Hey guys, very short chapter I know but I've started working on my research paper again and it is eating up my time. On the plus side, the next chapter should be out soon. Thanks go to all of you who reviewed, favourited or alerted. I cherish every single alert. Enjoy.

TRAPPED

Sam was sweaty and furious by the time the sun rose but he wasn't satisfied. He couldn't stop thinking about Erica and what she'd said and what he'd said. Shit. He couldn't even think about it without using ridiculous abstractions. She'd rejected him…as he'd always known she would. Why had he said anything? What did he really hope to achieve? They were friends. They had always been friends and that was what they would always be… just friends…if she didn't hate him now, that was.

He punched the tree harder. It shuddered and began to crack. Maybe he was exaggerating. Erica wasn't the kind of person to throw away a friendship over something like this. It would be awkward for a while but he meant something to her, didn't he? He gritted his teeth and felt the bark of the tree splinter under his fist. He shouldn't have left her like that. He should have…He didn't know what he should have done, only that he shouldn't have left her crying on a bench in the middle of the night with only her shady Anbu guard for company. With a final hit, the tree shattered sending splinters as large as his arm flying in every direction. He dodged them all by using a substitution jutsu that took him to the other end of the training ground.

With a heaving sigh he settled against the trunk and began unwrapping the bloody bandages that covered his knuckles. He winced slightly as he peeled away a particularly sore section. If Erica saw him now, she would undoubtedly launch into a tirade about overzealous training and certain people (Sam obviously) not taking good care of themselves. Then she would insist on finding him a doctor even though he'd had worse injuries since he got here and would undoubtedly have more.

He grinned as he remembered their last big fight about his health practices. Erica could be a monumental pain in the ass but her heart was usually in the right place. He suddenly had the urge to punch something again. He shouldn't have pushed her about going home. He should have laid out his plan calmly and logically and let her decide. After all, he'd known that she would be worried about safety. He was worried about safety. He should have made it clear that he had no intention of trying it before he knew that it was 100% safe; that he would risk his life but never hers.

It all seemed to go wrong for him; everything, always. Looking down at his hands he realised that he'd split one of his knuckles down to the bone. With a sigh of intense frustration, he resigned himself to seeing Sakura again and the inevitable beration she would lay on him.

He wasn't looking forward to that either. She'd encouraged him to express his feelings; to tell Erica how he felt about her but look where that got him. Plus, there was what happened after. He remembered the feel of the wind on his face and warm hands resting against his cheeks and then… He pushed the thoughts far out of his mind. If he didn't want to think about Erica, he really, really didn't want to think about that. The repercussions and possible meanings were…

He jumped down from the branch and began rewrapping his hands. He'd try stitching them up himself. It would hurt but it would be worth it. Maybe he should study some medical jutsu? He was selecting a stronger looking tree when there was a sudden explosion coming from near the main gate.

It caught him by surprise and a tree caught him by the back. The air began to saturate with smoke. Sam pushed himself upright and began brushing at the detritus that clung to him. His overactive mind was already calculating the probabilities. It had come from near the gate where a large cloud of smoke was now coating the entire area. The explosions continued but with less force as it seemed to move away. He began to run towards it and then stopped.

A dark haired figure dashed in front of him at the edge of the forest closely followed by someone who was bright blonde and very familiar. Lest he have any doubts as to whom it was;

"Sasuke!"

Sam took a moment to sigh in exasperation before turning to chase after the blonde. He leapt the wall and squashed himself like a bug against a zapper. He came to his senses lying on a patch of charred grass looking up at Kakashi.

"Oh, you're alive." came his far too calm drawl "Sakura?"

"It's impenetrable, I can't shake it." She said as she grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him to his feet. He tried to look at the wall but she forced his eyes to meet hers. For a crazy moment he thought she was going to kiss him but she merely pulled his eyelid up and looked into both his eyes before running chakra through her hands. The headache he didn't realise he had, disappeared.

"A barrier?" Sam asked surveying the wall

"Yes. It seems to cover the entire village." Kakashi paused as though listening to something, " Yamanaka says that he can't sense anything beyond the wall. We've been cut off."

"From help?" asked Sam

Kakashi turned calm eyes to him, "No, from escape."