by Gwen Cole
“That was a close one,” I said, following his gaze.
“Too close.” West was examining the ground again, his expression worried. “And I’m afraid that it will happen again. I’m—” The words seemed to be struggling to come out of his mouth.
“West?”
“Yeah?” He looked at me finally and his face was unreadable.
“Let’s just worry about that when the time comes.”
West looked to the sky then back at me again, his breathing still heavy. “You don’t have to stay with me, Reese.”
Before he could say anything else I said, “I’m staying, I’ve already told you this. It’s my decision, and I’ve made it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Now stop asking.”
West smiled brilliantly, twining his fingers through mine like it was the most natural thing to do, and jogged in the opposite direction that we were previously headed. The blades from the aircraft drifted farther and farther away, and my hope started to rise again.
When we came to the next big tree we hid underneath the branches and waited again, making sure we weren’t spotted. We never were. The helicopter was much farther away now and searching in the wrong area, far away from where we were.
West looked over at me and smiled again, his face streaked with dirt and sweat, bringing out the bruises and cuts on his face, and suddenly I was self conscious of how I looked. But his eyes were as bright as always, and that was what made me smile. We waited longer, trying to catch our breath and enjoying the almost quiet woods.
They were gone.
“We need to keep moving,” he said. “They’ll start searching on the ground now that they saw us.”
I could only nod warily and follow him out from under the big tree. We started trekking through the woods again but this time carefully picking our paths. A day ago we weren't sure if the United army was going to search for us, but now we knew they were, and had to be careful about walking across any clearings or fields at the risk being spotted again.
And that’s exactly what we did.
We walked for a whole day, barely stopping to even sleep. We walked with the same determination; to get as far away as possible, that was the only thing on our minds. It had started to rain the first evening after the helicopter, and hadn’t let up for more than an hour at a time since. It pounded down from the sky unrelentingly.
I had to admit, it would have been miserable time if West hadn’t been with me. We didn’t talk much while we walked but he would make odd comments now and then, making the day lighter, and I found myself smiling while following along behind him.
The first night we only slept for a few hours and were both exhausted. But we agreed to try to find a place to get some well needed rest. Probably not in a house again but at least out of the rain. I hoped anyway.
I followed behind him with the rain pounding down on the hood of my hoodie, making it heavy with water. I didn’t even know why I had it on; every inch of me was so wet that it didn’t make any difference. Loose strands of hair kept sticking to my face and it felt like there was a pond in my shoes.
“You know what sounds good right now?” West asked over his shoulder.
I said, “Nachos.”
He thought about it for a short moment.
“That does sound good,” he agreed. “But I was thinking pizza. I like pizza. Who doesn’t? Bread? Good. Cheese? Awesome. Tomato sauce? So tasty. And it’s all in one!” His voice was almost hysterical.
“You’re really hungry, aren’t you?” I peeked out from under my hood as he glanced back.
West just nodded and said, “Yeah, let’s try to find somewhere to sleep for the night. There're some large rocks over to the right, maybe we can find some cover.”
I was ready to stop, too. For the last two hours, I had been day dreaming of sleeping.
We didn’t have to search for long. West found a large, flat rock that was leaning against its partner, making a small but natural shelter. As soon as we saw that the ground was completely dry I dropped my bag and plopped down on the ground.
I sighed. “It’s official. I don’t like rain.”
“I’m never going to say another word against the desert again,” he said.
I gave a short laugh. “Yeah, until you’re in the desert.” I was met with silence and turned to find West digging through my bag. “What are you looking for?” I asked.
“Ah ha!” he said triumphantly, pulling out a lighter.
“You really want to start a fire? What about the smoke? Someone could see it.”
“If you’re really against it I won’t, but I just thought it would be a nice change from having another cold night in the rain. And it’ll be hard to spot smoke in weather like this.”
It didn’t take me long to make my decision after replaying the night before in my head.
I stood and smiled. “I’ll help you find wood.”
Most people think it’s impossible to find dry wood while it’s raining. Though when you’re patient and look hard enough, you’ll be surprised. I went back out into the rain—despite all the wetness—and came back ten minutes later with my arms full of wood. Most of it was damp but dry enough to burn.
West plopped down on the opposite side of the fire once he had started it, and leaned back against the rock, his eyes drifting in and out of focus.
My stomach growled, practically echoing for the whole world to hear, and West raised an eyebrow.
“So, what’s for dinner?” I asked, smirking.
He flashed me a wide grin and started searching through his pack eagerly. His hand came back out and tossed me a can of ravioli. My mouth began to water as soon as my fingers wrapped around the metal. We sat there enjoying our food, even though it was cold, and tried to soak in the heat from the fire. The rain still fell outside at a steady rate and the rhythmic sound made me tired, causing my eyes to become heavy.
West appeared to be the same way as he ate his food. He glanced up at me and smiled again, but it wasn’t the one he usually gave me. It was a smile that said he was sorry. Sorry that he pulled me into his own mess and almost got me killed. But it wasn’t his own mess. It became both of ours the moment I stepped into that clearing to save him, and I was glad I did, even though he might not know it.
“Do you think we’ve lost them?” I asked.
“I think so,” West answered slowly. “We’ve seen no trace of them, so probably. Plus, we haven’t heard any helicopters, so they’ve most likely given up by now.” Another pause and I had a feeling I knew what he was about to say. “Reese, I’m—”
“Don’t say you’re sorry,” I interrupted softly, not wanted to appear to harsh. “It was my choice to begin with to stay with you, not yours. I chose to stay with you, West, and I’ve had my chances to leave but I haven’t. I want to stay, despite the repercussions.” He didn’t look convinced. “And just so you know . . . I haven’t once regretted it,” I added, really telling him the truth.
His blue eyes stared at me, trying to see any hint of a lie, and found none. As they lingered I couldn’t stop myself from looking at him—really looking at him. His hair was wet, sticking out everywhere but I could just make out the natural wave in it as it started to dry. The flames reflected off the rain water still on his face, bringing out his strong jawline and smooth skin.
I felt my cheeks warm, and it wasn’t from the fire. But I didn’t tear away from his gaze until he seemed satisfied, and finally dropped his eyes.
“I really believed they wouldn’t come after me,” he said softly, not taking his eyes off the ground. “They have bigger things to worry than a lone, ex-soldier messing up a few of their plans.”
“Maybe they think of you more as a lone wolf,” I suggested.
West smiled to himself while staring into the fire.
“I doubt it,” he said.
“Well, I don’t.” I mumbled to myself but I knew he heard it from the way his eyes briefly flicked upward. “So, where
do you think we are? I’m guessing we’re right below the halfway mark to the North city.”
The three major cities on our large land mass made up a triangle between each other. The mountains in which we were headed for are located above the North City, the one that stood directly in our path. I dreaded the long road ahead of us.
“That sounds about right,” he said. “It might be a good idea to find a road and look for some signs to make sure though.”
“Yeah,” I answered tiredly. I was really beginning to lose energy, I could feel it leaving my body with every passing minute.
“It’s weird being away from everything that’s happening out there. It’s like we’re cut off from the world.” He shrugged indifferently. “Except when a helicopter is chasing after you.”
I let out a laugh, it came out louder than I had thought and I clamped a hand over my mouth went it did. West tried to pull off a fake cringe, looking away awkwardly, like someone pretending they weren’t with the person next to them. It was adorable the way he did it and I looked away quickly. Stop thinking that!
“We should probably sleep.” He yawned right on cue.
I laid down on my back looking up at the rock above me, wishing I had a blanket. If it wasn’t for the fire I would have been shivering in my wet clothes. We laid there awhile longer enjoying the fire and not the rain. My eyes started to drift into nothingness, and I heard West roll over on his back. “Reese?”
His voice was tired. My heart rate picked up a notch and I didn’t know why. It always did when he said my name, but this time it was different.
West spoke again. “I—” He paused and I laid as still as I could. I stole a glance from across the fire. He opened his mouth but hesitated again and finally said, “Good-night.”
“Good-night,” I whispered, rolling onto my side, drifting into sleep within minutes.
CHAPTER NINE
The rain was still falling when we set out the next morning. We buried the remains of the fire before we left, making sure there was no evidence of us being there.
West was still being careful about which paths he chose as we hiked through the forest, always heading north. The trees were bigger in this part of the woods and spaced apart from each other with less underbrush, expanding our visibility farther. The forest floor was covered with soft dirt and rotting leaves which muffled our footsteps, making us silent to everything around us. The rain padded down, drowning out everything, the constant sound I had been hearing for the last two days.
I glanced at West who was trudging along ahead of me, no sign of the wounds he had when we first met. The cuts and bruises may have been almost gone but I knew the gash on his back was still unhealed, along with a few of his ribs. He hadn’t bothered to pull his hood up when we set out in the morning. Again, I had no idea why I had because there was no point.
“Have you seen Swiss Family Robinson?” West asked suddenly. Even as he said the words, the memories came rushing back. The first time I had seen that movie I instantly had a crush on the oldest brother, Fritz. All the exotic animals and tree houses caused my eyes to become glued to the screen until the very end.
“Yes,” I said, sighing. “I’ve loved that movie ever since I was five.”
“Me too.” He smiled widely. “These trees reminded me of their tree houses. Do you think we could make one?”
My eyes roamed to the branches above, looking for the perfect places to nestle a house between them.
A small laugh escaped my lips and I nodded. “Yeah, my brother would have it up in no time. Knowing him he would have two levels and a deck.”
“We could have two houses with a rope bridge between them.”
“Can we have a zebra?” I asked.
West glanced back and stopped, smiling again as always. “Of course we can have a zebra. It wouldn’t be right without one.”
We stood staring at each other and I couldn’t help notice that it was becoming a habit, and I had no idea why. Usually when you stared at another person for a length of time it would become awkward . . . but this wasn’t like that. It felt as if we were both studying each other for some unknown reason, not yet found, hidden somewhere out of reach. I realized I started looking forward to these moments, just so I could look into his eyes as he stared into mine, different, yet the same as before.
“West, do you have any brothers and sisters?” I asked, beginning to walk again, this time alongside him.
“An older brother and a younger sister,” he answered immediately.
“Is your brother here too then?”
“Yeah, he is,” he answered in a quiet voice, though his eyes were on the ground now.
I suddenly felt bad about asking, worrying it was too hard for him to talk about. I couldn’t even imagine what he was feeling right now. He had no idea if his family and brother supported him in his decision or not. He probably felt like a traitor to his own family, and not to mention his entire country. It was a large amount of weight to be held on one person’s shoulders.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s not really my business.”
He stopped and turned to face me, the rain dripping off his hair and down his face.
“Reese,” I said. “It is most definitely your business. I don’t want to keep anything from you.” He shrugged absently. “Especially because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. If you hadn’t decided to risk your life saving me, I would be dead. But most of all . . . I don’t like keeping things from the people I trust most. It isn’t right.”
“But I don’t want to ask about things you don’t want to talk about. It took a lot of courage to do what you did. You went against everyone you knew and I have no idea how you’re dealing with it. And . . .” I shook my head, telling myself to stop making it worse, “I’m sorry, I’ll stop.”
I lowered my eyes and started walking again but West caught my arm, his fingers curling around gently around my wrist. My legs stopped, shifting my weight as I peeked out from under my dripping hood.
“No,” he said. “I want to talk about this with you, Reese. You want to know how I’m dealing with turning my back against my family and friends? I don’t think I am. My mind keeps wandering to the subject but I always ignore it.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. “But now that I’m thinking about it . . . I really think my family knows that I did it for the right reasons. Even if the army told them some lie to turn them against me, I know they won’t believe it; they know me too well. They trust me. And I also know I did the right thing; those people didn’t deserve what they were getting. Nobody in this country does. The army just wanted to make examples out of somebody.”
West had helped people that were going to die for no reason, and I could only hope that Ethan wasn’t anywhere near there. And I had a new hope. A hope that there were more people like West, willing to stand for the right thing. People with enough courage to stand for what they believed in, no matter what anybody would say or do.
“What about your brother?” I asked.
West sighed heavily. “Honestly, I don’t know. Devon can hide his emotions from anyone, including me. So, I don’t know what he feels about the situation, but I just hope he understands.”
I nodded slowly and we continued walking again, side by side as before. The rain was softer now, almost like a mist, making the forest seem like a mystical land.
“What’s your brothers name?” West asked, as we crossed a small stream, jumping from rock to rock.
“Ethan,” I said.
“Does he look like you?”
“No, he has sandy blond hair and he can make you laugh just by smiling at you. It’s the goofiest thing you’ve ever seen.” I missed him so much it made my stomach ache. West was quiet again, probably thinking of his family, too. How could we not think of them? My parents were probably dead and West’s were on a different continent, both very far away and both constantly on our minds.
“West, what do you think is happ
ening out there? In the cities I mean . . .”
I turned my head to the south, even though it was far behind us and unable to see, though I still looked, hoping to see something that wasn’t there. The only picture that came to my mind was thick billowing smoke drifting from the city from the first day, proof of the disaster which had occurred there.
West said, “When I left the South City it was in bad shape—horrible actually—but I’m not sure about the rest. Fortunately for us, we had the element of surprise.”
“Do you think the war is already over?” I asked, afraid of what his answer might be. West stopped and studied me again, looking through sorrowful eyes.
“Probably not.” He kept his eyes on everything but me, uncomfortable with talking about the events he took part in. And I hated asking about it, and bringing him out of his joyful mood. Then a thought came to my head and the words burst from my mouth before I could stop them.
“West, why did you . . .” I dug my shoe into the wet dirt, not sure about asking the question on my mind. West eyed me curiously. I tried again, “Why did you come with me?”
“Well, I have no where else to go and—”
I nodded my head quickly, trying to hide my face. “That’s true.”
My heart slowly sank as I walked on, not quite sure what I was expecting him to say. His hand stopped me again. I couldn’t deny it to myself; I savored every moment that West touched me. My skin prickled and my blood raced when he did, causing my heart to pump faster in my chest.
“I wasn’t finished,” West murmured, his voice so smooth.
When my eyes finally drifted back to him, West was giving me a small smile. His eyes shone brightly, dragging me into them like a sparkling star, unable to tear my eyes away.
“I stayed with you because you’re, well . . . Reese.”
“You didn’t know my name until the second day,” I mumbled, raising an eyebrow.
West laughed but his smile stayed wide. “No, but I didn’t need to know your name to know that you were different. You are so unlike anyone I have ever met. The first time I saw you I hesitated before reacting to the situation. And I hesitated because I don’t know a single person who would have saved a complete stranger. Above all, a stranger that was supposed to be your enemy.”
