Hollow Veins

Chapter Thirty One; Not Even Close

Jasper choked as he sat up. His face was dripping wet and, Prince was laughing. Jasper groaned, "Why?" Prince stifled his giggling, "You wouldn't wake up, mon ami." "So you decided to drown me?" "If that's what I wanted you'd be in the creek," He brushed his hair out of his face as he stood, "Obviously." "Well at least he'd have to be lying down for the water to go over his head," The comment came from Ari, who was tying her boot lace. Prince noticed she'd made use of the cover of the trees to change into fresh clothes. Not that they all hadn't changed clothes since the start of their trip. But it hadn't been a constant thing. Considering their predicament, it hadn't been their top concern. Ari wore cargo pants, a white tank top and a thick jacket zipped halfway up. Her face was shadowed by a black cap overtop her short dark hair. Prince leaned over her, "Are you calling short." "And short minded apparently." Prince grinned, "I'm afraid I'm taller than you." She looked up, "And yet I could still beat you up." He shrugged, "Yet you don't." "Don't try me, Prince." He held up his hands, "Wouldn't dream of it." He walked away than added quietly, "Shortie." Ari threw a stick at him. Ren yawned and sat up. Prince, who was crouching by her avoiding the sticks and clumps of dirt Ari threw at him, attempted a smile, "Morning." "What no water for her," Jasper narrowed his eyes. Prince shrugged, "Well- Oi, that hurt! She actually woke up. Aaron, be a dear and uh... be a human shield." Aaron backed up, "No way. Short people are scary." Ari flung some dirt at Aaron. Jasper held up his hands, "Alright stop that." Ari looked at him then Prince, "Ok," She threw a final piece of moss at him.

Jaden carefully sat up. Jasper laced his fingers together, "So there's a couple miles of woods to walk through. Jaden, your wound needs to be cleaned, first. "This city is pretty big. There were lots of earthquakes in this area so there are... pits of sorts. Huge cracks, crevices. They're no joke." Prince yawned, "Alright, what's the good news, Mr. Cheerful." Jasper sighed, "Well after that there's supposed to be smaller mountains for a couple mountains and past that, that's where the City is." Prince raised his eyebrows, "So close?" Jasper shook his head, "Not in the slightest. The abandoned city is bigger than the others we've been to. And the mountains go on for miles." Prince shrugged, "Well, nice day for a hike." Aaron folded his arms, "I'm sure the Infected will think so, too." Jaden signed, "We should just all accept our imminent death." Prince looked confused. Jaden sighed, "Oh for heaven's sake. Freaking learn sign language." They continued to stare. Jaden folded his arms and rolled his eyes. Prince leaned sideways next to Ren, "Translation please?" "Uh... he wants you to learn sign language." Prince nodded in mock respect, "Ah yes, just let me call a teacher and I'll take a class." Jaden shrugged and gestured at the others. Jasper broke in, "It's actually a good idea to learn some phrases in case of an emergency, but right now we need to keep going." Prince gave a half shrug, "Whatever you want."

Alice rubbed her eyes as they walked. She'd only gotten a few hours of sleep and her eyes burned. The foliage made walking, much harder than before. The bushes and thorns were constantly tripping her up. Prince, who was just ahead of her, kept tugging leaves out of his hair, "Oh this is fun." Jasper brought up the group right behind her. Ari smirked slightly, "You should shave your head." "Eh no. Not happening." Alice grinned, "It would be a great ego stabilizer." Prince glanced back at her with a snort, "What's with all these pickings at my ego. I am terribly modest." Ari raised an eyebrow, "Terrible's the word, alright." Alice sighed, "Poor choice of words, Pri-" Her foot caught in a root. Alice slipped forward but was caught around the waist. Instantly she knew who'd caught her. She jerked away. "You ok?" Jasper asked. "Fine," Alice sped forward, determined not to let it happen again. Aaron glanced back at Jasper with a glare. Jasper shrugged. It hadn't been the best idea, but neither was Alice face planting. Whenever he thought she'd just started to be more comfortable around him, she stiffened up again. Aaron probably had something to do with it. Every time the two talked, Alice got all defensive and angry. Not that she shouldn't but the false hope of being forgiven was killing him. She looked particularly tired today. Her greenish blue eyes were a bit red. Definitely last night had stressed her out. Jasper remembered the conversation with a pang. So now, Ari, Aaron and Alice all suspected him. He just had to keep things calm until they got there. Once inside the refugee centers, they could suspect all they wanted. It would be too late anyways. Jasper didn't like to think of it. It hurt too much. Still he looked ahead at Alice. She would probably hate him. She did hate him, no matter what he did. Honestly he had tried to redeem himself but he guessed it wouldn't matter to her and Aaron. He just wanted it over with. The inevitable end would come and it would be worth it.