Stuck on 'Ailana

Chapter Five: The Girl

Harry lay on his back, his arms resting on his stomach and his eyes locked on the black sky above him. His sight was still blurry, he could only see blue blobs for stars, and he was beginning to worry that he’d never be able to see again. He didn’t know how long they had been here; he’d been passed out most of the time. No one knew where they were, and no one would tell him anything. No one would tell him what his surroundings looked like, no one would tell him how long he’d been out, no one would tell him what time it was, no one told him anything.

He let out a gentle sigh, wincing as his ribs ached in protest. He moved on of his hands behind his head, squinting to try to eliminate the blurriness of his vision. He let out another sigh and closed his eyes. The soft crunch of sand only a few feet away made his eyes snap open.

“Harry?” A soft voice asked, a small hand resting on his shoulder. A smile played on his lips, his eyes focused on the blurry face of the girl above him.

“Hello.” He answered his voice scratchy from a dry throat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had water; Niall had drunken it all before he could even get to it today. He felt the ends of hair tickle his face as the girl turned her head to each side. “Everyone’s asleep.”

“That’s good; I need to change your bandages.” She whispered, moving the hand on his shoulder on his back. “Can you get up, or do you need help?”

Harry’s cheeks flushed as he mumbled, “I… Need a little help…” He could see the blur move, as if she was smiling.

“That’s okay. You’ve been through a lot.” She comforted, putting pressure on his back. She pushed him up just enough to put her shoulder under his right arm. She looped the arm around her shoulders, grabbing his wrist to keep the arm secure. Harry could feel her body heat on his side, it was almost as if the moment she touched him he didn’t hurt anymore. His ribs didn’t ache in protest as she looped her other arm around his back, and his head no longer pounded.

“Okay, on three. One… Two… Three.” She grunted the last number as they both pushed; the combined force brought Harry to his feet. The girl was short, very short, coming to about his chest once he was up. He hissed slightly as he tried to put weight on his legs. When he’d woken up this morning, he’d learned that on top of his head injuries, he’d also sprained his ankle and hurt his ribs. Art couldn’t be sure if they were broken or if they were just bruised, but either way it hurt.

“We’ll go slowly, okay? We just need to get behind those trees.” Harry nodded, and slowly the pair began to make their way towards the green blurs in the distance. Once the two had gotten there, the girl gently sat Harry down on the grass.

“Where are we?”  He asked, as he watched her reach for something behind a large grey blur, probably a rock.

“’Ailana.” She responded, grunting as she reached to grab the bandages behind the rock. With a soft smile she grabbed it, pulling it towards her and walking back over to Harry.

“’Ailana?”

“An island.” She stated as she straddled him. It’d been like this the other times she had changed his wrappings. The first time, he’d freaked out and started kicking his legs, so she sat on them. Ever since then, even though he’s sure she knew he wouldn’t fight again, she’d still sat on his legs, wrapping her own around his waist as she would quietly do what she came to do.

“Well, I got that.” He joked, feeling her small fingers begin to search for the ending of the bandages. She chuckled softly.

“That’s all I can tell you, I don’t remember where we are in the world.” He nodded as she gently began to undo the wrappings.

“You’ve stopped bleeding, that’s good.” She whispered, running her fingers along his face and over his cuts. He felt his hands trace along her waist.

“Are you the only one here?” He asked, surprised by the softness of his own voice. He felt his heart start to race, his own cheeks flushed.

“No, there are a lot of people here.”

“Really? Where are they, Love?” She brushed some of his hair out of his eyes before he felt the rough fabric of bandages on his forehead.

“I can’t tell you, because then you’ll go to them.”  His hands stopped tracing and timidly rested on her waist, feeling smooth and soft skin underneath his hands.

“And why can’t I go to them?”

“Because, they’re nice people, but their so scared of new comers right now… It’s hard to understand. I don’t want them sending you and your friends away.” He tilted his head slightly to the side, gently pulling her body towards his. She continued to wrap his head with the bandage, the two sitting in silence.

“How long have we been here?” He finally asked as she tucked the end of the bandage under and secured it.

“Twenty-One days.” Harry’s eyes went wide.

“Three weeks?”

“If that’s what you call it.” Harry felt himself begin to go light headed. Three weeks?! I’ve only been awake for a total of five days… And it’s been three weeks?

“Are you okay, Harry?” She asked before he felt his head fall onto her shoulder. His vision started to turn black, and all he could focus on was the smell. She’d always smelled like sandal wood and bubbling rapids and all kinds of flowers and trees. She smelled like the island, and, as he passed out, Harry realized how much he liked that smell.

He felt himself lower to the ground, almost feeling the soft grass on his back. He would have been lowered softly, if it hadn’t been for the sound of much heavier feet crunching the grass besides him. His upper body fell to the ground and the light weight of the girl on top of him suddenly disappeared.

“Hey, wait!” The familiar voice of Louis called out before Harry felt his consciousness slip completely.