Into The Woods

Limping

As Jeff hit the water pain exploded through his leg. He gasped, his eye widening. He choked and flailed, surfacing. He coughed and gagged on water and flailed around more. The world was just a blur of light and noise. His hand thumped on something solid and he gripped the ground. Earth and moss clumped under his fingernails. He dragged himself onto the land and coughed up the water he'd swallowed, panting. He heard a splash near him among the whirlwind of noise.

"Jeff! Jeff!"

Liu! That was Liu's voice! Jeff looked over at the source of the noise and saw Liu. He crawled, then splashed over to his brother, who yanked him close and slapped a hand over his mouth. Jeff stared up at the top of the waterfall as Liu gently pulled them behind a tree on the small island in the middle of the pond. He saw nothing, but heard the dog's barking getting further away and quieter. Liu's hand withdrew and the two of them panted quietly, shaking in the cold pond's water.

"C'mon." Liu finally breathed. "We need to get out of here."

They both waded over to the bank of the pond and crawled out. Liu stood to his feet shakily. Jeff stood up and winced. "L-Liu," he murmured, crouching slightly. "I hurt my leg."

Liu looked at him, then moved over and let Jeff lean against him for support. "You good?" He asked. Jeff nodded.

"It hurts but- I-I think I can walk..."

Liu gulped and nodded. "We'll fix you up when we're away." He said. "Promise."

The two of them limped through the woods, supporting each other. Liu made sure Jeff could walk, and stopped when the pain in his leg got too much, and Jeff made sure Liu didn't walk into a tree or trip over something. Without his glasses, Liu could see very little of anything directly in front of him. He couldn't even see Jeff's face clearly.

Eventually they came to a stop in a small clearing with a tree stump. Liu helped Jeff sit down on the stump and crouched near him. He pulled up the leg of the boy's jeans and winced. The area around his calf was red and beginning to swell. He heard Jeff whimper.

"Is it bad?" He asked quietly.

"No I'm- sure it's just a fracture." Liu bit his lip. He honestly couldn't tell how bad it was. Everything was blurry. Liu took off his backpack and looked through it. He silently hoped that nothing important had broken or been damaged by the water. His hand closed around the cool glass of his phone and he paused for a second, turning it on. The lock screen glowed to life. He stared briefly at the photo, a (blurry) picture of their entire family on vacation, then let go of the phone and went back to searching for the first-aid kit.

Eventually he pulled it out and opened it. He grabbed the roll of bandages and very carefully wrapped up Jeff's leg. The boy winced and whimpered while he worked. Liu grabbed a package of painkillers from the medkit and held it up to Jeff. "Here, take a couple."

Jeff didn't need to be told twice. He popped a couple of pills out of the foil wrap and tossed them into his mouth, then grabbed a water bottle that Liu passed to him and washed them down. He gagged on the pills and screwed his eye shut as Liu tightened the bandages and tied them up.

"Alright...I think you're good." Liu sat back and sighed. "Does it look okay?"

Jeff nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Now keep pressure off of it. And don't move unless you have to." Liu reached over into his satchel. He pulled out a package of ramen and began snapping and crushing up the noodles. Then he opened the package very carefully and pulled out the flavoring. He opened it, dumped it into the bag, then shook it before passing it over to Jeff. He stared at the bag for a moment before grabbing a small piece and putting it in his mouth. He chewed slowly and watched Liu do the same thing he'd just done with a second package of ramen. Liu sat back and just silently ate his ramen. Jeff looked away while he ate.

''Do you want help setting up the tent?'' he finally broke the silence. Liu looked up at him, then reached into his satchel. He pulled out the small bag the tent was rolled up into and pulled out the pieces. Jeff watched him silently.

''Tent's broken.'' Liu finally said. He sighed. Jeff looked down at the ground.

''We can sleep on the ground.''

''No, that's- too risky.'' Liu paused for a moment and frowned. He chewed on his thumb nail as he thought. ''It'll be too cold out here...we need shelter...'' he glared at the ground. ''Shelter, shelter, shelter...'' he eventually clicked his tongue and stood up. He looked at Jeff. ''We need to find somewhere to stay.'' he moved over and helped his brother stand up, trying his best to make sure Jeff put as little pressure on his injured leg as possible. After they'd gathered up their things they limped off, out of the woods, and eventually found themselves on a roadside. They followed the road, not saying a word but tensing every time a car's headlights shone on them.

''Bro- bro, look over there.'' Jeff finally broke the silence. Liu looked to where his blurry white hand was pointing and saw a path across the road, blocked by a metal gate. He was confused for a moment until he noticed, over the trees, he could see a metal roof. His eyes widened. ''You think it'll work?''

''It has to.'' Liu grunted back as they crossed the street.

-----

''And why have you failed this time?'' he growled, his frustrations especially clear now. She gulped.

''I...couldn't kill him. Not with his brother next to him.''

''He's a threat?''

''N-no...it's just- he loves him...a lot. It reminds me of-''

''He is dead.'' he looked at her, fiery eyes glaring into her. A chill ran down her spine. ''And soon your target will be too. I will help you this time, more than I already have. Just tell me what you need.''

She was silent for a moment. She stared down at her hands, resting atop her mask, then swallowed. ''Courage.'' she finally spoke.

''Heheh...wise choice.''

''And a gun.''

That seemed to catch him off guard for a moment. ''...also useful.'' he murmured.