Cell Mates (boyxboy) (Book 1: Behind Bars)

Chapter 22: Path to freedom.

I knew that voice, but no…it couldn’t be. I twisted and turned until finally the pressure eased and I was no longer being pressed into the ground. I managed to flip onto my back and when I saw who it was looming over me, looking as annoyed as I’d ever seen him, I gasped.

I was pretty sure I was a sight, laying there, staring up at him with wide eyes and my mouth hanging open. For a moment I wondered if this was all a dream or if I’d become delirious from the hunger and I closed my eyes, shook my head and opened them again, but no he was there.

Nate was actually here, in the forest, looking at me as if he wanted to reach over and smack me in the head, but he was here none the less.

I gaped at him and watched in awe as he reached down and took hold of my arm, pulling me from the ground.

“You alright?” he was asking and it took him asking one more time for me to snap out of my trance and answer him.

“I’m fine.” I whispered, “I don’t understa-”

He was pulling me across the forest floor before I even got the rest of the sentence out and I had no choice but to allow it.

“They sounded the alarm, they’ll be out looking for us by now.” Nate was saying, bringing me back to the seriousness of the situation and why I was out here in the first place.

“I gotta find Kyle, I think he’s hurt out here somewhere, what if they find him?” even I could hear the fear in my voice, but Nate sounded more or less calm and collected when he responded to my breathy words.

“He’s fine, he’s with John.”

I was shaking my head even though he was staring straight ahead and had no way of seeing the action.

“No Nate, you don’t understand, he’s not, he followed me from the prison, he was running with me but...but I don’t know where he is.’ I tried to make him understand and he finally slowed and turned to look at me.

“I’m aware of that. He’s with John, I passed them up ahead and they’re on their way back to the prison.” He told me. It had been a while since I’d seen such a coldness in his eyes.

My brows furrowed. “John’s here? But… I don’t understand...why is he….why are you even…what’s going on here?” I asked, the confusion clear in my tone and expression. None of this was making any sense and my confusion only seemed to be giving me a headache.

He paused again and we came to a stop. “Which part don’t you understand Riley? You decided to play the fool and escaped, your ridiculously loyal friend Kyle followed you and John went after him. Now I’m here to drag you back and hope that by some fucking miracle we can get ourselves out of this massive shithole you’ve buried us in.” he said harshly and I could only stare at him in shock.

“Oh my God, we’re all fugitives now aren’t we?” I asked in horror. “I never meant for you guys to get yourselves in trouble. I just... I just had to go, I-” and then his words finally sunk in and I pulled my arm from his.

“What do you mean drag me back? I’m not going back.” Nathan sighed, dragged a hand over his face and looked at the tree before him for a long time before looking back at me. It was then that I got the chance to take in his frame. He looked tired, probably just as tired as I felt if not more so. His clothes were also ripped. There was a smudge of dirt on his left cheek, blood stained a patch of hair at his hairline and there was dried blood on the arm of his shirt.

“The trouble we’re all in right now is unimaginable. You escaped from prison.” He was speaking calmly like he had explained himself a million times and he was using his very last drop of energy to get these next few words out. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen once we get back but turning ourselves in is the only option open to us right now.” I began to offer words of protest and he held up a hand.