BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Sixteen

|Ghost|

I was so far gone with exhaustion, I didn't even notice Finn switched places with Jordon. His short intake of breathing tells me I'm wearing him down. Raising my head to look forward, I tap my left hand on his shoulder, signaling him to stop. Ivy brushes past us, running full speed ahead.

"We made it!" she says, jumping in the air with joy.

Finn picks up his pace. Up ahead, a massive collection of military tents scatter a designated area in the desert. The sun is lowering as dusk approaches, and the smell of burning brush collects throughout the air. My vision is no longer blurry, and my limbs no longer feel numb. I tap on Finn's shoulder.

"You can let me down now..." I say.

"You're sure you can walk?" He kneels down onto the sand. I slide off from his back, wobbling a little on both feet. "I don't think so..."

"I'm fine," I say. The way he is looking at me shows that he's curious as to what actually happened back there with the rattlesnake, but I don't even know that answer myself. "About what happened back there, Finn –"

"We don't have to talk about it right now," he interrupts. "Come on, we've got people waiting on us." A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. He pulls on my hand, leading me toward the multiple bonfires and crowds of people swarming the area.

Ivy is hugging a little boy and woman. Both Polly and Jordon veered to the right, disappearing into a smaller crowd of people. Finn pulls me along, looking back at me from time to time. I take in my surroundings. Everyone stops to watch us, stepping aside as we make our way down the path. It weaves in-between tents, and then toward the center of the camp, where an open area of people sit to chat amongst each other. A tall, handsome gentlemen, maybe in his late thirties glances over at us.

"Finnian!" he says with delight, spreading his arms outward.

Finn drops my hand, and walks toward the man, getting wrapped up inside a manly hug. "Dad, we have some stories to tell you," he says, a soft laughter is squeezed from him.

His father continues to pat his back, smiling. Soon as he makes eye contact with me, the warm smile fades. "Who's the girl?" he asks, pulling away from Finn.

"Oh..." Finn smiles, while wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "This is Irissa, dad."

I step forward, extending my hand. He keeps one hand on his hip, and the other adjusts the ball cap on his head. "It's nice to meet you, Irissa." His facial expression is telling me otherwise. "Call me Adam."

"It's nice to meet you too, Adam," I say with a nod.

His eyes blink, and then squint. "Is that a snake bite?" Adam points at my arm. Finn walks past him, taking position next to me.

"She seems okay," says Finn. "The snake must not have released enough venom."

Adam supports his chin with his fingers as if he is dwelling on a thought. "Lucky girl," he says, and adds, "but she still needs to have the wound cleaned."

"I'll take her," Finn volunteers, his fingers brushing against my arm to lead me away. Adam steps in front of us, looking down at me.

He says, "I'd like to take her, Finn. Go get cleaned up, you look like hell."

I exchange a glance with Finn, he shrugs his shoulders hopelessly.

Or maybe it's apologetically?