liah

This Means War

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.

This Means War

"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.

This Means War

"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?"

This Means War

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.

This Means War

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.

This Means War

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?"

This Means War

"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.

This Means War

"I didn't hear a thing while I was out. I can only imagine how freaky it was hearing the creaks and squeaks of nature." I broke a small piece of bread from the bun Sam gave me and popped it into my mouth. I could only eat a few pieces before it began to bother me. I was starving, but the more I ate, the worse I felt.
"I'm sorry, I can't eat anymore." I sat the remainder of the bun down in my lap and took a deep breath. "Makes me feel a bit sick."

This Means War

"Thank you." I said as Sam handed me a bottled water. I unscrewed the cap and began gulping down, drinking more than half of the water inside before taking a breath and sitting the bottle down beside me. "I really appreciate it." I gave him a small smile.
"Why are you up so early?" I asked, curiously. "I'd probably still be asleep if I were you."

This Means War

I jumped, startled at the sound of Sam's voice as he spoke. I had no idea anyone was around.
"You scared me." I croaked. "I-" I held up a hand as a gesture for him to give me a second to collect my thoughts. I felt dazed and confused, unable to grasp even the slightest bit of what was happening, as the throbbing of my leg infiltrated my mind. It was hard to concentrate on one thing. I was scatter brained, trying to focus my attention on Sam and forget about my pain. I cleared my throat and gathered my words.
"I'm alright. I mean, to be honest I feel like I've been hit by a truck. But I'm alright." I stood still, frozen in an uncomfortable position of half standing up straight and slouching, trying my best to keep pressure off of my leg. I was exhausted, hurting, and extremely thirsty.
"What did you mean by it being early? How long was I asleep?" I asked as I carefully slunk back down into a sitting position. I didn't quite have the energy to hold myself up yet. I was still so tired, but I didn't want to go back to sleep.
Bits and pieces of the days previous events were all coming back to me. The feeling of my bandages being changed throughout the day as I slept, quiet chattering of what our next move was, then darkness. The rest was a dark, dreamless sleep.