Delicate ✔

Chapter Twenty-Two

  I wander around the seemingly endless woods for what seems like forever. The daylight is finally starting to show. It must be around five or six in the morning. I'm not sure. The morning mist is not going to dry my soaked clothes. Maybe sun will, when the dark clouds decide to leave. At least I don't have to rely on my eyesight and moonlight to see ahead of me. My bones and muscles are sore from my earlier beating from Lee and his buddy. I am also sore from being cramped in a box. You'd think walking would help, but with each step, I feel more and more drowsy. I just want to rest for a moment. Just for a moment...

I collapse from exhaustion. I force my eyes open, rolling onto my side.

"Get up, Justin," I scold myself. "Stop being a wimp."

My limbs protests with my decisions. I stay on the ground, praying that Aubrey is okay. I just need to know that she is okay. If anything happens to her, it will be my fault. I don't want to live with the fact that she is dead because of me. I should have stayed home. This is all my fault. How could I not have known about Lee's true colors?

My visions blurs my head spins and pounds. A sudden wave of nausea sweeps through me. My stomach grumbles. I fight the urge to vomit. I haven't gone that long without food. I don't understand why I feel sick. Before I can think about throwing up, I am unconscious again.

I see a familiar blue-eyed girl looking at me. She's beautiful. She is helpless... waiting for me..

.....

I wake up for what seems like the thousandth time. It has finally stopped misting. Half of my body is wet covered in autumn leaves. It is still windy, but the sun is shinning through the trees above me. It is probably noon and Aubrey's parents are probably beside themselves. I hear water from the storm before. It runs across the land and trickles off the trees when the wind blows. I hear a low growl and a twig snap nearby.

I sit up, my heading twisting abruptly. My eyes widen, and then narrow. There is a bear cub scurrying around. He's pretty far away. I don't think he knows I'm here. I'm not necessarily scared of the cub. I just have a feeling that his mother is not too far away. And I don't even know if these are the woods Aubrey is in. For all I know, Aubrey has been found, and I'm lost. That's fine. But I still need to be sure she is safe. Right now, I just need to get away from this cub. If I'm correct, that cub belongs to a black bear.

I slowly rise to my feet, creeping away from the area. I hear the cub run, and I turn to look behind me. He is looking right at me, frozen in his tracks. I glare at the little animal. He clambers over to me. I step back, and he stops.

"Shoo!," I hiss. "Get away you little brat."

The wind blows, causing leaves to scatter around us. I take a menacing step forward. The little fur-ball takes off, running away from me. When I'm sure it's gone, I continue to look for Aubrey. What if the mother bear finds Aubrey? Will Aubrey know what to do? Would she be ignorant enough to try and pet it? Or run? Running away from a bear is bad. Maybe I'm underestimating her. She has surprised me before.

After walking for so long, I am thirsty. I follow the sound of running water. It leads me out of the vast amount of tress, and into a clearing. I see muddy water piled into one spot. From the muddy puddle, I can see tracks being carried toward a nearby stream of water. I run over to the tracks. I zip my jacket up, shivering. Those aren't animal tracks. It looks like a body has been dragged off into the river. I go over to the river, splashing water onto my face. I cup my hands, gathering some of the water. I spit it out immediately. It has an acrid taste to it. I mentally slap myself. Why would you drink water if it looked like a body had went down it. Of course the water tastes bad!

Realization hits me when I notice tire tracks in the mud near me. This where I found Lee at first. That means...

I follow the drag marks. They lead straight into the river. I follow the river. As I travel alongside it, I see smears of blood on the rocks every once in a while. The isn't that deep, but that doesn't mean you can drown in it. I think she was unconscious. Before I reach the end of the river, I see something weird along side the river. It looks like someone had clawed their way out of the water. I see very little footprints. It looks like the person had a hard time moving. Dried blood follows the path they left. I warily follow it.

She didn't make it far. But she's there, laying against the moist grass. Her clothes are stained from blood and water. I run over to her, calling her name when she doesn't move. I shake her shoulders, trying to jostle her awake. She doesn't even stir. I feel my eyes burn again. 

"Aubrey," I plead.

I put my ear to her mouth. I can't hear her breathing. That may be because of my heavy, panicked breathes. I don't care. I use both of my hands to push on her chest. I don't know if drowning is one of her problems or not. I cover her mouth with mine anyways. I pull away after breathing into her. I push on her chest again. I repeat these motions. She coughs after a moment, spurting out water from her mouth. Then she stills, cold and stiff. It's as if she has died again. I become frustrated when she doesn't wake up. Tears of anguish and grief soon spill down my cheeks. A sob wracks through me and  I let out a shout of anger.

"C'mon, Aubrey," I croak. "I'm not going to lose you too."

I search her body for any sign of an injury. I find where she had been stabbed. But it had been wrapped with the fabric from the arm of her hoodie. That his why one of her arms are bare and covered in goose bumps. The wound is between her shoulder and collar bone. She is covered in dirt. I pry the fabric away. Dirt spots around the wound. I quickly scoop her up in my arms. I carry down to a less mud covered part of the river. I lay her back down. Her hair is matted to her forehead, so I brush it back. I try my best to rinse any dirt away from the wound. I wrap the arm of the hoodie back around the wound. She had been awake. She stopped the blood. But not quick enough.

I gaze down at her, pressing my hand to her chest; where her heart should be. I then press my ear there, listening for her heartbeat. I think I hear a faint sound. It is hard to tell. I mostly hear my heart pounding in my ears. I wipe away my tears. She is freezing. I'm much drier than she is. I pick her up again. I carry her to the clearing, so that the trees can't block out the sunlight. Instead of laying her down again, I lean us against a tree. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly to me. I am trying to keep her and myself as warm as possible.

After I can feel my fingertips again, I stand up. Her eyes remain closed and she stays by the tree. I want her to wake up. I want to see her bright blue eyes. I want to hear her voice. I know I will have to start a fire. I leave her by the tree. I mentally take note of landmarks to find my way back to her. I'm not sure if rubbing two sticks together actually works, but I have to try. I have to make a fire to keep us warm. Especially her, she is freezing. Then, I need to find a way out of here.

--Aubrey--

I feel pressure on me. I feel someone touching me. Someone's lips on mine. Can't I just die already? What now?

"C'mon, Aubrey," a low voice begs from above me. "I'm not going to lose you too."

Justin's voice causes me to wake up. I try to open my eyes. I try to sit up. I just want to hug him. I want to tell him I okay. I want to know he is okay. But my body protests. And I can't find my voice. I cough, feeling wetness trickle down my chin. I try to force my eyes open again, but I just meet blackness and nothingness again.

Aubrey's body finally warms after she is by the fire for a few minutes. I get warm too. Before I know it, I doze off myself. My body is aching to rest. I sleep longer than I think, because it is dark when I wake up. I've slept the whole day away! The fire is gone, except for a few embers. Aubrey is as I left her before. Numb and lifeless. She is still pale. After several attempts, I get another fire to burn brightly. I lean over Aubrey, grief and hopelessness sweeping through me again. I lean down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. My eyes widen in wonder.

I search her pockets quickly. I do find a cellphone. It is almost dead. It's a wonder it still works after she had been in water. I stand to my feet, holding the phone up. I can't find a signal. I keep trying and trying, but the phone dies quickly. It is completely dead now. I can't get it to turn on anymore. Hopelessness washes through me. My throat tightens. I have the urge to break something and throw things. I just don't know what to do!

___

Hope you enjoyed the read. The song of the day is by my favorite band. ^.^

Coldplay--Atlas >>