IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ!

I'm starting to write in present tense from now on, so don't take a fright reading this chapter! I hope you don't mind the chance, but after reading the Divergent trilogy (though I haven't yet finished them, but however) it just feels easier than the past tense!

And by the way, I REALLY recommend you to read those books if you haven't yet! (They're awesome!)

Happy reading!

Kayden

I speed up my striding toward the woods, since that's where I saw Cara go just a minute ago. Most of the campers are still in the dining pavilion, eating their lunch, Jessica among them. I feel a sting of guilt as I think of her. We had both almost died, and pretty much all I had bothered to tell her had been Hey, nice to see you're alive!

But I just need to talk to Cara. It's something I should've done already days ago, but I just hadn't dared to until now.

The woods aren't far from the dining pavilion, and soon I reach the timberline. I stop for a moment, biting my lip. I look up at the tall, dark spruces and pines, thinking about all the monsters they held in. You were never supposed to enter the woods unarmed, and of course I had left my bow and quiver to my cabin.

I sigh, then step into the woods, hoping that any monsters won't attack me. A small voice in my mind reminds me about how bad my luck usually is, but I forget it instantly as I see Cara sitting back against a tree trunk just about twenty yards far.

I wipe my palms on my shorts, then walk toward her, trying not to stumble over the tree roots.

She seems to be so deep in her thoughts she doesn't notice me until I'm not more than ten feet away. Then she looks at me with a half thoughtful, half uncomfortable look on her face. I had gotten used to that look during the last few days.

"Hi", she says.

I sit on the tree root next to her, my hands fiddling with my T-shirt's hem.

"Hi." I try to think of what to say next. I've really started to get worried of Cara; the way she always looks that troubled and keeps avoiding some subjects. Sure I knew why she avoids them, but I doubt avoiding talking about her problems really helps her.

A tress of violet hair falls on Cara's face as she examines her black Converses.

It's silent for a moment, and the only sounds I hear are the distant noises of the monsters that rumble deeper in the forest, and our breathing. Then I speak.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" I look at her carefully.

I see her bite her lower lip as she raises her look at me. She reluctantly meets my eyes, tucking the tress of hair behind her ear. It's now that I realize she looks just as pained and anguished as Jessica did the day we found her sitting alone in the stand of the chariot racetrack. She had been so depressed and bitter, then.

I carefully touch Cara's hand, as I touched Jessica's in the stand back to that day, and she didn't pull it away. Neither does Cara.

She still doesn't say anything, but I notice a single tear running down her cheek. It's followed by another one. She quickly wipes her face, looking ashamed.

My chest hurts. It hurts me to see her like this. I haven't even known her for more than a week, but it feels like so much longer. So much had happened during that week.

"It's okay", I whisper, sidling closer to her on the tree root. I wrap my arm around her, then another, like trying to shield her from all the evil in the world. Why do the worst things always happen to the best people? It isn't fair.

She takes a shaky breath, burying her face into my shoulder. After a few breaths she swallows. "Kayden, I..." she says with a tiny voice, "I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry for what?" I say in a calming voice, smoothing her hair.

She doesn't say anything for a while, then whispers, "For everything. You almost died..." Her voice cracks and she lets out sob that muffles into my shirt.

"You know it wasn't your fault", I say, this time my voice filled with emotion. I knew she had been feeling guilty about her sister's doings, but it's only now when I see her so close to the breaking point that I actually realize how it must feel. Even imagining that I would have to fight my own sister... The truth is, I can't even imagine it.

An other silent moment. "You don't understand", she finally says, her voice calm, though feeble. She pulls away from my embrace, facing me.

"Her honor has been affronted. Badly. You think she leaves it just like that?" She shakes her head. "She doesn't." Now her voice is completely steady, but there's a defeated look in her eyes.

"You mean..."

She nods. "She makes me pay for what I did."

"But... She attacked us!" I say in disbelief, my voice suddenly raising. "You only did what you had to - you didn't let her kill you and everyone else in this camp!"

"Well, that's what she wanted: to destroy the camp. And she didn't get what she wanted. She doesn't like it when that happens... She never did." For a moment, Cara just stares at a nonexistent point next to my head with a numb expression.

Then she blinks, focusing her eyes at me, then lowering them at her shoes again. "Sorry..." she mumbles.

I swallow as I think of what she'd probably just thought: About her childhood with Meliza Nicoli. Then I remember what she said just a moment ago, about Meliza making her pay for what she did.

"Cara, is she... Is she after you?" I ask carefully.

She lifts her look back at me. Now her expression is fairly uncomfortable. "Yeah, but..." She swallows, "She wants you, too."

"You mean because I refused to die?" I ask with a careful grin.

A small frown appears on her face, then it turns into a tired smile. "Yeah", she sighs.

"And you do realize none of this is your fault?" I check.

She considers it for a moment. "Yeah", she finally says with a weak laugh. Sometimes really unfunny situations make the people laugh. Like the stress needs a way to unwind so that we don't explode from it.

I stand up, offering my hand for her. "I don't even have my bow, and to be honest, I don't really like this forest."

She takes my hand, hopping to her feet. "Scared?" she teases with a grin.

"Hey, I didn't-..." She pressed a hand on my mouth, pressing a finger on her lips. Then she removes the hand from my mouth, gently pressing her lips against mine.

So, how was it? Please leave a comment ;)