Thorn

Chapter Twelve: Reunited

One day I woke up in a field. I was in sweat pants and a t-shirt. When I moved my shoulder felt like it was going to pop out of its socket, probably dislocated. I had a deep cut on my right calf and a bullet graze on side hip the side of my shirt soaked with blood. I stood up and looked at my surroundings. I realized I wasn't in a field but in a burnt up forest, all of the trees were now charred remains, the bushes were now just patches of earth.

I took a shaky breath, which soon turned into a sob, and that sob soon turned into sobbing. I hugged myself and started to walk towards the road, each step reminding me of my injuries. I eventually stopped crying and I walked through the woods until I found a road. There was no way I was going to hitch a ride with someone, it was too dangerous for one and two why risk it. I was so confused. The last thing I remember is blacking out after I was injecting with something.

I looked for someplace I recognized and when I did I headed home. Well not my home but something close to it. I knocked on Thorn's door and waited. The last day I was here he told me he lived across the street from me. Heavy footsteps thudded on the other side, the lock unhatched and the door swung open to reveal Naoki standing there, his eyes puffy and his nose red. He was a little skinnier than I remembered him but otherwise he looked the same. When he saw me his eyes widened and his mouth sort of hung open.

"Ally is that really you?" I began to nod when I winced in pain. It was getting a little much to bear. I had my dislocated arm pressed against my side to prevent too much bleeding but when I removed my hand I fell. Naoki caught me just before I hit the ground. But the world swam before my eyes. I was really getting sick of that "Just falling over" thing. I groaned and looked up to see Naoki dragging me into the house, calling for Thorn.

I saw him round the corner just as Naoki pulled me into the middle of the room. The look on Thorn's face was a mix of astonishment, confusion, sadness, and happiness. He raced over to me and cradled me in his arms, hugging me tight. It hurt but it was comforting. Soon tears started to fall, but they weren't mine, they were his. I looked up at him, his eyes dark and sad.

"Um, Thorn, I hate to break up the moment but my shoulder is sort of dislocated." He let go, muttering apologies. He put my head into his lap and stared down at me a small smile on his lips. Naoki came back with a first aid kit and started working on me. I don't really know how long it took but every time I passed out Thorn would shake me awake saying that I had to stay up and that Naoki was almost done. He whispered tender words and stroked my hair. The pain was bad but not as bad as the last week or so of testing. He finished stitching up my bullet wound and cut my sweat pant leg off so he could stich up the wound on my leg.

When I asked him where he found out how to do that he gave me that small, shy smile and said that his mom worked in the ER. The worst part was putting my shoulder back into placed. When Naoki did I couldn't help but let out a cry of pain, even though I was grateful.

"Sorry! Sorry! Are you okay?" I gave him a thumbs up and tried to stand up, only to be caught by Thorn and hauled upstairs. He put me into a bed and grabbed a stool to sit next to me. He held my hand and before I knew it I fell into a deep sleep.

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