Jessie ran as fast as she could, pushing her body to limits it had never been pushed before. She kid herself that is she ran fast enough, she would leave the pain behind. Or better yet, maybe time would turn back and this nightmare would disappear.

Her legs grew heavy and every breath seemed to be tearing her lungs into pieces, but she didn't care. She pushed herself more, striding even faster over bushed, boulders and logs. If she managed to reach Jimmy, everything would somehow be all right.

Jessie jumped over the rope which set off the trap and stumbled into camp. Before she could pull herself together, Jimmy's arms surrounded her and pulled her out of the shade of the trees.

"Thank God!" He squeezed her so hard she almost chocked. "What happened? I heard an explosion. Is everyone okay?"

Jessie looked at his worried face and couldn't hold her tears back. How was she supposed to tell him that his little brothers and his cousin were dead? Against her will, her body shook with sobs.

"Jessie." Jimmy raised her chin, forcing her to look at him. Between tears, his features were blurred; which was a real shame. "No one else made it?"

"I'm sorry, I'm being so stupid." She wiped her tears away hastily. "It's just that..." How could she say this without breaking him? There was no subtle way to do this. "Sam, Tom and Billy didn't make it."

Jimmy's eyes widened and he let her go. No! She needed him. Her last barrier of self-control went tumbling down and she fell to her knees, sobbing and hiccupping like a child. Something was pressing on her chest, something so heavy, it threatened to break her into pieces. She didn't want this. Life should be fair.

"Jessie, get up!" Jimmy grabbed her shoulders and hoisted her off the ground. His grip hurt. "Look at me. Stop crying." His cold voice stung.

Jessie raised her eyes. Oddly, Jimmy seemed angry rather than in grief.

"Don't do this to me. I need you to be strong." His voice cracked and he looked away from her. "You're much stronger than this. If you lose it, what am I supposed to do?" He turned to her, pain etched on every feature. His hands shook and he pulled her into a hug. "Please, promise you'll be there for me."

"I promise," she whispered, resting her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating wildly and wished she could calm him down, make him feel better. If not crying was going to achieve that, she wouldn't shed another tear.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Alice's belligerent tone managed to drive the tears out of Jessie's eyes. She was not going to let her make things even harder for Jimmy.

He stared at her blankly. "Where's everyone else?"

"You let her go this instance!" Alice marched towards them.

Before she could reach, Jessie left Jimmy's arms and placed herself like a shield in front of him. "Not now Alice. His brothers just died. Could you at least pretend to feel sorry for him?" She felt like adding how it was practically her fault all of that happened, but realized it wouldn't make Jimmy feel any better.

"And what a perfect excuse it was for you to jump into his arms." Alice put her hands on her hips. "This makes you sooo happy."

Jessie clenched her fists, trying her best not to lunge at Alice and kill her. "Shut up."

"Or what? Are you going to get me killed too?"

Jessie let out a cry of rage and jumped at Alice. Before she could reach her, Jimmy wrapped her arms around her waist and hoisted her into the air. Jessie kicked in Alice's direction, but missed. Her blood was boiling as every bit of sense disappeared. She wanted Alice to hurt, too.

"That's enough!"

Angie stepped into the clearing, her gaze dark enough to freeze them in their tracks. "I've had it with pointless fighting."

Jessie relaxed in Jimmy's arms and hung her head. Angie was right.

The rest of the group came into the open and Jimmy let her go to talk to Jerry. Jessie threw a fleeting glance at Kyle, but he looked just as absent as he had when she'd pulled him away from the burning ruins of the cabin. She had a feeling something wasn't right, but she decided against investigating the matter now. What she needed was rest. She had to ready herself for the torture she knew would follow.

*

Kyle opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. It didn't go away. The dark-green canvas of his tent was still there. He bolted up, panting. What was he doing there? The last thing he remembered seeing were flames, ruins and smoke. How did he get teleported back to camp?

He scrambled up and rushed out where he bumped into Kay. She stumbled, but he caught her before she fell.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked warily.

Kyle stared at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face a little swollen, as if she'd been crying for hours. It was already so dark, he could poke his eyes out. What had he been doing all day? Had he somehow passed out? Kay tightened her grip on his hand and he snapped out of it.

"I'm okay, I guess. How did I—?"

"You're talking again!" Kay hugged him tightly, pushing all air out of his lungs. "I was so worried."

Kyle hugged her back. So he hadn't passed out. He just hadn't been talking. Why couldn't he remember anything? Asking Kay what happened would get her even more worried and he didn't want that. She was torn up enough as it was. He shuddered, remembering what happened: Sam, Tom and Billy. His mind refused to take in the information and he felt stuck in limbo.

"Where's Jimmy?" he asked, detaching Kay from him.

"I think he's tinkering with the traps."

"You should go rest. You've had a rough day." Kyle kissed her cheek and walked away.

"We've all had a rough day," Kay murmured behind him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He wheeled around. "I don't think any of us are okay right now, sweetheart. Let's just say that I'm as fine as I could be in the given circumstances." It was all a big fat lie, but until he figured out what was going on with him, he wasn't about to get her even more worked up.

Kay seemed satisfied with the answer and left for her tent. Kyle continued his way to the outskirts of camp and found Jimmy there, hammering manically at some piece of wood. At the sound of Kyle's approaching footsteps, Jimmy raised his head. His brow unfurrowed and he threw the hammer away.

"Hey, I wanted to come and talk to you—"

Kyle raised his hand to stop him. "Have I been knocked out?"

Jimmy frowned, looking just as pissed as before. "What?"

"How did I get here?"

"You came in walking. What's with the obvious questions?"

It was obvious from the edge in Jimmy's tone that he had an inkling as to why Kyle was there and he didn't like it. Kyle didn't either. He felt like an asshole, but he could provide Jimmy with no comfort.

The thought caused a pang inside his head. Something was wrong. It was coming again, gripping on to him. Darkness was swallowing his thoughts, his mind going blank with blissful forgetfulness...He shook his head, but it didn't go away. He was losing feeling.

"Kyle! Are you listening to me?" Jimmy's voice reached him as though he were speaking from the other side of water.

Kyle forced his eyes to refocus and Jimmy's worried face came into view. "I'm having blackouts."

"You're having what?"

"I can't remember what happened after the cabin exploded. I can only remember running down the hill after which I woke up here. I think it's starting again." He rubbed his temples, trying to get some feeling back in his body.

Jimmy stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds then looked away. "Shit. Jessie said there was something wrong with you. I thought you might be in shock. I really needed your help."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I'll try to overcome this thing, whatever it is. We'll talk when I snap out of it." Kyle took a few steps back. If he snapped out of it. He had to get back to his tent before collapsing again. "Try to look after the others."

Jimmy smiled weakly. "I will, don't worry. You'll get better. Maybe one night of sleep is all you need."

"Yeah, maybe." Kyle smiled back and walked back to camp, fighting to keep his balance. He honestly doubted that, but he didn't want to burst Jimmy's bubble.

Author's note:

So, sometimes bad things happen to good people. What do you think will happen next?

Also, if you enjoyed the chapter, consider leaving a vote or comment :)

PS: I'm evil