Found

Chapter Fourteen: Going Home

We've decided to go home. Back to the house that my dad gave us. So, Josh and I can raise the baby in a real house and let her go to school with real people. We found out the gender of the baby a few weeks ago. I'm into my 2nd trimester and my stomach is huge. Josh and I decided on the name Remi.

We're packing, Josh and me, we're going home. We are bringing Belle with us, I need a doctor who knows what she's doing, and I need my sister. She's part of the family now.

"Don't forget to pack the ammo and my arrows." I say to Josh. He is packing most of the things since I can't really reach anything below my knees. Josh also wants me to take it easy since it is going to be a long journey and he wants me to be at full strength.

Josh kisses me and pulls me close.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Josh asks me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I answer. I kiss him and grab the bags that are sitting on our dresser. I take them outside and set them on a chair. I sit in a chair next to the one that I put our stuff in, waiting for Belle. Josh comes out of our room and sits down next to me.

"Do you realize how strong you are?" Josh says, putting his arm around me.

"What? What brought this up?" I ask.

"You are the strongest woman I have ever met. You have been shot twice, poisoned, and yet you are carrying our child like none of that has happened. And I love you." Josh kisses me and puts his hand on my cheek. I feel his warmth on my cheek and smile.

"I love you too." I kiss Josh and put his head against mine.

"Okay, love birds, time to go." Belle says coming down the hallway. Josh and I pull away from each other and chuckle.

"Let's go." I say.

We walk out into the yard that the soldiers came from who shot Josh. There is a forest of sorts surrounding the whole building along with a barbed wire gate. It looks like we're in a prison. We must have been knocked out while we were in the sim and then when Josh turned dark, they brought us here.

"Belle, do you have a key card to open the front gate?" I ask.

"Yeah, I grabbed it before locking my lab." She answers. She walks up to the gate and slides her card, a horn goes off, signaling the gate opening. We walk out the of the entrance and I feel the brush of the tall grass on my ankles. I hear the bugs buzzing around my head. Josh grabs my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. His hand is warm, and I can't remember the last time we held hands. I smile.

We continue to walk. We walk from a field, into a forest, under a canopy of trees. I hear the birds and feel the cool breeze on my face. Josh takes the rubber band out of the braid that my hair is in.

"You look prettier with your hair down. Especially in the wind." He says. I walk a little closer to him and kiss him. He puts his hand against my cheek and we keep walking, attached together by our lips. I let go and keep walking. Belle chuckles.

We come up to where Josh and I were trapped, and I almost died.

"Do you think we should go through the camp or sneak around it?" I ask. I start having flashbacks of Josh's face when the guy stood above me and whipped me, tearing into my skin. I have never seen him that terrified. So helpless.

"I think that we should set up camp in a cave nearby, take shelter, and rest for the night. Belle and I will take turns keeping watch. Raven, you need your sleep and rest, after all, you are pregnant with our child." He responds.

"Josh, I am still as strong as I was before I was pregnant, but you're right I do need my rest, but if it's alright with Belle, I want her to take the first watch. I want to fall asleep with you next to me." I smile and kiss him lightly. I embrace him and rest my head in his shoulder. "I love you."

Josh kisses the back of my head and puts his arms around me.

"I love you too," Josh says.

We continue to walk through the forest. We come upon a cave that looks suitable for the night. Belle lays down some blankets and pillows. She lights a candle and puts it on a rock close to the pallet. Josh and I walk into the cave and both him and Belle help me sit down. Josh lays down next to me and puts his arm behind my head. I snuggle up close to him and lay my head on his chest. I let his heartbeat calm me to sleep.

"Raven." I hear a voice whisper. I open my eyes and see Josh kneeling over me.

"What's a matter?" I ask.

"Nothing, we need to get moving though." He answers.

I sit up and grab Josh's hand when he offers it to me and pull myself onto my feet.

"Are we going to sneak around or into the camp?" I ask.

"I think that we should sneak into it but if anything seems off we get out of there, I'm not risking the baby or you." Josh answers.

"You okay with that plan Belle?" I ask. She's sitting on a rock outside of the cave.

"Yeah." She says. She is loading the gun that Josh gave her. I hear the click of the clip when she puts it in the gun. I grab my bow and my quiver, resting it over my shoulder.

"I love you both," I say with a smile on my face. I'm scared to go back to the place where I almost died. I'm hoping that it is abandoned, that the soldiers that were there moved on, are some other place besides the camp. I don't want to fight; I'm trying to be as cautious as I can to protect the baby. I'd like to think that I'm invincible but I know I'm not and that scares me.

"Raven, we're going to make it out of this and back home, I promise. We've been through hell and back but we did it together and came out of it together. I know that we'll make it through this together too." Josh walks up to me and hugs me. I breathe him in. He kisses me on the forehead.

"Let's go," Belle says. She is scared to, I see it in her eyes, but Josh is right, if anybody can make it through this we can, and we have something we didn't have when Josh and I started on this journey, Belle.