Lost in the Past (Complete)

7

Gareth leads us out, passing other cells with kids in them on the way.

"I have a brother that lives near the school, he can get to guys some help." He hands Jay a folded paper. "Good luck."

Cold crisp air blows by me, rustling my already messy hair. Leaves of forest green fly past in a whirl of motion.

"Could we maybe have a jacket?" I ask, rubbing my arms to stay warm.

"I don't have any, sorry. You should get going soon, the next shift will come any minute now."

I sigh, following Jay and Lily into the forest. Black trunks against an almost black backdrop don't help for seeing, my imagination goes wild filling the void. I rely on the sound of footsteps to stay close to Jay and Lily.

The footsteps stop, my heart pounding in my chest. Softer, the footsteps go slower, then continue normally. I follow, until the ground beneath me disappears, plunging me down into a pit, pebbles, and rocks tearing at my skin. Hitting the bottom, a sickening crack fills the air. Sharp pain lances through my leg and colorful spots flash front of my eyes, every movement causing it to ache.

Not wanting to alert the guards changing shifts, I don't try to scream up to Lily and Jay, but silently pray they heard me.

I wait a minute, then two, but they don't come. The only way I'm getting out of this would be by myself.  Searing fiery bursts pulsated around my leg as I stand up shakily, intensifying with each dragging step.

I force myself to ignore the pain and to keep moving. Feeling my way to the walls of the pit, hopelessness sinks in. It's steep. Taking a calming breath, I place my hands on stable rocks and try to scramble up the side of the wall. I get up a few feet before slipping on the loose dirt and sliding down the pebbles and sticks.

Warm, thick liquid trickles down my bad leg, which it throbs with pain, begging me to give up.

Leaning against the dirt wall, I blink back tears. I'm not going to get any sleep with this pain.

——Jay——

As sunlight streams between the trees, Lily and I split up in search for long, straight sticks and strong stems or leaves. Once we have enough, we meet back up next to the pit.

"So, how are you going to do this?" Lily asks.

"Take two sticks, and wrap the leaves and stems around the break between them until they're connected. Then, take that long stick and another, and do the same thing."

"You sure it will be strong enough?"

"If it can hold me, it can hold him. I had to use one of these to swing across a river before," I say, wrapping some leaves around my stick.

In an hour, we have a rope long enough to reach the bottom of the pit. Lily wraps one end around a tree trunk and ties it tightly.

I look around for a certain plant, and spot one near the trunk. I start picking the leaves.

"What are you doing?"

"It's a steep climb, but he would've been able to make it out unless he was injured. These leaves have some type of liquid in them that can help heal wounds."

"Got it."

"I doubt it's minor enough for this to help though, that's a deep pit."

"I'd say he'd have a seventy-five percent chance of survival."

I decide I have enough leaves, and grab the rope, swinging over the side of the pit, and make my way down.

I get to the bottom, Jacob's state sinking in.