Skye and Ward: On A Mission (SkyeWard)

Chapter Eight

We had been walking to about an hour, before we came to a cactus. Ward had stopped in front of it, analyzing it in silence. It was about four feet tall, with large round parts like a snowman.

"Wow Ward, it's a cactus. Never seen one of those before?" I said with layers of sarcasm. He reached into his pocket to pull out a small collapsible hunting knife. He sliced off one round part, grabbing it before it hit the ground. He somehow grabbed it on the side with no prickles, keeping it from hurting his hand.

"Well, Skye, it may be the last one we see, so let's make count of it," he replied smoothly. He turned back to me, picking off it's many spikes. I tried to help on the side I was on, only to have several poke me in the process. When we had finally picked the last one off, Ward sliced it in half like a melon. He handed me half.

"What do I do with it?" I asked.

He answered with no words and just took a bite straight out from it. I was shocked, thinking it was probably poisoned or something. I looked down at mine. The juices flying out at the sliced end. I brought it up to my face, sniffing it. It smelled like nothing in particular. I took the knife, cutting a small square out from the plant's flesh. I placed it my mouth, immediately spitting it out.

"This is disgusting!" I shook my head, trying and failing to get the taste from my mouth. Ward's shoulders shook with laughter. He was trying to keep himself together, but fell apart. I tried to look upset by this, but ending up smiling like a doofus. After a few minutes, we finally calmed down. Then Ward addressed me seriously.

"Skye, I'm sorry, but it may be the only nourishment we have for awhile."

"....I know," I said reluctantly. I looked down at my cactus, realizing that eating this meant survival. At least for a while. I cut out another piece, actually swallowing it this time. We started walking along again, eating our cactus in silence.

"I'm sorry about this," I apologized. His head hung as we walked. I hadn't realized I was doing the same. "Ward, it's my fault. If I hadn't touched that computer-"

"Even if you didn't, something still would have happened."

"I know, but it's also my fault for being captured. If I could've kept up, we wouldn't have been in that mess."

"Actually, they caught me off guard too." He scratched the back of his head.

"Wait, what?"

"I ran down the hall, and turned around to see how far behind me you were. Then something hit me in the back of the head. I collapsed, pretending to be unconscious as they put me in a wheelchair and took me to that room."

"How did you escape?"

"They all left the room, and I just looked around and went through that door. I found you, and then you fainted."

"Then what-" he put a hand over my mouth.

I stop talking, obviously, waiting for what Ward's next move was. Ward released his hand, running off to the side of the road, I followed. The ledge was a good five feet by this point and formed a ditch underneath. He jumped down easily, while I hesitated. I jumped, unexpectedly landing on my feet. Ward had already crawled into the little ditch. I scurried inside, pressing my back against the wall.

Then, I heard what Ward had heard. Trucks had started along the road, trying to find us most likely. The engine noises stopped just above us.