Untouchable ~ A Jared Leto/MARS Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I swallow hard. I have no idea how good Jared is with a gun or if he's even fired one before. The subject has never come up between us, another lapse in judgment on my part. Why the hell have I let him carry my gun without at least having some kind of conversation about its handling? And pistols especially are tricky. The Max is no exception. To hit a target from where I think Jared's positioned, he has to aim the Max's sight slightly down and to the left. I murmur those instructions, my eyes never leaving the snake's.

"Lanie, that's too close to you. I can't!" Jared cries in a whisper.

"You have to," I reply, my voice steady even as terror oozes from every pore. "I'm going to roll to the side to give you some clearance, but when I move, the snake's gonna strike. Whether you hit me or the snake hits me, I'm dead either way. So do it." The snake, detecting my voice, tenses further as I speak and the rattling speeds up. With blinding speed it's going to hurl itself at me any second. I have to time this exactly right. I take a deep breath, brace my right hand on the ground to push myself over, and cry, "Now!"

The instant I give the command, I move, and it all happens in slow-motion. From the corner of my eye I see the snake's head shoot forward, mouth open, venomous fangs sprung into place and exposed. Almost at the same time, a deafening explosion fills my ears.

I lay on my back, staring at the solidly blue, cloudless sky, gasping for air. The sound of the gunshot echoes in my head and reverberates from the canyon wall. Jared rushes to me, kneeling down and gathering me in his arms, crying my name, asking me if I'm okay, his panic-filled eyes looking me over even as he holds me. His words tumble over themselves as he gasps out, "I didn't hit you? I didn't hit you? Oh, God, Lanie—"

"I'm okay." But I cling to him, trembling uncontrollably. Jared's heart is hammering frantically against my cheek, his arms around me like bands of warm steel—so strong, and so comforting. I lean into him, close my eyes and allow the residual terror to drain away before I turn my head and look at the rattlesnake laying in two still-twitching pieces just a couple of feet away.

"Great—great shot," I manage.

"Let's—let's go back to camp," Jared whispers into my hair, and I nod my agreement.

***

Once more, Jared has saved my life. Back at camp that evening, I putter around with making us something to eat while Jared first starts the fire, and then sits in the shade by the shelter, doing something with a bunch of wildflowers he picked at his side, and fiddling with something else that requires his close attention. Every now and then he looks up and over at me, an odd expression on his face that I can't quite figure out. It's a thoughtful one, like he's trying to decide something, but I have no idea what it could be.

The incident with the snake has shaken us both to the core, I know that. It's about as close to death as I've ever come in the wild, and I continually berate myself for being so distracted and ill-prepared for such an encounter. I know better, especially in a place like Oak Creek Canyon.

Jared's fond of saying every fuck-up teaches a person something. Well, that may be true, but fatal fuck-ups don't teach a person a thing except how to foolishly cut one's life short. As the one who's supposed to be the leader out here in the brush, I have to do better than this. My dad would be mortified if he were still around. I taught you better than that, Lanie Jo, he'd admonish me.

A sudden wave of grief swoops in to consume me, and I drop the prickly pear I've been skinning. I bury my face in my hands. Tears burn behind my eyes that I struggle valiantly to control.