Promises of a Sacrificial Lamb |Destiel x The Hunger Games|

-29-

"Don't be sorry,"  I tell him.  "It's okay.  Everything's okay."

My words make him choke on a restrained sob; each one hurts me more than the last.  I lean forward to plant a kiss on his forehead, then cradle him yet again when he falls toward me and presses the top of his head to the base of my neck.  I let my lips rest on his wet hair, close my eyes, try to concentrate on the sound of his breathing to ease the pressure in my aching chest.  And to think this whole catastrophe was the result of us simply searching for water.  Ironically, I seemed to get plenty of it.  Just not in a way that was beneficial.

I'm not sure how long we sit there in silence, holding onto one another for dear life, but even when Cas lets me go, I know it's not nearly long enough.  There's still a stabbing pain in my heart when he struggles to rise to his feet and shuffles over to the riverbank that I now notice is right beside us.

It looks like the raging rapids that I remember are far off into the distance.  Here, where we are, the river is so calm that it might as well be a babbling brook.  We must have washed up on the bank when the currents calmed down.  And by we, I suppose I mean just me.  Cas clearly survived the rapids without losing consciousness.  Otherwise we'd probably both be dead.  I still want to know what happened, but I won't hound him for information if he doesn't want to talk about it.  I'm sure it was horrible for him.  I don't want to reopen any wounds if I don't have to.

I watch as he picks up one of our knapsacks from the mud in the bank, giving it a shake.  Water trickles off the fabric.  I spot the other one a few feet down, its strap caught on a rock.  My sword and his knife are scattered around the riverbank, too.  I pat my right pocket, and I feel the switchblade in there.  So at least we didn't lose anything.  We have that going for us.

I still feel like there's water stuck in my throat.  With another cough, one that comes out as a feeble wheeze, I carefully stand and fight to keep my balance.  My vision spins in circles, but only for a fleeting moment, thankfully.  I must have hit my head sometime after I passed out.  I'm way dizzier than I probably should be.

I unhook the other knapsack's strap from the rock, shake the water off it, and sling it over my shoulders.  It's heavy and awkward and completely waterlogged, but there's nothing I can do about it.  I pick up my sword, then Cas' knife.  I give it to him as he joins me at my side, but he doesn't utter a single word, just takes the blade and avoids looking me in the eye.  I try not to be too worried.  I'm sure he's still upset.  He'll come around when he feels like it.  I'm not going to push him.

There's a small rock outcrop nearby.  We could put our backs to it and be safe while we recoup, and that idea becomes especially favorable when I spot one rock that juts out over the rest, acting as a short canopy.  I take Cas' hand, gently guide him over to the outcrop.  Even when we sit and slide underneath the rocky canopy, he doesn't speak.  He hugs his knees into his chest and rests his chin on top of them, staring a thousand miles out.

In an attempt to keep my racing mind occupied, I shrug off the knapsack and start to unzip it, planning to take inventory or something of the like.  Kind of pointless considering no one else has touched these knapsacks except us, but my nerves will take control of me if I don't do something.  If Cas doesn't want to talk, then I might as well make myself useful and make sure we have enough materials to survive for the next couple of days, at least.  Otherwise we might have to contemplate scavenging for food or hope for another generous sponsor gift.  Preferably the latter.  I don't even want to think about traversing the rainforest after what just happened.

Heaving a sigh, I unzip the knapsack and rifle through its waterlogged contents.  It looks like I picked up the pack with our remaining food, the one Cas usually carries.  I dig out the empty water bottle—thankfully there's a convenient water source mere yards away—and set it aside.  We still have a few crackers, some strips of jerky, the two protein bars, an apple, a few bananas, and a meager handful of cashews and dried fruit.  Oh, and the leftover chicken noodle soup from the other night.  How could I forget about something so delicious?