An Unlikely Time

Chapter 7- Hard Times

"ASHLEY!! ASHLEY WAKE UP!!!" My sight was fuzzy and my head was trembling. I began to fall asleep again, but instead, I was awoken with a slap.
"Ow! What the hell?!" I yelled, sitting up glaring at her. She grumbled. "You've been sleeping for a long time."
I looked around, noticing I wasn't on Lucky anymore- I was laid up against a rock. My head was pounding as I tried to stand.
"Where are we?"
Rachael took a look around, but turned back to me.
"A dead end." I raised an eyebrow. "Dead end...?" She nodded.
"It's a wall." I stood up, beginning to walk left.
"What wall?"
Suddenly I bumped into something white in front of me. I stopped, rubbing the snow away from a giant brick wall. "Holy crap... This wall looks like the Great Wall of China..." I looked up, noticing there was a bridge, and ports possibly had run under. But now it was bricked up. I looked and saw a sign that said "Mississippi".
"Where...?" She walked from behind me, looking at the sign with a smirk.
"I believe we're in Mississippi." She said with sarcasm. I looked at her.
"No shit, Sherlock." I looked away then after a moment, turned back to her.
"Wait, how did you get us to Mississippi?" She gave me a look of simplicity.
"I RODE us here." I raised an eyebrow.
"Really? All the way from Texas?" She nodded.
"Yeah..."
"Wow." I said. "That's pretty badass. Good job." She smirked, bowing. "Thank you, I'll be here all week."
I sighed, grabbing my bag, noticing my cats were missing.
"Rachael... Where's the cats...?" She raised an eyebrow.
"You brought them...?" I gritted my teeth.
"Crap."
She looked at me worriedly.
"What's wrong?" I looked away from her.
"They probably ran back to camp to get my parents..." Knowing my cats, I knew their main objective was to look out for me.
She raised her eyebrows.
"We gotta get going." I murmured to her.
She stopped me, grabbing my arm and her face becoming serious.
"Ash, your wounds."
I touched my gash on my head, which had closed up, thanks to the cold. However, the wound on my side was still hurting badly, and wasn't closing up like I wanted it to. And I knew why.
"No... Your parents first. I'll be fine, I've had worse."
She crossed her arms.
"Ash, you should get fixed up before we go on any kind of journey."
I shook my head.
"No, I'll be fine."
She growled.
"Ash, you NEED to be fixed up."
I glared.
"No I don't!"
She stood over me.
"Why are you so against getting help?!"
I snapped.
"BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THROUGH TOO MUCH SHIT TO STOP NOW RACHAEL!! DON'T YOU GET IT?! IF WE DON'T FIND YOUR FAMILY, THEIR DONE FOR!! AND IT WILL BE MY FAULT BECAUSE OF MY STUPIDITY!!"
I grabbed my bag roughly.
"Why would I live a life of pain, in this shitty world, if I can't even help anyone?! There's no worth in it!! NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE!! The world order is kill or be killed and I can't live with that!!!"
I stormed away for a moment, my head in my hands.
"I can't..." Tears streamed down my face as I caught my breath. I knew I had a problem, it wasn't with this world, it was with myself. I was so caught up in the moment that I was forgetting the most important things. And it felt like shit for it to hit me all at once right there in that moment.
Her expression became worried, and she walked up, grabbing my shoulder.
"Ash, you aren't alone. You're not. And you know a lot of people have it worse than us. We are going to survive. We have to. But we cannot continue if you are badly hurt."
I looked away from her, my green eyes gleaming as I sucked tears back into my body. I always did this. If I felt like crying, I held it in like a dam and when I was alone, the dam would overflow.
"Ash... is there something you aren't telling me?" I looked up at her.
"...No."
She pulled away from me nervously. We both didn't interfere with each others emotional state. I knew very well that should could read me like a book. She knew that I was in a bad place. She didn't question it, just as I wouldn't question hers.
Suddenly, she grabbed me and threw me over her shoulder.
"Rachael, what are you-"
"I'm going to get you to a doctor." She said sternly. She threw me over Lucky, jumping on and allowing me to lean on her. I sighed deeply, regaining what sense I had left, and simply allowed my friend to help me.
We began to ride away, Yoyo following. I looked up at my friend, confused and slightly irritated at the fact that she was almost always right.
"Rachael, you are one stubborn friend, you know that?" She nodded.
"And don't you forget it." I smiled slightly. Suddenly I felt a strike of pain in my head, which made me flinch and yell, but I quickly fainted.
"Ashley!!"