Corrupted. [Part II: On The Run]

Chapter Five: I Hate You

CHAPTER FIVE:

  I gasp for air and my eyes flick open. At first all I see is white, and then my eyes adjust. A wave of water gushes over my head for a moment and then becomes clear again. I immediately start coughing the water out of my lungs, which burns deeply.

  I try to inhale but I instantly start to choke. All of a sudden I get jerked to the side and look over to see Zayn pulling me. "Come on!" he yells with panic, suddenly followed by a gun shot that splashes in the water only a few feet away from me.

  I flinch and my eyes get big as I remember the situation.

  "Hurry." I get pulled again harshly and my feet reach the bottom of the river. Zayn grabs my hand and helps pull me up the bank. I hear a dog barking viciously from the other side, making me sprint for my life. After we go a few minutes into the woods, so they can't see us, I just collapse.

  I start to breathe heavy, trying to catch my breath, not realizing I was even holding it for that long.
   "Are you okay?" I hear his voice but I can't answer.
   I hear his footsteps until they stop in front of me. I see his ankle, with a pretty deep cut on it from the tree hitting it.

  "Are they… are they close?" I force the words out in a panic when I hear what I thought was a footstep. I look behind and I don't see anything, I must be paranoid.
   "No, they aren't following us for some reason." he looks back to reassure himself.

  He kneels down beside me and rests his hand on my shoulder. He gently starts to rub my back and I start to cough out the rest of the water.
   "Are you okay? You passed out for a second and I started to panic." I look up at him and see the sun reflect in his eyes, making them look more yellowish than they actually are.

  "I was able to get my foot out just in time, thanks for not leaving me." He kisses my forehead and then stands up.
   I watch him take off his shirt that he just bought and rip it into pieces. He takes a long a strip and wraps it tightly around his ankle.
   I cough one last time and feel an intense burning in my chest.

  "How did I not drown?" I stand up, regaining my balance.
   "I pulled you up pretty quickly." he starts to sound cocky, "but I think you just passed out from panic." I start to wonder if that's what happened but its all just a blur, it happened so fast, so I just let it go.

    My whole body just feels extremely tired and weak, like I got hit by a train. I don't want to move, but Zayn starts to walk so I follow.
   He holds out his hand and I start to reach for it, but even after what he just did, I can't. I stop myself and ignore it, I can see his annoyed face in my
peripheral vision. He huffs and then walks quickly so he's ahead of me.
   I roll my eyes and make sure that I keep up.

  "Zayn!!" After about a mile of walking, we hear Louis through the bushes. Within seconds, he appears.
  "What happened? Where'd you guys go? one second you're behind me, the next you're gone."
   "Don't worry about it." Zayn snaps slightly, seeming extremely bitter. "Let's go. We need to get out of here, find a car, and leave. And you..." he looks at Louis, "We'll grab lunch and then drop you off somewhere. A bus, a train station… I don't care, it's you're time to leave."

  Louis just gives him a look and starts to walk off.
 "It's not like you were much help anyway." He whispers hatefully under his breath.
  I don't even look at him, but start to follow Louis.

  "We need to talk." Zayn grabs my arm out of nowhere and yanks me back. "I need to talk to you about some things." he slides his hand down my arm and forces me to hold hands with him.
   "We'll talk at lunch." he pulls me along as he starts to walk.