Good, Evil, and the Gray Area (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 29

My eyes slid open. Zahir was staring at me, talking. I couldn't understand a word he was saying. My vision was sort of fuzzy, and Zahir's words were a garbled mess.

"What?" I asked. My voice was groggy and scratchy. I wondered how long I had been out.

Then, once again, it hit me. Ava was dead.

This time, however, I managed to control myself. My breathing was shallower, and I started to cry, but there was no curling up on the ground, shaking.

"Lee! You're awake!" Exclaimed Zahir, smiling brightly. I scowled at him.

How could he be smiling when Ava was dead? He knew how much she ment to me. My hands clenched into fists, but he kept smiling.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I swung my fist up, and it connected with Zahir's jaw with a thwack. It was hard to get any speed on the punch, because I couldn't draw back due to the fact that I was still laying on the ground, but it looked like it hurt.

The shocked expression on his face made me feel bad immediatly.

"Oh gosh Zahir I'm sorry! It's just that you were smiling, and Ava just died, and..." I trailed off as another wave of pain hit me square in the chest. Ava. What was I going to do?

"No, Lee, Ava's not dead. At least not yet." Zahir said, his eyebrows furrowed curiously.

My breath caught in my throat, and hope filled my chest. I quickly stifled it, not wanting it to be crushed. "What?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Ava is alive." Zahir said simply, staring at me.

I leaped up into his arms and spun us around.

"Really?" I asked breathlessly, staring into his eyes.

"Yes. Why would I lie about something like that?" He asked, irritation clouding his eyes, "I would never do that to a friend. I would never do that to anyone."

"I'm sorry Zahir, but when I saw her laying there, and the woman looked at me like she pitied me...." I trailed off. Tears were streaming from my eyes, but now they were tears of happiness, not grief.

"Its okay Lee. Ava was unresponsive, but the spider bit her just as planned. You've been out for a day and a half. You would slip in and out of conciousness. Ava woke up about twelve hours ago. She's fine now, just resting. She's very worried about you. You should probably go see her." Zahir said.

I squealed in exitement. "Where is she?" I squeaked.

"The next tent over." He replied.

I ran to the door, exitement coursing through my veins. A wide grin threatened to split my cheeks. I ran through the door and ran right into someone.

"Lee?" asked a familiar voice. Then, I saw the familiar brown hair, and the freckles that may or may not be actual freckles.

"Ava!" I yelled, and pulled her into a hug.

"Hahaha," she laughed, "I missed you too Lee." She returned the hug. I lifted her up and twirled her around. She smiled at me, her cheeks a healthy pink, the sparkle back in her eyes.

"You look so healthy!" I said happily.

"Well, it's not like you haven't seen me for that long. I just wasn't healthy. And thanks, I'm recovoring. You, on the other hand, look like crap." She said with a wry smile.

I returned the smile. "I haven't eaten in two days!" I said.

"Well lets go eat." She replied, and we headed off to get some needed food.