The Truth

Chapter 12

-Cindy-

     Seeing Jack fall to the ground was the worst experience of my life. Somewhere in the air he must have lost consciousness because he is dead weight as he falls. When he reaches the trees, his back hits a branch and I hear a loud snap, praying the tree made that noise. He hits branch after branch. Blake runs to the tree and turns the grass surrounding it into a cushion. Jack lands softly and I run over to him. Checking his pulse, I feel a very weak heartbeat.

     "He's still alive." I say with a sob. His back is definitely broken and so are his arms and legs. He has multiple scrapes all over him and I'm positive he has internal damage.

     "I can heal broken bones." Blake announces, but doesn't make an effort.

     "Well?" I say but he bites his lip. "This isn't a time for your silly little dislike. You can't let him die!" I scream at him and he puts his hands on my shoulders.

     "Cindy, I'm not going to let him die. But if I save him, he'll be in an extraordinary amount of pain. Right now he can't feel anything. Wouldn't it just be better if he goes peacefully?" he points out. I sob and Blake cleans his face. The cuts are deep and his face is swollen. With gentle fingers, Blake heals his face wounds until he's gorgeous Jack again.

     "Why couldn't you do that to my arm?" I pout.

     "I could tell Jack liked taking care of you. And this is a magical wound so I can heal it. You got it from a knife, so I can't." he explains and I nod, turning back to Jack's mangled body. His breathing is slowing down and I begin to sob. Blake rearranges his arms and legs so they don't look so broken. I brush the hair out of his face and kiss his forehead.

     "Please save him." I whisper to Blake and he sighs, but begins to run his hands over his arms and legs. Turning him on his stomach, he heals his broken back. We roll him back over and he's still peaceful. "Thank you."

-Jack-

     I woke up as soon as I landed on the cushion. The pain seemed to prevent me from moving, and when Blake fixed me, I thought I'd attack him it hurt so bad. I don't want to look weak in front of Cindy so I thought the best way to do that was to pretend like I was still asleep. I feel tears in my eyes from the pain and I force them back. No way. I think. I open my mouth to thank Blake but I groan instead. It's okay for you to be in pain. A small voice in the back of my mind says. I haven't heard that voice in forever. I groan again, louder this time, and my voice breaks into a small sob. I wince in pain, and at the way my voice sounds like a ten year old lying on the floor in the kitchen.

     "I'm here, Jack. It's okay, Blake fixed you." Cindy says. I sob again but force my tears back. Opening my eyes, I see the sky and a tree directly above me. Forcing myself to move, I sit up and sob again. Cindy throws her arms around me and I hug her. Somewhere inside me I feel a small shock; I've never hugged anyone or been hugged before. I bury my face in her shoulder and just let myself cry. You stupid boy, crying is for children. You're not a child. You're not worth anyone's time. I hear my mom's voice say as it once did one night a long time ago. But she isn't here. Instead, Cindy is, who actually, by some crazy miracle, cares about me. I pull away and wipe my eyes with my bloody shirt. When I'm sure I don't look like I just broke down, I look up at them. Cindy's face is concerned and Blake looks angry.

     "Thank you." I say to him. He nods and helps me up.

     "So we still don't know how we're going to get past these explosives." Blake says and I nod, looking around.

     "The rooftops." I finally say and Cindy looks scared.

     "I'm scared of heights." she whimpers and I look at her beautiful face.

     "Me too." I admit. Her eyes widen and she smiles, suddenly seeming reassured.

     "So then how are we getting up there?" Blake says sarcastically. But I'm ready with an answer.

     "I can get a strong enough wind to get us up to the first one. It drains my energy, so I can't get us all the way to the end of the street." I tell Cindy before she asks. Blake nods and puts his arm around Cindy. Using every bit of concentration and energy, I lift the three of us up to the top of the first roof. We land safely and I make sure to stay on the edge, that way I can catch Cindy if she falls. Don't look down. I tell myself.

     "Thankfully these houses aren't too far apart so we can probably just jump." I say. We get through the first three houses safely. As we reach the fourth one, we hear a loud thump behind us. When we turn around there he is. The man with the scar, the one that hurt Cindy's arm. She screams as he runs across the roof of the house behind us.

     "Hold on to me." I tell them, and I lift them across two rooftops until we get to the sixth one. I fall from exhaustion but force myself to keep moving. We jump the seventh and eighth one and then land safely on the corner of the street. He's still right behind us, but we've reached a busy street.

     "There's a hotel we can go to. Follow me, I know where we can hide." I say and they don't argue. I can tell Cindy's exhausted, and so am I, but I don't want her to be uncomfortable.

     "Climb on my back." I tell her and at first she protests but I insist. She gives in and I piggy-back her to a bridge connecting two streets to a small stream. We hide underneath it until we hear him run above us and keep going. We stay put until we know we've lost him.

     "I think a hotel sounds really good right now." Blake says, out of breath. Cindy laughs weakly and I nod.

     "Let's go." I say, and together we walk away from the deadly neighborhood.