Stranger Things
Chapter 9: Night in the Forest
The forest was dark. The two ran, just narrowly avoiding tree branches and nimbly jumping logs and roots that blocked their path. Suddenly, Olivia's hand slipped out of Elliot's. Elliot stumbled and fell down a steep embankment, landing just at the edge of a fast rushing stream.
Olivia stopped, not being able to tell for sure what had happened to Elliot in the darkness. "Elliot," she called softly yet urgently into the darkness. "Elliot, please answer me?"
Two terrifying heartbeats later she heard a response "Over here," he called as he tried to climb back up the embankment and failed; his left leg had been injured when he fell, just how badly, he wasn't sure yet.
Olivia followed the sound of his voice and nearly tumbled down the embankment herself. She recovered just in time however and climbed carefully down to join him at the water's edge. "You all right?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm.
"My leg," he explained, shifting to his right side "When I fell, I landed on it."
Olivia gingerly touched the leg, running her hands along it carefully. The bone wasn't broken or at least she didn't think it was. His ankle was beginning to swell up though. "It's not broken," she informed him "But I think you sprained your ankle.
"Great," he muttered.
"We should stay here for the rest of the night," Olivia decided. It was so dark now that she couldn't even see Elliot when he was mere inches from her.
Elliot sighed in frustration "This is bad," he told her.
"Yeah," she agreed, standing and finding a few dry sticks to build a fire in the hope that it would provide them with some heat. She found a few dry leaves and collected a small pile of sticks. About two feet from the edge of the stream, she built the fire. She managed to get a spark from rubbing two of the sticks together and soon flames lit their surroundings with a flickering eerie glow.
Olivia didn't dare move too far from the fire but instead gathered all the kindling she could within a few feet of where Elliot sat. She gathered a small pile which she kept at arms length from her in case she needed to feed the fire.
Elliot wrapped an arm around her shoulders "You okay?" he asked.
She shivered but nodded. After a few minutes she asked "Do you think Danielson and Ross are really with the CIA?"
"I hope so," Elliot said honestly.
Olivia sighed and leaned into Elliot's embrace "This whole thing scares the shit out of me," she admitted softly.
"Yeah," Elliot nodded, brushing an errant lock of hair behind her ear "Me too."
"What are we supposed to do now?" she asked. Usually, Olivia could come up with the next move no problem but this whole situation had her confused and second guessing herself; they were a long way from New York and the rapists and child molesters they were used to dealing with.
Elliot pulled her closer to him. He had no idea what they were supposed to do. There seemed to be people out there hell bent on killing them. "I guess," he said finally "We stay here tonight, douse the fire as soon as the sun comes up and move on." Not the best of plans but it sounded a hell of a lot better than 'I don't know.'
Olivia sighed and stifled a yawn.
"Get some sleep," Elliot insisted softly.
"No," Olivia objected "I'm fine," but as she was saying this, another yawn burst forth.
"Get some sleep," Elliot repeated, looking at his watch "I'll keep an eye out."
"You should get some sleep too," Olivia told him firmly.
"You. Lie down," he commanded half jokingly. "I'll watch the fire and wake you up in," he looked at his watch again "Four hours. Then we'll switch."
Olivia nodded as yet another yawn escaped her. She lay down on the ground beside Elliot "Four hours," she reminded him softly "Not a second more."
"I promise," Elliot said. He watched her as her breathing evened out. He took a few sticks off of the pile that Olivia had collected and added them to the fire. The night was cold and the fire did very little to change that. Then Elliot remembered the jacket he was wearing. He took it off and laid it carefully over Olivia while she slept.
For the next four hours, Elliot sat there, sometimes staring off into the flames as if he could see the meaning behind his entire existence in them. Other times he would watch Olivia. He memorized every detail in the familiar face that he knew so well. Other times he would stare at the rushing water, listening to the sounds of the forest.
He did a lot of thinking in those four hours. Why they were here and what they should do next. If Danielson and Ross weren't with the CIA then… the possibilities scared him. And there was still the question of who had tried to kill them earlier that evening. There was no question in his mind that their lives were in danger; it wouldn't take the shooters long to discover that the only person wounded in the shooting had been that boy. They would come back looking for him and Olivia.
Elliot looked down at his watch. The four hours had passed. As much as he hated to wake her, he knew she would kill him if she discovered he had let her sleep. He tossed a few more sticks on the fire before he shook Olivia gently "Liv," he whispered.
Her eyes popped open instantly and she sprang into a sitting position "What?" her eyes darted around wildly "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Elliot soothed her "The four hours is up."
She nodded "Okay," she smirked "Now it's your turn to lie down."
Elliot did as he was told. The ground beneath him was soft, covered with a thick layer of moss and pine needles that easily absorbed his warmth. He curled up on his right side, letting his left ankle lay fully extended. "Remember," he told Olivia "Don't let me sleep any longer than four hours either."
Olivia nodded, glancing down at her watch. Four hours would make it roughly 4:00am. It would still be dark and not advisable to start moving again. "Okay," she agreed.
Not until Elliot had already drifted off did Olivia notice his coat still lying in her lap where it had fallen when she sat up. She smiled to herself and draped it over Elliot's sleeping form. As she sat there, eyes warily watching the surrounding woods for any signs of trouble, she fondly remembered the comforter that Ganzner had stolen from her apartment. It was still in the back of Elliot's car, which was still parked somewhere in these woods. And, she remembered triumphantly, the keys were still in it.
Danielson and Ross had simply driven them to the motel, leaving the car where it was. The only problem now would be finding it. The woods stretched on for miles. But at least they had a means of escape now, if they could find the car.
