Grey Thorns

Chapter 67- Making Decisions

(Kingdom Come by The Civil Wars)

We left the canyons by night fall and ended up in another wooded area. I was still trembling, I'm pretty sure by this point, my mind is fried. I made sure I kept in between Luke and Kurt and to not let them out of my sight. I had to close my eyes and the thought of loosing another friend. We were tired, hungry, and dehydrated. I seemed to be the only one cod but maybe that's from all the blood running dry from fear. My right leg hurt really bad but I forced myself not to limp. They already knew I was weaker than them. It was Kurt's turn to stay awake and watch for trouble when we settled down for rest. Luke kept his distance from me but Kurt gave me the blanket he had and sat against a tree with my back to his stomach. "Are you cold? Why are you shaking?" he asks and I shake my head before sighing. It took a moment to find words. "Liking me is a death trap, Kurt." I say in an oddly calm voice.

He adjusts his arms around me to get comfortable. "Who's to say I like you?" he says and I swallow my confusion. Does he not like me anymore? What does he mean? 

"Well, we're friends... aren't we?" I ask honestly confused and he chuckles under his breath. "Max," he pauses. "I shouldn't have to tell you this, but since we're running from a war, I have nothing to loose," he mumbles and I swallow again. "I would chase you across the world to make sure you're safe, and if Liam wasn't there to take care of you," he pauses again and moves his hand over my stomach. "and your possible baby... I would." he stops but he sounded like he wanted to continue. I knew he intended the words to come out more fluently but they were still sweet. "I don't mind risking my life for a girl like you." he finally concludes and I chuckle. 

"That's one thing you and Liam have in common." I remark and he scoffs. "That's the only thing." he says bitterly and I laugh under my breath before returning to serious. 

"Kurt, people are out there dying," I say staring at a tree. "and I can't stand them dying over me." I say and he remains quiet for a moment. "I've buried two of my best friends, and their blood is on my hands, Kurt. How am I suppose to swallow that?" I say shaking my head. 

"A hundred years from now, this will only be a memory, you just have to take it day by day." he assures. Only I wasn't convinced. 

                                                                           ***

I woke up to a crackling sound and my eyes darted open. It wasn't a crackling of leaves under someone's boots, it was crackling of wood from fire. I quickly sat up and saw the flames surrounding us. Luke was suppose to be on watch, but he fell asleep. "Kurt, wake up! We gotta go." I say shaking him and he barely opens his eyes. I run over to Luke and do the same only he got right up and rushed me to hurry away with him. I pulled Kurt up and drug him, it only took a few strides for him to wake up and pull me instead. "Luke, where do we go? We're trapped." I call to him and he stops and looks around. Looking for a way out. 

"We have to run through it." he says and I look at Kurt who nodded. He didn't look too pleased. "Its probably them playing a trick on us, they know we're here." Luke says and bends down slightly getting ready to sprint. "I'll go first." he says and we follow behind him. I wasn't as near fast as them two and it worried me that I got winded quickly. I never was this lagging behind before, but my legs were too sore. A few logs and  branches fell down, separating me even more from them. The fire was scorching my calves, but I swerved to avoid it as much as I could.

There was a rough cliff that they started climbing but the time I reached it, the rocks had crumbled down. "Luke!" I call and they turn around and bend down to help me. I sighed once I sat up on the rock. Luke's arm was burnt and part of Kurt's shirt was singed. Luke let me tend to his arm and I tried not to tremble but the more he groaned when I poured the water on him, the harder it got to be. "I'll go get us something to eat." Kurt announces and I give him a sideways "be careful"look before he leaves. "Why are you having such a hard time keeping up lately?" he asks half way harsh.