Marcid

Fifty-Two - Konrad

Konrad had been the one holding Raymond up for what had been at least an hour or two; he wouldn't be able to walk much longer if he continued with this pattern. "I need a break," he huffed, letting go of Raymond's forearm, stepping back to lean against a nearby tree. The muscles in his arm were aching before his arm fell asleep altogether, the feeling of pins and needles like sharp yet ticklish prickles everywhere. Raymond was swaying as he stood by himself, his blinks slow, and while he thankfully wasn't completely out of it, Konrad developed less patience over time as they had been aimlessly walking around the forest. It seemed that they were going in circles; he had seen the same tall tree at least three times and he knew so from the way it stood out with its lighter color scheme than all the other trees. All the other trees were dark brown colored with jade-colored leaves and unusually tall while the different-looking tree had a bird's nest sitting on one branch, two blue-ish colored eggs sitting inside, and the leaves were a more vibrant color of green with the wood logs being a lighter color of brown with its undertone being more red, the bark not being as rough compared to all of the other trees he had seen. The unique looking tree was fairly shorter compared to all of the other trees. A white flower hung lowly on the floor next to the tree, some of the petals completely fallen off or bitten off by what Konrad had assumed would be insects.

While Ophelia didn't show any negative emotions or attention towards Raymond's unfortunate state, she had more focus on Konrad while he had unceasing pangs of trepidation hit him every few minutes–if not seconds–like a never-ending episode of paranoia. He had been looking over both shoulders every few seconds, even before the three stopped walking, jolting and flinching at every sound around him; a twig snapping would make Konrad snap his neck if he turned hard enough. His heart was pounding and putting in more supplementary work than needed. Ophelia wasn't remotely positive, either, and Konrad didn't pay too much attention to it and more on his surroundings. He kept his stare on Raymond to monitor the way he overall behaved. He was not sure if he would be able to take care of the older man much longer, but Raymond took care of him first, so it only seemed fair to return the favor. Ophelia stood close to Konrad rather than the dazed Raymond who was fiddling with his fingers as he zoned out while staring at the light-colored tree. "Why's that tree lighter than all the others? Weird as shiiit." Raymond said, a soft chuckle escaping his throat before his eyes became fixed on Konrad. Konrad rolled his eyes, letting out a huff of either exhaustion or annoyance–though it may have been both–before he looked down at his shoes. The dirt that had stained just about everything also hid almost every speck of white that the shoes once had. He could almost see very old splotches of blood that have now turned a brownish black color.

Konrad felt himself lose the will to move from his spot despite his deranged thoughts screaming at him to get up and find help sooner rather than later. He just couldn't bring himself to move even an inch of his body. He would start to think that he was becoming more and more demented with each thought he silently listened to. The heat was unbearable, as if the actual sun was right next to him. His now sleeveless sweatshirt only added to the constant sweating from everybody, leaving a lingering odor of just about everything filthy. He heaved, letting out semi-desperate huffs for air. Ophelia caught wind of his behaviour, her brows furrowing as she stepped closer towards Konrad, a twig snapping beneath her shoe. Konrad jerked his neck towards the noise, his eyes darting around the floor where Ophelia stood. She kneeled down to his level, nudging his knee with her knuckle. "Konrad?" She lowly said before being abruptly cut off by him.

"No, I know–we have to keep going–but just...give me a minute. Please." He said his last word with small emphasis. Ophelia slightly nodded before turning her head slightly to face Raymond. He looked more conscious than minutes before, his attention now fixed on the hyperventilating boy, crossing his arms over his chest with curiosity gleaming in his half-lidded eyes. The unsettling stares made Konrad lose a small grasp of the tranquility he had been trying to keep within him. He huffed, tugging at his shirt with a grip so tight he could probably bypass the slipperiness of just about anything covered in oil. Ophelia leaned closer to Konrad, her fingers brushing against his sweat-slicked arm. "Konrad," Ophelia repeated softly, "just breathe. Look at me and breathe, in and out." She gripped Konrad's arm with a discomforting tightness, only heightening his stress levels. He yanked his arm away, his eyes slightly wide with confusion.

"No– get away, please." Konrad stumbled back from Ophelia. He could see the hurt expression forming on her face, guilt now surfacing with specks of regret. He couldn't let the words 'I'm sorry' out of his throat to show his 'remorse' for shoving her away, instead only gave an unintentional glare that made Ophelia's brows furrow with what Konrad assumed was frustration.

She scoffed and stepped back, sharing a swift glance with Raymond, who was observing the quarrel. "I'm trying to help you, Konrad. Why are you being like this? What's the matter with you?" Ophelia's voice rose, twigs snapping underneath her shoes as she stepped farther away from her former lover. Konrad's expression hardened ever so slightly to mask the vulnerability that kept slipping through the cracks like a microscopic insect. "I don't know," he sheepishly admitted, his eyes involuntarily averting from even meeting the girl's gaze. "I don't know, Lia, but we've been walking for days. We've only had one meal throughout all of this, and it was barely the size of my hand. Zeke and Kory are missing, and only God knows where the hell they are, Aaliyah is dead because she killed herself, and I haven't had a proper meal or even a bath in almost a week. I'm covered in sweat, dirt, and maybe even blood—that probably isn't mine—and I doubt that I'll even be alive in the next week to even catch a glimpse of clean water," Konrad couldn't stop running his mouth, word vomit getting the better of him. He had been acting mercurial at best—for far too long now—at this point he was starting to wonder if any of the others had been picking up on his behavior. Perhaps they didn't care to notice, Konrad intrusively thought. "I don't want to do this anymore. I don't have to do this anymore, I can change my direction to the nearest lab and give up in being free."

"I can help you with that," a gruff voice says behind Konrad. A soft click of what seemed to be a gun occurred right after.

Raymond's eyes darted to where the voice was, being behind the younger boy, his dazed state disappearing almost immediately. "Konrad, don't move." He firmly said. Something hidden in the man's gaze made something snap in Konrad. He turned immediately, only to be met with a harsh blow to the temple, his body being shoved towards the ground with the strange man's boot.

"No!" Ophelia's voice shrieked, her cowardly nature slipping into action as she took a few steps back behind Raymond.

"We had a deal!" Raymond shouted, taking an unbalanced step towards the new man, his anger bubbling up with a twinge of panic.

Konrad attempted to crawl back up, his head spinning with pain and glimpses of confusion, the stranger's boot digging into his back with a grinding sensation aching the boy's spine. The erratic voices blurred together, and only one question lied awake in Konrad's flickering mind.

What deal?

(Hello. I'm sorry for not posting every week or so; testing week was a few days ago and I've been needing to study frequently for semester exams as well, which led to me having a decreased amount of time and motivation to work on my novel. I'm sorry for this short chapter as well. This has been sitting in the drafts for a hot minute and I need to let it be published or it would be kept untouched for longer than expected. I promise to be more active in my chapters soon.

— I.S. Manzano)