Abducted

Chapter thirty-six

Darkness. Pain. Am I in hell? I hear a voice but it sounds like I'm deep underwater and can't hear it clearly, but some part of me is pulled towards it with everything that I have. I realize that my eyes are closed and I try to open them but I can't, the pain is overwhelming as I feel something liquid against my thigh and  I feel like I'm on fire. Every cell in me is screaming but I can't open my mouth and make a sound. I remember I was shot by Murphy, the wound will heal but I don't know if I'll ever get over the betrayal. I just lay there as, yet again, I let the darkness pull me close and if I could choose I would stay there forever. How come I always cheat death? Or maybe I already am dead.

My whole body is aching as I open my eyes. It feels like my entire body has been sleeping in an uncomfortable angle all night. I push the pain aside and sit up and look around me. I'm laying under one of many trees and I can see what looks like water through some of the branches even though it looks like the sun is setting. I'm laying in a sleeping bag and with a blanket wrapped around me. There is a fire beside me and behind it, Wilson is leaning against a tree, sleeping.  I open my mouth to say something but my throat is dry and hurts so instead I look around trying to find a water bottle and I spot one beside the fire and I drown it in a few seconds.

"W-wilson?" I stumble across the words and I barely recognize my own voice. His eyes flutter open quickly and look at me for a few seconds before rushing over to me and sit down cupping one of my cheeks.

"Finally. How are you feeling?" He asks me while scanning my face.

"I feel like I have been sleeping on a rock for a month. Where are we?" I respond and give him a little smile.

"Outside Albuquerque in Carson national forest." He says and is hand leave my cheek and I instantly miss its warmth. He sits back down, leaning against the tree. Confusion grabs me, Albuquerque?

"How long was I out?" 

"Seven days." He says and I my stomach drops, how did we even get here?

"I carried you. We have been here for a day, it's a good place to rest for a bit. I stole some supplies from a store outside Santa Fe and I got in contact with Sis and she is safe so I thought we would just stay here a few days until you woke up." He says as if reading my mind and I nod my head and look at the ground until I realize something. I unzip the sleeping bag and open it and pull off the sweatpants I'm wearing. My thigh has a bandage around it.

"What happened?" I turn around and look at him, meeting his eyes.

"Murphy shot you because you wouldn't listen to me. You are lucky I brought a first aid kit from the base so I cleaned it and took care of the wound. And you for that matter." He says it with bitter and a bit venom that makes me shocked. Does he really blame me for what happened?

"Because I wouldn't listen to you? He was my friend! He was like a brother to me, how could I have not climbed down the tree?" I stand my ground.

"I knew it was a trap! But oh no, you wouldn't listen to me!" He shouts and clenches his fists.

"Are you seriously blaming me for this?" I shout back to him.

"Yes. You should have listened to me instead of him!" 

"Why are you turning this to a you versus him situation?!" My head is still foggy and I just can't grab why he is so mad, he would have done the same if he was in my situation.

"Because I fucking care about you Nevada!" He shouts while standing up and pulls his hand through his hair, frustrated. I don't know what to say back.

"More than I should." He says quietly before walking away. I just sit there not knowing what just happened. I don't know what to think, say or do. I should probably give him some space. I eat a can of soup, a protein bar and drink another bottle of water and I feel myself getting restless.

I slowly stand up and stretch my limbs. I walk towards where I think I saw water. It doesn't hurt, it just feels uncomfortable. I see a huge lake in front of me and I smile, it looks like heaven and, I probably smell like shit. I walk back and look through the bag and find a toothbrush and toothpaste, soap and a new shirt that I can wear. I walk down to the water and look around me to make sure that I'm alone before taking my clothes off and walking into the water. The feeling of the water around me makes me feel free and I dive under the surface to another world. When I get up for air I look at the mountains around me, it's so peaceful, I could stay here forever. I wish I could stay here forever, I think with a bitter thought. I still have people looking for me, I'll never be completely free. I'll always be a caged bird. I scrub myself with the sand on the beach and then use the soap until I finally feel clean. It's starting to get colder so I shake my body for a bit and put on the sweatpants and the new shirt and throw away my underwear into the water and I walk back to the little camp but Wilson isn't back.

I have been sitting here for at least an hour waiting for him. What if something happened? What if someone took him? I'm filled with anxiety and worry. I suddenly hear a scream ripping through the air like a knife, filled with horror.