This chapter is dedicated to RachelS8766 who recently began reading, and supporting, my story! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your support does mean everything! I'm so happy to see you're enjoying the story! Thank you!

Cayson didn’t know if he wanted to vomit, black out, or cry first. All he knew was that he was an unimaginable amount of pain.

He was in pure agony.

Cayson stumbled, his body begging to give up, to just quit and accept death. He didn’t know why, but Cayson was fighting against those thoughts with everything he had left. Who was he doing it for?

It sure wasn’t for himself.

Cayson fell into Sean, causing Sean to shuffle sideways. Sean used all his strength to not only hold himself up but his friend.

As they entered the camp Sean could see Zane charging toward them, the backup right on his heels. Zane came to a slow halt, his eyes opened in horror as his eyes fell on the blood seeping through Cayson’s clothes and swarming down his arms. The backup shoved past Zane, almost knocking him onto his back. Cayson’s appearance alone could terrify anyone.

Red eyes from attempting but failing to hold back tears, clothes and face stained in dirt, blood gushing from his shoulder, and worst of all Cayson’s inability to walk without assistance.

What wouldn’t be horrifying?

Sean and Cayson approached Zane, scooting past him and storming through the medical tent. Cayson hadn’t been in the medical tent before.

It was rather large on the inside. Four beige cots sat evenly spaced against the left side of the tent. An old, rickety, wooden table sat in the center. It was covered in different makeshift bowls, uprooted plants, and jury-rigged medical tools.

Everly was placing a folded, knitted towel against a person’s arm. When Cayson leapt forward faster than Sean could, Cayson smashed to his knees. He held his breath, letting out a sharp cry.

Everly whirled around, eyes opened as wide as an owl; shock and confusion coursing through her system. Sean struggled to get Cayson to his feet. When he finally did, and Everly saw who was standing before her bleeding out, she quickly shooed out the man on the cot.

“Lay him down there,” she instructed, pointing toward a hidden cot in the corner of the tent. This one was raised higher, reminding Cayson of a wooden observation table. Sean shuffled Cayson that way and helped him into the cot.

“Where’s the doctor?” Sean demanded, panic clear in his tone as Everly snatched a few items off the table.

“He’s with Ezra.”

“I’ll go get him,” Sean spun around and charged toward the ‘doors’ of the tent.

“No,” Everly shook her hand, causing Sean to come to an abrupt stop and spin around. “He’s busy. If you take away the doctor from Ezra, it’ll only piss him off more . . .  I know how to do this.”

“He needs a professional,” Sean argued, joining Everly at her side.

“Which is me right now.”

“I’m getting the doctor,” Sean sneered.

“Hey!” Everly screeched, her face turning slightly pink from anger. The two exchanged glances. Everly’s eyes filled to the brim with anger while Sean’s held a hint of helplessness. He felt so worthless, he couldn’t even save his best friend.  “He’s my friend too.” Everly’s head shot back to Cayson’s wound and Sean tensed. “Hey Cayson, everything’s going to be okay.”

“It hurts,” Cayson whined.

“I know sweetie. I’m going to need you to sit up, alright? I have to take your shirt off so I can see your shoulder.” Cayson weakly nodded, allowing Everly to force him up. Cayson let an uncomfortable grunt while Sean held Cayson in place. Everly gently removed his shirt, making sure to avoid the fabric rubbing against his shoulder.

Gently setting him back down, Everly peered at the wound.

“You removed the arrow, didn’t you?” She wondered.

“He did . . . why?” Everly bit her lip, shaking her head. Sean got the memo, it was bad.

“I know how to fix this. I’m not going to lie, it’s going to hurt.” Cayson shut his eyes, sucking in a deep breath.

“Do. It.” The words escaped his lips through gritted teeth. Everly nodded and began to work. The moment her fingertips grazed his shoulder, he bit his lip so hard it began to bleed. When she began to dig into his wound for a better view, he screamed until his throat burned.

Sean stood in the back, sick to his stomach. Bile rose in his throat and Sean felt that any moment he was going to throw up his breakfast onto his shoes. The only words running through Sean’s mind, replaying like a broken record, drove him mad. I’m sorry, I’m sorry Cayson, I’m so so sorry.

After listening to the chorus of cries from his friend for a few moments, he could no longer handle it.

“I . . . I’m going to check on Mason,” Sean lied, backing out of the room. He left a nice little breakfast surprise outside of the tent. Everly didn’t pay him any attention, to disgusted by the fact that her friend’s warm blood was blanketing her hand.

“Is he gone?” Cayson questioned after swallowing what he hoped wasn’t blood.

“Yeah, why?”

“What happens in here stays here, okay? Because I’m about to start crying like it’s nobody’s business,” Cayson informed her. Everly allowed herself to smirk at his comment, at least he still has his sense of humor. Two seconds later, Cayson allowed the tears to stream down his flushed cheeks.

They mixed with the dirt and dry blood, reminding Cayson of his ‘wonderful’ days back home. Attempting to keep himself distracted, the throbbing pain getting to the point of being so much he might pass out, he eyed Everly.

Everly didn’t stop working, she was like a machine. She wanted nothing more than to save him. She used everything in her exhausted body to fight to keep him alive. Cayson let out a sharp breath, he didn’t want to put her through his.

Everly picked up a pair of tweezers, clutching onto a piece of wood that had been left behind inside of his shoulder. Cayson cried out, his nails digging into the cot. He also began to cough, and he could feel the blood trickle from the corner of his lips. Everly rushed it wipe it away.

“Just a little longer . . . I promise.” Everly needed to calm down, her vision being clouded by her tears. Focus.

Everly removed the other end of the arrow, thankful to find somehow no veins had been severed. He’d be gone if they had.

“Just got to stitch it up, almost over I swear.” Everly was washed with relief. He’d live, that’s all she cared about. “You’re going to be fine.” She kept repeating this, more for herself than for him.

Cayson had gotten stitches when he was ten. It hadn’t hurt one bit thanks to the wonderful medicine which numbed his cut. He wished he had that now. Feeling the needle entering and leaving his shoulder was awful.

Cayson’s eyelids felt heavy and he realized his body had enough. It was attempting to shut down to spare him some pain.

Too late. The worst parts over.

“Cayson!” A new voice emerged as someone threw back the beige opening of the tent and leapt inside. Emery sprinted to the table, coming to a stop at his side as her hands hovered over him. Everly finished the final stitch, allowing Emery to peer over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Everly set the bloody tools in a bowl of water, she’d have to clean them later. She trudged over toward a second bowl, attempting to scrape the blood off her hands.

“Is he okay?” Emery questioned.

“He’s fine,” the words made Everly smile.

“What in the hell happened!? Why were you out in the woods!? Are you stupid!?” Emery began to fire off question after question, the anger in her tone escalating.

“I . . .” Cayson didn’t know what to say. He had never seen Emery so angry. Her hand was clenched into a fist while her cheeks were as red as tomatoes.

“He’s tired,” Everly attempted to save Cayson. Sauntering over, she snatched a dry cloth and wiped away the tears from his face. Cayson lifted the corner of his mouth to signal a thank you.

“I have to find Mason,” Cayson argued, shaking his matted hair. He started to sit up, but an array of ‘oo’s!” and ‘heys’ erupted as Emery set her hand on his chest and gently shoved him back down.

“Mason is fine, okay? You need to stop focusing on him and start focusing on yourself,” Emery said, taking in a deep breath as she removed her hand.

“I need to go to the well, get him so water so I can make him a painkiller. He also needs his rest.” Emery nodded, following Everly as she began to leave. Cayson reached out for her, whimpering from the pain in his shoulder.

He wrapped his fingers around Emery’s, pulling her away from the exit and to his side. Emery eyed his, confused and startled.

“Please, don’t leave me,” Cayson whispered, squeezing her hand tightly. Emery glanced over her shoulder at Everly, who simply nodded and disappeared from the tent.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Emery smiled, eyes gazing into his.

“Where Zane?” Cayson questioned, his throat dry. Emery released his hand and squeezed onto the cot, sitting by his legs.

“They’re all fine, I promise. . . Just think about yourself right now, alright?” Cayson nodded, tilting his head back to stare at an array of spots clouding the tent above him.

“Did anyone go into the cafeteria?” Cayson wondered.

“No. Roxanne, Everly, and I all watched the doors. No one came in today . . . You know, Finley just wanted to help-”

“Can we please not talk about him?” Cayson interrupted, moving his head so his ear touched his shoulder. He could now see Emery. Emery simply nodded, moving a strand of her coffee hair behind her ear.

Her eyes wandered around until they found themselves on the table. She leapt up off the cot, snatching a clean cloth and a bowl of clean water off the table. She dipped the cloth in the water and then spun around to face Cayson.

Cayson shivered from the cold water as Emery began to clean the blood off his arm.

“You don’t have to . . .” Cayson whispered.

“I want to.” Emery cleaned the blood off his arm, keeping herself calm as she did. The sight of Cayson’s blood made her want to sob. Emery moved to his cheeks, cleaning away the dirt. Cayson gazed into her eyes.

“What’s on your mind?” He wondered.

“Nothing . . . why do you ask?”

“You always get that look in your eyes when you're thinking about something,” he craned his neck so it was easier for her to clean it.

“I’m always thinking,” she simply shrugged, biting her lip.

“But it’s bothering you,” Cayson began. “Want to know how I can tell? You only bite your lip when you're thinking hard. So either something's bothering you, or you're thinking so hard about how extremely attractive I am.” Emery giggled and Cayson could only smile weakly, too exhausted to force a laugh.

“At least you still have your modesty . . . I’m just thinking about why we’re here, that’s all.”

“Why we’re here?” Emery set the blood soaked cloth into the bowl, the blood evaporating and swirling around in the water as she set it down on the table. Emery returned to her seat by his legs.

“Yeah . . . Maybe . . . Maybe we’re here for a reason,” she began to twiddle her thumbs. “Maybe we’re here because we did something bad? Something we weren’t supposed to and . . . and we’re being punished for it.”

“You think god did this to us?” Cayson found himself becoming a little scared, he hadn’t really thought of it. Why were they there?

“I don’t know,” she sighed, daring to glance his way.

“What could you have done to think you’d deserve to be punished?” The question seemed to instantly upset her. She tensed, her eyes becoming glossy.

“I got in a fight with my parents. I said some mean things and then I snuck out of the house-”

“Stop,” Cayson shook his head. “There’s no way you would be punished for doing that. People fight Emery, it’s what we do.”

“But what I said . . .” Emery sniffled. “It was awful and it’s driving me crazy. I didn’t mean any of it! I was just so angry and I said it! I didn’t know it’d be the last thing I’d say to them,” she was crying now. The tears were flying from her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Cayson cooed. Emery scooted closer to Cayson, laying her head down on his chest. Cayson pulled her closer, rubbing her back as she continued to cry.

Even though Emery’s cries broke Cayson’s heart, he couldn’t help but feel at peace. The pain faded away, as did the worry. He could spend an eternity like this; holding Emery.

As his body began to shut down, and his lids became too heavy to force open any longer, a single thought comforted him as he let his exhaustion take over and carry him to sleep.

I will protect Emery will everything I have left and I will find a way for her to return home to her parents.

Why?

Because I love her.