Curiosity Book 1 ✔️

Part 3 Death Chapter 24

Part 3; Death
Chapter 24

"I'm fine. I've told you this multiple times. Are you okay?"

"We're fine. You're extremely pale and we just saw you get stabbed and bash your head against a rock, don't tell us that you're fine," Bri frowned at the bearded man laying, bleeding, on the cement ground.

"I'm okay, stop worrying about me. It wasn't even that deep."

"Tanner, stop. Just stop. You're surrounded by your own blood. You're soaked in blood, you're deathly pale, and did I meantion you're slowly bleeding out?!" Bri shouted out at him, in a weak attempt to get him to realise that he was not okay.

"I'm dying. I know. But it doesn't hurt," he let out a weak smile, followed by a weak cough that caused the small group around him to collectively hold their breath.

"How are you so calm about this?!" Bri shouted once more, before Jewel placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Would you rather him die in pain or like he is now?" Jewel asked her, tears streaming down her face.

"Neither! He can't die! We need him!" Bri's sobs racked her body, shaking her shoulders horribly.

"Please, Bri. I don't want this to be the last thing I see," Tanner spoke up, a frown showing through the blood and mud mixture that was on his face.

"You just want me to act like this isn't killing me?" Bri spoke, in a normal voice rather than shouting, "I'm not like Mei, I can't do that. I can't act like everything is all fine and dandy when it's not."

Cameira lifted her head at the mention of her name. She was sitting in the rafters, entirety aware of what was happening beneath her. She slowly lowered her upper body down, so that she was looking at them but still somewhat in the rafters. She dangled by her legs, upside down, looking down at the scene beneath.

"I... Believe in..." Tanner whispered before his entire body went slack. Bri grabbed onto Jewel. Trenton and Tiffany grabbed onto each other. Cameira stayed upside down in the rafters.

She swung her legs behind her, doing a sort of back flip out of the rafters. Her landing on the table behind the four sobbing people, wasn't too loud, but loud enough to get their attention.

Just as she jumped off the table, a woman ran up to the pavilion. She swung her knife wildly at Cameira.

"THIS IS FOR BLU!" The woman screamed as she threw her knife at Cameira. The knife missed and instead landed on the cement ground with a metalic thud.

Cameira let out a small laugh, "Learn how to aim."

The woman charged at Cameira. She went to punch her in the jaw but Cameira grabbed her hand calmly, before wrapping a hand around her throat and throwing her into a rocky creek not too far away. Her head hitting roughly against the rocks before landing in the water limply.

Cameira turned back to her awestruck friends, "We've still got a war to fight. No matter how hurt you are by losing Tanner, he would've wanted you to keep fighting."

Determination covered Tiffany and Bri's faces. Fear and pain covered Trenton and Jewels.

A look that Cameira couldn't describe covered Jewels face. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared. She put a hand on Tanners chest, looked at him, then back up to Cameira.

"Do it for her, that is to say you would do for him," She said, referencing a tv show that Tanner was obsessed with a few years back.

Cameira smiled at Jewel, who now had a determination she had never seen before.

"We need to move out," Jewel stood up, looked at Tanners unmoving body once more, then looked down at the group of people surrounding him, "Have each others backs, I'm not letting this happen to any of you."

And with that, they set off to find another pavilion that Cameira could climb into. Trenton didn't want to leave Tanners body, but it was really all they could do.

On the way to a new pavilion, they were attacked a few times. With Cameiras help and Jewels newfound determination, they easily took down any enemies they came across.