Rise Against (Book II)

Chapter Eight - Reunions

Chapter Eight – Reunions

I stood there is the dark. I must be dreaming.

 "J-Jack?" I whispered.

"Yes?" he replied in his very cocky tone.

My eyes scanned the darkness. I could barely see his shape. This can’t be real. I must’ve fallen asleep after I woke up from the nightmare, or this could still be part of the nightmare. Was he going to wrap his bloody arms around me and scream your fault into my ear? I felt my muscles tighten and I stepped back.

"B-but you’re dead!" I stuttered while searching for him in the dark.

"Well I should be. It was a nasty fall.” I could hear him standing up.

As I tried to look for him, I reached out to touch him. When I felt him, I touched his shirt. Then I felt my way to his face, trying to match what I felt to what I remembered.  I felt his eyes close as I touched his face. I felt like a blind person trying to see what a person looked like.  

My hands touched his nose, eyes, lips, jaw. Then it clicked. It is him. It was Jack. He held my hands the sides of his face.  Then I started tearing up.

"I-It is you!" I cried.

He pulled me into a tight warm hug while I was shivering. It was below freezing obviously and the emotions were taking over me.

"Come on. Let’s start a fire," he murmured.

I pulled away as he guided me through some trees and grabbed some branches and twigs on the way. It was very disorienting knowing that you can’t see someone you desperately want to see. We sat on the ground while he piled stuff onto the black ground.

"Any chance you brought a lighter or a match?" he asked.

"Nope," I told him.

I heard branches drop to the ground and something. Wood? They began rubbing together making a squeaky sound. 

The fire lit up and as if we had been staring at each other in the dark this whole time. We were staring into each other's eyes. I looked at him thoroughly. He had cuts on his face. His eyes were strangely unreadable. It was so dark that I couldn't see the colors well. I felt like I was examining him too much, but I couldn’t help it.

Jack was sitting the same exact way I was. Arms wrapped around legs, legs pulled to chest and chin rested on knees. Both of us were staring intently at the other as if we were statues and couldn’t do anything else. He looked hurt and yet I couldn’t move to see how hurt he really was.

We were both shivering from the horrible temperature.

"A-Are you hurt?" he asked with his eyes on the dried blood on my arm.

"N-N-No, not m-my blood-d," I stuttered.

He stood up and took his torn leather jacket off. I looked at him confused. Who takes their jacket off in freezing cold weather? Then he draped it over my shoulders.

"N-No! I don't n-need it!" I fussed.

He rolled his eyes at my lie, but I knew I couldn’t pursue him to take it back. Not when it felt so good. He wore a black t-shirt underneath that looked like it wouldn’t work well in these temperatures. We both were dressed in black. But I had to admit that Jack was always dressed in black.  

The fire wasn't doing that much good. It was better than nothing though.

"H-Have you eaten?" I asked him.

He shook his head. I went through my bag. Five granola bars. Zack must have put a few extras in it. He's so sweet. I gave Jack one and he took it with trembling hands. We might not make it through the night.