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It sounded far away and not very easy to hear, but I definitely heard it. Instant fear ran through me. I thought of everyone I loved. Jamie, Jared, Melanie, Jeb, Doc, Ian. I couldn't stand a day without them. They were all my family now. So when I heard the scream again, I got right to my feet and ran down the hallway following my steps to my room. Sprinting faster than I ever thought possible, I came into the room to see him still there, sleeping of course.
"Ian! Ian wake up somethings happening!" I yelled. He instantly sat up on his elbows and listened to my sobbing words. "I was in the field and all of a sudden I heard a scream. I ran here as soon as possible but. I have to make sure everyone's okay and-" he jumped up and put his arms around me. I threw my arms around his neck and held him there for a couple seconds.
"No matter what happens, remember I love you" he whispered, then he got to his feet, pulling me along and ran out the door.
He held my hand as we jogged down the hallway, being careful to watch for any sign of movement. We came out to the little field I was in. He looked all around and then came back to me.
"Where did you hear it?" he asked. I thought back to the fuzzy yet deathly familiar memory.
"From the entrance" I choked. Knowing that sent another wave of fear through me. They must have found us. We continued to the far end of the tunnel until we found the entrance ways. Ian held my hand tighter as we came up to exit. But to my surprise no one was here. "I swear I heard it" I said feeling stupid. He looked at me full of love and other emotions I didn't deserve.
"I know Wanda. Lets go see near the exit" He tugged me along and walked out the entrance. To our surprise, I was right. I heard someone scream. It was Lacey on the cave ground, being held by what seemed to be Sunny.
"I can't go back! They can't take me!" she screamed. Confusion and concern drifted through my body as I saw a small circle gathering around them. It looks like I had been right all along. Ian held my hand almost painfully. I knew that he understood what this means. I just wished I could take some of that fear away from him. It hurts me everytime I see him suffer like this. We walked up to Jeb standing on the outside of the small circle gathering around Lacey.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Seekers. They killed Andy" he says casually, as if it's a common occurrence around here. I never had a special memory of Andy that I could cry about how he's gone. But I knew that he was a good person and that he never deserved to die. But that part didn't scare me as much as the point that he is dead.
"how?" I ask. Jeb turns and notices my presence. Instead of answering my question, he sighs.
"You should go back Wanda. Get some sleep or something" This takes me by surprise.
"Why would I do that? I've had enough sleep" I look up at Ian's face to see him glaring at Jeb. Instead of denying it any longer I nod my head to Jeb. "Actually I'm feeling a little worn out. Ian can you come with me?" I ask as innocently as I can. He looks in my eyes for a moment.
"Of course. Can I have a moment real quick to talk to Jeb?" I pause a second. I knew they were keeping something from me. I wanted to wait until we were alone to call him out on it though
"Yeah sure" I say, walking back through the cave a little so I was out of sight but still in hearing range. I listen as closely as I can to their whispering conversation.
"You need to tell her sometime"
"I don't know yet Jeb. She's very fragile and I don't want to cause her any more pain than I have to" there was a pause.
"If you don't do it, I will" Jeb vowed. I could hear the anger in Ian's voice as he responded.
"Ugh. It's like fate doesn't want her to be happy" when I heard him say this, I kind of felt a little hurt. Of course I was happy. Here with my family and the love of my life. "I'll do it. I'll go right now" thats all I heard as I started going further down the hallway until I was safely far enough that he wouldn't suspect I had been listening. When he came around the corner, he had a sad smile on his face. I immediately took my hand in his and walked back to our room. When we got there, I began speaking.
"I know you and Jeb are hiding something from me" I blurt out. Instead of feeling deceived like I thought he would be, he smiles at me.
"I can't hide anything from you. It's like you're brain thinks twice as fast as anyone else. Is that a soul thing?" I chuckle.
"No. It's just me" something about that amuses him.
"So. You're right. But before I tell you, can you promise me that you're not going to be totally selfless like always and try and save the day? I can't stand it if-" he stopped in his tracks. "can you promise me that much?" Now I'm worried. This must be something important or he wouldn't be truly concerned for me.
"Tell me first" I say. He looks down, unable to look at me in the eyes.
"Well. There was this incident that happened. Only Jared Jeb and I know about it but I'm sure Jareds told Melanie by now" He was scaring me the more he talked. "We were concerned about someone near us. A seeker. We went to where they were traveling and saw a message written in the dirt about two hundred yards away. It wrote" he sighed again.
"'We know you have Wanderer as your prisoner. Give her back or we will find her ourselves, no matter what it takes'.. at first we didn't think anything of it. But after a few weeks we saw more and more progress with the seekers. It was getting harder and harder to go on raids. Now it's so bad we can't even go outside at all. And now Andy's dead. Apparently he was going out on a raid with a few people but before they could get to the jeep he was spotted and shot" It was Walter all over again. Because of me people were dying. I was attracted to death. Tears fell from my watery eyes. Before Ian could say something to try and comfort me, I turned and faced the wall so he couldn't see me crying anymore. I didn't want to seem weak to him. "Wanda. It's not your fault"
"It's all my fault!" I yell, not turning around to meet his gaze.
"There's nothing anyone can do, and no one's letting you run away from us" he sounded as if he was unsure of himself.
"If I just never came here in the first place, I would have saved so much pain" I sobbed. Ian turned me around so I was facing him with my big red puffy eyes.
"You coming here was the best thing that ever happened to me. Do you even know how much happiness you've caused?"
I didn't respond.
"Melanie, Jared, Jamie? Me? Do you know how much happiness you've cause me? If you weren't here, Jamie, Jared, Melanie, Kyle, and many others wouldn't be here. Do you want that? For most of us to be dead?"
"How could you even ask me that? Of course I wouldn't want that to happen. But because of me, Walter, Wes, Andy and I don't know how many more will be dead because of me! Maybe even you!"
"But I don't even care Wanda! Because I would know that everything I've been through. All the hell. All the suffering of this painful life, it would all be worth it because I got to meet you!" he leaned closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I would have gotten to fall in love with you" It was so hard to be mad at him or even angry when he did this to me.
"Ugh!" I scream. Annoyed that no matter what I do I can't stay mad at him. "Why can't you see that I want to be screamed at? I don't deserve everything you all give me but I take it with open arms. You keep telling me that I'm selfless but honestly I think that I'm the most selfish person here. Like right now. All I want to do is kiss you, even though I know that you're too good to be stuck with the girl who attracts death!" I stood there, out of breath, waiting for him to respond. He looks at me with a sad smile. Then he hugs me. I wasn't expecting him to do so, and I began pulling away. But he just hugged me tighter. I knew I couldn't compete with his strength, so I gave in and hugged him back. Then he leaned away and stared me in the eyes.
"You need to stop acting like we would all be better off if you never came. I would die without you and you know that. Can you tell me that you don't want this?" he brushed the hair out of my eyes. "or this?" He brushed his hand over my waist "Or this?" he leaned in and kissed me. The lava erupted and I couldn't help but put my arms around his neck. Taking his hair in my hands that clenched into fists. He pulled away when he felt me crying.
"How is it that you've cried so much in twenty four hours?" He asked wiping away the tears. I gazed at him mystically.
"Can I lay down for a while?" I say, sorrowed. He cups my face and nods. I lay down on the mattress and he puts the blanket over me. I didn't want to do anything anymore. It was like I was done trying. But one thing I was sure of. "Ian?" I ask as he begins to walk out of the room.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you can stay with me for awhile?" he grins at me. That same grin that I love so much.
"Of course I will" he comes over so that he's laying with me. Instead of laying beside me like he usually does, he picks me up in his arms, and sets me down on his lap. "You don't even have to ask" I laugh. Then he kisses me quickly. I pull the blanket over both of us and rest my head on his chest as he holds me as close as possible to him.
"I could get used to this" I smile. He kisses the top of my head.
"Me too", and surprisingly, I fall asleep within minutes.
"And its breaking over me
a thousand miles down to the sea bed
found a me place to rest my head" -Never Let Me Go, Florence and the Machine
Next chapter's going to be really intense guys... prepare yourselves now. Review! xoxoxo