I Didn't Want to Fall in Love With You (A Dylan Schmid/ Baelfire fanfiction)

Chapter 24: Holding on.

   Do you know how hard it is to keep track of time while you're slipping in and out of consciousness? Very. It's also hard to know where you are or remember where you're going. It's like the moment you wake up, and there's still a dream hanging over you, and you can remember dreaming but you're not quite awake yet. And it's hard to know what's going on.

   But it seems every time I woke up, I still knew, deep down I knew that there was a poison in my veins. Traveling through my system, killing me from within. Slowly. Of course it couldn't be fast and put me out of my misery quick. I had to feel it crawling through me. Taunting me. Begging me to give in to it. But no matter how much I wanted to I couldn't. My mind didn't want me to give in, and I didn't know what it was trying to hold on to. Or who. But I think I really do know the answer and didn't want to let myself agree.

   I woke up again, hurting all over, which just wanted me to slip back into sleep again. At least when I'm asleep I don't feel physical pain. But I refused to let myself fall asleep again. I needed to remember. I needed to know. My vision was blurry, but I could make out enough, Felix was still holding me. If they switched at any time to help carry me like they did with Peter, then I never noticed because it was always Felix who had me in his arms. And he would look down and smile a smile that said hold on. Just like he did right now. It helped to know that he was still there for me, even after all these years.
   I turned my head to catch a glimpse of Peter, who was held by two boys. Slightly and Ty. They were switching with John. John shouted over to Felix. "We need to stop."
   "We can't stop!" Felix yelled back. Why were they yelling? They weren't too far apart. I stopped and closed my eyes letting my senses come back to life. Just barely the wind brushed my finger tips. Was the nectar cutting off my ability to feel? Now that I thought about it, I knew that Felix was holding me, but I didn't physically feel his hands under my legs or back. I started to panic, but Felix glanced down at me and gave me another nod confirming that it was happening.
   "Felix! It's been three hours! We'll be fine if we take a 10 minute rest!"
   "We can't afford to! She's already loosing her ability to feel! Let's not forget she was in there for longer than Peter! I hate to say it, but right now she's MY main priority!"
   "We understand!" Slightly yelled. "But Peter's ours, and we're not going to be able to get him up the hills if we haven't rested!"
   "Well try! You're not taking a break!"

   With that he continued his brisk pace until we finally reached the foot of the hills. He took a sharp breaths as he laid me down against a tree.
   "How are you doing?" He asked.
   I couldn't speak, it hurt too much to move. Instead I just closed my eyes tightly and that seemed to be enough for him. The four boys followed up a couple of paces behind Felix, John and Slightly were now carrying Peter. They set him down next to me, and this is when I got the first good look of him since he injected me. He was pale, his lips lost their color and he had dark circles under his eyes. His face was dabbed with sweat and I couldn't tell if that was a symptom of the poison or if he's been slipping in and out of nightmares. I wanted to lean down next to him and just hold him, but my muscles felt like they were pulling themselves apart.
   "We don't have much more time," Felix began. "We can't afford to lose time, and getting them up the hills is going to be hard. We not only need to be watching them, but watching out for ourselves. We can't begin to fathom what lurks behind the trees. We get up as fast as we can and we can rest there. I don't want to go trudging back down at night, too dangerous."
   "So how long are we going to sit here?" John asked.
   "We need to catch our breath and evaluate what we have for supplies. We need anything that will be able to cover our mouths without having to hold it there."
   "Why?"
   "We can't take any chances. This is all territory that shouldn't have to be explored. I don't know if there's fumes that can knock you out, or poisonous aromas. We get up, we don't touch ANYTHING. Not trees, or leaves, and if there's a branch in your way, you better get your machete out and hack it away. Nothing is to be touched other than who your carrying or the bags. If you set something down or drop it, you leave it. No switching now on Peter. We can't afford to drop him."
   "So you want only two to carry him the entire way?"
   "Yes. So one of you needs to hold the bag and sword and hack away as we climb."
   "I can," John said flatly.
   "That means only two bags. Mine and John's. Like I said,"
   "No chances." The three boys said together.
   "Let's take everything out and see what it is that we need, can leave here, or carry." he pulled his bag off his back and poured the contents out. The other boys followed suit.

   Soon they were organizing everything. Weapons and food. "I'm going to hold my sword." John said. "I can carry the two knives in my boot."
   Felix nodded. "I'll have my sword to my side as well. But there's one thing I'm worried about."
   "What's that?" Ty asked.
   "Food. What happens if we put it all in one bag and something happens and we're forced to leave it? We'll need it when we get up there. We can't go trudging back down the next day without any strength. We'll never make it out."
   "What if we distribute the mats? You know three in each and then have the bread rolls and ham at the top. That way if we do drop the bags, and they happened to land face up, there might be a chance we could save the food."
   "We're not taking that chance." he looked sternly at everyone. "Listen to me, and let me make myself as clear as I can. Do not touch the bags if they drop."
   The boys all nodded. "But it's a good idea to distribute, that way we're not completely out of anything."
   They packed their bags and made sure their weapons were secured but not too tight that they couldn't easily access them if needed.

   "Almost." he nodded to me as he picked me up. "Almost."