[IC] This Means War

[liah]

"Mhmm." I nodded, looking towards the towering tress ahead of us. For a while, we sat in comfortable silence letting the sleeping sounds of the others fill our ears. I couldn't help but wonder what we would do next. I was definitely holding everyone back. Even worse, I was keeping us all in danger.
"Sooo..." I broke the silence, "I was thinking that maybe you guys should leave me here and keep going. I'd be fine. You guys could get back safely and send someone to come and get me. You could move a lot faster without me." I said quietly. I didn't really want them to leave me, but it'd be selfish of me to let everyone else parish by my side.

[natcat]

I frowned at her. "Now what makes you think we would do something like that?" I asked, shaking my head. "No, we're not leaving you behind. You wouldn't do that to any of us, why would we do it to you? We're a team now. We stick together, we survive. We're not doing it any other way."
I sighed and looked up at the sky. "The others will be up soon, we'll figure out our next step once everyone has had something to eat."

[liah]

I rested my head back on the tree and tried to relax. "I guess you're right." I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the sharp pains pulsing through my leg.
Not too long after, the others began shuffling in their sleep, slowly waking up. Joe was the first of the siblings to rise. He yawned obnoxiously loud and began to wake his siblings.
"So uh-" I heard him trying, but failing to whisper, "Did she make it through the night?"

[natcat]

I looked over just as Em's arm darted out from her spot, whacking Joe for what he'd just said.
"Ow!" Joe cried grabbing his arm gingerly looking offended at Emma's action.
"You're an idiot." Was all she said as she sat up and stretched her arms out, cracking her neck as she tilted it from side to side. "God, please can we find a softer camping ground next time... I'm pretty sure I had roots sticking into every inch of my back last night."
Spencer just rolled over, turning his back on them, clearly eager to ignore his siblings and sleep in as much as he could.
"We need to figure out our next move guys. Eat some food and we'll discuss our options." I stood up and chucked them one of the bags nearest to me.

[liah]

A bit of time went by as the group ate and discussed plans. I was silent through most of it. I had nothing to say or contribute with me being the one holding everyone back. I ate bits and pieces of food, but not much. My appetite wasn't at it's best. All I wanted to do was sleep and take meds. I wished I'd had pain medicine that wouldn't put me to sleep, but I didn't complain. I didn't want anyone to know how much pain I was actually in. I wished I could just stand up and my leg would be all better.

"So what you're saying is. We either, 1) take turns carrying her or making a stretcher to drag her around in. 2) A few of us can stay behind with her. Or 3) We hope for the best and wing it." Joe sat with his hands in his lap. His tone lead on that he didn't like any of the options that had thought of. "I don't know what else to do." He sighed.

[natcat]

I sighed and looked at Joe. he wasn't being terribly helpful. "I know this is tricky guys, but we aren't about to leave anybody behind. The best we can do at the moment, is to support her between two of us at a time. We are lucky there are four of us, we can swap when we get tired." I suggested, glancing at Spencer as he concentrated on inhaling an apple.
"Well," Em piped up, leaning her elbows on her knees and looking at me hard. "How about we ask Daisy what she thinks?" She looked to Daisy, "Sorry, Daisy. I hate that we are talking about you like you aren't even here, what do you reckon?"

[liah]

I lifted my gaze from the ground to see everyone starring at me. I didn't want to listen to them discuss what to do anymore. I kind of just wanted it to be all over. "Honestly," I started. "You guys should just leave me. No suggestion you make is going to make it easier to bring me along." I could feel my wound throbbing, aching and overall causing me pain. "I don't like holding you all back. You don't have to risk your lives to save mine." I rested my hands gently in my lap.
Spencer began whispering something to Em. She looked at him with concerned eyes before softening her face after a moments thought.
"Spencer has an idea but I don't think you'll like it." She looked at Spencer once more before looking back at me. "We could give you some more of those drugs. Knock you out so you don't feel anything when we carry you." She waited for someone to chime in.

[natcat]

"Hold on, hold on." I started feeling slightly alarmed. "Knock her out? Couldn't that hurt her?"
"Well, no. Not really. She'll just be sleeping basically." Em explained.
"It sounds okay to me. Nice one Spence." Jo pitched in slapping his brother on the shoulder, knocking the poor kid right into his apple as he went in for another bite.
"But, hold on... Daisy? What if something goes wrong? What if they give you too much and you don't wake up?" I looked at Daisy, ignoring Em as she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Stop scaring her! Nothing like that will happen!" She looked at Daisy. "The worst thing that could happen is you sleep right through an ambush, even if you can't walk you can still shoot a gun, that's more helpful than anything. But it's the pain I'm worried about, moving you, without the drugs.. it will hurt - like a bitch."

[liah]

"Well it already hurts like a bitch." I croaked. "You just can't tell because I have a good poker face." I attempted to crack a joke but that was no good.
"You're literally sweating bullets right now." Joe said in a flat tone, starring at me blankly. "You're not fooling anyone." He raised his brow.
I had no clue I was sweating. I wiped my forearm across my forehead and thought for a moment. Giving me that medicine could definitely do more damage than good. Sam was right, I might not ever wake back up. But what were the chances of that? Sleeping through an ambush wouldn't be that bad. I'd either get captured or we'd get away. Simple as that.
"Do it. Drug me up." I finally spoke again. "It'll be better than-" I groaned, feeling my leg twitch about "sitting here in pain. Will I be asleep the whole time?"

[natcat]

"You should be. If you wake up, I can always give you more." Em said as she started rummaging around for her bag of first aid equipment.
"Are you sure?" I asked Daisy, still feeling uneasy about the situation.
"She said do it, I'm sure she's sure." Joe said as he started packing his bags. "But first we should figure out where we go from here. I don't even know which way we came from."
Spencer looked around the small area we were sitting in, as if looking for something that would tell him which way to go. "We came from that direction, Sam." He gestured with his apple core, towards the shortest tree that apparently we had run by as we came to Daisy's aid.
"Well that helps a ton, doesn't it, Spence." Nina finally chipped in, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Look, this is ridiculous, does anyone have a compass?" Joe said as Spencer rolled his eyes.
"What about the sun?" Nina suggested and we all looked up at the cloudy grey sky. "Hmm, okay. Not really."

[liah]

"Yeah, I'm sure. I think." I bit my lip. Sam sure was worried and it was starting to worry me. I felt like he knew something I didn't. Like the Siblings were traders or something. I started having thoughts of all of this going terribly wrong. I sat up from leaning against the tree, my back no longer being supported by anything.
"I can look through these bags. I'm sure we've got something." Joe mumbled. I hazily watched him rummage through our things, trying to find a compass or anything that could give us a sense of direction.
"The trees." I spoke up through the ruckus. "They- they compete for sunlight." I groaned. Everyone grew quiet, listening to see what I had to say. "Walk around a tree. Look which side is more dense or fuller than the other. The fuller" I paused, leaning back on the trunk of the tree. I was so dizzy all of a sudden. "I um-" I couldn't concentrate. "you can-" I felt my eyes shutter. I groaned, tensing at the pain that was shooting through my leg. "The denser side will either be facing north or south." I forced the end of what I had to say out of my mouth. I wasn't sure if that would help or not. "Or we can wait until night-fall to uh-" My voice grew brittle. I placed both hands on my leg, hoping that would stop the pain but it only made it worse. I screamed, losing hold of my sanity. I felt someone rush to my side, but I had no clue who it was. Hot tears began to stream down my face. I wanted to just pass out or have someone end it for me. I had no clue how people in movies could get shot then just go on about their day just fine. "look for the north star." I finished my sentence through sobs. I felt ashamed for crying, almost like a big baby. I didn't feel well. My leg felt like it was bleeding and about to fall off. And I was crying in front of everyone. I was embarrassed and ashamed.

[natcat]

Em darted over to Daisy's side as she screamed out in pain.
"It's okay, Daisy." She started reassuring her, but it didn't seem like Daisy could hear her. "She's got a fever, the wound must have gotten infected, I need to have a look at her wound." She looked at me pointedly and I moved over to sit beside Daisy, taking her hand in mine as I tried not to freak out.
"Daisy, you're okay." I squeezed her hand, letting her know I was there. "Just focus on my voice. We'll get out of here, all of us. Okay? Together."
"Joe, give me the med bag." Em said in the process of unwrapping her dressing, never looking up from her work.
Joe immediately bought over what Em had asked for and hovered unsure whether he should stay and do anything or not.
"Get out some pain killers for Daisy, she hasn't had anything this morning. It'll help a little, settle her fever." Joe nodded. "Spencer get her some water, she needs to flush out that fever and stay hydrated. Cool?"
"Cool." Spence said and I watched as they went about the tasks Em had given them, managing to stay calm and collected at the same time, concentrating on Daisy's leg.
"Okay. It's not as bad I thought. A bit red, but not infected. I'll restitch it just in case. Nina? Give me a hand."

[liah]

Nina rushed over and did as Em said. I flinched as Em began restitching me up. Spencer came over with a water bottle and pain killers. I popped some in my mouth and gulped down the water. "I want the stuff that knocks me out."
"You'll be better soon. I'm sorry. We'll figure it all out." Nina knelt down beside me. I just nodded, wiping away stray tears and sniffled.
"About what she said though." Joe said as he stood tall, starring at the trees. "We could definitely use that tactic to get out of here. We either use the trees or the stars... That is, if the clouds clear up." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

[natcat]

"I don't know about you guys, but that grey sky just doesn't look too good to me." Spencer said as he stared up at the sky. I followed his gaze and couldn't help but agree. What had been a lighter grey had now moved on to become a more intense grey, the darker kind that always brought rain.
"Dammit." Joe said, saving me from saying a worse word.
"Look, we can handle rain guys. What are you afraid of?" Nina said putting her hands on her hips.
"Nina, a wet Daisy mixed with the fever she already has? Not a good mix. I'm not feeling good about it." Em said as she finished off stitching Daisy's leg back up. She put down her tools and reached for some fresh bandages to redress the wound.
I looked at Nina, who was now pursing her lips, thinking hard.
"If we give Daisy the drugs, maybe we could get moving and see if we can find some better cover? A cave, or something along the lines of it?" Spencer suggested and Joe looked at him dumbfounded.
"Little brother, you're not as dumb as you look are you?" He said, folding his arms with a smile.
Spencer rolled his eyes.
"I think that sounds like a good idea." I said, looking down at Daisy. She still looked to be in pain, her cheeks wet with her tears. I felt horrible for what had happened, not that there was anything I, or any of us, could have done, but what she was going through was awful. "What do you reckon, Daisy?"

[liah]

"I don't care." I sniffled. "Do what y'all gotta do." I wiped my eyes with my forearm. "Might be wiser to look for shelter before dragging me along though." I threw an arm over my eyes. "Might be q-quicker too." I let out a shaky sigh.
"Either way, we need to get moving. You want those drugs?" Em asked me. She gently removed my arm from my face and starred at me, waiting for a reply. I nodded.
"I've got them." Spencer walked towards us and handed Em the medicine. "I don't know why you guys think I'm so stupid." Spencer mumbled to himself. I didn't think his siblings heard him.
"Take these." Em handed me two blue pills and my bottled water. "It won't take long for them to kick in. About less than 10 minutes and you'll be asleep. Are you okay with that?" She asked me.
"Yeah, I'm okay with that." I replied. I looked down at the pills in my hand, then at everyone in our small, messy camp. "Try not to drop me while I'm out." I sniffled and took the drugs.
"Don't worry. I'm strong." Joe flexed his arms. "I won't drop you." He laughed. Nina nudged him, rolling her eyes.
I sat there, starring at everyone and they starred back, waiting for the meds to kick in. After a few minutes, my eyes began to grow heavy. Instinct made me fight the sleep and struggle to keep my eyes open.
"Just relax. Sleep." Nina gave me a small smile as the group waited for me to pass out. I nodded, quitting the fight and letting the medicine do its work.

[natcat]

I took a deep breath, watching as Daisy finally nodded off. "Okay, now for the hard part."
Em was already packing up the medical equipment. "Let's get moving, the sooner the better."
And so we did. We didn't have much to organise but ourselves, so once we had our packs on our backs, aside from Joe who had volunteered to carry Daisy's first, we headed out.
He had her cradled like a baby in his arms. To be honest, it was lucky he was here, because I certainly couldn't carry Daisy like that, definitely not looking as comfortable as he did, as if she was just a feather.
I walked at the front of the group, with Spencer, as Em hovered around Daisy checking her every now and then. Nina held the back of our line as we wound through the trees and undergrowth, looking for anything that looked safe and secure to cover in from the rain, possibly even for another nights rest.
"I just hope to the high lord that we aren't going back the way we came." Nina sang out.
"Don't be stupid, Sam know's what he's doing." I heard Joe say. "All I know is that that horrible base camp we just left was south, as long as we're headed north, we're good."
I tried not to grimace with Spencer walking at my shoulder. I had no idea how I became the leader of this supposed group. I had a few plans and ideas sure but I wasn't in any way qualified for this, to make decisions for lives that I didn't have any right making decisions for.

[liah]

"How long do you think we've been walking?" Spencer groaned, after what felt like an hour to him. He wasn't particularly complaining. He was just genuinely curious. He didn't want to get caught in the rain.
"Not too long, Spence. Maybe about 45 minutes. Don't start complaining." Em shot him a look and he sighed.
Nina gasped at the sound of low rumbling thunder that crept its way through the skies. The wind began to pick up, growing stronger and colder with each breeze that blew threw the trees. The skies continued to darken with each passing minute. She wasn't too thrilled about the impending storm. "We need to find some shelter soon. I think this storm is going to be rough." Worry lingered in Nina's voice.
"I agree" Joe looked down at the girl in his arms. "and this one's starting to shiver every now and then. I don't think she's doing too well. Must be getting hot and cold flashes or something." Joe chimed in.

[natcat]

"Yeah, well. We can only do so much. She's just going to have to hold on." I said peering up at the rumbling sky.
I hitched the bag up higher on my shoulder and tried not to put my head down against the wind. We needed to be looking, for anything, that was going to keep up reasonable dry for the coming storm.
"What's that?" Spencer piped up almost two hours later. We had paused only twice, mainly so Joe could put Daisy down for a second and stretch his arms. I had offered to give him a break but he said he was fine, that he didn't mind. I think he just knew I wouldn't have the strength to carry Daisy as safely as he could.
"What's what?" Em said looking drearily out at the bushes that surrounded us.
"All I can see are trees. Trees, leaves, sticks, dirt... Please tell me you see something more interesting." Nina said her arms folded tight against her chest, huddling into herself for protection from the wind.
"Over there." Spencer pointed to a slight break in the trees.
"God, you've got good eyes. To think you used to wear glasses." Nina shook her head, a smile creeping on to her face.
I finally saw what the others could. "I'm not sure. What if someone's there? It's an obvious place for us to hide, if those soldiers come by."
Joe shook his head. "It's too obvious, which is perfect. Isn't it?"
"Look, we'll check it out. If it looks like someones been there recently, we'll move along." Em said reaching for the gun she had tucked in the waist band of her uniform.
"Okay, but not you Em." I said and stepped forward, reaching an arm out to stop her from advancing through the trees to the well camouflaged cabin Spencer had spotted.
"What, why not?" Em said affronted.
"Because, Daisy needs you." Nina said putting a hand on Em's shoulder. "He's right. We're essentially useless to Daisy, you are the reason she's alive right now." Em started blushing as she rose her brows, clearly not expecting that from her sister, and turned back to go stand by Joe, who was gently resting Daisy against a tree out of the winds reach.
"Sam, let's go." Nina nodded to me and I reached for my weapon, preparing myself for the worst.
"Wait, why do you guys get to go? I spotted it!" Spencer said coming to stand by Nina and I.
Nina thumped him. "Shut up and stay here."

[liah]

"Ouch, Nina!" Spencer rubbed the middle of his forehead where Nina had thumped him. "You guys are gonna stop pickin' on me." Spencer pouted, standing between Em and Joe.
"I said shut up, Spence!" Nina hissed as she and Sam began their walk towards the cabin. As they grew closer, Nina became more cautious. "It looks really creepy. Do you think anyone is in there?" Nina glanced over at Sam before focusing her eyes back on the cabin.

Behind them, Em knelt down beside Daisy, gently touching a hand to her forehead. She wasn't as hot as before, so she figured Daisy's fever must've gone down. Joe stretched his arms high in the air, wiggling his fingers towards the clouds. "Did you feel that?" He asked his sister.
"What?" Em replied, standing up and facing her brother.
"That." Joe wiped a raindrop from his nose. "And that." he felt another tiny drop fall onto his face. "That's not good."
"It's been over two hours. It was going to rain eventually." Em huffed before taking a seat next to Daisy. Thunder rolled through the clouds and streaks of lightening followed. She prayed that the cabin was safe enough for them to stay for the night.

[natcat]

"I really, really hope not." I replied to Nina as we made our way to the cabin. It was so surrounded by bush, the roof of it covered in the greenest moss, that we honestly could have walked right past it if not for Spencer.
I looked about, noticing that I couldn't even spot a driveway of any kind. It was just here, alone and hopefully abandoned.
Nina reached the cabin porch first, creeping up the stairs and settling beside the door. We both had our hand guns drawn out in front of us. The tension that hung in the air as I nodded for her to swing open the wooden door was making my heart beat loudly in my ears. Nina reached out and pressed down the handle, I cringed as it squeaked, announcing our arrival to whoever might possible be inside.
The door was stiff in it's hinges as she pushed it open. A good sign, I thought as she gestured for me to enter.
The smell hit me as soon as I stepped inside. It was dark, dank and extremely dusty.
"Oh man, Joe is gonna hate this. He's so allergic." Nina muttered as she followed me in.
I scanned the room in front of us. A small, barely there kitchen was crammed into the corner opposite us, broken cupboard doors hanging from rusty hinges. There wasn't much left in here besides a small couch with a hole in the middle where the spring had broken through and a small round wooden table with a few chairs knocked over beside it. Various decorative items lay covered in dust amongst an old bookcase that sat next to the small fire place.
"I would say it's definitely not been used in a long time." Nina said and I could tell she was beginning to relax.
"Check out those doors." I said, nodding to the two that most likely led to a bathroom and a bedroom. "I'll check out the back."
"Okay." Nina lifted her gun up again, moving towards the closed doors. I stepped forward, cursing the creaky floorboards as I made my way to the screen door on the opposite side of the room, my footsteps leaving imprints in the thick layer of dust that covered the floor.