Deserted

Deserted - Chapter Five

Aaron's body was taut, sitting next to Molly's limp body on the stretcher. Her eyes were closed, breathing slow, skin pale. He glanced down at the bandage covering her gunshot wound. Anger filled him up, and he clutched her hand tightly, feeling a little panicky. God, if she didn't wake up...

"I thought I might find you in here." Kyle's voice floated gently into the room, and Aaron spun, dropping her hand. Kyle raised an eyebrow, and Aaron felt stupid. What was the point hiding it from his own brother?

"How long you been standing there?" 

"A while."

Aaron puffed out a breath, staring at Molly's beautiful face. She looked so fragile lying there, and it terrified him. He felt Kyle sit next to him, and watched as he picked up Molly's hand himself.

"I knew you cared." Kyle murmured, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles slowly.

"Of course I care, Kyle. Just like you do."

"We might care just as much as each other, but you feel differently and we both know it."

Aaron stared at his little brother for a long moment. God, he'd grown up. One minute he had been the annoying little guy that stole his video games, now he was a soldier alongside him. "It's no use hiding it, Aaron."

"I have to." He muttered, looking at Molly again. "She can't know. I can't care for someone like that right now. I need to focus on winning this damn war."

"Keep telling yourself that brother." Kyle almost whispered back. They were silent for a long time, just staring into the face of Molly, thinking deep thoughts.

"You heard about the bullet, right?" Kyle said after a while. Aaron frowned, shaking his head. "What about it?"

"The infected can't have shot her, Aaron, because the bullet cuts were ours."

Aaron felt his blood run cold. Someone on their own side had shot at her. In a moment of clarity, Aaron knew who it had been.

"Find that idiot Rory. I'd like to have a chat with him."

Molly felt like someone had pumped her full of soil when she woke. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lights, the erratic flickering telling her she was in the nurses room. She tried sitting up, but her lower body screamed in agony. Flopping back onto the mattress with a gasp, her memories scrambled together, making one messy picture. She had been stalking through the apartment block, and she had been shot. The other details were hazy, but she remembered being carried back to the school, someone holding her hand.

"Kathy?" Her voice sounded raspy, and at the sound the tired looking nurse shot from her seat, rushing over to the stretcher side.

"Honey, your'e awake!" The nurse beamed, squeezing her hand gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone hit me with a jackhammer." Kathy laughed, and started playing with the bandages. Molly tried not to wince, and Kathy glanced at her sympathetically resuming her task. "How bad is it, Kathy?" She asked, the older ladies face a mirror of concentration.

"You were lucky, the bullet only went a few centimetres in. We dug it out though, and you should be back on your feet in a week."

"Great, so will you let me go in three days?" Molly smiled when Kathy shot her a condescending look.

"Molly!" she heard Aaron shout, and she swivelled her head in the direction of his voice. "You're awake!" As she smiled weakly at him, and watched as person after person bustled into the room. Kyle took her side, Conor the other. Aaron paced and the other on lookers looked nervous.

"What's going on?" She said slowly, tracking Aaron's agitated gate. 

"Why did you say the room was safe Molly?" Aaron asked, and a thick knot of dread welled up inside her. Surely they didn't think she'd set up getting shot. Blinking several times to clear her head, Molly stared at all of the guilty looking faces for a few seconds before turning back to Aaron.

"Because I thought it was-"

"Rory had voice recorded footage of you planning to get rid of Whitney and him."

Molly felt her heart stop in her chest, before it bet overtime with growing rage. "It's not true! Why would I want to do that!"

"Because you haven't liked her from the start!" Aaron half yelled back, still pacing. Molly laughed without humour, her anger clouding her vision.

"Wow. Out of all people, Aaron, I would think you would be one of the ones to believe me, not people we met a week ago. But it shows where your loyalties lie, doesn't it?" Molly wasn't going to lie. When her anger subsides she was going to feel as though someone had cut her. It would sting, their lack of faith in her, but at that moment her rage was riding her too hard for her to feel anything other then the heat.

Aaron's eyes flashed with doubt, before they hardened over again. "Then explain the voice recording."

"I can't because I didn't do it!" Molly yelled, ignoring the stabbing pain in her hip the more worked up she got.

"You were the one who was sneaking around that night near the basement, weren't you? You told us there was someone there to cover it up." Whitney's voice pitched in, and Molly literally saw double when the other girl feigned a hurt expression.

"No! I saw someone! I suppose you all believe her though, right guys?" People shifted on their feet, not saying anything. Kyle tried to squeeze her hand but she yanked hers away.

"Get out." Her voice was cold, emotionless. She saw Conor's frown etched deeply into his face, and they all stood in their spots. "I said get out." Her body had gone numb.

One by one, they filed out, but Aaron, Kyle and Conor stayed, as well as Kathy. "Did you not hear me?" Molly's voice cracked, and she knew her tears were perilously close to falling.

Conor grabbed her hand, whispering 'we'll sort this out,' before standing. Kyle rose slowly, unsure what to do. "Go," she whispered, and he turned reluctantly for the door. Aaron stared her down, and she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

"You're not the exception. Leave." With a curse, Aaron turned his heel and left. When the door clicked shut, only then did Molly allow the tears to fall. She never thought betrayal would hurt this hard.

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