Needledrop

25

Blood

Athena

I wake in my bed, Wynnona absent, a large bandage wrapped around my torso, shoulder, and head. I start to sit up, groaning at the dull pain and stiffness that cling to my body. I hear Star yipping fiercely as Keya's loving, worried face comes into my view.

"Lay back down, Oriana cut you up pretty good." She tells me softly, pushing me back into the bed. I allow her to push me back as I study her.

"What happened?" I ask in a gravel like voice. She hands me a glass of tea that I drink, wetting down the sandpaper that had crawled into my throat.

"Brett broke down the door of the room when we heard shouting. We saw Wyatt and Giovanni get tossed out of the ship. Then the ship started to crash. Brett went to help Jake land this thing. The hanger closed and we hit something. You hit your head hard. In your disorientation Oriana charged at you, getting several hits on you with her sword before I shot her. She's in the brig now." She informs me as she unwraps my head, checking it. "You'll likely scar in some places." She wraps my head again with a new set of bandages. The sliding door opens again to reveal a very tired Roe. He looks completely healed from his tussle with the robotic dogs.

"Auntie Keya?" He asks softly, rubbing at his eyes that have small bags under them. Keya turns her attention to the boy as his eyes land on me. "Athena." He cries out happily, rushing into my opened arms. "I was so scared you wouldn't wake up." He cries into my bandaged chest. I cuddle him close, kissing the top of his head. I'll admit, watching Wynnona interact with the young boy and spending time with him myself, I have grown attached to him. I'd go as far as to say I view him as my own, loving him the same. "You were asleep for two days."

"It is alright Rowen." I tell him. "I am alright. You look like you need some rest however." I lay down on my side, cringing slightly at the slashes on my body. Roe crawls under the blankets, cuddling close to me. He makes sure to not lay on Wynnona's side of our bed. Two days she's been stuck with no way to get to us. What if she's hurt? What if she died?

I glance down at the red rose still around my neck, the gift from Roe. The sides of each petal are slightly wilted, but it is in perfect shape other than that. I bless the small boy in my arms, kissing his forehead before allowing darkness to overtake me again, my dreams filled with Wynnona.

Wynnona

The next couple hours are spent with Giovanni and I jogging through the parts of the maze I'm able to see from the top of trees and avoiding different things trying to kill us.

"Okay," Giovanni breaths, hunching over and breathing hard, "we gotta stop for the night." I study the area around us, agreeing with him. My stomach clenched with hunger as I breathed hard, my throat begging for water. I look down at the purple rose on my necklace, noticing the light has faded ever so slightly and the edges of the petals were dark, wrinkled. Worry set in me.

"You're right." I agree, walking down a dead end to set up a small camp. We don't start a fire, instead eating the small amount of food in our bags cold. I take small, slow sips of my water bottle, making sure to leave lots. After eating we huddle together, using our bags as a pillow to sleep and share heat. I drift off quickly, falling into a dreamless sleep. I wake the next morning to growling. When I open my eyes there is a small dragon standing on my chest.

"Wyatt, don't move." Giovanni says carefully. His bag is on and he's ready to go. I don't move a single muscle, going as far as to hold my breath. I don't look at the baby dragon, keeping my eyes to the dark blue sky. I mentally curse myself for putting on the light weight, short, capris in my bag in exchange for my heavier, thicker skinny jeans. They allowed me to cool off faster and run better. Now I realize how little protection they give my legs.