Bound In Blood (Bound In Blood - Book One)

Chapter Eight

"Alex? Alex?" My entire world was being pulled away from me violently. That voice, echoing through my head all the while. My shoulders were gripped firmly, being hauled side-to-side forcefully. Suddenly overtaken by fear of what had its hold on me, I opened my eyes, sunlight rendering me blind. Hovering above my face was an indistinguishable figure, their arms reaching down to my shoulders against the damp earth. They seemed familiar.

As I came to, the silhouette above me became recognisable. His eyebrows were furrowed with concern and his glassy blue eyes searched my face. He was not adorned in his uniform nor was he wearing his fancy clothing. It seemed to me like he was dressed as one of those hunters that roamed the woods, stalking their next meal.

"Conner?" I groaned. He sighed with relief, backing off of me and sitting down on the ground before me. Lifting myself up onto my elbow, I coughed twice, the motion causing my body to ache and shudder. I rubbed my other hand against my spine, trying to ease the pain but it was useless.

"You're lucky I found you," Conner told me soberly. "Silva is mad about finding you and punishing you for what happened. You'd do well to avoid her." I nodded though it didn't really connect with me; I was still in a drowsy daze, attempting to recognise my surroundings but I was incredibly disorientated. I could hardly recall what had taken place.

Conner reached into the pack which lay beside him, pulling out a banged up metal tin. He handed it to me gingerly. "Here. I thought you might be hungry after everything that happened." I accepted the container, realising I hadn't eaten a morsel the previous night. I popped the lid and it took everything I had not to drool at what he had prepared for me. Freshly cooked rabbit's leg. He must have shot it while I was asleep. It seemed to be cooked to near-perfection as well.

"Thank you." He didn't say anything as I dug in unceremoniously. I was suddenly ravaged by hunger and couldn't get the meat into my stomach fast enough. Conner simply watched me, a stony expression masking whatever he was thinking. Usually, his emotions were plastered all over his face. Not today. Not anymore. Something inside him had changed and that was easy to see from the moment I woke.

He spoke differently, he dressed differently, he looked different. Everything about him had changed. His hair was a ragged mop on his head and his clothing was torn and disheveled. Even his tongue was not so sharp. He seemed... darker. Not so cheery and optimistic. He had become sober and serious. I didn't know what to think of it.

His eyes were not so bright and gleaming as they once had, holding so much life within them. Now, they resembled those of a porcelain doll that a young girl would carry beneath her arm. There was no interest nor adventure hidden within those spheres of glass. Only a reflection of what sat before them.

Having finished my meal, I shut the tin tightly and threw away the rabbit's bone into the woods for some animal to find later. I handed him the container but he did not seem to notice. His mind was someplace else and his eyes viewed something I could not see. I desperately wished to know what he was seeing but I chose not to ask. Whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant. That was all I could say.

"We should go, shouldn't we?" I asked Conner, dragging him out of his daze. He nodded before bringing himself upright and offering me his hand. He pulled me upward effortlessly with strength I didn't know he possessed. His hand was so noticeably soft against my own which had cracked and calloused.

I heaved my pack over my shoulders and the two of us continued through the woods away from Sanctuary. There wasn't enough possible distance to put between me and that place in order to feel safe. I would always be on edge.

Hours of silence were passed between the two of us as we marched over the thick brambles and around the towering pines. The birds sang their wondrous songs as they always did, flitting between tree branches all the while. Beneath us, twigs and rotting leaves snapped and squelched as we stepped them over.