The Mountain

Chapter 14

When I wake up inside our grove of trees the next morning, I find the other two still asleep. I get up and walk to the edge of the trees for some space and to calm down. My mind is reeling from yesterday's events and last nights dream. Eloise is dead, and so is my mom. I don't even remember her or my other family very well, but there's still a hole in my heart.

I wonder how my father feels about his broken family. His wife dead, one of his sons has left for something, and now I've left, too. His other son is all he has left right now, and it's partly my fault. Why couldn't I see the damage I would cause?

Tears slip down my face before I can stop them. I feel guilt and sorrow for my family. For the mother I don't even remember and the father and brother I forced myself to forget. Did I know my memories would be erased? Will I gain them back once I cross the finish line?

The whole thing becomes too much. I want to throw up the white flag and go back to whatever life I was living. I want to forget about the sweet girl with healing hands who is dead. I want to forget about James' reliance on me to survive. I want to forget about the race. I want to forget about the mountain and never come back. I just want to forget...

"Adylin?" A voice pulls me from my thoughts.

I quickly wipe the tears away trying not to look frantic and obvious. "Yeah?" I ask, voice cracking.

Johnathan comes into view beside me. I turn my head slightly, letting my hair draped over the side of my face to block my red eyes. "Are you alright?" He asks, seeing me despite my attempts to avoid it.

"Yeah, just... yesterday's stuff and a dream I had," I shrug it off.

He nods, knowing not to pry right now. "Can I stay with you guys today? I'd be alone without... without Eloise."

"Yeah, that's fine. It'll probably be better for us to stay in a group, with whoever pushed them still out there. We might be safer against whoever is sabotaging others," I answer.

We are silent for few minutes, listening to the sounds of nature around us. Johnathan doesn't pry at my silence and I don't nag him for anything, either. My eyes wander down the green grass that borders the early morning sky.

"We have to be more careful now," I say, breaking the silence finally. "We have to stick together more and have each others backs. I know James isn't a big fan of you so I'll have to talk to him about that. We have to make it through to the end. I'm not working this hard to survive just to be killed later."

Johnathan nods. "You said you had a dream, I don't want to pry, but is it something you can tell me?"

"I can tell you soon. I just need to wrap my head around it first. Don't worry about it, though," I smile. "It won't effect the race."

He nods but I can still see the concern behind his eyes. He tries to shake it off and I appreciate his kindness.

"So... we finished two tasks now, what do you think is next? They didn't give us any clues, again. Do we just keep going until they stop us?" He asks.

"Sounds like it. They don't seem to be in too much of a rush to give us tasks," I shrug. "But it'd be nice if we had some hint."

I hear rustling behind us, James waking up. Johnathan and I head back to our camp area to meet him. He is obviously not pleased that we were hanging out together and for the rest of the morning while getting ready to go, he places himself between us to keep us separate. I pretend not to notice and go on with what I'm doing, I don't want to cause trouble right now.

We don't try to go very far today, just making our way slowly up the mountain. We will have more days after this to catch up but I'm not too worried. With yesterday's events still fresh in our minds, it'll be better to heal on the inside before exerting ourselves too much. We are quiet most of the walk, only speaking when we want to point something out or make a joke to lighten the mood.

My mind trails to my mom and the rest of my family repeatedly. What happened to her? Who were the people who came to see us during my dream? How do we know them? Johnathan glances at me every now and then, seeing my dark expression. I promised him I would tell him what's going on, and I plan to keep the promise.

We stay by the river, using it as our guide up the mountain. It'll be an easy way to get water if we run out, and plants grow along the bank. James stays between Johnathan and I the whole day. Johnathan has started to take notice and has been trying to find a way to get in the middle, just to piss him off.

By the end of the day, I'm the one pissed. I try to stay silent as they bicker over which one should be hunting or fishing, but I can't.

"If one if you says another word, I'll be the one to find food, then I'm gonna leave you two alone to find the top by yourselves! Now shut up. Johnathan go hunt, James start a fire, I'll be finding us a way to not die while we are stuck here," I yell.

Without a word, Johnathan stands and leaves, taking his gun with him. James finds an empty area and works on the fire. I go to sit a few feet away, watching him work. "What's your problem with him? Even before, with him and Eloise, you hated him."

James glares at me. "Ever since we met them, you've been very interested in who they are. Whenever he's around your attention is on him. Do you forget I'm your partner?"

"Are you jealous?" I ask. "Are you seriously jealous? I'm trying to keep us alive, while all you've done is pout."

Fury flashes in James' eyes and before I can stop him, his hand reaches out and clamps down on my arm. He squeezes so hard that I wince. "I'm trying to stay alive, and to do that you need to be with me. I'm sorry if I don't like Johnathan, but I don't see the point of him being with us. If anything, he'll slow us down and get us killed."

I wrench my arm out of his grip, hiding the pain it causes. I stand, towering over him with a feeling of power I've never known.

"If you want to make it out of here, don't question my decisions. I'm fine with him being here. Honestly, if you guys got along it might even be fun. I will get us out of here, I promise, but I ask you for one thing in return," I pause. "Don't ever try to stop me from doing what I think is right."