Sane

Chapter Eight | Don't Leave Me

"Do you think our US army would be okay?" I ask. It's the first thing I've said since we left the motel. The sun is now descending behind the trees that surround us, and it's getting cooler outside.

"They probably would've been treated with it right away." Forrest answers, and I slouch my shoulders.

"There has to be some place that's safe." I state.

"If there is, we'll find it. We'll just head North for now. We can maybe find a vehicle too." He answers, still not making eye contact with me.

"No cars. The Insane, or whatever you call them, would hear it and they would track us down." Walker speaks up, stating the obvious. I go silent again, holding on to Oakley's hand. His eyes are droopy and I am practically dragging him.

I feel how he looks. I am tired of walking, and want sleep without having to worry about getting killed. I let out a big gust of air in exhaustion. Forrest slowly moves his head to the side, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. He may have done that before, and I just didn't notice.

He turns his head back to the woods before him, "We'll set up camp here for the night."

I almost smile, realizing sleep is closer than I thought. We all collapse on the grass, dirt, twigs, and rocks beneath us. I rest my head against the trunk of the giant oak tree. Oakley sits in between my legs, head on my shoulder.

I can hear his heavy breathing getting softer as he drifts off into a sleep. I tiredly watch Forrest try to start a fire for warmth. He finally gets it and sits close to it, rubbing his hands above it. His eyes quickly flicker over to mine, realizing I'm still awake. Walker is laying on her back, using her backpack as a pillow. She's staring at the dark sky and her eyes slowly close into a deep sleep.

"You should get some sleep." His voice makes me jump.

I don't respond, just close my eyes. But I don't fall asleep. I can hear someone's backpack being unzipped and I know it's Forrest. I slowly open my eyes to a squint, looking to see what he's doing. I see him pull out a picture and he now holds it in between his shaky fingers.

Tears start silently rolling down his cheeks, as he raises his hand to his mouth to quiet his cry.

I shut my eyes. The world is ending, and still the inner battles seem more important.

My eyes flutter open. It's pitch dark out, I must've barely slept. The fire is gone, the flames no longer burning. It's so quiet, and everyone is still asleep. I hear a snapping of a twig and my head jolts in that direction, terrified. I see no one, due to the darkness . I slowly slide Oakley off of me, and I stand up, heading towards the sound I heard.

This is a dumb idea. I second think my choice, but it's too late. I'm already close enough, I can feel the strange presence of someone near. I am looking straight at a tree trunk, not finding anyone. I turn around to see a barrel of a gun pointed right at my forehead.

I silently gasp, putting my hands up in the air. The man on the other side is darker skinned, and on his right arm lies the mark.

"You don't have to do this." I say, knowing I'm helpless. I shake my head nervously, but he just moves the gun closer. Why is he being hesitant?

I look into his eyes, trying to distract myself from the gun. He looks lost and confused. I swallow, sweat trickling down the side of my face.

A body jumps in front of me, and the loud sound of a gun shot pierces the quiet air. The person in front of me falls backwards, and I reach out my hands, catching him. I look at him closely. It's Forrest.

Forrest jumped in front of me, and the man fired the gun. I slowly lay Forrest down, and find the wound. The bullet went right through his stomach. "No, no, no, no. You're going to be okay." I silently cry.

"Willow." He murmurs, his lips dry.

Another gunshot makes me jump, and I look, seeing that Walker just shot the man. She looks over at me, her eyes full of fiery. Unzipping her backpack, she tosses me a long tan cloth and points to the north. "There is a stream about a half mile down. I'll keep an eye on your brother. Forrest may still have a chance."

I just stare at her, not being able to move.

"Go!" She shouts at me, making me jump. I grab onto Forrest, lifting him up. He lays his hand around my shoulders, placing all of his weight on me.

I breathe shakily, limping my way to the stream. I finally find it, right where Walker said. I carefully but quickly pull Forrest's bloody t-shirt off, trying not to think about it too much. He's going to die if I don't do this fast. The bullet wound is small but the blood is pouring out fast. I set him down, and he yells out in pain as I wash the wound. The blood doesn't stop, so I grab the tan cloth and wrap it around his stomach three times, tying it at the end. He screams out, his voice rough and full of anger almost.

I run my shaky hands through his brown hair, lifting it off of his forehead. His eyes close at my touch, but his breathing doesn't stop. His stomach moves up and down fast and unsteadily. "You're going to be okay." I say. "Don't leave me." I place my hand on his cold and wet cheek gently.

"He needs to rest." A voice says behind me. I turn to see Walker standing there with Oakley. I nod slowly, pulling him further away from the stream and lying him by a large tree. She throws two backpacks at me and I take out a water bottle, setting it next to him.

"You did a good job." Walker nods, and I don't say anything. I can't. I just lay next to him, watching him carefully. I don't pray much, but I did. Please God, let him be okay. My eyelids get heavy and I slowly drift off to sleep.