Sickness

~Part 14~

Gale and I nodded and took off running into the dark desert. Not questioning her, and not knowing where we were headed. I turned back only for a split second to see Vivien motioning all of the girls back onto the train. This night had made a quick turn for the worst. Was everyone really going to die? That made no sense. How? Why? When?

I looked over at Gale's troubled face. The jacket jumped all around on him as he ran along side me. His eyes weren't happy like they were 20 minutes ago. They were filled with worry. I so badly wanted to be able to read his mind. To know what he was thinking about, but Gale wasn't really that way. He was the type of boy who would have been popular in a REAL high school. He would have been the social butterfly and would have been the guy everyone envies. But that wasn't the case. We weren't normal kids. We were 17 year old kids trained to kill people and survive in the harshest of environments. This had caused us to close up and become more independent.

We stopped running at what seemed like 5 a.m, but I knew it wasn't that early. ''We should get some sleep.'' Gale said skidding to a halt. 

I let my feet come to a slow stop, then flopped on the ground. ''What about wild animals?'' I ask worried.

''I doubt there are even any more left.'' he said sitting down in the dirt. 

I yawn and fall to my side, exhausted. Gale watches me as I curl into a ball and unroll my pants so they almost cover my chest. He smiles at me and I smile back at him. Within a matter of seconds, I collapsed from exhaustion. 

~ * ~

I rolled over letting the heat from the sun warm my front side instead of just my back. A light warm breeze blew on my hair. I slowly open my eyes to see that it wasn't the sun, but Gale. My stomach was against his chest and the jacket was wrapped around both of us. Even though nobody had seen us, I felt heat flood my face.

I untangled myself from Gale and the jacket and moved over into a small ditch where a small green plant was growing. I looked up at the blue sky and lightly touched my stomach. ''I'm sorry if I'm not the mother that you deserve.'' I told my baby. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. ''I don't know how you got here, but I promise I will love you like you deserve to be loved.'' 

''I know you will.'' a voice said from behind me.

I whipped around to see Gale standing behind me with his hands in his pockets. I wiped my eyes and stood up in front of him. ''Sorry... I was just.. just..'' I couldn't figure out how to explain. ''It's.. just in case..''

''Sh, Vala.'' Gale brought me into his warm grip and started stroking my hair. ''You don't have to explain to me.'' he smiled a crooked smile at me. ''Now lets get some food.''

Minutes turned into hours as Gale and I walked the cool deserted land searching for food. We'd been trained to find edible food, but in this barren land... we almost thought there were none. I looked off into the flat land to look for any signs of greenery or plants.

None. 

Around what I guessed was 8:00, sunset began approaching. A day of no food. If there really is a magic baby, I guess it went hungry today. The thought of this made my heart heavy. I felt that I had failed both the child, and Gale by not finding food. ''We should uh... get some sleep.'' Gale said with a fake confidence. His eyes showed worry, concern, and curiosity. 

''Yeah,'' I said slowly. ''I guess we should.'' I flipped my head over and fixed a ponytail on the top of my head and rolled up my sweatpants again. Ugh.

Gale looked across the land searching for a place to hunker down for the cold night. A slight chilly breeze blew my ponytail and sent shivers across my body. ''We need to stay blocked from the wind.'' he said, taking off the jacket and placing it on my shoulders. 

I looked across the land. ''There!'' I pointed at a plateau that came over towards the ground slightly creating a small cave. Gale smiled weakly and took my hand. It was about a mile or so away, so we jogged. 

The cave wasn't much, but it was a place to sleep and stay at least slightly warm. Gale went to a small nearby tree and ripped off most of its branches to create a small fire for us. I don't know how he did it, but he did. I curled up next to the fire in the big coat, wrapping it around my legs and letting my body fall to the side. I lay there in feetle position trying to stay warm as Gale pokes at the fire and warms his hands. Eventually I fell asleep. 

Sometime in the middle of the night, the howling wind woke me from my deep sleep making me sit strait up. I looked around the dying fire to see Gale asleep on the other side, with his arms wrapped around him shivering. I crawled over on my hands and knees and felt his arm. It felt like ice, but he wasn't dead. I slowly and quietly took off my jacket to put it around him without waking him. He stirred a little and I froze, not making a move.

He stopped moving and I made my way back to my side of the fire and poked at the fire to get it going again. I felt the warmth grow stronger as I scooted closer to it. I let a shiver go down my back as the cooler air nipped at me. This was going to be a loooong night.