How much do you really know?

twenty one

    When I jolted awake, I saw the endless sky above me and felt that I was laying on something moving over bumpy terrain. Where was I?
    I sat up straight, the panic of not knowing filling me, but felt a hand on my back, a strong hand that made me feel safe and supported. "Lay back down. You need to rest." I turned to see Bryce sitting next to me. We were in the bed of a truck, the truck Chase had been carrying me to when I had passed out.
Little memories were coming back to me. The way my body had been overwhelmed by pain. The way Connor landed when he jumped next to me....
I tensed and looked around me. Where was Connor?
    Without even having to say anything, Bryce pointed to the ground next to me. Connor was lying there, more pale than I had ever seen him. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful, as if he were in no pain at all, but that was just the illusion of sleep. The bandage on his stomach was already seeped through with blood.
Suddenly, the image of my bloody leg came into my brain, triggered by seeing Connor's injury. I looked down at my own leg. It was bandaged up as well and I couldn't see any bone sticking out, which I took as a good thing. However, the pain came back when I glanced at my bandaged wound. It was a dull ache, gradually becoming worse with each pulse of my heartbeat.
    My face must have gone white, because Bryce wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, placing a kiss on my forehead. I melted into his arms, enjoying the comfort of being held after all the recent events. I vaguely wondered if Bryce might like the same thing, to be comforted instead of comforting someone else.
    We stayed like that until someone from the front of the car yelled Bryce's name and we heard the faint sound of helicopter blades in the distance.
    "Shit. Here we go again." Bryce unwrapped his arms from my shoulders and laid me back down on the ground. I felt suddenly cold without his body heat and a small shiver ran through me.
    Bryce called to the front of the car where Aspen, Carson, Justin, Daniel, and Chase were sitting. Bryce had to crawl over a couple people before being able to stand near Carson, who was driving.
    "We've got some copters behind us and probably some cars too. I doubt they are letting us go without a fight." Carson sighed. "Another fight. Why can't they just let us go?"
    An awkward silence followed. We were all wondering the same question. I could practically picture Connor saying 'I'm flattered they are so invested in us' in my brain.
    "Well, what do we do now?" Chase wondered out loud.
    And as if by magic, a line of trees appeared up ahead, signaling the forest we would soon be entering.
    "I think we've got our answer," Bryce said. "I hope you're good at driving Carson, seeing as your name has the word car in it."
    A collective sigh was heard throughout the car and Bryce laughed, giving Carson a friendly slap on the back.
    "I made us this far; I'll be damned if I can't get us through that forest without crashing into a tree," Carson answered. "But, all jokes aside, we may all have to get out and run if the forest gets too dense."
    "What about Connor and me and Daniel and Justin," I inquired from the back of the car. Everyone except for Carson turned to look at me. He was responsible like that.
    "We'll just have to cross that bridge when it comes," Carson responded, never taking his eyes off the horizon.
    The rest of the drive was in awkward silence, all of us feeling the tension but not in the mood to chat.
    I sat in the back, staring at Connor, looking for a sign that he would wake up soon. I wished that Bryce would come back up here, but he had decided to sit in the front next to Carson.
    I thought of anything and everything to keep my mind off the pain in my leg that was slowly getting worse and worse with every passing minute. It seemed like the boys had given me something to dull the pain, but it was wearing off.
    Suddenly, I was jerked awake when we started driving over bumpy land. Apparently, I fell asleep while trying to ignore the pain. There was less light because it was getting closer to evening and we had entered the forest, driving under a layer of leaves.
    Connor still hadn't woken.
    Bryce was also sitting in the back near me.
    "Oh good, you're awake. How's the pain?"
    "It's pretty bad," I replied, wincing at how much worse it had gotten from the bumpy terrain while I had been asleep.
    "Here." He handed me too small white pills.
    "Where did you get those from?"
    "They were here in the car."
    I nodded and tried to swallow them, but realized my throat was so dry that I couldn't. I made a face as the pills stuck to my tongue and started to dissolve. Bryce handed me a water bottle and I eagerly gulped down the water.
    It was then I heard how close the helicopters sounded. Thank goodness we had gotten in the forest in time.
    Hopefully it would be enough to hide us from the troops stalking us from the air.
    My mind brought me back to something I had asked earlier. What if we had to get out and walk?
    The trees were getting closer together as we made our way deeper into the forest. Carson had to slow the car down so that he could maneuver around trees and over logs. The car was meant for this kind of stuff, but it could only stand a certain amount. If the trees got too dense, the car wouldn't be able to just fit in between them, though that's what we all wished could happen. It seemed having to walk was going to be inevitable.
    I tried to push that out of my mind. I had tried to do this many times in the last 24 hours, and I realized I wasn't very good at it. The thoughts always quickly snuck their ways back to the forefront of my mind.
    The ride started to get bumpier as the forest continued to get denser. It made pain shoot up my leg at every sudden jerk of the car. My face started to go pale. The pain was worse than when I had first broken it. My whole body tensed up at every spark of pain and I closed my eyes, trying to stop tears from coming. I took deep breaths when the pain was dull, but it was always only seconds before another shot of pain went through my entire leg.
    I felt a hand lay on top of mine. I opened my eyes and saw Bryce's warm smile. It seemed to dull the edge on my pain. He rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand. It sent tingles up my arm. I returned his smile.
    Then, we both heard a groan and turned toward the sound.
    Connor's eyes opened, just barely, but enough. My heart skipped a beat. He wasn't dead. He wouldn't die in his sleep.
    "Ew, get a room you guys." It seemed as if he could barely get the words out of his mouth.
    Bryce and I both somehow gasped and laughed at the same time.
    "Connor!" I screamed. "You're okay!"
    "I wouldn't use that exact word," Connor replied, grunting as he tried to sit up.
    Bryce immediately put a hand on his chest to stop him.
    "Slow down, cowboy. Let's not push it. You need to save your strength for if we have to get up and walk."
    "If I have to get up and WHAT??" Connor exclaimed. His eyes went wide and it seemed as if a hint of pink crept it's way back into his cheeks, though the rest of his face was still the color of paper.
    "Yeah... we got ourselves into a little pickle."
    "First of all, who the hell says we got oursleves into a pickle and second of all, fuck."
    I had to laugh. Seeing these two having their weird conversations again made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
    Then, Connor's face went pale once again, even more pale than when he was asleep, which I hadn't thought was possible, when he finally heard the sound of the helicopters. They were still almost directly above our heads.
    "We really are fucked, huh?" Connor said in a defeated sound I had never heard from him before. It broke my heart in two.
    Bryce just silently nodded.
    It seemed as if we were going at the pace of a snail. The helicopters were now so loud that I couldn't hear the sound of our car over the spinning of the blades.
Suddenly, the car stopped. Carson jumped out of the car and yelled at us all to do the same. He started yelling orders to everyone. I could barely tell what was happening over this sudden chaos. Bryce had to grab my hand and pull me out of the car. I stood awkwardly leaning against the car, keeping all the way off of my broken leg. It still hurt, however, when the blood rushed down to my leg as I held myself upright.
    "Bryce, get Connor out of there now! And find something we can carry him in. Also, do Eliana a favor and get her something to use as a crutch!"
    Bryce immediately let go of my hand and ran back to the car, searching for a blanket or stretcher for Connor and a crutch for me.
    "Eliana! Help Aspen and Justin push the car into that bush over there when Bryce gets you a crutch. Make sure it is totally hidden! The rest of you, follow our tire tracks for a while back and cover them up. Try to cover up anything that gives our trail away!" Everyone hurried off in the direction Carson had said.
Bryce appeared holding an actual crutch! It must have been among the medical supplies in the car. I was so grateful that it wasn't something as simple as a tree branch that would not be as effective, though that was what I had predicted I would have to use. Aspen and Justin were already there, slowly but surely moving the car towards the bush while Bryce was inside, pulling out a big blanket. I joined and we were able to push the car behind the bush in about a minute, which felt like an hour with the sound of the helicopter blades pounding in our ears. By the time we had given it extra coverage with giant leaves and branches, the rest of the team was already ready. There was no sign that a car had been anywhere near us. Connor was cradled in a blanket which was held at each end by Bryce and Carson.
I heard his muffled voice. "God, I feel like a fucking baby." It put a little grin on my face and relieved some of the stress that was beginning to overflow from my body.
    "God, he doesn't even shut up when it hurts for him to talk," Justin mumbled under his breath. He received no answer.
    "Let's move out. Aspen, lead the way. Let's get back to Canada and get away from GORG for good this time."
    Though, I had to wonder if we would ever really get away from GORG. What if it was just an endless cycle of escaping and being caught until every single one of us was dead?
    Aspen moved to the front and we all walked in single file behind her. Bryce and Carson walked right behind Aspen, carrying Connor in between them. Connor was silent and I wondered with a frown if he was still conscious.
    I had to convince myself with every step I took that he was still breathing. We had to make it before he took his last breath. I didn't know what I would do without his sarcastic remarks, without his and Bryce's playful bickering.
    I realized that those were some of the only things getting me through this horrifying journey.
    Daniel was next in line. He was starting to look a little dizzy from his blood loss, but there was a bandage wrapped around a arm and he had a makeshift sling. I was next, with Justin limping behind me and Chase holding up the rear. I realized they hadn't gotten Justin a crutch, but when I looked back at his smug, angry face, I remembered why.
    Our little group was in shambles. Only half of us didn't have some kind of injury.
    But we had each other.