Colourful Reject

Prologue (Part 1) - "It's Unbearable"

21st November

Its flames burned bright; igniting warmth to both our shivering bodies. It fought against the cold night air and watched each spark of fire dance like no other; telling a story each time it twirled. There was hardly any wind blowing through the entrance into the damp cave, conducting a heavy and moisture layer of oxygen in the dark space. Just the faintest smell of blood drifted with it, following the scent would lead to something unforgettably horrid.

It was like the smelt had followed us.

A thin blanket was wrapped around my small frame; it provided some protection from the cold that peeped into the cave. The only comforting thought was having my brother lay beside me, his head resting on my shoulder and our forearms touching; sharing what heat our bodies could supply, we shared it with one another. His breath tickled me as it hit my skin and his light snores allowed me to breathe, the tension that was built from the start had slipped away. My brother had been so frantic earlier – so much panic was evident in his eyes as we ran to find somewhere to hide.

Having him sleep was what I needed, I wish he could stay like this for as long as possible. Lay his head on my shoulder forever.

"I'll have to go back for mother and father." Was his exact words that he mumbled before falling into a slumber; stating he will be venturing off and leaving me. Unanticipatedly, my gut didn't sit well with the thought. The feeling that he won't be returning to my side lingered acidly – always in the back of my mind. I'll never see him again. My thoughts were eating away at me, swimming around crazily over the fact that my brother was going to disappear from me and welcome his own death.

Once he left he was not coming back.

Trembling rumbles moved against my frame, peeking down through my eyelashes to see my brother's figure shake made me snap back into reality. Unwrapping the blanket, I put half of it over his shoulders. He'll probably be mad at me when he wakes, but I couldn't watch him shiver.

I bit my lip remembering before he fell asleep he had tucked the blanket securely around me and refused to share. It made me frustrated at his stubbornness. My brother had proclaimed that I needed it more than him...it shut my mouth up and to just end our little feud. Watching him tremble and his skin turn into a field of goosebumps made me fall deeper into a hole of guilt.

I should've wrapped him in the blanket ages ago.

Earlier I had gotten mad, not truly understanding that he was being a kind and caring brother.

Grinding my teeth with my eyes unmoving that were locked onto his peaceful sleeping face, my mind still couldn't believe he was next to me. My gaze would glimpse over to the cave's entrance, taking alert whenever something outside made a sound.

Paranoia.

Was flooding my system putting me into either a flight or fight mode if anything were to happen while my brother slept.

Anyone who would've seen me could obliviously pin-point that I looked stress.

Who wouldn't be?

Cautiousness was running through my mind, various scenarios of an intruder coming into the cave was making me terrified of what could be out there in the woods.

It was driving me insane.

Looking down at the rocks that littered the cave's ground, it's surface was cold to touch – feeling it from underneath my feet sent a chill up my spine. Numbness was spreading on the bottom of my heels from all the running we had done previously.