The Survival

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Dylan snaps.

Beth’s words rocked our world, one moment we were paralyzed, theorized and fascinated by the place we stumbled upon. We had millions of questions running on our heads, and billions of answers that we thought would fit.

But all changed when she started talking, first the way she spoke made all the head turns, her weak voice and the way she was clutching her belly made us more curious to her next words. Then came the first questions.

‘Where is the person who did this?’

‘Why are we still here, in this person territory?’

‘What if the haunted stories that Ed told us about the people that disappeared here aren’t only stories?’

Each one of them would bring more doubts to our heads, but they were undeniably important questions. Nathan, Ed and Dylan asked the most obvious, but Beth went far, she went to the depths of the matter.

If the wheels on our heads weren’t working enough when she voiced these three, it surely started working with the last one. It was like a bomb, like a very well-planned bomb attack. It was unexpected, it shocked us to no point of return, and broke everything in its way.

After hearing her words my mind felt like fireworks were erupting there. The nerves, cells, and neurons in my brain acknowledge the gravity of the situation. Above all, acknowledge the danger we were in.

We must be the most stupid human beings on Earth, maybe even the most idiotic beings that walked on this planet.

Because of the curiosity of ones and the astonishment of others, we didn’t realize the danger that could jump in our backs at any second. We were in a macabre site, which is obviously inhabited, the person who lives here doesn’t have the best of hobbies, and here we are. Standing like vegetables, without any reaction.

The place looks like something out of a horror movie. The drawings and weird hand writing at the trees and at the floor remind me of black magic and witchcraft. It also reminds me of what Ed told us when we were talking about coming here, ‘portal to another world’, ‘Celtic rituals’, ‘satanic costumes’.

However, the spell that we were put in is broken, and we gained back some of the intelligence we have.

“f**k this shit.” Ed mutters. This boy is getting more frustrated with every passing second, if he was a girl I would say that he was in that time of the month all the time.

I adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder and bring Beth closer to me.

“You think you can walk?” I voice my fear. She nods at me slowly and starts to walk, or better saying, she tries to keep up with us, she doesn’t even get closer. She is taking baby steps and her nose is wrinkling. The feeling isn’t helping, and I’m sure that the fact she is on her period is only causing her more pain.

“Come here.” I don’t wait for her answer, stubborn as she is, she will probably say that she can do it by herself. I raise her arm and put it over my shoulder and start walking in a fast pace and she tries to keep up, but the others are almost sprinting, leaving us behind.

She probably feels like a victim, out of all of us she is the one that gets sick quicker and is always feeling terribly, either fainting or feeling weak, yet it’s not her fault, it’s just her way of being, the way her body reacts to all of this. She needs someone to carry her or support her, I know she hates it, but she can’t help it and we’re not going to leave her.

Panic from this whole situation invades my system, we can’t lose each other’s sight again. Last time didn’t work well, and I don’t want a replay scene. I increase my pace, but I see that Beth is having some difficulties.

“Let me help you.” I turn around to see Nathan, he snatches her of the ground and slumps her over his shoulder. Witnessing Nathan lifting Beth, you would think that she is as heavy as a feather, but no, that girl looks like a model but weights like a cow.

Nathan keeps one arm around her waist, I see his biceps almost ripping through is shirt and I almost have to slap myself, so I focus on the matter here.

Stop acting like a horny dog. You’re in a life or death kind of situation. Now move that butt and advertise your eyes from his muscles.

If I was drooling with his muscles then I almost fainted when he grabbed my hand with the one that wasn’t supporting and keeping Beth in place, “We have to move on.” He said.

His hand is huge compared to my little one, his hand grips mine tightly and he intertwines our fingers together making my breath hitch. It takes me a moment to register that this is so not the time to feel like a love puppy.

Beth’s head is bobbing up and down thanks to Nathan’s fast pace, and only looking at her do I notice Nathan’s backpack. I break our hand hold and grab the strap of his bag, without much effort to stop it, he lets it slip from his shoulder and I put it on mine. Now I’m carrying two heavy backpacks.

Heavy is a good word to describe the weight of it, but it isn’t enough. As soon as the bag is safely on my back, I start to lose my balance. Nathan realizes my struggle and quickly helps me getting steady.

“Thanks.” I murmur.

“I can take it if you wan-“

“I can do it.” I interrupt him. He doesn’t say a thing after that, he simply takes my hand once again and we sprint.

We try to make as less noise as we can, but it’s hard. The sound can either be the fallen leaves crunching beneath our feet, our breath, the small and inoffensive wild animals running away from us, and much more.

We keep running, without stopping till we feel safe, till we make a safe distance between that horrible place and us.

It feels like I’m running a marathon, and the finish line seems ages away from me. I just want to stop and have some rest, but I know better than that. I look at Nathan from the corner of my eye, and just like me he is struggling to keep his constant pace. The only difference is that he is running with Beth over his shoulder.

It doesn’t take long for Beth to start shouting that she is, now, able to walk and run on her own. However, her attempts to persuade Nathan to let her go, fail. He is to focused on getting us safe, or so I think.

Finally, we came to a stop, we all take a deep breath, and try not to crash into the ground because of our weak legs that lost their strength. Mine seem like they are made of jelly.

Nathan slides Beth from his shoulder and... She slaps him on the arm. She is screaming profanities, saying that she was more than capable of running with us.

Nathan is stunned with her reaction, not only because of her colourful words, but also because of the slap she gave him. Okay, I guess he wasn’t expecting that kind of thank you. Neither was I. When Beth marches to me, I know that I will have the same fate Nathan did.

Excuses saying that she called me lots of names, most of them were animals.

The sun is disappearing in the horizon, the colours characteristic from the sunset are filling the sky. Usually we only settle down and start building our camp stop when it’s already darkening, and you can see a few stars. However today we had too much emotions, conflicts and surprises that would last a month, so we decided to rest.

“I’ll go find wood for the bonfire.” Nathan says and darts off, I hesitate for only a second, but I follow him at the end. He sees me approaching him, yet he doesn’t say a thing.

Now that we are walking is when I really note how tired I am. My legs are screaming for me to give them a break, I’m still panting, and my mind is the worst of them. Did we actually saw that place? Was it a figment of my imagination?

At this point I prefer to hear a yes to the last question. I prefer to hear someone telling me that I’ve gone crazy than that someone that is in the same woods we are stuck in, and it’s doing sick things to humans, to people.

Who is the crazy bastard that would do that? Where is the fun of it?

A chill runs through my spine and my body starts to tremble.

Is it true what Beth said? What if we are next? And if we are, how long do we have till we end up the same way?

Images of the limbs appear in front of me, first an arm then a leg, and so more, so many more that I can’t count. Those limbs are going to be our limbs in a matter of days, just like Beth said, we are going to die.

I slump against a tree, my eyes are watery, and my body is shaking. I hug my form and I touch my arms, but I don’t feel a thing. Where are they? What is wrong? What is happening?

I see arms, legs, hands and feet, all over the ground, there are so many.

Strong hands hold my face, directing my line of vision from the ground to a beautiful pair of green eyes. “Kate, it’s okay. Take deep breaths.”

I look around me and the dirty and abandoned limbs are still there, lying there. A cry leaves my lips, “Focus on me cupcake, don’t take your eyes off of me.” He rests his forehead against mine and rests his hand on my hip bringing me close to him.

I try to speak but nothing leaves, “Shhh... try to calm down cupcake.” His thumb makes circles on my cheeks and his eyes never leave mine. I want to ask him why are so many members on the ground, why? But I can’t.

Eventually with Nathan’s sweet words and movements my ranging breath slows down. My chest stops raising and falling wildly, and I try to remain calm, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He puts my hair behind my ear and kisses my nose.

“W-why are they he-ere?” I want to be more specific, yet I’m still shocked with what I saw.

“There is nothing here babe.” He looks over his shoulder and I do the same, to my surprise there isn’t a single limb there. How is that possible? I saw them, they were loads, and it was uncountable.

I’ve finally gone mad. I’m seeing things. Creepy and bloody things.

I look dumbfounded at the ground and I expect Nathan to turn around and look at me like I’m a freak. Instead he looks at me with compassion, affection and... love? “You had a panic attack.” He speaks, his eyes never leaving mine, and his hands never stopping, they keep traveling all over my body.

“It’s normal to have it. You saw horrendous things today, we all did, and your brain started playing with you. My sister used to have panic attacks, so I’m used to witnessing and dealing with them.”

I don’t know what to say, what to do, and what to think.

I just want to close my eyes and when I open them wide, I’ll be on my comfy bed while hearing James playing some amazing song in his electric guitar.

I can’t handle it anymore, I can’t handle any of this. I fall into Nathan’s embrace. I wrap my arms around his neck and push my body against him. I squeeze him hard and bring him as close to me as I can. I don’t want to let him go, and I won’t. I want to feel safe, at peace, and Nathan is the only one that can make me feel that way. His arms are heaven, his words honey. And I need him more than anything else now.

He is my life saver.

“I need you.”

The words left my lips without my knowledge, but maybe that was the best thing to do because now all the cards are on the table. Everything was said and done, and I only have to wait for reactions.

For Nathan’s reactions.

I don’t know what I was waiting for. Loads of scenarios were making its way on my mind. He could either be amazed by my words or stop his actions only to give me a romantic kiss, one of those that only happen in cliché movies, that every girl wants to experience, or he could even run away from me.

Yet…

He did nothing of that.

He hugs me closer to his body, if that’s even possible and buries his face in my neck while leaving butterflies kisses, my arms are still around his neck and if I could they would remain there for as long as I wish. We stayed in that position for what seemed like an eternity.

A sigh escapes from his lips and he lifts his head to look me dead in the eye. A weird feeling appears in my stomach when his eyes locked with mine. His green eyes looked intensely into mine that are almost the same as his.

He passes his thumb over my cheek, my forehead, my nose, my lips, my jaw... everywhere, not letting a single space of skin on my face untouchable. His arm rest above my head against the tree, and his other is around my waist.

I’m trapped, not only by his muscled form but also by his gorgeous eyes, which go lower and lower till they reach my lips.

If he kisses me now, I won’t say no, I won’t leave him hanging; I will kiss him with everything I have. I say to myself.

He rests his forehead on mine, closes his eyes and squeezes my waist, “You make this so difficult for me.”

A frown settles on my face. What does he mean with that? I thought that would be good for him. I admitted that I need him, that I want him, in every sense of the word. Where is the difficulty in this?

When his eyes snap open the light green that always make my heart flutter, was replaced with a darker green. My heart skips a beat and I prevent myself from squealing.

I’m not scared, on contraire; I’m excited, horny even.

“You’re so f*****g beautiful, and so tempting.” His voice is so low, so hoarse that I almost fall to the ground right then and there, turning into a puddle. His eyes shift between my eyes and my lips, but he ends up choosing my neck.

He starts sucking on my skin, making goosebumps appear on my arms. He gives a small bite only to lick after, I don’t control my body and let a cry leave my lips.

I grab his curls with one of my hands and the other rests on his bicep. I keep his face on my neck while he makes magic. My breath comes out in pants and my hearts feels like it’s going to jump off of my chest.

I try to catch my breath, but my tentative fail when Nathan licks my collarbones. A strangled moan leaves me, and I incline my head to the side giving him more access.

Fuck. I’m going to have panic attacks more frequently if they lead to this.

A throaty groan is heard, and Nathan presses himself harder against me, “Your skin is so soft, so virgin, and so pure.”

Next thing I know, his hips are on mine, and I feel his b***r. That thing is big as f**k for what I can tell, and my body reacts immediately to it, because I feel moisture on my panties.

His hand travels up and down my body while his tongue lavishes my neck. The feeling of his tongue working on me, turns me on like nothing ever did before, and with his hands moving I can feel the muscles in his arms tensing.

He starts leaving a trail of kisses from my neck to my ear lobe and repeats the process before stopping on my ear, “You need me, hm?” His hoarse voice is the only thing I hear and focus on, but with all the sensations that are taking over my body I can’t reply to him.

He rolls his hips against mine and a moan leaves me again. I grab his shoulders for dear life and push him harder to me, wanting him closer to me, but the only thing separating us are our clothes. Those pieces of clothes are our biggest enemies at the moment.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He whispers while grinding his hips against mine causing my eyes to roll to the back of my head.

I have not uttered a word since his plump lips touched my skin, the only thing leaving my mouth are sounds, that showed how hot, turned on, excited and since I arrived at this forest, happy I am.

I never felt like this, so alive and needed.

I grip his black shirt with one hand and intertwine my fingers in his curls with the other. His tongue keeps doing a sensual dance on my neck, Nathan takes his time, as if he was tasting wine.

A shout is heard, and we cease our movements.

“Was th--”

Nathan silences me by putting his finger on my mouth, I look up at him and his eyes still have a dark colour in it.

We remain quiet and wait, however noise comes back really quickly. Now two shouts are heard, and my eyes bulge of their orbs.

What the hell is happening?

“Nathan we h—“

“Shhh, Kate.” He interrupts me once again.

I shut up as he asks and try to listen. We wait…

“Nathan, you son of a bitch.” Someone shouts.

I turn my head to Nathan and arch an eyebrow, silently asking him a question, is that who I think it is?

“Man, slow down, you can have a heart attack screaming like that.”

I sneak my head from behind the tree and look around, at first, I see nothing, but then I see two figures moving in our direction.

“Dylan...?”

“And Ed.” I complete Nathan’s sentence.

What the hell are those two doing here? It’s the first thing that comes to my mind, but it’s soon forgotten when Ed sees us, or rather my head peaking behind the tree.

“Kate!!” He starts marching my way, his face red like a tomato and if possible, smoke would be leaving from his nostrils. He looks like a bull in fury.

“He’s going to kill me.” I all but say when I hide my head. I’m more than ready to run, because lets be serious here, Ed is not going to be the one to end my precious life, but before the idea is even completely formed in my mind Nathan is grabbing my hand and pulling me from the safety of the tree to be faced with Ed Bull Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is.

“What has gotten into your heads? We have been looking for you for half an hour now.” Ed spits when he reaches our side.

“Half an hour?” Nathan voices what I was thinking about. How is it possible that our... session for lack of better word, lasted so long.

“Yeah mate, 30 minutes. We thought the worst but as always you were with Kate.” He sends me a cold and defiant look while rudely saying my name. If I wasn’t in such a good mood, I would rip his eyes out.

“Do you have any problem man?” Nathan puts me slowly behind him, shielding me from Ed, as cute as the act is, I don’t want to stay hidden from that guy, I don’t want to look like a scared little girl. Cause I’m not.

“I have, and the so called problem is behind you.”

“Good, the feeling is mutual.” I reply him, sending him a bittersweet smile.

“Chill out, both of you.” Dylan steps in between us, sending a warning look to me and Ed before facing Nathan, “When we saw how long you were taking and after seeing what we did, we thought that something had happened with you.”

“We left Lucy, Sarah and Beth on the camp spot, alone, so we could come find you. But it seems that you were well accompanied Nathan.”

“And you obviously had fun.” Dylan starts laughing while wiggling his eyebrows. Confused would say little to what I’m feeling. Nathan is just like me, clueless to why Dylan is smirking and Ed, despite not being smiling, laughing or showing his teeth seems to understand what this is all about.

Dylan probably sensed our confusion and enlightened us, “The legend down there seems happy.” and he points to Nathan black jeans.

Everything made sense with that little phrase, by the corner of my eye I look at his jeans and notice that the bulge it’s still there. Oh, Dear God.

This is so embarrassing. Not the part that Nathan got aroused with what we did, because that’s good, it means that he liked it as much as I did. But the awkward part is the boys finding out that something happened between me and Nathan for his buddy to be like that.

Nathan doesn’t try to cover it or invents a story that has nothing to do with the original version. Instead he grins, with his teeth biting his lower lip and scratches his neck, “What can I say man?”

“Don’t tell me anything, any other time, with another someone I wouldn’t mind you sharing the details.”

“I volunteer to know. You’re the one that loses Ed.” Dylan raises a hand and like a child sticks his tongue out in Ed’s direction.

“I’m not going to say a word mate. Sorry to disappoint you.” Nathan shrugs and tugs me closer to him before moving me with him back to the camp.

“Oh, c’mon man, just a few details?” He says.

“No.” Nathan replies.

“What if you explain with gestures?”

“Not happening Dylan.” Nathan bites his lip and shakes his head in amusement.

“Okay, what about a threesome? You, me and Kate.” His voice is getting lower now, because of the distance that we are creating.

Nathan looks down at me and smirks, “I’ll think about it.”

A huge ‘yes’ is heard from behind us and Nathan laughs by my side.

Oh, no you won’t.