Begin Author's Transmission-
That was quick, yeah? There's more ready to go, but I gotta make a few small changes so that Mark has more emotion. I based him just slightly off of me, so...yeah... Thanks to you all!
-End Author's Transmission-
Chapter 5
Our Bond
When I came to, I was on my back, looking p at Claire. I had expected to be outside, but instead found myself in a tiny room, with only a single bulb in the ceiling providing light. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her hands changing my bandages. When she took them off, I could see the damage. My arms were a mess. They were both torn up pretty badly. There was blood all over my legs, and my ankle felt like it had been turned completely around. There was a huge gash across my chest, and it hurt when she tried to clean it. For some reason, though, the pain was not only tolerable, but welcome. It was as though the pain were immediately followed by some kind of soothing warmth. She wrapped my wounds in fresh bandages and started to sit down when she noticed my eyes were following her.
"You're awake…." She said, and brushed my hair out of my eyes with her hand. That same warmth spread across my forehead. This time, though it traveled down to my chest as well. I noticed something on her wrist.
"You're injured." I mumbled. She quickly pulled the sleeve of her green sweater over her own bandages.
"It's nothing, really." She said quickly. "I'm surprised that you can talk…."
I tried to focus my eyes on her, but my vision was fuzzy. "Why's that?" I murmered.
She pointed to my wounds. "Blood loss." She looked down. "I was worried…." She stopped for a moment. "I was worried that you might…." She trailed off.
"You were worried…about me?" I asked. She nodded. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind. I tried to think of something to say to tell her what was on my mind. I wanted to tell her how happy I was to have someone who cared about me. I wanted to tell her how much I cared about her.
"Weird," was what came out of my mouth instead.
I could see sadness in her eyes, and she seemed a little irritated. "You need to rest, good night."
If my legs would have worked, I would have kicked myself.
I felt horrible. I had made Claire sad. I knew that I had to make it up to her. She wasn't just my spotter, or my ally. She felt like something more, but I wasn't sure what. All I knew was that I wanted her to be happy.
I waited until I was sure she was asleep, then started trying my limbs. My arms felt almost normal, but my ankle still hurt a little. I needed clothes. Close to the bed I found them. A little bloodstained, but still wearable. I was limping out the door when I heard a soft voice.
"Mark…."
I spun around and saw Claire asleep on a small couch. She was mumbling in her sleep. I acted without thinking. I knelt down next to her, tucked her blanket in around her and whispered, "I'll be back soon."
I kept good on my word. Shortly after I left what was apparently some kind of van, I found three red flowers growing near a tree. Those were perfect. I remembered that while we were looking for supplies, she told me that her favorite color was red. I carefully picked them and made my way back to the van.
When I came in, Claire was still sleeping. Carefully, I tore a strip of fabric from my shirt and tied the flowers together. I set them gently on the dash near the steering wheel, where I knew she would find them, and started back towards the bed I woke up on. I stopped.
I found myself looking at Claire. Something seemed different, but I could tell that she was the same as she had been when we first met. I shook it off as temporary madness caused by blood loss.
My last thought before I drifted off to sleep was, 'When did we get a van?'
My first real attempt at anything resembling romance. Cute, eh?
