Perilous Flames [clifford a.u]

chapter eight - on our way

        CHAPTER EIGHT - ON OUR WAY

        "Aiden." Someone carefully nudged my shoulders. I groaned, flipping onto my side and facing away from the urging voice. "Aiden, wake up. We have to get going," the voice pleaded again. 

        Slowly, I opened my eyes to see my face leveled with a floor covered in leaves. I abruptly sat up, looking around in panic at the unfamiliar sight of the crowded woods. "Whoa, whoa, calm down." Two hands were held up in front of me and I looked up to see Michael standing in front of me, his flaming hair a mess atop of his head. 

        He gave me an unsure look and I groaned again, placing my hands over my face. "Sorry," I mumbled and placed my hands to each side of me to get to my feet. As soon as my right wrist brushed the dry leaves on the floor, a sting shot up my arm and I hissed in pain. Glancing down, I suddenly remembered the print of Michael's fingers burned into my skin. 

        I used my left hand instead to help me get up and I brushed the leaves that stuck to my legs. I caught Michael grimace and roughly run his fingers through his red hair. "We have to get going. Scarlet and her friend could catch up to us at anytime," he said, his eyes darting everywhere except at me.

        I nodded and reached for my things that were on the ground. Once we made sure we had all of our things, we continued our trek through the sunlit woods. 

        Last night, Michael and I had walked as much as we could through the woods till we were exhausted. I tried to assure him that we should keep going, since Scarlet and the hooded guy could be on our tail at any moment, but he told me I was starting to look like a zombie so we had to stop and rest. 

        So we found a spot in the middle of the most packed trees, and rested there for most of the night. And it was freezing cold and since I only wore my pajama shorts and flimsy shirt, I was shaking the entire time I tried to sleep. It was so cold that I desperately wanted Michael next to me since he was practically a heater, but he kept his distance. He instead, decided to rest by a tree that had the most distance from me. He quickly pretended to get over the fact he burned me, but he didn't dare to come at least three feet close to me. He was probably too paranoid that he would do something like that again, or even worse. I didn't blame him, but it everything became different when Michael didn't act like himself.

        We trekked through the uneven ground and I felt weak and tired and in desperate need of shower. I can't even imagine how my hair looks like right now.

        The chirps from nearby birds filled the awkward silence between Michael and I. We were walking through the woods mostly for only two reasons. One: because Scarlet and her hooded friend had a less chance of finding us in the woods if they were looking for us. And two: We had no clue where the road was. 

        When Michael and I ran into the woods, we ran straight but we just so happened to run into the middle of the woods. With no clue exactly where we were, all we had was the hope that eventually we would stumble upon a road so we could get out of the area as soon as possible. 

        I kept my head down as we walked. Michael only glanced around to keep watch, but hadn't looked in my direction once. Eventually, the silence became too unbearable so I spoke up to break it. "So do you know who Scarlet is?" I questioned. 

        Michael shot me a look and immediately my face reddened. Of course he didn't know who she was. Why would he ask her in the parking lot of the motel if he did? He sighed when I bowed down my head in embarrassment. "Not a clue," he answered anyway, "I honestly thought that Nick and Henry were the only ones that were after me, but clearly they aren't."