Haven's Army

Chapter 8

Nathan made a move to follow Jean but I grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't," I said. "She's strong. Not even three of us could take her down."

"I'll go with him," Julia said darkly.

"Besides," Dennis said, ignoring her, "we had orders not to engage."

"Since when are you in charge?" Nathan asked, eyes narrowed.

"We should make camp," he continued, once again ignoring him. "It's getting dark."

Nathan made a move towards him but I grasped his sweater sleeve tighter.

"He's right," I said quietly. "Look at the sky."

Nathan stubbornly kept his gaze focused on Dennis.

Obviously sensing the tension, Andrew frowned. "She made fun of my arm." He jokingly cradled his metallic arm.

"I'm the one that made it. I should be the one that's offended," Peter said as he plopped down next to his best friend. Julia followed, crouching next to him.

"The arm that was previously mine," Andrew corrected dryly. "She insulted my competence and the arm rotting at the bottom of the ocean."

Julia crinkled her nose. "Andrew, no one wants that mental image."

I tried, and failed, not to imagine it.

"I dunno, Julia," Nathan said, still looking on edge. "I bet the sharks think it looks great."

Julia gave him a look of annoyance that showed expressly in her dark eyes. "No person wants that mental image."

"I'll take first watch," Dennis interrupted. Despite his killjoy, I was glad he had offered. "Andrew, will you take first watch with me?"

Andrew sighed but nodded. They took opposite sides of the camp and kept their guards up. The rest of us came to a consensus that lighting a fire would attract attention, so we refrained from doing that. Unfortunately, the warmth of the day left with the setting sun. I had a sweater so I wasn't freezing but it didn't keep me from snuggling up next to Nathan for warmth. He put his arms around me comfortably but I could tell he was still tense.

I guessed by the way Peter and Julia began making out that they were more "on" than "off" at the moment. We mostly tried to ignore it but Nathan would occasionally tell off Peter protectively if things got too intimate.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

• • • • • • • • • • •

"Charlotte," came a gentle voice. "Charlotte, wake up."

I ignored them. Maybe if I didn't respond, they'd leave me alone.

Someone shook me. "Charlotte," came the voice, harsher this time. "Charlotte wake up, we need to go."

"Where?" I mumbled.

"Oh, for Haven's..." They trailed off. I felt myself being lifted into the air and I began to panic. The panic shook me awake and I fell to the ground.

"Ow," I groaned, sitting up. Nathan crouched next to me, frowning. I looked around, getting my bearings in my half-asleep state. We were still in the forest.

"Sorry," I said with a yawn.

"You'd better be," Nathan said, annoyed.

"I was half asleep," I defended.

"Whatever. Get up, we need to get moving."

He offered a hand and I took it. The sun still hadn't come up and fog had invaded the forest, making it hard to see even a few feet away. I could make out the fuzzy figures of the others outlined in the fog. Without looking back at Nathan, I made my way forward.