Rules of Survival | afi

day two

Ants, fighting

together, will

vanquish the lion.

-SAADI

•••

It was Calum that had the idea to install alarms in the contestant's wristbands to alert them of the radiation.

The thought came his first day on the job as a strategist. What if Ashton was asleep when the circle closed in? He'd be dead in minutes.

So he proposed the idea to his colleagues, who collectively thought it was a fair advantage to give to the contestants. They were already practically on their own. It seemed reasonable to help them out at least a little.

He had no idea it would legitimately save Ashton's life, especially on just the second day.

***

I come to slowly, the pounding of my head and incessant ache keeping me under. There's a steady pressure on my chest, my whole body, making it difficult to breath or move. When I finally peel my eyes open, I realize that that pressure is a mixture of two things: the roof and Ashton.

Ashton. I can tell by the curls tickling my chin. His arm around my waist, my body under his. He must have shielded me from the buildings collapse. He saved my life.

He's knocked out cold, but still alive. I feel his heart beating slowly against mine. There's a good thirty pounds of rubble resting on top of our bodies, wood and tin and ash.

If we barely survived being on the top floor of the house, there's no chance our assailants are still alive. The two extra kills on my wristband confirm my theory.

"Ashton." I say, using every bit of my strength to shove at him. Immediately, pain shoots through my head. "Ash. Wake up."

It takes several tries and a lot of whispered yelling to get him to finally sputter awake. At first he just blinks, before jerking upwards in surprise when he realizes the close proximity of our bodies. Of course, with all the weight on us, this doesn't fair well and he slams his head on the rubble.

"Shit." He winces, panting. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks to you." I say, eyeing the blood staining his shirt at the left shoulder. My arms are free, but my body is pinned underneath his. "Can y-"

Before I can finish my sentence, an alarm sound rings through the air.

Immediately, my eyes go to my wristband, and my heart starts slamming in my chest.

You are outside of the safe zone. Radiation will reach your location in 7 minutes.

Ashton's says the same thing. We lock eyes, both exhibiting the same oh shit expression, and he starts struggling to push the rubble off and get up.

It barely budges. I watch him, powerless, as he strains and strains and swears until sweat is dripping down his forehead. The rubble doesn't weigh that much, but it's all just stuck together and woven in a way that makes it extremely difficult to move. Just when I think Ashton's going to have a stroke on top of me, the weight starts to lift.

Michael rips off piece after piece of rubble until Ashton can get free, before reaching down a hand and helping me up. For the first time since we've landed, I feel a strong sense of warmth towards him. And to think I was planning on killing him last night.