As I lay on the ground, with the blood gushing out of my left fore arm, Marcus wraps it in his shirt to try to soak up the blood. Allie's cannon goes off. I sit myself upright against the tree. I start to cry, not because of the pain, but because of Sarah's death. She didn't deserve to die that way. Sweet, innocent Sarah. Marcus wraps me in his arms as I sob.
"Shh. Annelise, it's ok." He says in a quiet, soothing voice. He strokes my hair and tries to calm me down.
"It's not fair. She didn't deserve what they put her through. None of this is fair." I cry. Marcus sits against the tree and I cry into his chest. He is still smoothing my hair down. It all happened so fast. She was just laughing 10 minutes before. Now she will never laugh again.
"I promise, Annelise, we will make it home. And Jake will pay for her death." He says. I stop crying and I look up into his crystal blue eyes. One is almost swollen shut and black from where Jake punched him.
Suddenly, before I know what is going on, I press my lips up to Marcus's. His lips are soft, warm, and steady. He doesn't pull away; instead, he holds my face with his free hand. We stay like this until we need to come up for air. My whole body is tingling and my mind is clouded and fuzzy for a few seconds. He leans his forehead against mine.
"I promise." He whispers. He kisses the tip of my nose.
"We need to get back to the hideout to patch you up." He says. I stand, but immediately collapse back to the ground, feeling woozy from the gash on my arm and the kiss. He scoops me up in his arms and carries me to our hideout. Evan is sitting in the corner waiting for us.
"What happened out there? I woke up to screaming and Marcus leaving" He exclaims. Marcus lays me down.
"Where's Sarah?" Evan asks. A tear falls down my face.
"She's not coming back." I say, shakily. "She's gone."
He understands what has just happened, stops asking questions, and helps Marcus with my arm. It's not too deep, but it runs from my wrist to just below my elbow, heavily bleeding. They clean it and put bandage around it. It starts to soak through the bandage and he replaces it.
After, I prop myself up and lean against the wall, staring into space.
Marcus and Evan go to retrieve our weapons and water from where I left it. They come back an hour later with the fish cleaned and the water baskets. He puts them in their spot in the wall and sits beside me. He wraps me in his arms.
"Why don't you try to get some sleep? Evan and I will keep watch." I obey and place my head on his chest. He wraps the blanket around us. I listen to the steady beat of his heart until I drift off into sleep.
When I wake, the sun is setting in the sky and Marcus is still awake, while Evan is already passed out.
"Go ahead and get some sleep." I tell him. "If anything happens, I have my sword, and I will wake you."
"Wake me. You are in no condition to use your sword." He tells me. He falls asleep almost immediately. He still has his arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder. He places his head on top of mine and I keep a close eye on the entrance to our hide out. I watch as the sun slowly rises. Evan wakes up and stretches on the ground.
"Good morning Annelise." He says. He looks over at me and lets out a sarcastic laugh.
"I knew you two liked each other." He teases. A small smile breaks across my lips.
"Go ahead and eat something, but not a lot." I say. He obeys and silently grabs a bowl of vegetable soup. Marcus starts to squirm around, and then he wakes up.
"Good morning, Sapphire." He says. I kiss him.
"Good morning." I reply. He hops up and grabs some of the soup.
"Can you toss me a roll?" I ask. Evan flings one over to me and I snatch it out of the air with ease. I rip it in half and stuff one half in my mouth.
"Has there been any sign of Kennedie around?" Evan asks. I try to think, I haven't seen her since she was separated from us at the Cornucopia. Just then, I hear something crack a branch outside the entrance. I grab my sword and start towards the entrance. Marcus grabs my hand.
"Stay here, I'll go check it out." He grabs his gun and crawls out quietly. I follow behind him.
"Or don't." He says sarcastically. He should know that I am stubborn by now. When we are outside, I see a figure jump behind a tree. I start to wield my sword, prepared to attack, until I catch a glimpse of black hair. I risk speaking aloud.
"Kennedie, is that you? It's just us, Annelise and Marcus." The figure steps out from behind the tree, cautiously. It's Kennedie. I drop my sword and run up to her. She has a few cuts on her arms and face, but nothing we can't fix. "Are you ok?" I ask her. She nods her head.
"I have been looking for you guys since I had to escape from the Cornucopia. Is Evan still with you?" She asks, and the worry in her voice is obvious.
"Yes, he is fine. Barely a scratch on him. Come on, we'll show you our hideout." She follows Marcus and I into the hideout.
"Evan!" She yells. He immediately gets up and hugs her. "I'm so glad you're safe!" She squeals. I start to smile until Kennedie asks about Max and Sarah. The smile immediately drops from my face. I can feel my throat tighten, as it always does when I try to avoid crying.
"Max didn't make it out of the Cornucopia and Sarah…" My throat tightens up and I can barely speak anymore. Marcus comes over and wraps me in his arms before I start to cry. I bury my face in his chest. I remember that I have to stay strong for Evan, Daniel, and Becca who are probably watching right now. Plus, no one wants to sponsor someone who is a wreck after their ally's death.
"She's gone." Is all I can say.
Kennedie leaves me alone and goes to treat her wounds. I tell her and Evan to stay here while Marcus and I go to hunt. He barely lets me do anything, though, because of my arm, even though I tell him I'm fine. We quietly go through the woods, and 2 hours later, we return to the hideout with a few squirrels and rabbits, already cleaned and ready to eat.
We decide to risk a fire to cook the food. We all climb out and head into the woods. No one comes after us though. Rabbit tastes much better cooked. I get the berries and pass some out. I even find some mint plants, and brew some mint tea.
Evan and Kennedie toss berries at each other, catching them in their mouths. They toss one in my direction, but I just let it fall to the ground. They take the hint and continue on without me.
I sit and stare into the fire. Marcus sits by me, his right hip against my left. I put my head on his shoulder. He wraps his right arm around my waist, pulling me close. We sit there, staring at the fire, refusing to let go of each other.
I realize it's dark out when Marcus shakes me, bringing me back to reality. I kick some dirt onto the fire and we head to our hideout. Kennedie and Evan take the first watch. I lay on the ground on my side, and Marcus lies facing me, putting his arm over me. I gently kiss his lips and fall asleep.
A/N: Aw! (Didn't see any of that coming.)
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XOXO ~Alexis2259