Thorn forest
868 Words
"How long?" Lisa asked, causing Parker to look around at her, since they were following the tree cines, and finding more the further they went they'd slowed down to avoid getting sliced all over their bodies.
"What?" He responded.
"How long have we been walking?" She asked, and he thought about it, in his own perspective it was merely a few minutes.
"About twenty minutes I guess."
"It feels longer, it feels much longer... I'm really tired, like I've been walking for days without rest, I can barely move my legs anymore." She said, and he paused to get a closet look at her, she really did look exhausted, she was sweating and the scar on her chin seemed to have changed colour as well, she was sweating despite the night being cold, and her eyes looked bloodshot.
"Let's stop for a second." He Held her shoulders and made her rest against a rock, using the folded chute on her back as a pillow behind her. "Your skin is on fire." He looked at her shocked, he started wondering if keeping the thorns was such a good idea any more, he did t remember anyone from the previous season encountering that plant and thought it was good to weaponise it but it was clear now that wasn't going to be the case, that thing was dangerous, too dangerous, and by the looks of it poisonous.
"How do you feel?" He asked, and she wheezed trying to sit upright to talk to him.
"Relax... just try talking as you are." He held her head down with his palm on her forehead.
"Not good, I know it's night, but I can't really see the lights reflecting off anything any more, I've been struggling," She admitted and then reached out and took his elbow. "Parker, do you think, I'm gonna die here, like this?" She asked, and Parker formed a grimace on his face as he thought about it. "My insides hurt, it hurts to breathe, and it hurts to talk too, it feels like I'm shutting down."
"I don't know what to do about this..." Parker took a proper seat and leaned carefully against the thorned tree she was leaning on. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay... I guess." Lisa whispered, taking comfort that even in this weakened state he didn't leave her to die and run off, this only made her more sad though and she sniffled before tears began running from the corners of her eyes. "I don't want to die here."
While she said it there was a very small insect above them, but instead of a head this creature had a camera attached to the body as it observed them silently and then closer to them were small spiders with mics for abdomens.
"Current feed." Was headlined all across the world as audiences of all ages and masses gathered to watch their shared moment, Parker checked every few seconds to make sure Lisa wasn't dead, before he sat up and looked at her, her breath was slow but she was clearly alive.
"Can you hear me?" He asked, and she partially opened her eyes and smiled, thinking the silence meant he'd finally left.
"Still here, but I'm afraid you're gonna leave me..." She replied, and he sighed and then sat up straight and took her from her uncomfortable position before carefully leaning back down with her head against his chest. "You're okay, I won't leave you like this, because if anyone else finds you they might kill you, or worse." he admitted just before his watch and hers lit up with a low subwoof beep, on the immediate screen it explained that of the hundred and one contestants seven had died from compromised parachutes and then another seven had died on the beach, and then another had died inland, after which it showed him the exact location he was currently at as well as the location of the other contestants for five seconds before the others' vanished leaving his and a beacon appeared on the map labeled "resource drop".
A mere few seconds after the map was deactivated he heard the sound of a plane passing over.
"There's a resource drop passing over us." Parker said as he leaned back down with Lisa.
"Aren't you going for it?" She asked, but he patted her shoulder and released a sigh.
"No, everyone is gonna want to rush it, first to get supplies and escape will be lucky, after that the others will fight for the left overs, more people are gonna die, fifteen are already dead, seven from the jump and seven killed on the beach then another somewhere in the forest, we have to get high ground, is what I said, but you can barely walk anymore, so I have no choice but to wait till daylight, if you make it till dawn, you might live."
"And... if I don't?" She asked and he wanted to kick himself for mentioning it.
"That's enough talking... focus on resting and recovering your strength." He said and then opened his sweater around her arms and hugged her for warmth.
"But in the back of his head held a message.
"Don't die."
- Writer
