Alone

Healing

The next day I wake up groggy and very thirsty. I stretch out and climb out of the hut. I see Ezrie curled in a ball next to a burning fire, and Asher with his hands in his hair with a distressed look on his face.

"Asher?" I say, my voice raspy.

His head flicks up, his eyes are red and he has dark circles framing his eyes.

"Piper." He sighs with relief.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? What's going on?" I ask worriedly.

'Why hasn't Ezrie moved?' I think to myself while Asher pulls me into a hug.

"You're alive." He says. I think he could be crying.

"What's going on? Why wouldn't I be alive?" I ask. My heart is racing and my head is pounding.

He pulls away from me and wipes tears from his eyes.

"You don't know?" He asks.

I shrug. "What don't I know?"

Asher turns around and looks at Ezrie. She is still in the same position. He turns around and sees me looking at her too. I give him a questioning look.

"Don't worry, she's not dead. She's just in shock from what happened. She's been in shock for a couple of days. I think she will be fine. I have had her eat and drink daily." He treats those words like dirt. Like they have been used a million times, and don't need to be treated delicately.

"Wait, she's been in shock for a few days? Last night she was just fine." I try not to think about the words he just said.

"What? No. Last night she was still in shock from the thing that happened 3 days ago." He says.

"What thing?" I say getting annoyed.

"You really don't remember?" He sounds surprised. Like he thought I would lie about that.

I give him an expecting look.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but all I know is this:" He goes on to explain that the day Ezrie was stabbed in the back, and Henry was killed, he went out for a walk after we went to bed. He was gone for around 10 minutes when he heard screams coming from the direction of our huts. He shook it off and assumed it was just Ezrie going through a shock of pain and that I would help her. After a couple minutes passed there was another scream and thought he better head back just in case I might need help. When he got back there was a guy in all black with his face covered who looked like he was about to kill me. As soon as he saw Asher he dropped me and ran. He ran over and blood was surrounding me and he thought I was dead. He also thought that he felt a heartbeat though, so he put me in his hut just in case I woke up. After that he noticed Ezrie was just lying there. He walked over to her and saw she was alive but she was very scared and didn't talk. She hasn't moved since then, and she barely eats.

I stood in silence after he had finished. He nods slowly.

"I told myself that......if you weren't awake by this morning....that I would..I would...make sure you were dead, and..bury you." By the time he says 'bury you' he is in a whisper. He closes his eyes and I can tell he is holding back tears. I hug him again and tell him to go relax and that I would try to get a response out of Ezrie. He nodded slowly and slouched to his hut and took a rest.

I crouch next to Ezrie and put my hand on her back. Her eyes stare blankly into the distance.

"Ezrie?" I say softly. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes slowly turn so she can see my face.

"Good, you're awake." I smile.

"You-You're...You're." She struggles.

"Shhhh. You don't have to talk. I just want you to get better. So, I will wait right here, until you get up. Okay?" I say.

She nods and smiles weakly. I smile back and sit on the log close to her.

Asher makes his way over quickly.

"Did she say anything? Did she move? Is she okay? What happened?" He overwhelms me with questions.

I quickly cover his mouth with my hand. He stops blabbering.

"She will be fine. I told her I would wait right here until she moves. Her eyes are working fine, and she can speak a little. I will let you know when something else happens." I explain calmly.

He nods slowly, then joins me on the log. As he sits, his hand gently brushes mine. It feels like sparks fly up my arm for the brief moment we touch. I just realized how corny that was. Ugh. My brain is all messed up.

Things have been really weird between me and Asher. I still don't know if I really do have a crush on him or not. He has gotten to be a good looking guy, but that's not the most important thing I'm looking for. I want a sense of humor, smart, oh man. I have to stop this. Now.

He turns to look at me, so I do the same. I get lost in his dark blue eyes.

I quickly look away, and focus on Ezrie.

"Piper?" I hear Asher say softly.

I turn and look at him.

"Yeah?" I ask. I can't look directly at him, so I look behind him.

"Do....do you......d-do...d-d-do you....." He sighs. "Want something to eat?" He asks finally.

I seem little upset that he asked that. Im not sure why. "No. I'm good."

I look down, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Asher shake his head and look down.

I cannot wait to get out of this place. I just realized how random that was.

Oh well. It's still true. I want to live a normal life. Without having to worry about being killed in my sleep.