Survive Or Die

Chapter 22 - Threatened

It wasn't until the next morning that the rain stopped, leaving mud and dewy grass. "Winter," I mutter, standing at the window with hunger pains stabbing my stomach.
Judith lays on the couch with her doll and the warmest blanket I could find. "Is it gonna snow?" Judiths shrill voice pipes.
"Maybe." Although my thoughts aren't on frolicking through pristine white snow, it's on surviving the harsh cold. Crops dying, animals going into hiding and hibernation.
There a knock on the door and it opens. Carl walks through, carrying another few blankets and a fair amount of canned foods. He drops another blanket on Judith who grins and drops the food onto the kitchen counter. "Hey Princess," he chimes. My eyebrows furrow together.
"You're in a good mood."
He grins and gives me a short kiss, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I am, aren't I."
Judith looks over to us and scrunches up her small face. "Celia and Carl, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes-" before she can finish I throw the last blanket at her face. She laughs and throws it aside.
"So, what is on the agenda for today?" Carl asks, leaning on the bench.
"I'm going to talk to Aria."
He chuckles. "I shouldn't have expected anything less."
I glare him and start to pack away the food he gave us. I throw an apple to Judith who takes it eagerly. "I'll be leaving in half an hour." I take an apple and a granola bar and pack them into a small backpack. I grab one of Judiths three blankets and pack them into the bag as well.
"I guess I should go get my bag." He stands up and heads towards the door.
"What?"
"I'm going with you."
"No you're not!" I bark. His eyes narrow.
"If you think for one second that I'll be letting you go to the enemy's camp, then you must be-"
"You're not the boss of me," I interrupt.
"No but I'm going to be the one to keep you safe," he argues.
"I can take care of myself!"
"Clearly not! When was the last time you ate?" The silence that follows is so tense I could cut it with a knife.
"Then we'll be leaving at sunset." I swallow tersely and storm into my room, slamming the door behind me like a child.

It must have been around lunch time when I emerged from my room. Judith was gone and the house was still. I picked up my backpack and close the bedroom door behind me. Being as quiet as possible, I creep through and house and sneak outside. The air is chilled, I'm surprised I did feel the change in weather before now. Everyone seems to be either restocking our food or protecting themselves from the cold. I scan the area before sprinting towards the forest. Twigs yank my clothes and snag my bag but I manage to get a few minutes in before slowing down to catch my breath. By sunset I must have made it a quarter way through the trees. Carl will be furious. I shake the thought from my mind and take a swing of water.
I only stop once the moon is well past the horizon and my legs are numb and aching from the hike. I find a large tree and climb the branches. I nestle myself on a thick branch and place my bag next to my head. Taking the blanket, I tie myself to the branch. I eat the granola bar and leave the rest. The moon is overhead when I finally drift off to sleep.
It was the loud, obnoxious chirp of birds that wake me in the morning. My body is stiff and cold and the blanket is damp from dew. I'm about to untie myself when I hear the familiar growl and snap of branches. I cautiously peer down to the ground and give a jolt of surprise. Six Flesh Eaters amble around the tree. Four of them are huddled in a tight group but I don't see what they are doing. The four seem to get into a disagreement and they start shoving and hissing at each other. That's when I see the large rabbit they hold in their hands. It's fur is matted with a mixture of blood and dirt and it's insides look to be ripped out. One of them are attacking the head while the other three fight over the body. I gag.
Carefully, I untie my blanket and stuff it into my bag. There is no way I can fight all of them. I fling the bag onto my back and steadily stand on the sturdy branch. I take an apple from my pocket and throw it a small way away. All six heads snap to attention after the apple that lands with a thud. There is some hissing and gurgling then four of them run after the apple. I take my chance and jump from the tree, landing on the opposite side to the monsters. The remaining two hear me and cackle before dashing towards me. I stumble a few steps before regaining my footing and sprinting in the other direction. I can feel them gaining as I keep tripping over loose sticks and rocks. I see a thin tree, with branches that seem to stick out every foot, and start climbing. One Fleshy gives up and stands at the base of the tree while the other climbs clumsily after me. I get half way up before the tree starts to sway with our combined weight. I close my eyes and prepare myself. Without another thought, I leap. I reach out with both hands and grasp the first branch I find. I wince as the branch cuts at my palms. I swing myself around and jump from the tree, landing unsteadily. I take off running yet again.
I run and I run, sticks cutting my face and leavings matting my hair. I only stop once the sound of clumsy treading is completely gone.
As I catch my breath I survey the woods around me. I have no idea where I am, I think dully and start trudging through the forest yet again.
It's hours before I hear any sound. I'm immediately alarmed with my hand hovering over my gun. The sound doesn't seem scary, in fact, it sounds rather happy. I walk only a fee meters before seeing light flood the bushes. It wasn't until now that I notice the moon over the sky and the chill in the air. I shiver. I push through the the last bushes and stop short. It's definitely the Gonplei Nation or whatever they want to call themselves. The place looks a lot like some old city but they obviously only use a portion of it with a huge tower on the edge. Walls and roads crumble but the people seem pretty happy.
Suddenly someone turn to me. It's a man. He stalks up to me and I notice the gun at his belt. His fiery red hair is dirtier than I remember but I know it's him. Collin. Recognition flashes his features. Both of us snatch our guns and hold them ready, aimed at each others face. Collin shouts something but I don't listen. I focus on his eyes, searching for any sign that he will shoot. I don't risk a glance at his hands; they aren't what gives it away. His eyes are locked on mine as well. All the singing and chatter is silent, the only sound is the quiet crackling of the fire. "What is going on?" Comes the roar. And there comes Aria, forcing her way through the crowd with war paint on her face and some kind of cape behind her. Drama queen. Shock flutters through her brown eyes. She forces a smile. "Lower your weapons," she orders with fake kindness in her voice. Collin looks at her shocked.
"But- she- Heda-"
"Lower your weapons." He does as he's told so I do the same. She smiles; it reminds me of a snake. "Collin, why don't you escort our guest to my room."
He gives her a suspicious glance and steps over to me. He reaches to my arm but I snatch it away. He shrugs and leads me through the gawking crowd. We arrive at the foot of the tower. "Is there an elevator or something?" I say.
He gives me a sideways glance and a half smirk. "I hope you bought your walking shoes." So we start our ten story ascent.
Finally, we arrive and Colin stops. In front of us stands a huge pair of dark wood, double doors. Collin strolls up to them and throws them open with a thunderous boom. I freeze. The room is gigantic with a freaking red carpet running through, leading to the throne at the edge, glass windows line the wall, casting dark, eerie shadows on the ground. Collin leaves me standing there to go to one of the two small fire pits on either side of the room. "She loves to be just that little bit extra, isn't she?" I mutter, gazing at the room that suddenly comes alight with the fire. Collin snorts and walks across to the other fire pit.
"She's getting better," he persists. The other side of the room comes alight. Suddenly there is another loud boom and the doors fly open . Collin immediately stands to attention as Aria struts through the room and sits on her vine woven throne. She nods to Collin and he nods back before dashing from the room, shutting the doors behind him. "Celia," she says cooly.
"Aria," I acknowledge back.
I move closer but stand taller as to show some sort of superiority and authority. "Why are you here?"
"You stole my supplies," I swallow, "and you killed my sisters bird."
Shes frowns. "When was this?"
"A few days ago."
"I was not aware..."
"Well it happened." I take the scrunched up piece of paper from my pocket with 'Heda sends her regards' scribbled across it. I smooth it out and handed it to her. "Give me back what you stole."
"I didn't steal anything."
Anger starts to bubble inside. "Maybe not you but-"
Before I can finish, the doors thunder open. A small boy with dirty, blond hair and bright green eyes comes skirting in. He wears similar to the others with his dirty cargo pants and dark shirt that are a few sizes to big. He looks positively shocked to see me standing there. "Archer?" I gawk. He dashes to Aria's side with his head low and his cheeks and ear burning red.
Aria beams with pride and some kind of unmistakable affection. "Different from how you remember?" Aria chuckles.
"Got yourself a minion now that Jay's not around to do your bidding?" I say coldly. Her face goes hard and cold. I watch Archer stiffen but not lift his head.
"How was Izzy's funeral? I suspect it was just as inconvenient as she was," she hisses. Archer groans quietly and winces.
"I want my stuff back or I swear to God I will-"
"What? You will what?" She laughs and stands from her throne, taking the few steps until we are only inches apart. "You're gonna start a war, little girl? To be honest, I'm surprised your little prince- what was his name?- Carl, let you come here alone?" She hisses.
"If you touch him, a war will be the last of your worries." I let my eyes flutter over to Archer who stands still, all the colour drained from his dirty face.
We stand glaring at each other until Archer clears his throat. Aria drags her gaze away from mine and takes a step back. "Anything else?" She asks stiffly.
"I want my things back."
"And I want a unicorn, but neither is going to happen, Princess," she snaps.
I smile slyly. "Then expect hell to reign down apon you and your little camp." With that, I flick my hair over my shoulder and prowl from the room, letting the doors thunder shut behind me.
I walk straight down the stairs and through the camp, curious eyes watching my every move.

I walk all the night and manage to get back to camp sometime in the morning. My legs ache and my body is numb with exhaustion. "Celia!" Someone shouts. "Celia's back!" I'm instantly swamped by people that I barely remember.
"Celia," Carl's loud voice booms over the chatter of the crowd. They fall silent. He storms through and stops in front of me, his whole body basically radiating anger and his eyes blazing.
"Carl, I-"
"What the hell where you thinking! Do you have any idea how worried we all were! How worried I was! And how about Judith, huh! Didn't stop to think about her did you!"
"Look, I'm sorry. Just listen-"
"No no no! I won't 'just listen'! You listen to me for once! How selfish and cruel do you have to be to just leave us like that in the middle of a war! This may be new to you, but there is a thing called a team and a thing called understanding and you seem to know neither of them! Try thinking about others for once!" He fumes.
Rage bubble my stomach and curls my fists. Before I can think, I draw back my hand and slap Carl across the face. He stands dazed, a sudden silence falling on the crowd. I stand on my tiptoes so my face is inches from his. "Don't you dare call me selfish again. The only reason I would have gotten hurt is if they had threatened you, you insufferable prick. I have done so much for you, for Judith,  and refuse to take your shit," I hiss. I stand back and strut through the awed crowd to my house, slamming the door behind me. I'm immediately knocked back by Judith throwing her small arms around my torso. I hug her back, squeezing her small frame to me. "You're back," she mumbles against my shirt. She withdraws sharply, scrunching up her nose. "And you smell."
I laugh and give her a kiss on the forehead."I'll have a shower," I say and head to the bathroom.
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Hey readers and bystanders!
I ended my story here because I am well aware that I have taken a very long time to update it.
I have been going through A LOT of stuff right now and I'm not really in the right headspace to be stressed about Wattpad as well as everything else. Sorry.
Aria - 29
Celia - 25
Thank you so much for all sticking with me!
I love each and every one of you!