For the Sake of Breathing

Chapter Fourteen

Birds chirrup in the distance. I open my eyes, and momentarily forget where I am until I remember: I am in a tent in the jungle.
        I yawn, and the memories of last night hit me like a bullet. I glance around, searching for Aven, and realize I'm holding a piece of paper. I glance down at it, unfold it, and read: Emica: I went out, I should be back in a few hours. Please stay in the tent until I come back. I hope you're alright, and please, just let me know if you need anything. -Aven. 
        I find myself feeling appreciative of such a simple little note. I roll my shoulders, and pause, a sense of saddened vacancy washing over me. I notice a wet rag, rub a bar of soap on it, and wash myself quickly. I change my clothes, and brush my hair. I pull it back into a pony-tail.
        Suddenly, the tent entrance opens, and someone slips inside. I glance over my shoulder, and at first I think it's Aven. But the cruelty in his brown, and not green, eyes, freezes me over. I observe him. He's slightly taller than Aven, with broad shoulders and slightly tanner skin. "Are you Aven's brother?" my voice sounds hollow and monotonous.  
        He simpers, a delighted look dancing around in his eyes. "My name is Ivan. It's nice to finally meet you, Emica."
        "How do you know me?" I demand, backing away from him. 
        "I've known you for a while, actually. A long while. For the past three and a half months, actually."
        I hesitate, terrified. He's going to kill me. He took my family and now he's going to kill me. "Did you kill my family?" I choke out, pressing up against the far side of the tent. 
        He halts, as if startled, considers it for a moment, and then nods. "Why, yes, yes I did."
        Tears threaten to spill over. My throat feels tight, and I'm having a difficult time swallowing. "Are...Are you going to kill me, too?" 
        He shakes his head. "Oh, no, you see, I need you alive," he replies.
        I shudder at the expression he gives me. 
        "W-why...?" I stammer out. 
        "You're not at the end yet, Emica."
        "That's it, you're just. You're not going to kill me because of it, but you. You kill my entire family, and my best friend, and. And." I burst into tears. "Why would you do that? How could you?!" I half holler and half sob. "They did nothing to you! They were innocent! Why?!"
        "We all have our reasons, they are sometimes just left uncovered," he answers simply. 
        "Why are you here?" 
        "You know my little brother." He takes a step forward. "Don't you?"
        My lips are trembling. I open my mouth to say something, but no sound comes out.
        "Don't lie. It smells like him in here. Clean, fresh, and with the faint scent of someone's salty tears." His eyes snap to me. 
        "How do you smell tears?" I whisper, wishing he wasn't standing in the only exit. 
        He suddenly notices the quilt I'm wrapped up in. He moves over to me so quickly that I don't have enough time to blink. "Where did you get that?!" he practically shouts at me. There is genuine rage and hatred in his eyes when he gazes at that quilt. His eyes singe into me.
        I'm so scared I don't even think. I smack him in the face. Then I flinch, realizing what I just did. "I'm sorry!"
        He snatches up my hand -- and then bursts out laughing.
        I sit there in a startled confusion, but I say nothing. 
        "I know it's hers. It smells like her." 
        "Like who?"
        "My mother. She made this. Which means you most definitely know Aven."
        I sniff the quilt. "I don't... I don't smell anything."
        "Of course you don't. You also can't smell the food you digested a few days ago. Broccoli, a turkey and cheddar wheat sandwich with mayonnaise, two mangoes, a Dr. Pepper, water, a spinach salad with ranch, dried cranberries, a papaya, some hot cocoa, a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, and cheesy potatoes." 
        He grabs the rag. "You used this to wash your body, but before that, Aven was using it to wipe tears off of your face."
        I gape at him, appalled.  "How can you smell such things?"
        "I only smell what I feel like smelling." He suddenly grabs my hair. "A natural shampoo and conditioner, and peppermint body-wash." He meets my horrified gaze. "You're Blood Type O. Funny, so is Aven." 
        "I don't... What? I didn't even know what blood type I was." 
        "I'm A."
        I blink. "What, how, when...?"
        "You're emitting some sort of gas. I can't quite figure out what it is. It's kind of smothering me." 
        He suddenly sniffs my skin. "Why do you smell like a star, Emica?"
        "You can smell stars?"
        "I wondered what they smelled like once," he admits. He suddenly yanks out a dagger. "Don't worry," he reassures me.
        I'm already struggling. I end up writhing so much that the dagger slices down the front of my shirt.
        "No, just hold still! I'm not going to cut you!"
        "Then why do you have a dagger? Huh?!" I demand, kicking.
        "Why do you smell like fire?" he demands. I kick him again, and the dagger slices over my pant leg. 
        "Why did you kill my family? Why did you kill Silver and her family?" I retort, whipping up my elbow into his stomach.
        There goes my other pant leg. 
        I'm now bruised from my effort to get him away from me.
        He rolls his eyes at me, and shoves me into the pole that holds up the center of the tent. He handcuffs me there, and tucks my legs beneath me. "What are you doing?!"
        "I killed your family and Silver's family because they were all at the end, and I needed to motivate my little brother. This is more motivation for him." He writes something on a piece of paper, and then tapes it over my mouth. "Don't worry. Aven won't neglect you. He'll be here shortly. I can smell him, actually. Mingled with Kaylo."
        I make muffled sounds.
        Ivan sniffs me a few times. "I'll never forget your scent, Emica. I like it, actually. It's fiery. Bright, beautiful, and destructive. I'll see you again. Maybe even a few more times before the end."
        And now I'm sitting here, handcuffed, half-naked, with tape over my mouth. My bruises are aching.
        Ivan killed everyone I care about, and had been planning it for months. He'd known me for a very long time. 
        Then it hits me: How did he know we were here? How did he know where Silver lived? How did he know exactly when Aven left? 
        The answer is obvious enough: Ivan has been following me. 
        For a millisecond, I swear I see a flicker of a flame.
        Then I bury my head in my bare lap, and allow my unbearable grief to pour out into my lap. 
       
I hear footsteps in the distance, and then the entrance to the tent opens. I raise my head, and I instantly realize that I am facing Aven. "Emica?!" he gasps. He drops a canteen and some strange machine thing, and is by my side immediately. He slowly removes the taped note from my mouth, and mumble: "Aven?" I have to make sure it truly is him.
        "He was here, wasn't he?  What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" he presses, studying my expression. 
        "No, not really. Other than unintentionally bruising me," I admit. 
        He nods, and then asks, "What the hell happened to your clothes?"
        "He had a knife. I was squirming. A lot."
        Aven suddenly picks up a gun. I scream, for a millisecond thinking he's going to shoot me.
        "No, no, I need you to trust me, please. Just close your eyes if it makes it easier. I'm going to shoot the handcuffs off."
        "What?!"
        "Please, just trust me." He lowers himself so we meet eye-to-eye, and murmurs, "I promise, I will never hurt you." 
        I eye him for a moment, and then find myself nodding. I close my eyes. The bang is quiet due to the silencer.
        Suddenly, there's a snapping sound, and my hands are free.
        Aven checks over my bruises and wraps the quilt around me again. He suddenly picks me up, and leads me outside into the humid rainforest. I have no idea where we're going, but I tell myself to trust him. 
        We emerge into a break in the trees. I find myself staring at a dry patch of dirt so long that I can't see any more trees on the other end. Aven tenses, inspecting the ground with great puzzlement written across his face. He whips around, face suddenly tight. "She's gone."
        "Who's gone?" I sniff.
        He glances back at me, and then mutters, "Your sister."
        I blink, flabberghasted. "Sister? I don't have a sister."
        "Yes, you do. Her name is Kaylo. I was hoping you could meet her. But she's gone."
        "Your brother mentioned something about a Kaylo..." I stutter.
        Aven glances at me. "No. No. He won't kill her. He can't kill her. She's not. She's not at the end yet. You can't... You can't lose the only family you have left, Emica. I won't. I refuse to let that happen."
        "I have a sister...?" I check.
        He nods. "You have a great older sister. She's been fighting for a very long time just to stay alive." 
        "Then what do we do?"
        Aven gazes down at me, and for a moment, for a brief moment, I see a flicker of comfort there. "We find her."