The Black Box Disease

Hunted

We've been walking for what seemed hours. Ethan looked tired, we had taken a rest stop a few hours earlier, but he stayed on watch. I could see the circles under his eyes, and he slouched, slowly taking every step one at a time. "Hey guys, let's take another break. I'll take watch." I say. They all nod, except Ethan. "No, yawn I'll take watch." He says barely keeping his eyes open. "No, you need to sleep. That's an order." I say. We all sat down, I leaned against the trunk of a tree. Ethan sat down next to me, and laid his head in my lap. I played with his hair, swirling it around my finger. Within minutes, he was sound asleep. I love the way he snores, it's cute and quiet. His snore was like a lullaby to me, calmly helping me sle-

Wait! Have to stay awake. I flung my eyes open and looked around. Nothing. I heard a faint panting noise coming from behind a tree. I stood up slowly, resting Ethan's head on a bag. I followed the noise and saw a giant Doberman. I stood still, trying not to scare it. It's black eyes stared directly at me. I slowly backed away, tripping slightly over Sam's leg. He suddenly woke up, he stood up facing me. "What's going on, Crys-" he started to say, but I heard the arrow hit his shoulder. "Sam!" I screamed, grabbing him before he fell. "Ethan!" I screamed, Sam's weight to much for my tiny body to hold. Sam, still slightly awake, fell on top of me. The arrow in his shoulder slightly cutting my skin. I gasped as I feel it tear my skin. Then I feel Sam being lifted off me. He was still alive, but blood was still leaking out of his shoulder. I quickly grabbed at my shirt, and tore the hem and a piece of the fabric off. I quickly wrapped it over his shoulder and under his armpit to stop the bleeding.

I wrapped it tightly, making sure not to hurt Sam in the process. It kept bleeding through the fabric of my shirt, making me rip my shirt even more.  I started to get cold, Ethan came over and wrapped me in his arms to keep me warm. I still shivered a little so he took his shirt off and put it on me, then he got his jacket and put that on me as well, leaving him without a shirt. I felt warm instantly, and even though we've been stuck in this "great" situation, he shirt still smelled like cologne. I inhaled the cotton fabric, feeling at home. I was standing there in Ethan's arms, when a tall,white older man stepped out from behind a tree, holding an ancient bow. Behind him stood two black Doberman, growling at us. Ethan pulled me behind him, accidentally grabbing the cut from the arrow, making me gasp in pain. "What's wrong?" He asked, turning to face me. "It's nothing." I say, reassuring him.

The man, slowly approaching us stated his name. Jonah, a man who lives in the forest and hunts boxers, was out hunting and saw me. He saw Sam stand up, and assumed he was a boxer. He offered to help, but Ethan said no thanks. We started to walk away, when I reached down to pick up my bag. My shoulder, dripping with blood, hurt so bad I gasped. "Crystal." Ethan gasped, quickly jogging to me. I covered the cut with my hand, feeling the blood on my hand. "I'm fine really. But, I think we should let" I paused forgetting his name for a moment. "Jonah help us, Sam is really hurt." I say looking at Sam, barely able to stand. Lydia trying her best to hold him up.

Ethan agreed one night, then we move on. We were walking towards his cabin, my hand still covering my caught. Blood drying on my hand. I wasn't the one who needed the attention, Sam did. I would be fine it's just a little cut. We finally reach the cabin, it's tucked back into the woods behind a small creek. We walk across the creek, on a giant old fallen tree. We reach the door. "Black, Decker hault." Jonah yells as the two giant Doberman stop, and look at him. They lay down, and rest their head on the soft, woody floor. "Come on in." Jonah says as he opens the door. We walk in and the inside is beautiful, there are so many rooms. "There are 3 extra rooms, and they each have two beds." He says as he sets down his bow. We all split up into groups of 4. Adri, James, Ethan, and I in one room. Lydia, Gabbie, Sam and Daniel. And Kylie, Darren, Amber, and Tyler. Everyone went with their groups into a room. After everyone was settled and Sam was bandaged up, I went and checked on everyone. In the other rooms, the girls slept in one bed, and the guys in the other. But, Ethan and I slept together and so did Adri and James.

I woke up in the middle of the night, I was thirsty. I walked down stairs and into the kitchen. In the fridge, there were bottles of water. I grabbed one and went and sat on the counter. I was starting to get dizzy, and my shoulder started to hurt. The cut had opened up and blood was pooling out. I opened the water to take a sip, but I was too weak. I felt my body slowly dropping to the floor. The water splashed everywhere, luckily I caught my head. My arm was pulsing in pain, and I could feel the blood dripping down my arm. I tried to keep my eyes opened, but they dropped seeming too heavy. The last thing I saw was Adri running towards me.