Frosted Pines

Chapter 4

My skin was numbed from the cold. All I had on was a sweater with the tears from the Depraved, some jeans and my fur lined combat boots. Light snow began to powder the already packed snow on the ground. The moon beamed light on our path. My feet began to throb, and It felt as if with every step blades sliced through my flesh, tearing every microfiber with stinging ease. I stumbled weakly beside Jack who trudged swiftly through the tundra. No one spoke leaving an eerie silence between us.

I felt Jack's soft gaze on me. His rough, cracking lips and light, tanned skin. I felt his arm wrap around my waist, pulling me close and wrapping me up in his jacket. I couldn't help but let out a short smile. "Just trust me." He muttered quietly. Jack always did that. Would act like he was my parent one minute and then the next force me into liking him again with his goofy, sweet personality.

Luke walked behind us, having no problem with keeping up or following Jacks intuition. I coughed, inhaling in the sharp air and I was hardly walking anymore. More like a crippled limp. "Let's stop and rest here." Jack looked into my eyes. I knew he just wanted to stop for me, If I weren't there he would have kept going.

"Jack. I'm fine." I tried to sound stern.

"Not everything has to be about you Hayley. We all need to rest." Psh yeah, whatever you say Jack.

He gently forced me down beneath a tree, bundling me up in his Jacket. I staggered, trying to get onto my feet but failing miserably on my wobbly legs. "You stay put." Jack flashed me a tired smile and began to place kindling. Luke kneeled close to me, rummaging through his backpack. He offered me a old jack link jerky bar, giving me a Take it or leave it kind of look. I snatched it from him and nibbled on the end of it.

"Come and help me start this fire up would ya Luke?" Jack had set up a small pile of pine needles and twigs and had two thick sticks to start the fire. Luke propped up his pack against a tree, jogging over to the pile of tender.

"Just like in the marines," He chuckled, picking up the stick and rubbing it against Jacks.

Jack chuckled, "Yeah sure, learning how to build a fire was so important when it came to being in action in the aviation squadron." They both laughed, like it was sort of exclusive joke I couldn't be a part of.

Swallowing the last bit of dry jerky, I got up weakly, my back wound aching. I can't just sit here like some wimp. I drug Luke's backpack closer to the fire, looking through it for a blanket or something. I ended up finding a couple of ragged coats and a heavy duty blanket which I laid neatly on the snow. A small fire now lit the area in a warm glow. "Pretty nice for a five minute camp," Luke ran his fingers through his wispy hair, smiling at my mock bed. Jack was bent over blowing on the fire, which erupted in a heat of orange and yellow. "That should be big enough to keep any animals away." I flinched at Jack's wording. Any animals away. That's the thing. Depraved aren't animals. They don't think like animals, they don't look like animals. They have a presence to them, a familiarity. As if with every beat of their gnarled hearts you can feel them. As if they were human.

Jack sat next to me on the rough blanket, and I felt him stroke my hair. I didn't look at him. "Get some rest Hayley, I'll stay up and watch."

"No- let me." I stared at my breath in the frost, trying to ignore the numb tingling throughout my body.

"Hayley I know you are-"

"Go to bed Jack. I'll stay up." I patted my gun which I placed beside me.

"Let her do what she wants Jack." Luke said in a kind of mimicking fashion. I bit my lip, glaring over to Luke who now laid at the opposite end of the blanket.

"Wake me up in an hour," Jack turned to me before laying down, his eyes to the stars.

I don't know how long I sat there staring into what seemed like oblivion, letting my thoughts lay stagnant. Feeling as though all my limbs were chopped off and even checking that they weren't every so often. I reached to feel my back, clotting, coagulating blood. I winced at my own touch, forcing my fingers into the claw marks, reopening the wound so that it spilled blood onto the snow. It hurt. I could feel the pain radiate down my spine as if heat waves, my body pulsing blood to the lacerations. I found myself sinking my teeth into my lip, trying to relieve the pain. The cuts went unsettlingly deep, I was able to force about half of my finger in before my own flesh stopped me. I wrenched my hand from my back and quickly as I could, it dripped in a thick, red and black ooze and smelled rotten and decayed. I wiped it on the snow as best I could, covering it up. I'll be fine.

My eyes began to droop with exhaustion and I could feel sleep begin to settle in. They don't need to know. A shooting pain ran throughout my back. They won't know. My head fell onto Jack's chest, my back turned from him, his warmth inviting me to rest. I was gone.

---------------------

And there it is guys, chapter 4

I really hope you all are enjoying reading this, I'm trying to get more consistent with posting these every few days.

Anywho thank you all for giving my story a chance!

BAII