Second Nature: Survival

Chapter One

A/N: This is mostly my friend, https://www.wattpad.com/user/FeetofFire she is amazing writer and y'all should go follow her. We wrote this story together. (Sorta) She wrote most of it but because I have more followers and since I still contributed some dialogue and ideas we are posting it here. Thanks BYEEEE! *If the link doesn't work check out my bio*

Chapter One

I cast a glance at the rest of the group. We were all bone weary and sore. Instrument cases hung from most of our hands and we all carried knapsacks - they were filled to the brim with food and our basic medical supplies (we were actually running short of these), along with our personal things. I had an extra swung over my shoulders, as we were trying to spare Adrian as much as we could. Casting another glance at the three around me, I paid more attention this time. Finn had her head down and kept readjusting her grip on the smaller clarinet case. Tired or sweaty hands, then. The sax case hung heavy from David's hand - probably time to swing it over his back again, if that was possible. (It wasn't.) Adrian was faring the worst. His trumpet case was clutched in an otherwise motionless hand and he was limping. He was being stubborn and refused help, though it was clear he needed it. The shard of wood was still embedded in his leg - we hadn't had time to treat it yet. His limp was quite bad, and despite all attempts at bandaging (haphazardly, I must say), the area around the shard was red with dried blood.

Just as I noted that he was paler than before, Adrian stumbled. David lunged forward to take his weight, the heavy trumpet case bashing into his knee. I winced sympathetically before moving to take the case from Adrian's (unprotesting) hand. Finn took David's bag and sax, quietly berating Adrian as I gathered our bearings. My eyes were well accustomed to the faint light of post dusk and I easily picked out a mass of buildings nearby.  

"Guys, look." I set my own case on the ground and pointed towards the dark shape. "Buildings. Looks like a school."

Finn considered the information.

"That's great, but we need a more permanent place to rest. I don't think we'll be moving far."

"But no one's there. It's spring break."

"What? How do you know?"

I smirked.

"Alice."

Finn smirked back.

"Alright guys! Let's head over."

We had slowly made our way over the track and up a hill. Finn had picked out a classroom and was currently breaking into it. Our cases gathered off to my right, with Adrian and David on my left. David and I were drilling Adrian on how he felt, exactly. His responses were mumbled, but we were all exhausted, so we weren't very concerned on that front.

A triumphant cry from Finn interrupted us. The classroom door was open, revealing a decently sized space with four rows of old fashioned desks and many bookcases. Finn gathered our cases and supplies as David and I coaxed Adrian to his feet and into the classroom. By the time all of us were inside, Finn had pulled out a flashlight. Under normal circumstances, the flashlight was a total last resort, but this wasn't necessarily normal circumstances, no matter how strange it was.

We settled all our stuff around the teacher's desk and got Adrian settled in the free space to one side. I closed and locked the door, found my way over to our things and pull out a candle, lighting it quickly. Setting it on the wax covered base we had made, I turned my attention to the rest of the group.

Conferring with the others by candlelight was nothing new, but our conversation was less than normal. All of us had cuts and bruises from our run, but Adrian's shard of wood was much more serious.

"We have to remove it as soon as possible. We don't need an infection."

"Yes, but we need more supplies," argued David. "We'll need to find some sort of bandages and more herbs. Added to that, if we could find some sort of painkiller, I'm sure Adrian will appreciate it."

"Of course he will, but we have no resources. There are barely enough bandages for when we're finished. And we have close to nothing to treat an infection with."

"But if we don't remove the wood in a couple of days, it will get infected. We have to strike a balance." The three of us shared a look. We'd been trying to stock up when the chase began. Now, without our typical resources, we were facing a bit of a dilemma. I sighed.

"We'll have to start working tomorrow," I chanced a look at Adrian. He was half asleep, pain the only thing keeping him awake. "I don't think he's got long before an infection and like Finn said, we have nothing to treat it with. So we'll have to go foraging tomorrow, keep an eye on him and figure out what day it is." The other two nodded glumly and we sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, Finn spoke up.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. David, I'll switch with you around noon tomorrow to keep an eye on him. Eva, you'll switch with me at six." I nodded. "Then," Finn continued, "David and I will go and check the date. Six to six will be spent stocking up, 'kay?"

We nodded.

"Great. Who's on first watch?"

"Adrian."

"Who was after him?" I pointed at David.

"Right. Four hour shifts. Eva, you're after David, right?"

"Yep."

"Good. David, you're off at 11.30. Eva, get me up at 3.30."

The conversation ended quickly as we went about setting up for the night. Sleeping bags were rolled out and our substitute for pillows - bits of old cloth sewn together into a square - took their place.The candle was blown out and David settled against one of the desks as Finn and I crawled into the sleeping bags and dropped off to sleep.

David roused me around four hours later. My body ached and I was still exhausted, but I said nothing as David settled into his sleeping bags and I took his place against the desk. I gave my senses five minutes to adjust to what was 'normal' before fully considering my surroundings. The light seeping through the window blinds let me see the basic outlines. Finn was fast asleep, David had just fallen asleep and Adrian had managed to achieve a state of rest.

Nothing happened for the first couple of hours, and I fully expected a frustratingly boring watch. But around 2 in the morning, Adrian woke up. He gave a slight hiss of pain as he moved and I slipped over quickly, trying to avoid everyone else's head.

"How are you?"

He gave me a slightly irritated look and I nodded.

"Excluding the wood, of course."

"In that case, fine."

I poked lightly at the leg and was rewarded with a glare. Taking in the state of the wound, I sighed. The awkward bandaging was loosening and it looked like the wound was in need of some air. I swore I could smell a faint infection, but it was barely there, to the point that I thought I was imagining it.

"We'll change the bandage later. Do you think you can sleep?"

He half nodded and I once again realized that pain was the only thing keeping him awake.

"Sleep. Or, at least try. We'll deal with everything in the morning, 'kay?"

Another nod.

"Good."

As I settled back against the desk, his voice, muffled by sleep, rose above the other sounds in the room.

"Eva? It already is morning."

I smiled a little.