Watercolour Dreams

»»------(Chapter 5)------»»

   There was a scream, the sheer terror and fear sending a chill down my spine. I sat up quickly, hand gripping my knife as I cut away the ropes holding my waist to the tree.
   I was half way down the trunk before another scream tore through the air, leaving the hairs on the back of my neck on end. It was a scream unlike any I had ever heard, and nothing close to the noise made by one of those bloated bags of death. It was a scream of someone who was lost, something like a child coming forth from the horrors of a sleepless sleep. Something I hadn't dealt with for many years.
  As I grew closer to the source of the noise, the flicker of a new flame appeared through the foliage and rubble. It was then that I suddenly stopped, rational thinking taking over. Why was I so eager to come to their aid? Did I even have a plan?
   Over my thoughts, troubled sobs of fear and the lull of a foreign tune washed over me. The one who screamed didn't need some strangers comfort, he had others- what I had been doing was purely insane- something that shouldn't have crossed my mind. It was a thought process that had waisted some precious rope, too. Sleeping would be hard without something to keep me secure to the branches, since the ground wasn't safe and a supply fort didn't come up for another fifty miles. Sleeping in abandoned towns was a death wish if you were alone.
   I turned around to gather up what I had left behind before there was a blade to my throat, the scent of an earthen musk washing over me suddenly.
   "What are you doing here?" The figure forced out, a cold metal pressing into my back before I realized it was a hand. A silence followed as I stood frozen, hardly registering the fact that the crying had stopped and become friendly banter. The hand dug into my spine as he growled out the same words, this time more forcfully.
   "I heard a scream-" I forced the words around my gritted teeth, holding back a biting remark as the hand lessened it's pressure on my back. The man never removed the blade from across my neck though. He lead me towards the flickering flame, the only sounds coming from it being the rustling of a few people. It wasn't long before the outskirts of a building appeared, larger ones beginning to tower up behind it.
   "Now I understand Lance not knowing what to do-" the man muttered, sending a shiver down my spine. What was he talking about?
   Withing seconds, there was another knife aimed towards my throat before it went slack.
   "Shiro?" A small boy with wild hair quirked his eyebrow towards the man behind me, hand still tight around the dagger of his knife.
   "Sorry- I didn't know what exactly you guys wanted to do with him, considering I'm not exactly the leader of this group-" Shiro removed the knife from my throat, slipping it to my lower back instead.
   "I don't really make those decisions, if you wanna ask, wait till Lance wakes up. He makes them." The boy turned, letting his knife rest in it's makeshift hilt once more as he returned to the side of a woman. They sat and mumbled quietly, casting glances towards the man who lay asleep on another larger one. The larger one cast me a small smile, pressing a finger to his lips in a quieting manner.
   "Try anything funny and I won't hesitate." Shiro whispered towards me, his hands falling back from me as he sat down opposite the two who were talking. I stood for a moment, unsure what to do; I could run? Would it be worth it? I probably wouldn't make it far, this guy was built like an ox.
   "Hey-" the wild haired boy shook me from my thoughts, holding a bag in my direction. My mouth watered as the scent of sweet beef jerky hit my nose, but I hesitated. "Heyyy-" the boy started again, pushing the bag closer. I took it carefully, pulling out a thin strip before casting a look towards him; he nodded approvingly.
   I handed the bag back and knawed on the delicacy, the taste so overwhelmingly pleasant compared to stale bread and unseasoned small game. Once I had finished, there was a short pause before the woman spoke up.
   "Hello, I'm Allura-" all eyes were cast in her direction as she offered me a warming smile. I could feel the tension grow and feed off it, awkwardness rising. "What's your name?" She asked, the smile still plastered against her lips. It stayed there and the tension grew so high that it felt as if it would snap at any moment.
   "Keith. My name's Keith." There was another pause, and if this were a comedy show, there would absolutely be the sound of a crickets sad, lonely chirp.
   "Well, Keith, it's nice to meet you, uh, since you know-" the larger man who smiled kindly before spoke up, resting a hand over the sleeping man's ears; "there aren't exactly many friendly people out there, so yeah-" there was a nervous smile now. I simply nodded, unsure how to respond. It had been so long since I've had a friendly conversation, was there still the need for manners? Had speaking changed in any way?
   "The name's Pidge. Welcome to your possibly temporary family; you need a drink or anything? We've got enough to last for now." Pidge hardly looked up from what he was tinkering with before he reached into the bag, handing a water bottle my way after I nod. "By the way, the Teddy bear over there is Hunk, that's Shiro, this is Allura, and Mr. Sleepy head is Lance. Just so we're on first name basis." I nodded again, and the group fell silent. The names all sounded familiar- especially Shiro's- but I couldn't place where from. Didn't it have something to do with a military project?
   A sudden gasp from Hunk and Lance's direction led to a tense moment as everyone flicked their gaze over to a troubled Lance, his face scrunched up as he slept. Pidge was next to him in no time at all as Hunk rubbed his side soothingly, face filled with concern.
   Pidge started to hum softly as she took Lance's head into his lap, running his fingers through his hair as Lance latched onto his leg. I could hear Allura let out a soft sigh behind me. Soon enough though, the male's disturbed sleep faded as he sat up suddenly, almost knocking heads with Pidge.
   "Pidge, what- why'd you let me sleep for so long? I was supposed to take watch- who's on watch?" The eyes flicked around the campsite and found my gaze imediatly, the panic leaving them as they suddenly grew fearful.