Divagate

Chapter 24

                                          Darwin
                                             •••••
    I leave Lia behind as I sneak over to Siggy, Vince, and Charlotte's tent. Vince is a really deep sleeper and loud snorer, so this will be easy.

    "Be careful." Lia whispers as soon as I reach the tent. I shoot her a glance over my shoulder, letting her know that we have nothing to worry about. Slowly, I open the tent's door and crawl inside. I inch over to the bags in the corner, scanning the dark tent as I go.

    It doesn't surprise me to see Vince out cold with a cozy-looking Charlotte encased in his arms. Vince's rumbling snores drown out the sound of me digging through the bags.

    As I continue my hunt, my hand hovers over what appears to be Charlotte's medical bag. A little voice in my head encourages me to take it, to look inside, to see if Lia's right. No, that's a stupid ass idea. It's not my business.

    After blindly searching through various bags, I find exactly what I'm looking for. I pocket my treasure and reach for one of the smaller bags of food. While I pull it behind me, the bag bumps something. Out of fear that someone woke up, I whirl around.

    The bottom of the bag sits against Siggy's shoulder. My eyes widen as I stare at his still unconscious body. His head is wrapped in bandages, but I can still see a dark spot near the side of his head where blood seeps through. I lightly touch his arm. He doesn't move. He feels cold, too. My body convulses as bile climbs up my throat.

    I did this to him. Me. I'm nothing but the fucking monster Myer Labs wanted me to be. Just as I feel myself begin to spiral out of control yet again, a soft voice breaks the sound of Vince's snores.

    "Are you ok?" It's Lia. Scrambling out of the tent, I pass the food bag to her. I quickly zip the door closed. "Darwin?"

    "Come on." I swallow. Hard. "Let's go." Clicking on a flashlight I have, I take off, turning our walk into a full on marathon. Lia does her best to keep up, but the closest she can get is about five paces behind me.

    "Wait!" Lia pants. "Slow down!" No, I have to keep going. The farther I get away from him the better. "Darwin, please! I'm about to piss my fucking pants!" Oh. I halt immediately, causing Lia to nearly run straight into my back.

    "Sorry." I chuff. Next to me, Lia frantically tries to catch her breath,

    "You," gasp. "Better," gasp. "Not," gasp. "Look."

    "Ok." I mumble, trying to clear my thoughts.

    "Or listen."

    "Ok."

    "I'm serious."

    "Ok." Even to myself, I sound withdrawn. Lia stares incredulously at me for a second before scoffing. She drops the food bag at my feet and walks a few yards away, hiding behind a tree. Shaking, I lower myself to the ground. I feel like someone lit me on fire.

    Why did I even escape from Myer Labs? Sure, it was absolute hell, but at least I felt better than I do now. At least I had some consistency in my life. At least I had my meds to keep things from getting this bad.

    If we hadn't escaped, none of this shit would've happened. Siggy would be fine, Marie would still be with me, and I'd be... ok. I pull my legs up close to my chest, resting my forehead on my knees. Fuck, I'd kill for everything to be--

    "I need the flashlight, I have to grab something from camp." Lia blurts as she swiftly approaches.

    "Ok." She reluctantly takes it from my loose grip. Lia stands by my side for a second, watching me.