Except for the spelling (-.-' hehe, oops) I got such nice reviews so I just HAD to continue. I just hope I don't disappointment anyone with this chapter...

PS: The rating goes up for this chapter.

The Forsaken

Chapter 2

'What now?' WuFei asked as he sat on the edge beside the pond, once in a while lifting a cupped hand full water up to his face. The others sighed. They didn't now. And as always three, because WuFei couldn't see, pairs of eyes focussed on Heero, who was carefully cleaning the cut in his cheek, showing no direct signs of pain, but they could all see that a cut like that must hurt.

'I think we have to get away from the plane, find a good hiding place and then... well, Quatre can't walk and we don't know how long WuFei's blindness will last. So I suggest that two 'healthy' pilots should look for civilisation while the other three stayed in the forest.'

'Splitting up.' Trowa summarised, obviously not liking the idea.

Heero nodded and actually winced when he touched his cheek again. Duo, worried, crawled towards him and took the piece of cloth from Heero's hand. 'Let me look at that.' He almost expected Heero to give him the same reaction WuFei gave him, but he didn't. He just turned his head so Duo had a clear vision of the cut. 'Did it went THROUGH your cheek?'

'...yes.'

The others visibly winced at that thought.

'It must have been a piece of glass or something...' Heero added, mumbling. Duo nodded and sighed, there was no use checking the wound. It would probably leave a scar on Heero's otherwise perfect face and it would get infected if it wasn't cleaned properly. Unfortunately, the medication WuFei and Trowa took with them were useless. The bottles that held the medication broke. They were lucky that it didn't stain the food they took with them.

'I suggest you'd clean it with water once or twice a day, that's all you can do.' Duo said, suddenly feeling useless, he wanted to help, he wanted to save his friends, but there was nothing he could do. WuFei should have brought a fucking radio instead of food! No, he shouldn't blame this on WuFei, at least WuFei came up with SOMETHING, all he did was scream.

'Which direction should we go in?'

Heero thought about that. The base had lay in the middle of a large forest. In the plain, they had been going east, and had covered a few kilometres, they should keep going east, you'd think. But if they went east, it would take them longer to find a city. There was city RIGHT at the border of the forest north, but they didn't go there immediately because it had no landing strip. Now, it was perfect.

'We go north.' He finally said. 'That way.' He pointed in the direction that was, according to him, North.

'How do you know North is that way?' Trowa questioned. Not seeing how the Japanese pilot could know. That he didn't like being the leader himself, didn't mean he would follow the appointed leader blindly, no pun intended WuFei.

Heero gave him a sharp look 'Do you question my decision Trowa? Why don't you tell us where we go!'

Heero becoming mad, now that's a rare sight.

Trowa cast his gaze downwards, then looked in the direction Heero had pointed in. 'We go North.'

Heero only snorted and got up with a little effort staring down the competition Trowa had unleashed.

Duo got up as well, groaning as his sprained, or broken, ankle complained. It would be a bitch while walking. He looked nervously at Trowa and Heero, who seemed ready to kill each other, what in the world was wrong with them! Headline news: Silent and emotionless men meet anger! It sent shivers down his spine. Seeing those two quarrel wouldn't be nice. Since quarrelling was described as gunfire in Heero's dictionary. He hoped his ankle healed miraculously. If those two would have to walk to the city with no one interfering when they sparred, one of them would end up being a corpse lying in the sandy ground of the forest, bloody and broken.

Trowa lifted Quatre up, deciding on carrying him all the way.

Duo took WuFei's hand, much to the Chinese man's dismay. But duo needed support for his ankle and WuFei needed a seeing pair of eyes. If their relationship wasn't just as cosy of that of Heero and Trowa, they would make a fine couple. One the strong body, the other the eyes.

They walked for hours and hours and duo winced with every step he took. It seemed like Heero wanted to prove he's the strongest or something, he kept walking in the same fast pace the whole time. And Trowa tried his best to keep up. Since when did they fight for dominance so vigorously? Ah, nature, it unleashes the beast inside them. Duo snickered at that thought, imagining Heero with long fangs. He wasn't even surprised by the thought that it would probably look good on him.

'Can we please take a break?'

That WAS surprising though. He looked at WuFei at his side, he was tired and it was becoming dark, though there was no way WuFei could know that.

'Yeah,' Duo agreed, 'I'm poop.'

Heero turned around and nodded, seeing that they weren't in good enough shape to keep on going. 'Okay, we'll sleep here.'

Trowa gently lay Quatre against a tree trunk and checked his wound, worry crossed his face. The wound had almost stopped bleeding, but it was big, during the plane-crash the flesh must have torn open more. That though sent shivers down his spine as he could hear the sound of ripping flesh in the back of his mind.

Heero sagged down heavily against another tree, though he didn't want others to notice, he was half dead, he was so tired. But they couldn't stop, if OZ soldiers found the plane they would search the area around it, looking for them. He gently lay his hand against his chest and groaned silently. Some of his ribs were probably broken, making it difficult to breath as with each intake of breath he could feel the broken bones pressing against his lung... and it hurt. He wasn't sure if they could survive this. The soldiers looking for them, wasn't his biggest concern. He looked in the forest, a fog was forming while the moon traded places with the sun. It turned the forest, that was beautiful in daylight, in a horror scene. And who knew what was hiding in the darkness? Snakes? Foxes? Wolves? Tigers? ... Men? If it was his to decide, he would have kept walking till they were out of this hellhole.

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Duo slowly opened his eyes, groaning. His was aching from sleeping in a weird position against the tree. He looked around at the other pilots and noticed they were still all breathing. Good. They had survived the first night. He got up and winced when his ankle started to scream immediately. He stretched out and suddenly held still, hearing a strange, unwelcome sound. He peered around, looking past the trees for as far as he could. He turned his head quickly, trying to take as much in as he could. He could see nothing but trees and bushes, the wind rustling their leaves, but that wasn't what he heard. He concentrated on the sound, closing his eyes, he soon found the source. It was Heero. He hurried towards him, the young man was breathing shallow and uneven. He was about to lift the filthy green tank top so he could see what was wrong but a strong hand gripped his wrsit. Frightened he looked up, meeting a pair of wild blue eyes that slowly calmed. He should have known better then to sneak up on Heero, the man was always alert.

'What's wrong?'

Heero furrowed his eyebrows in question.

'Your breathing is shallow and uneven and it seems... painful.'

Heero sat up, nodding 'I think I cracked some ribs, but it is nothing to worry about.'

Not worrying was the LAST thing on Duo's mind. He was about to say that when Heero stood up and ordered: 'Wake the others. We're leaving.'

'It is still early.' Duo protested, looking at their serene, sleeping features.

'We will take a break in the afternoon.' Heero simply said, looking at one spot in the distance, keeping his eyes trained on something. Or someone? Duo didn't know, but it made him nervous. Really nervous. Without questioning further he woke up the rest, telling them to be quiet. When he turned to the Japanese man he was still staring at that one spot in particular. The others also soon noticed and swallowed hard. Thus far Heero had always been right when he thought an enemy was coming. Why would this time be an exception?

Duo came to stand beside the man he considered his friend, following his gaze. The fog that was there last night had lingered, but now it glistened in the early sunlight, making the place a hell of a lot nicer then it had looked the night before. But Heero probably wasn't taking in the beautiful sight of the forest with every leave covered with the drops of dawn. Beside the tree, that was straight in Heero's line of sight, about fifty meter away from them, sat a shadow that fitted the silhouette of a crouching man. The shadow sat there, unmoving, maybe studying them as they studied him.

'Soldiers?' Duo whispered, turning to Heero for a second. But when he looked back, the shadow was gone, which proved to them it was indeed a living creature that was staring at them. Duo saw that Heero was just as surprised at his disappearance as he was.

Heero turned his head to look at the other tree. WuFei looked completely lost with his still blind, dark, eyes. Trowa had already hoisted Quatre on his back, ready to sprint when Heero gave the command. It was weird, Trowa was ready to follow his order while yesterday it seemed like they were competing. But it didn't matter, in situations like this you just what you've told. For in battle, a conflict between allies would mean death. That was one of the first rule drilled in Heero's head, he had no doubt it was the same for Trowa.

'We are in no condition to fight.' Heero stated, turning towards North, the direction in which they must go, 'We run till we can't run no more.' He sprinted off and Trowa followed him, the burden on his back not slowing him down as much as you would expect. Duo ran towards WuFei, grabbed his hand and then went after the other three. Never in his life had he run away from a battle, he always lingered, ready to fight, no matter how outnumbered he was, but this time, Duo knew best then to doubt Heero's order. His ankle complained, begging him to stop, but he paid it no mind as he carefully, but hastily led WuFei around trees and over surfaced roots. His vision focussed on the pair running before him, his hearing on the sounds that surrounded and haunted them. But with the rush of blood going to his ears, he couldn't make out if it were simple sounds of the forest, or footsteps chasing them. But Duo soon noticed that with his ankle, he wasn't as fast as the others and he was slowing WuFei down. So he handed the Chinese man over to Trowa, because Heero was further ahead of them. He panted as the distance between him and Trowa increased by the second and his running turned into a stumbling pace. He summoned all his power to his feet, to keep moving for he heard the first proof that they were being followed. He could hear a heavy, panting, voice call: 'We are gaining on them! Hurry!' Unfortunately, that caught him off guard and he missed the big root of the tree he was nearing and stumbled. Falling hard on the ground that was covered with leaves. He tried to get up but gave up as he heard another scream, very close to him. Why should he get up? He didn't have the power to go on. Hehe, he'll be back in civilisation before the others. Okay, that wasn't as comforting as it should be but he didn't even fight back when a strong hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him up forcefully, another hand encircled his waist to keep him upright. Surprised by that he dared to look up and couldn't help the grin forming on his face when he saw it was no ozzie capturing him. It was Heero... saving him.

'Heero, I'll only delay you.' He 'protested' as Heero lifted him up on his back and started running after Trowa, who stood still, waiting for Heero to catch up with him. Could bless their souls.

'Hn.'

Okay, why wasn't he surprised with that answer? And why was he so happy with answer! Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's neck so he wouldn't fall. He felt really guilty, clinging to the wounded man like that. Heero had broken some ribs and was still walking. He only sprained his ankle and needed to be carried? He was such a weakling. This was really injustice for Heero. Injustice, hehe, he sounded like WuFei now.

They run left and right, trying to shake them of and it began to work. By the sounds it seemed the distance between and whoever was following them increased with every step they took, till after a while it was all silent except for the singing of the birds, their panting and their whispering footsteps. Duo looked back and saw nothing but trees surrounded by fog. They lost them. Thank god.

When Duo looked forward again he saw they were nearing some kind of pit, a crater, in the middle of the forest, filled with mud and puddles of water. And they were heading straight towards it. He looked at Heero's face and say the boy had his eyes closed in pain most of the time, so he didn't notice they were about to fall in it. He warned him but if was to late, they were at the edge when Heero finally stopped but because of the extra 'luggage' he lost his balance and fell forward, just like Trowa, who dragged WuFei with him. They rolled down, groaning as their wounds had to suffer more blows. They let out screams of pain as they hit rock. Their fall came to an abrupt end when they reached the middle of the crater, surrounded by mud and rocks and all the filth and dirt that came with it. And it stank like hell! But they barely registered that as they were rendered unconscious from the run and the painful fall that had knocked all the air out of their lungs.

Not knowing what gruesome surprise awaited them when they woke up.

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(though my ability to describe surroundings is average, this is certainly not a scene for the faint hearted. Those out there who have seen Behind Enemy Lines get the picture I describe bellow. And anyone who hasn't seen it: You really should, it's a good movie. PS: don't FLAME me because I DID warn you.)

Duo woke up, feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous, he opened his eyes but all he could see was brown dirt. He tried to stand up but his body felt heavy, like it was sticking to the ground, he groaned and softly called for the other, but he voice couldn't have been heard. He himself was surprised hearing how soft it was.

He reached out his hand, searching and finding as it connected with a human body lying next to him, he recognised the texture of Heero's tank top, though it was soaked with dirt, probably just like his own clothing. He smiled as he felt the back of his friend, but the smile soon disappeared as he noticed it didn't move. Didn't breath. He used his power to turn his head and looked into a pair of eyes that were long dead. He screamed. And he screamed even harder when he noticed the lifeless eyes were brown. He shot up, removing his hand from the dead body. He immediately, got up, which was now not as difficult as it had been before. Fear giving him new power as adrenaline awakened in his body. He looked at the limp and dirty body of a man he didn't know. He looked around in the pit, searching for his comrades, he screamed even harder when he say they didn't land between brown rocks. The ground was covered with bodies. Human bodies. Dead humans! He backed out, towards the steep wall of the pit, hating the idea that for hours he lay in the middle of this horrible scene. He closed his eyes, praying to God that as soon as he left this place, this picture wouldn't haunt him anymore. He opened his eyes again, feeling sick and wanting to throw up but he thought his friends might appreciate it that he would save them from the horrible fate of lying in the middle of... this.

He walked around it, forcing himself to look at it, to search his friends. He found WuFei first. His white pants may be filthy now but it still stood out. He woke him easily and guided him to the edge, telling him to wait there and telling him not to be scared, though he vaguely wondered if he was talking to WuFei or to himself as he almost wet himself trying to find Trowa, Quatre and Heero between the mass of bodies. Seeing that he couldnt find them from walking around it, he stepped in, careful to not step on the bodies. He had to stop and take a breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He closed his eyes for a moment as he noticed with despair that the eyes of all the people that lay there were wide open, looking at him. At that moment he knew this picture would never leave his mind or his nightmares and he suddenly envied WuFei, for he couldn't see this. Never in his life he could have predicted he would envy a blind man.

He heard someone groan and went after the sound. It was Heero and he lay right on top of a long gone soul. He lay on his stomach, he opened his eyes and frowned when he saw the look Duo's muddy face gave him. Carefully he got up, thinking that he lay upon one of the pilots. His eyes shot open wide as he saw two blind pair of light blue eyes looking up in his direction. He scrambled up fast, looking in horror at the dead woman he was lying on top of.

Duo observed Heero, trying to find emotion on his face as the Japanese man studied his surroundings, suddenly he leaned forward and put his hand against his mouth. He was trying his best not to throw up.

Duo sighed and lay his hand on Heero's shaking back. For as long as he knew the boy he had wished to see some emotion on him. But this wasn't quite what he wished for.

Once he had calmed down and was sure the little bit that still filled his stomach thayed inside he helped Duo search for Trowa and Quatre. They found Quatre first, they tried to wake him up but he didn't so they lay him next to WuFei. Now they had to find Trowa.

That wasn't as easy as it sounded for the tall boy had wore all black like Duo and that didn't stand out in the see of brown, black and dark blue clothing of those who were dead.

Thinking he found him Duo turned a young but tall body around. The clothing, the length and the hair colour matched, even the green eyes, but is was a totally different face. Duo looked with sad eyes at the young boy and then it really hit him, the gruesome faith of every single person that lay here. Coldly murdered for this could only be the work of a heartless monster. He rubbed in his eyes, he rubbed away the tears that threatened to spill.

'I found him!'

Duo turned and saw Heero straddling Trowa, his hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake.

He joined him, screaming at Trowa who wouldn't wake up, but suddenly his green eyes flew open and he threw Heero off of him, who landed on the bodies once again.

Trowa sat up and looked around with wide eyes. He studied the bodies that surrounded him, then Quatre and WuFei who sat near the side of the crater, WuFei looking lost around himself. At last his eyes rested on Heero and his eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of their now weakened leader, for he couldn't keep the contains of his stomach inside and threw up the little food he ate before they had went to destroy that base. Trowa said coldly: 'We must get out of here. Who knows if the freak that did this returns.'

Duo was surprised seeing the lack of emotion he had expected with Heero. He watched as Trowa stood up and wiped some dirt of his face walking towards Quatre while he stood besides Heero who was overthrown with emotions. Coughing and throwing up.

They climbed out of the pit, up the muddy walls, failing in their first few attempts but once Duo got out of it he helped the others. He couldn't help but feeling proud that he got out as first, but he was more relieved then proud. He'd rather be tortured by ozzies then staying in that crater for much longer.

They walked the few hours the day had left and all the while Heero was forming the tail section of 'the pack'. Ashamed that he threw up in front of everyone, but Duo didn't mind. Not at all. In the two days they had been here, Heero had showed more emotions then he must have showed in all his life. Concern, Anger, Kindness (slightly), Attentiveness (when he carried him away from the ozzies) and fear. Okay, so he was only happy with two of those emotions, he shouldn't complain. He now had hard proof that Heero was indeed a human being. Only now... he started to question Trowa, who didn't seem to mind taking the lead this time. Duo couldn't help but wonder why this sudden turn of event. It seemed like Trowa didn't trust Heero's ability of leading anymore since they got here!

I'm sorry!

Should this be rated horror by know? Well, just to those who don't like the blood and the dead bodies, this was the worst chapter. After this I am going to focus on how they must survive in the wilderness, but, the person(s) responsible for 'The Body-Pit' will return, muwhahahahahahahahaha!

BUT if more then just one person out there thinks I should leave it a mystery and ONLY write about surviving of the trees and the bushes, just let me know and I'll think about it, seeing that this chapter wasn't my original plan.

Crimson Waterfall to the rescue!

... or not

You know what I think of reviews!