Pixelated

The Aftermath

I groaned and opened my eyes, only to shut them again against the blinding sunlight. I tried to sit up, but someone placed their hand on my chest, forcing me to open my eyes to see who was there.

"Hey, ssh, you're okay. Just lay down and relax, Nathan." It was Hayley. Her curls nearly covered her worried face. I frowned.

"Why are you worried? I'm fine," I said before yelling out as pain shot up my legs. I glanced down at them and yelled out again in shock. They lay bare on a pile of jackets, but the skin was either a really dark red or black. It felt like my legs were laying on cacti. She smiled gently.

"No, dumbass, you're not. You were pretty much on fire. Thank you for that, by the way. You nearly died trying to get me out back there." I fell back against my pillow as the events of last night came flooding back.

"Just trying to do what's right." We were both silent for a moment. Hayley opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted when a huge explosion shook the ground. Hayley and I looked up as Max came running towards us while screaming. Mindy was close on his heels and carrying a small duffel.

"WHAT!?" Hayley yelled at him. He stopped in front of us and paused for a breath. "It's that shady guy from earlier, Matt! He's going around in a tank, setting everything on fire. And there's these fucking helicopters bombing the desert! Fortunatey they have terrible aim, but we're sitting ducks out here. We can't go for help until Nathan gets better, so Mindy suggested we find a cave or something."

"Yeah, but we still need fresh water so we all can recuperate," Hayley reminded me. Suddenly her phone buzzed, and she took it out and squinted at it in the sun. "Guys, my mobile is full battery, and I've got, like, five bars!" She unlocked the phone and scrolled through her messages. Her face turned a deep shade of red. "Listen, Max, watch Nath for a bit, yeah? Thanks," she mumbled. She glanced at me before running off in the opposite direction of the camp Tom and the others had apparently set up. "I'll go look for a cave or something!" she yelled.

"What was that about?" Max wondered. I shrugged before remembering that her dearest boyfriend was probably watching everything.

"Tomlinson," I growled.

Max rolled his eyes. "Douchebags," he muttered.

KAT'S POV

I glared at Jay as handed me a can to put in a bag. I threw the food in, and he folded a shirt before stuffing a bunch of clothes in his travel bag. We continued packing in awkward silence until Jay broke the ice by asking, "You think Nathan will pull through?" I shrugged, because I honestly didn't give a fuck. "He's strong, but he's still a kid..."

I snorted. "Kid my ass. No bloody kid could run into a fire to carry someone out. He ran until he knew Hayley was safe, even though his legs were quite literally on fire. That takes guts. He'll live. Unfortunately."

Jay stared at me curiously until I looked up and raised my eyebrows. He just nodded. "For once in my life, I hope you're right."

"I'm always right, you cock." He chuckled. "What?! I am! Ask any of the girls! I'm definitely correct more often than you are, anyway."

He shook his head. "Uh huh. And I'm sure your first guess when you got here was that you had landed in a video game." I elbowed him, but he just smirked.

"Dude, this shit is all so fucking supernatural. No way in hell could anybody guess what had happened correctly. But to be honest, I pretty much figured I had been sucked into the game. There weren't really a lot of other options." He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Seriously!" He shook his head and turned back to his bag, still smirking.