The Users

Chapter 3

When it felt safe again, I wiggled myself away from Anthony's body. The burrow we were in had filled in and we were on leveled ground. The snow was gently covered us, layering like a blanket. The snow falling gently on my face. The sun was rising, but it was covered by the dark and dismal clouds. The trees would have protected me from the snow, but they no longer lived. Anthony had passed out from the lack of oxygen. Anthony was smart on .on how to get rid of the fire.  I uncover his body from the pile and turn him on his back. I cried. I curled up into a ball and cried. I made a hole in the snow. "I want to go home! I want to go home!" I yelled from my ball. The next thing I knew was Anthony pulling me into a hug. I couldn't hold in my tear and I poured my eyes out. He patted me for comfort. The snow didn't let up as we sat in the middle of a bare forest. The ground sopping wet and flooding. As of last night, we were homeless, broke, on the run and lost. The trees were struggling to keep upright with the pounding snow. I burrowed my face deeper into his chest as he sang a song that mother used to sing to me. My sobs turned into a whimper. He grabbed my cheeks forcing me to look at him. "I will protect you no matter what! Nothing will get to you". 

"I don't want to lose you," I said attempting to pull away. He only pulled me in closer. 

"I'm just a big cry baby". 

"No, you are just going through a lot," he said patting me. We shivered, as the sun rose.

"I want to go home!" I said, raise my arm to protect my face.

    When Anthony managed to calm me down, he told me that we had to leave. It wasn't safe for us in the forest because the Hunters knew we were there. We gathered our surviving items and headed away from the city I grew up in.

We walked and walked. I finally asked again. 

"I still don't understand, why aren't we dead?"

"Am I living in a nightmare?" 

"Are we being punished?"

"I want to go home!" 

"We are called the Users. One of our abilities is to recover from injuries quickly. Basically, if it's not a sudden impact, we can't die" he panted again. He'd been talking so much, that I didn't realize that we were already out of the city. "By the way, I'm better now. So I don't need to lean on you" We managed to reach a stopping point in the forest. As of now, we were homeless. Anthony looked around for some wood. He darted towards. When he came back he held four pieces. "Strength is also one of our abilities or at least mine. Every User has different powers." He flicked his fingers and a spark flickered from his fingers. Anthony lit the wood and it caught on fire. Somehow, he managed to get rid of all the snow from our resting spot. I took off my backpack and checked out what was inside. Before I could pull anything out, Anthony handed me some food. I heard him grunt as he stood up. He continued to clutch his stomach. I pointed to it, but he turned away. I looked at him and pulled up his shirt. He shivered, put took it off. 

I touched the scar that ran across his waist. The scar was yellow. Whatever that hit him was now running through his blood and veins. I touched it gently feeling the bumps and he fell to his knees. "You good now?" he said throwing on his shirt. "Why aren't you healed?" 

"I'm healed, but the bullet is inside of me, the substance inside the bullet is leaking out into my blood, blocking my ability to heal. Also, the metal is burning my skin that is constantly trying to heal itself. Each time I move, it sinks deeper in my body. No need to worry about me. Once we get to my friend's house, he can remove it." 

Then he proceeded to hand me bread.

"You will need your strength back" I took the bread and bite into it. It did not take anything like bread. I spit it out on the ground. "What is this?"

"It's bread, with extra protein in it." I started to smile with excitement. "Is it magic bread?" I shiver looking at him, trying to smile. He brings me in close for warmth.

"No, just normal bread" he laughed as he dug into his own piece of disgusting bread. We sat on two logs in the middle of the bare forest with only the bright fire keeping us warm and the snow away. I shiver and curl up into Anthony's chest. He was so warm and comforting. That moment, it hit me. Everything that just happened. Tears flowed out, and I couldn't help it. He looked at me caring eyes and pulled me in tighter. No words were said, but he knew how I was feeling. The night was still young and we wouldn't be going even close to the city I grew up in. I wouldn't see my friends, our house is now guarded by the men who wants to take us. I wouldn't be going to school or enjoying the life I remember. I watched him eat his bread without any struggle. "Get some sleep. We will be walking a lot.

The days turned into nights and back to days. The winter carried on. We walked and traveled, with not many resting points. Anthony was straining himself and he needed to rest, but he continued to refuse every time I suggested for him to sit. He said a User can heal a physical injury, but mental problems do not heal. Every night Anthony would use a fire charm that he flicked in his fingers summoning a flicker of fire. The fire was small but bright and powerful. Then he tripped, causing the fire to go out. "I'm fine, just a little tired that's all." he stumbled to his feet. "The sun is down and you need to rest", I said sitting on a fallen log. He didn't complain because he was on the verge of collapsing. We lay down on the ground and fell into a deep sleep. I curled up next to him for warmth.

photo; https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/26/fa/71/26fa711d195814a63ea48e57f150d18d.jpg