w00t! New chapter! Sorry it took so long. I had the next two chapters written out (done during school while I was supposed to be studying ), but then I lost them. That was really frustrating and I let it go for a while, but I decided to give it another go. I'm writing this totally off of what I sort of remember from before, so forgive me if it's a little off.
Italics flashbacks, 'blah' thoughts
Atonement
Chapter 3
"Kouji! Wake up!"
Kouji woke to the feeling of being shaken. Frantic hands gripped his shoulders tightly, urging him awake. Cracking his eyelids, Kouji squinted, expecting glaring sunlight to meet his vision. Much to his surprise, the sky was still dark and a panicked looking Takuya filled his vision. Sitting up carefully, mindful of the injuries he had obtained the previous day, Kouji raised his hands, gesturing for Takuya to stop shaking him.
"What are you doing? What's wrong?"
The expression on Takuya's face could only be described as one of pure terror. His eyes were wide and filled with fear. He was breathing hard, as if been running from someone or something. Ignoring Kouji's questions, Takuya reached out again, this time physically lifting Kouji off of the ground and setting him on his feet.
Wincing as each achy bone and muscle took its turn to complain, Kouji unconsciously placed a hand on Takuya's shoulder to keep his balance. Before he even had a chance to collect himself and begin his questioning again, Kouji felt himself being pulled by the arm. Takuya, fully intent on dragging Kouji away from his resting place, turned back with an expression of confusion when the other boy, momentarily ignoring his pain, planted his feet and refused to move.
"What are you doing?" The brown-haired boy was in a panic, obviously not comprehending Kouji's reluctance to leave. "We need to get out of here now!"
Kouji gave Takuya a questioning look, wanting very much to hit the other boy for jarring his injuries, but he also knew that Takuya wouldn't panic unless he had a very good reason. "What's going on Takuya? Where are the others?"
A brief unreadable emotion flashed across Takuya's face at the question before he reverted back to the panic. Taking both of Kouji's hands in his own, Takuya gave the dark-haired boy a pleading look.
"I'll explain later, but please! Right now, we need to leave!"
The pleading tone in the other boy's voice finally broke through Kouji's reservations, and he nodded, following Takuya as he led them away from the still flickering campfire and into the night.
They ran for a long time, the sprints frequently interrupted by short spans of hurried walking to allow Kouji's still weak lungs some semblance of a break. After a time he could no longer keep up, stumbling on rocks and tree roots an arms length behind Takuya.Without skipping a beat, Takuya pulled Kouji to him and lifted him into a piggy-back position, continuing to run while Kouji rested limply against his back. Fear was his motivation, and what a strong motivation it was.
Takuya woke with a start, his injured friend still wrapped within his arms. The campfire glowed brightly in front of him, flickering slightly as a small wind blew through the trees. Looking around slowly, Takuya surveyed the campsite slowly, looking for any sign of his other companions.
'I can't have been sleeping long if they're still not back yet. I should probably go look for them…"
Pushing himself into a sitting position, Takuya carefully set Kouji on the ground and stood. Standing up and stretching, he took one last look at the sleeping boy before heading into the forest in the direction the others had gone earlier. Takuya walked in a strait line for some time, following the three sets of footprints that could be seen leaving the camp. There were two sets of small feet belonging to Izumi and Tomoki, and one bigger set that had to be Jumpei's .
"Damn. How far did they go for firewood?" Takuya questioned out loud, sighing exasperatedly. Stepping through a small clearing of trees, Takuya's ears suddenly perked up, catching a small sound traveling on the breeze. Stopping and standing still, he cupped a hand behind his ear. After a second, he heard the sound again.
'That sounds like Izumi, and it doesn't sound good…'
Ha! I left you hanging! Sorry that was so short, but it's really hard to type something I only half remember! Hopefully I'll have time to type up the next chapter and post again soon. R&R please!
