

Chapter Fourteen: A Taste of Freedom

Dannie winces when he wakes, grasping his bandaged, bloody shoulder. "Holy shit."

"Hey sleepy head," I smile at Dannie who is squinting at the light poking through the vines.

"Hey, what happened?"

I shift towards Dannie and kiss his cheek, "we escaped, that's what happened."

"We really did it, didn't we?" he mumbles.

"Yeah, I guess we did."

Dannie sits up, then crawls through the tight opening in the vines and out into the talk grass. "Hey, come out here," he pokes his head through the opening.

I get up and crawl through to the bright sunny morning. "It feels nice to finally wake up to something that's not a wall."

Dannie wraps his arms around my shoulders and rests his chin on my forehead. He laughs and nods agreeingly. "That's the truth."

Birds chirp in the background, accompanied by the sound of trickling water. "There's a spring nearby," I comment.

"So there is," Dannie listens to the soft trickling.

We grab a few empty canisters from our backpacks and walk in the direction of the trickling sound. There's a small stream just behind the tall oak trees a few feet away from our thorn cave. Dannie and I fill our canisters to the brim. I unzip my uniform and pull it off, along with my tank top and underwear. I packed a few of those underwear and bras from my dresser, just in case. I throw the clothes on the ground and bathe in the stream, the cool water running down my legs. I take the canister and poor the water on my dirty hair and scrub it the best I can. I scrub down my body with my fingernails until I start to feel cleaner. I change into a new pair of underwear and slip on my tank top, and I pull my uniform up to my waist, then tie the sleeves around my waist like a jacket. Now I feel like I'm wearing pants, but it's a lot more comfortable.

After Dannie washes off too, we leave the stream and collect our stuff. Dannie sets off in the opposite direction of the hospital, and thus we begin our journey.

"We won't find a town for miles, so just be prepared to walk a ways," Dannie points out to me.

"I'm up to it. Are you going to be okay though, with your shoulder and all? I can take your backpack for you if you want," I offer to Dannie.

"No I'll be fine," Dannie waves me off, "thanks for the offer though. I hope your shoes are comfortable enough. If they start to feel uncomfortable you can always wear mine," he offers.

"Thanks," I smile and rub his back. "So where do you think we'll find my parents?"

"Honestly, I have no idea, babe," Dannie looks to his feet as he walks. "But don't worry, I promised you I would help you find them and that's what I'm going to do."

I realize how lucky I am to have such a faithful partner, if that's what we are now. I realize he would do anything for me.

"I know it's a lot to ask, so thank you."

"Anything for you," Dannie smiles.

I return the smile, turning my gaze towards the rising sun in the distance. I almost feel like looking back at the hospital, just one more time, but I push the urge out of my thoughts and settle on the thought of seeing my parents again.

"I hope we find my parents," I begin the conversation, "I think my dad will really like you."

Dannie looks at me, wondrous, "you think so?" he asks.

"Yeah, you guys are pretty similar."

"What's your dad like?" Dannie asks.

"Well, he has dark brown hair that kind of hangs over his forehead when it's not gelled, and he has those same bright, watery blue eyes, like yours," I smile, imagining my dad. "He also wears these glasses, man I remember he used to always lose them no matter what, and I always seemed to know where they were," Dannie and I chuckle, "he's a business man, so he always wears a tie and nice pants to work, but on days he doesn't work he likes to wear exercise shorts and any t-shirt he can find. He likes to play around and act like the biggest goofball I've ever known, no matter what mood I'm in he can always make me laugh."