Brave Fear (boyxboy)

Chapter 15

Zane felt elated at the possibilities laid out before him. He was no longer confined. Even in New Vancouver, his life was planned out perfectly, and he was contained and restricted from many places. Here, even though there was only one direction he could go, he felt truly unrestrained. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and the excitement of it clawed at the back of his mind.

"Is your leg alright, mate?" Marcus inquired as Zane struggled to stand. He reached forward, meaning to aid Zane, but shrunk back as he waved him off plaintively.

"I'm fine, I just need-" he cried out in pain as his leg gave out and he collapsed back onto the solid and stiff floor of the tunnel. He ground his teeth in frustration. He tore the shirt from his leg, revealing the angry, inflamed wound.

Zane almost gagged. The sight of his raw flesh was unnerving and disgusting. The bloody muscles undulated beneath his skin as he wiggled his toes. The area around the entry wound of the bullet was puffed out and bright red. Caked blood coated much of his upper leg. His vision blurred as it flaked off his skin like red snowflakes. The hem of his pants, pushed to his thighs, was soaked through.

"It might not be alright," he amended, biting his lip. Marcus leaned closer.

"It's not infected. It should heal in a couple of months." He readjusted his hat, his eyes blazing.

"We don't have a couple months," Zane said fiercely. "Wawrzynski is after us."

The other boy seated himself in front of Zane, squatting low enough to get a good look at the wound. He scrunched his eyebrows together in concentration. "A couple soldiers came into the tunnel after us. They must have access to these passages." He reached forward and pressed two fingers softly onto the swelled skin. Zane winced and whimpered in pain.

"What happened?"

"Joseph took care of them," Marcus said quietly, almost a whisper.

I don't want to hurt anybody. Joseph's words ricocheted through Zane's brain. A tear pooled at the corner of his eye. He had assured Joseph there would be no need to hurt anybody. He had lied. Joseph had rescinded his words to protect him.

"He didn't kill them, did he?"

"No." At least there was that. "I did."

His words startled Zane. He had said it very calmly, almost as a passing comment. Zane watched him cautiously, admiring his stony expression. No matter how often he tried to take Marcus seriously, the cowboy hat and boots always got in the way. Such a statement from such a comically looking person was hard to take literally. "You killed them?" he managed to choke out.

"Yes," Marcus responded. "If you may have forgotten, I was trapped here for over a year." Zane had not forgotten. "There's no lost love between me and Wawrzynski. If I can do anything to break him, I will." Marcus removed his prodding fingers from Zane's leg.

When Zane looked up, he saw Marcus flash him a sly grin. "Also, Daisy would kill me if I ruined the, and I quote, 'pureness of Joseph', for you," he said, his smile lessening into one of friendship.

Zane sighed heavily, his resolve fading. "Daisy told you?" he asked, exhausted.

"She told me I was an involuntary wingman," he said, scratching his head through his hat. "And then she called me a wombat for some reason." He stood up, brushing the dust from his jeans. "Crazy aerodynamic maniac," he muttered under his breath, stalking away.

Zane managed to chuckle despite the glaring pain in his leg. "Involuntary, huh?" he asked. He rolled his blood-caked pant leg further up to his hip.