Black Cloaks

Eight - Where Are We?

 

John's P.O.V

        Michael held back a scream as Jade put pressure on his gun-shot wound. Michael gripped John's arm hard, tightening painfully every time Jade tried to stop the bleeding. John winced but was thankful he wasn't the one that was shot. He was also glad he didn't have Jade's job, for she was covered up to her elbows in blood as she tried to find something to wrap around Michael's wound until they could get somewhere to get him properly looked at.

        John had a feeling that wouldn't be for a while.

        They must have ran the wrong way, because when they stopped running from exhaustion and Michael's bleeding and threatening to pass out, they realised that they stood in dense woodland and had yet to come across a path.  It was hard to see clearly for the trees towered above them like a leafy canopy making the sky barely visible. The weather was as unpredictable as ever and it was now dangerously cold where it should be a warm Summer's day. John had no idea where they were, they could even be in another country. One thing all of them had in common is they had fallen unconscious for the whole journey to where they were taken. John despaired at the thought of the black cloaks having their own secret little train service, maybe even an airport to carry away the victims. How sick could people get?

        He wondered when the others would return. He had sent Isabelle, Melanie, Tommy and the others he had already forgotten the names of to try and find food around an hour ago, but he hadn't heard from them since.

        John was brought back from his thoughts by a scream from Michael and a curse from Jade.

        "Keep still!" she said irritably. Michael just whimpered and his face paled even further.

        John saw that while he was lost in his thoughts, Jade had found some big, wet leaves and was attempting to bandage the wound. John moved to try and help but the grip on his arm was unbreakable, so he slumped back down in silence.

　

 

Jade's P.O.V

        She gritted her teeth and willed the boy in front of her to keep still for just one, single minute. She was trying to help, but he wasn't helping himself by squirming around and shouting out. She could feel his blood trickling down her elbows and although it didn't bother her, she just wanted to find somewhere to wash. She walked a short distance away and picked a few, wet leaves, big enough to tie around his wound and returned quickly to see him still gripping the arm of a lost in thought John. He looked troubled and Jade wondered what he was thinking about. She was tempted to ask him, but she knew that if she was having a moment, she preferred to be left alone. She sighed and attempted to bandage the boy's arm when he screamed and John jumped.

        "Keep still!" she said, trying to tie the leaves around his arm and trying her best to be gentle. She thought she saw John smile but she ignored him and finished tying the leaves.

        "Done," she said, getting up to walk away.

        "Where are you going?" John asked quickly, scrambling to his feet as if to follow her.

        "I'm going to find somewhere to wash, you might want to stay here," she said, he blushed and sat back down without replying.

        She took in the surroundings as she left. She didn't like how tall and packed together the trees were, they seemed to reach out to grab her with their wizened branches and it played on her feelings of claustrophobia. It was cold, no, freezing and she had no warm clothes to put on. She knew that washing would make her colder for a time, but she had been trapped in a black room for nearly a year. She needed some kind of bath.  She knew how much she hated it when other people smell and she didn't want to become one of them. After a few minutes, she came across a river that looked deep enough for her needs and the current was gentle enough for her to wade out and wash. She undressed and stepped in, shivering immediately and hugging herself as she sat down in the water.