Whisper of the Woods

•36•

Blake

I grimace at the occasional pang that still throbs in my right leg. The thin sleeve that once belonged to my sweater is now sodden in my blood. I breathe heavily as I limp.

Ever since the creek came into view, thats all I needed to start sprinting. Sprinting off of pure motivation to get home. I'm close, I can feel it.

The sun has set and risen a couple times, but I don't know how long my sprint lasted. I hadn't even bothered to think of the time that lapsed. Two days maybe? However, my injured leg has hindered me from running anymore.

As I walked at a slower pace, the recent memories started to flood back. Tears spilled from my sleep deprived eyes. She's dead. Just like that. In a blink of an eye. So lightening quick.

It's almost like she knew she was going to die, if I give it thought. Before Jace came out, she handed me her one and only gun. Leaving her with nothing. She undid her necklace that Drew bought her and let it slip from her hands into her bag.

Or. Or maybe she wanted me to shoot him on sight. And I didn't. I was too far into a shocked and frightened state. If I just shot him on the spot, she'd still be alive.

Annalise is dead because of me. I stopped in my tracks, pondering it. My bottom lip quivered as my vision became distorted from my clouding tears. I sniffled, wiping them away. I leant my body against a nearby tree. Closing my eyes and letting my head rest against the rough bark of the trunk.

Oh my god, it's all my fault. I screwed up. And I can't fix it.

Feeling the sting in my leg, I reopened my eyes and rummaged in Anna's bag. She might have something to ease the inexorable pain. As my hand fished for a remedy, I found a medium sized camera covered in various sized scratches.

Stole it from Jace, I'm guessing.

I took it out of the bag and pressed the power button. Disappointingly, it didn't turn on. When I drop the camera back into the bag, it clanks up against what sounds like glass. I drew in my brows, finding a miniature bottle of vodka sitting at the very bottom.

Bingo.

I pulled out the bottle, letting Anna's bag fall to the floor as I examined the bottle. I unscrewed the the cap and let the strong alcoholic aroma shoot up my nostrils.

I then carefully removed the blood drenched piece of fabric from my leg, exposing my fairly fresh wound.

My heart thumped against my rib cage like drums. Taking another look at the bottle, I brung it to my lips and threw my head back. Letting the fiery alcohol slide down my throat. I scrunched my face and gave my head a tiny vigorous shake after my mini shot. I needed that, knowing what's coming next.

I let out a slow steady breath, mentally preparing myself. I can't let this get infected. I hovered the bottle over my stab and let the rest of its contents pour. I pinched my eyes closed and hissed at the intense burn.

Hm. It didn't sting as much as I anticipated.

Lowering myself to ground, I took Anna's bag in my lap. I took out my sweater and ripped off the remaining sleeve. I wrapped it around leg securely and slowly rose to my feet unsteadily.

With the straps of the bag scrunched in my clasped hand, I continued my journey. The autumn wind blew and the sun illuminated the sky. Giving the vibrant colored leaves a glimmer.

After walking a decent amount of time, I stopped. My eyes squinted and immediately my heart pounded rapid fire. I can't believe what I'm seeing. I blinked my eyes a few times to give myself reassurance that I'm not dreaming.