Survival

•Thirteen•

When the sun was high enough in the sky to shine through a small window in the abandoned building, Carren woke up feeling worse than the day before. She groaned and didn't move, feeling like her whole body was on fire.

Arlo woke up when he heard her groan. He jumped up, pulling his gun out, expecting someone to be there. He relaxed when he saw no one. Then a groan of his own escaping him. He looked around the house, seeing as how hadn't brought any food with him.

After an unsuccessful search he came back and walked over to Carren. She heard him come over, but was in too much pain to move or say something. Instead, she let out a weak sounding mumble.

"How's your foot?"

"H-hurt...s." She mumbled.

"I can't do anything about that. We need to get back to my work. They will help us recover and give us a good meal. Do you need me to help you get to the car?"

She nodded, "Y-yes."

Arlo bent down and gently picked her up. He then walked out of the house and placed her in the passenger side of the car. He swiftly walked around to the other side of the car and hopped in. As they drove away, he broke the silence saying, "You should know," Arlo hesitated, "my name isn't John. It's Arlo. I didn't know if I could trust you when I first met you, so I made a name up. At that time, I didn't know that you and your uncle were," he hesitated, "at odds. I just wanted to tell you now when I could explain why I did what I did. I'm sorry."

Carren didn't answer.

Arlo glanced over at Carren. A worried frown creased his face. "How bad is the pain?" he asked quietly.

"...Bad," She whispered, tears leaking from her closed eyes.

"Where does it hurt the most?"

"My head...hurts a lot," She admitted.

"I can't do anything about that. As soon as we get there, they'll help us." Arlo said confidently as he started driving.

"Okay," she replied weakly.

As they pulled into the garage of Arlo's work, he climbed out and helped Carren stand. He picked her up and carried her towards the door.

Right away, the man who had spoken to Arlo walked in, apparently having been alerted of his return. However, his eyes widened in genuine surprise when he noticed Carren. "What exactly is this, Arlo?" He questioned, waving an indifferent hand to Carren.

"She helped me complete my mission, and got wounded very badly when they got a hold of her. She needs help." Arlo said in a pleading tone.

"You got help...from her? A child?" The man tilted his head, waiting for Arlo to give more details.

Arlo's face tightened. "That's right, I did. She was the distraction while I got inside and completed the mission."

"So it's completed then? Good. You can leave her with..." The man paused as he looked around the room, his gaze finally stopping at a guard on duty. He pointed to him, "him. Give her to him and come with me."

"With all due respect, Sir, I would like to make sure she gets help first."

He narrowed his eyes at Arlo's statement, "Very well. Bring her along then." He turned without another word and led them through the door. Arlo followed him through the man through the door.

After walking through a maze of corridors, the man led Arlo and Carren straight back to his old room, blood stains and all. He stood at the door as they walked in and informed them, pointing to the table, "Lay her down there and someone will come to help her. Then come with me."

"Thank you." Arlo laid Carren on the table and said to her, "Some one should be here shortly to help you." Arlo walked out after the man, taking one last glance at Carren.

Once the door was shut, the man turned Arlo angrily, "What were you thinking? You can't bring a child here!"

Arlo looked confused by his reaction. "I felt I owed her a favor for helping me. I'll take her to a hospital if you don't want her here."

"We can't let her go anywhere now! Now she's seen this place and could tell someone!" The man explained, clearly frustrated. "Idiot..." He muttered.

"Why is this place a secret? If we ask her not to tell anyone about this place, I'm positive she won't." Arlo said, keeping his voice even and reasonable.

"That doesn't matter. You put her in danger by bringing her here. Now she can't leave."

Arlo looked even more puzzled. "Why is she in danger? Would you care to explain what happened since I left?"

"Nothing happened since you left! This is how it's always been! Think, Arlo. We sent you to do a dirty job that we couldn't get involved in. When I tell my bosses what you did, they will kill her." The man said all of his with utmost seriousness.

Arlo's eyes widened. He thought quickly. "How about I take her somewhere and keep an eye on her. That way, I will make sure nothing about this leeks out. No one will know that you are involved, and she can live still. I brought her here so that she could get help. I didn't realize that you wanted this mission to be totally," Arlo searched for the right word, "kind of buried," he finished.

"It's not me. It's my superiors. And I'm sorry, but you can't leave either. It's too late."

"What do you mean?" Arlo asked, he asked, his guard now up.

"You can't leave." The man repeated.

All of his memories from when he got here rushed back to him. He shook his head to clear it. "So no matter how I much I try to convince you or your superior officers, you will still kill the girl?"

The man scratched his chin. "I won't, but I don't think they'll want to take the risk of letting her live. I'm sorry."

"Can I see her then, please?"

"I guess so. You might as well just stay there for now." The man turned around and led Arlo back to the room where they left Carren.

He let Arlo go in before closing and locking the door.