Chapter 36

Xxxxx

Hey all! Thank you so much to Unexpainable Awesomeness and Sheerio4ever for the reviews! As you know, I love reading them, and the more I receive, the more motivated I get to writing faster!

To make up for the last chapter being late, this one is at least 2000 words longer than the rest! I just wrote it on the bus journeys to and from school, so it went by really fast, and I loved writing this chapter!

I love that people are still reading, and I wonder if any of you have seen the Hobbit part 2 in cinemas! Go Legolas or however you spell his name! He was so awesome! Can't wait for part 3!

Enjoy!

Xxxxx

As soon as her torso slumped down into the mattress, embedded into the rough floor of my cave, I instantly began to feel a rapid mix of emotions rolling over me. At first I was automatically guilty. I had just pinned her down onto the bed after she had lashed out at me. My cheek still stung slightly in effect.

Even if I couldn't see the damage made there, I could visualise that much harm had been done. I doubted it would leave a mark, although at the same time, I was sure that I wouldn't be surprise if the impact actually did.

As small looking as she had first seemed, all weak and battered up, she had bore an impressive amount of force behind the punch. Anyhow, I hadn't doubted her strength in emotional survival.

She was powerful in that sense. I one that.

I also knew that I was confused. Dazed and confused. Firstly, I still hadn't gotten over the fact that she had finally lifted her eyelids, coming to her senses. Anyhow, that was the red herring.

What really bothered me was how strange it looked. A girl as small as her, actually attempting to attack me. It didn't make any sense.

Was this really the Wanda I knew, clawing and scratching like there was no tomorrow?

Or had the Wanda I 'knew' never really existed?

I was only going to have to wait patiently, until the answers poured out form her own lips... if they ever did...

She was scared, and frightened. Kyle had tried to kill her, and his attempts had been dangerously close to succeeding. Every pair of eyes that had wandered in her direction had held a death threat- A warning to her that she would not survive long here.

I was we'll aware that she was under pressure- she was currently going through hell, and neither my brother, nor Jared had helped one little bit. Anyway, I was going to do whatever was in my power to uproot these unfortunate situations and spin them around.

That was my plan, only I had no idea how it was ever going to work.

Looking back to her face, I instantly held my hands up in the air as a surrender- a sign to show her I would mean her no harm- as a tear rolled down her cheek. She held her gaze on my face, her eyes so round and sad pike a pleading puppy, before she closed them altogether, returning to the painful drag of silence and stillness.

That was the thought that motivated me. I had already lost her to unconsciousness once, and I was not keen to repeat those events. Stifling the moans that were threatening to escape from my lips, mourning her sadness, I reached out, my hands lowering, as my finger stroked against her cheek, removing all the traces of that one tear as I did so.

Once it had vanished, the remains of the wet absorbed into her cheek and my finger, she squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, in an attempt as what I guessed was trying to hold back more water from escaping her eyelids.

This created a sad ache in my heart. Not once, had I ever seen anyone so depressed... So lonely...

This time, without pausing to take a breath, my arms moved from her face, to underneath her body, carefully sliding her back into a more comfortable position. And slowly. I had learnt now through one stupid mistake, that any fast movements would terrify her. Of course it would. We were humans- I was human.

And she was... Not.

Once she was settled into a much more comfortable looking position, I reached out to squeeze her hand ever so slightly. Gently. Slowly. After one squeeze with no noticeable reaction, my other hand travelled towards her hair, brushing it out of the way with careful fingers so that I could test the heat of her skin again.

Burning. No doubt about it. She had gained a high fever, which really was nothing in comparison to what it could have been. She could have died so easily that night... She had been lucky... So lucky.

Another squeeze of her hand. A slight twitch of her lips this time. Nothing much, but an improvement. Since she was no longer showing any signs of lunging for me, if that even was her (for all I knew, she could have lost her mind) I brought my face closer to hers, my breath fanning in her face, a few stray strands of hair rising, before sinking back towards her face.

I couldn't imagine that I smelt good- since I had sat with her for days on end, I guessed neither of us did. Not that it mattered. Nothing would put me off now, not even the worst of smells. I was not giving in now, and neither was she. I hoped that I had made that relatively clear from the start.

'Wanda', I whispered into her ear, being overly cautious as to not scaring her.

Her lips twitched again. She was nervous. I could tell. I was generally good at that- reading expressions and emotions, although Wanda was something entirely different. I still didn't know what it was about her. I just knew something. She was special, and I was going to protect her. Breathing in deeply, I start again.

'Please open your eyes'.

I listened to several of her stuttered intakes of breath, counting the seconds by before I decided to continue.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's me- Ian, remember?'

Twenty seconds passed. STILL no change. I decided to think rashly. She just needed time, and if she didn't make any notions towards a reply fairly quickly, then I was definitely going to have to quit rushing her. I highly doubted that I was helping her one little bit. The likelihood was that I was only making things worse.

'Okay', I said, a little louder this time. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her flinch. Of course, I then experience the exact same reaction. I hadn't realised that she had this much of an impact on myself. Then again, she never failed to surprise me.

'Open your eyes when you're ready'.

It had been the last phrase that had done it, my voice steady and my words meaningful.

'It's just you and me. Nobody else. I can wait for you'.

After that final remark, she had taken another deep breath and finally cracked open her eyes. Her pupils darted around frantically, searching for something in the darkness of my cave which I shared with my brother- well, not anymore.

I didn't care where he stayed now, only that it was not here, and not within range of Wanda. He was my brother. I had to protect her from him at least. This time, I would be keeping a close eye on the food. No more idiotic murder attempts were going to break through my strengthened barrier.

She would be safe here. She had to be. She deserved a life too, after all.

Letting out a gasp, still in shock that she had actually listened to me, I patted her arm as her lips trembled, like an earthquake threatening to advance beneath the soft red core of skin. She shuddered beneath my touch, her eyes still alert and petrified. T

aking in the situation, this time, my brain actually decided to come up with something useful.

'Hold on a sec', I chimed, diving off the mattress to retrieve the lamp that I had stored next to the red door which was now in place.

That seemed to startle her slightly, although she tried not to show it. She was sweet like that, even if she had just attacked me. Considerate, kind... In a way, I had never met anybody better.

I fumbled with the switch of the light, the corner of my mouth turning up slightly as I listened to the sigh of relief that whooshed through her delicate lips as the yellow light filled the room, shadows overhanging the corners.

Once I had the lamp stabilised, wedged in between two slabs of rock, I shuffled back onto the mattress, this time perching on the edge a few feet away from her. Even though I longed to be beside her, comforting her, I resisted. I knew that it would be better this way. It was humans that had attempted murder. I was one of their kind, and there was nothing that I could do to change that.

'Better?' I asked, my eyes locked on her face, an encouraging expression claiming my face.

Even though I wasn't actually expecting an answer, I received one, to my delight and wonder.

Her head bobbed up and down twice, a frantic appreciation as to the little I had given her which seemed like a huge amount through her eyes. I chuckled as a blush crept up her cheeks, lighting up her face in an amazing shade of scarlet. I could already tell that she was embarrassed. She had no need to hide it from me.

I studied her while she grimaced in pain, most likely referring to her back where she had slammed into the cavern rock, and looking at her hair matted to her forehead, I could see that her temperature was already rising rapidly.

Whether she resisted or not, I knew that she would either have to let me help her, or get her to Doc, who thankfully had remained on my side of things, along with Jeb, and possibly Jamie. He was in a real mess right now, although there really was nothing that I could to do help him right now.

Jamie wanted his sister- however; his sister wasn't here right now. Wanda was.

Clearing my throat, I edged slowly towards her. Despite my caution, she began edging away, a whimper of pain escaping her lips as she twisted her spine in the wrong direction. Each form of pain that escaped her lips reflected back onto me.

I hated to see her in even more pain- it just wasn't right.

Strangling a growl in my throat, I lurched forwards, my fingers overlapping her shoulders, pushing her back down gently. To my surprise, she didn't resist. Instead, she gave in, the sense of defeat strong in the air. Once she was back down, I started again, my eyes pleading helplessly.

'Please', I begged. 'Just let me see'.

She hesitated, biting her lip, before giving one tiny nod of her head.

Despite the fact that I had just recently overcome the first battle of the current situation, my hands hung in the air, limp and useless. I was in no way sure how I should proceed from here without hurting her further.

I was no doctor, and had never bore any intention to be one. I was just going to have to do the very best that I could for both of us. I would be strong for her. She deserved that the most.

'Is it your back?' I asked, maintaining a fairly calm tone of voice. If it was serious, I had no idea if I would be capable of handling it.

'I think so', she croaked, speaking in a barely audible voice for the first time in days. Weeks. I wasn't sure. I had lost track of time long ago. Seeing as though I needed access to her back, it was obvious that it would be pointless if she was lying on it.

'Can you roll on your stomach for me? Just so I can see?'

This time, another nod. 'Okay', she spoke, in another crackly voice.

I was pleased that this was actually going well. I hadn't expected this much to happen at this pace. Anyhow, it was helpful. The longer I left her, the worse her injuries would get. She rocked from side to side, unsure as to how to proceed. She was in enough agony already, and this was going to be excruciating.

'Here', I muttered, catching her elbows and knees, allowing her room to turn her torso 180 degrees round clockwise. Thankfully, that necessary task was successfully accomplished. Now for the damage.

After her faint whispered words of thanks, I tore my eyes away from her face, locking on her back. And froze.

My limbs locked in place, refusing to move in any direction. Damage had an underestimate. Seeing the blood trail seeping into her shirt was enough for my eyes to sting, a wave of nausea crushing all means of life.

Grabbing the lamp with bone white knuckles, I brought the illuminated bulb closer to the point of which I was examining with trembling fingers. I could now understand her whimpers- the cries she made in her sleep. They all made sense now, and since this fresh injury had magically appeared, I knew that it was going to grow far worse, and very rapidly.

It was unbearable to state that there really was absolutely nothing that I could do in order to heal her. She was broken, beyond repair, like an old toy being tossed around from held to shelf, sitting in its own mangled repairs. My eyes scanned her face briefly.

'Wanda...' I started, frowning heavily, my whole face drooping in result.

Her only reply was to look upon me with those same pleading eyes.

'I need to take you to Doc. This is bad- very bad. I-'

'No', she suddenly vowed, cutting me off, along with my pointless, rambled speech.

'Wanda-'

'No', she cried again. She reached out her hand so that it touched mine. As our skin connected, I was instantly aware d the jolts of electricity that flowed through my body from her touch. She gave me energy- she gave me life.

'No doctors or hospitals- please'.

It was almost impossible to resist her pleads at this stage, so instead, I simply left the decision that I had been battling to make, on her.

'Okay', I said slowly. 'What do you impose that we do from here then?'

'Stay', she whispered. 'Just stay with me. Please'.

I sighed. Even if for some odd reason, her suggestion had made my chest swell up with pride, I knew that the matter was pointless. How was I going to take care of her? Her condition was awful- Critical. It was hard to see how she continuously managed to remain so calm and positive.

'I'm no doctor', I joked lightly, lifting the mood. 'I'm not sure that I know exactly what to... How to...'

She smiled a breath taking smile, cutting me off in my tracks with that one expression. It wasn't my fault- I was strong. She was just so dazzling, and watching her lips rise for the first time in god knows how long, filled a hole in my chest that I had never first thought existed.

'That's okay', she spoke, her voice ringing with bells, a little clearer and stronger this time as she squeaked my hand. 'Me neither '.

She was already teasing me. I could sense that she was already getting the hang of this.

'I'm gonna have to...' I paused. I didn't quite know how to put this. Instead, I motioned to her back and her blood stained, scarlet and white skirt.

'I know. That's okay- I get it'.

We both smiled.

Xxxxx

Peeling back her shirt and absorbing the wound beneath, the scent of blood heavily draped around me like a cloak, was one of the hardest things that I had done in my life. Once we had gotten past the fact that she was no longer wearing her shirt, myself apologising and promising not to look, even if she was still wearing underwear, I had ran out and fetched a cloth and water, sweating the whole time in case somebody decided to pay a surprise visit while I had been gone.

Anyhow, when I had returned, she had remained untouched, silently waiting for my return, still motionless on the mattress. She had suggested that she should take the floor, as for all the bleeding still hadn't let up; although I had laughed it off, explaining that she had been in a much worse state when I had first offered her my room.

In other words, when Kyle had tried to kill her. I still hadn't gotten over the fact. I was just going to have to learn how to deal.

With the cloth in my right, I had offered her my left to hold- to clench hold of when the pan grew too great. During the process of cleaning the wound, that had been practically all the time.

Anyhow, I had been at her side, comforting her and allowing her to breathe through the pain, exactly how I had first wanted to. Now that she had actually been conscious, it was much easier to bear, for the both of us.

She had mentioned that she hadn't particularly liked unconsciousness- the blackness. She said it was like a blinding fog that trapped her and held her there. I had been glad that she was speaking to me openly now. That too, had also been much easier for me to bear.

I hadn't liked being the guy who had earned the title as 'monster'. Thankfully enough, she had assured me that I was exactly the opposite. I helped her- she liked me being here, and hated the loneliness. She didn't hate me- It was exactly what my ears had needed to hear. Her voice was sweet music. I enjoyed listening to it more than anything else.

Xxxxx

Once Wanda's wound was clean, all the blood drained away from her back, I had offered her one of my shirts for now, despite her worries that she would ruin it as for she had already scrapped her own beyond repair.

Eventually, after my pleading, she had taken it, pulling it swiftly over her head, noticeably glad for the coverage it granted her. I didn't blame her in any way whatsoever. She was... Almost human. She must have felt exposed.

The most recent debate however, was not over whether or not she would decide to ruin one of my shirts. This time, it was something more serious. We both hadn't slept in over 15 hours, having been up all day... Or night.

I had been up even longer, although there was no point in tracking the hours. Wanda was sick, and therefore needed rest, in order to regain back to full health. Unluckily, she was reluctant to go along with my theory. She had taken one look at the bags under my eyes, sagging into my cheekbones, and had stubbornly refused, insisting that I needed sleep just as much as she did.

Even if I was touched that she seemed to care for me, as weak as she was, I was absentmindedly wondering if she was just trying to be difficult. After all, I was not of her species. I was something else entirely.

'Sleep Wanda', I begged.

She crossed her arms. 'Ian, they'll come looking for me again. I don't want them to hurt you, trying to get to me'.

I snorted. 'I've got Jeb on my side, and he has the gun. He's watching for us, and they won't stand a chance'.

Of course, she won the better over me. As always.

'Then why won't you sleep? You need it more than me?'

She didn't comment on how I had mentioned Jeb's gun, although I could tell that the matter bothered her. Anyhow, at this moment, I couldn't find it in me to apologise.

'Jeb's got my back, yeah, but I just want to be sure...'

She stared at me silently. It wasn't that appalling, was it?

'What?' I said, questioning her focused eyes. She shook her head.

'Then we take watches'.

She ignored me when I tried to protest.

'I took care of myself before. I promise, I will wake you if anything happens'.

With a sigh, I had given in, making her swear on her life that she would wake me if anything went wrong, or even if she just wanted to talk to me. I felt like that sometimes. I just wanted to be safe.

Sliding my eyes shut, I sank I to the mattress beside her, granting her the first watch to avoid any more arguments.

'Goodnight Ian', she whispered, just as sleep finally began to claim me.

'Goodnight Wanda', I thought back to her in my head, thanking whatever it was that had brought this bewildering girl into my life.

Xxxxx

Apologies for any mistakes, but it was on my ipod x