827° 56' 38"
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NAME: Ax Anson
AGE: 17 y/o
NATIONALITY: American
LIKE: Girls, his ego, his hair, compliments
DISLIKE: Someone crashing his ego, stupid dares (but does them anyway), being serious
QUOTE:
'Immature; (adj.) a word used by boring people to describe fun people
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"Axhole! I didn't waste half an hour of arm torture for nothing," Cora muttered angriLee, yet secreteLee proud of her sense of puns.
When Cosmo's chuckle reminded her that she was laying in his warm arms, she found herself being glad no one could see anything, her face red as a tomato and her pounding heart torturing her breath. The weather, that was frigid until then, seemed to warm up out of sudden.
Cora pinched herself in the face to bring back her instincts and pushed her body away from his chest. Both of them got up, ignoring the faded yelling at Ax and his friends.
"Thanks for not letting me fall," she whispered. She knew that catching her had made Cosmo lose the flame. A choice had been given to him: a bruised-but-she'll-live Cora or a bunch of sparkles that could actualLee save a whole pack of other lives. A quick frustration toward Cosmo flustered Cora, but she blew it away.
"Anytime," his voice trembled as he scratched his back. The hard ground was full of painful imperfections that would probabLee leave some bruises.
"But save the sparks next time," Cora said, harshLee. Cosmo didn't say anything back.
Cora picked up the branch Cosmo had let go and touched it, to see if it was still warm. But the fire hadn't got enough time to make breezes they could heat up again. In short; this promised to be a long night.
The sound of crushed leaves alerted Cora that someone was approaching her.
"Cora, is that you?" Plush' voice.
"Yeah," Ashamed, Cora bent her head down at the ground, that she couldn't even see. She knew it wasn't her fault Ax' friend had dared him to push her and she was pretty sure it wasn't his intention to extinguish the biggest hope of safe surviving.
Safe surviving had been a concept of Ree. She had been rattling that Cora was too busy about ruthless survival and insisted that just 'living' wasn't a way of life. A Leeder had to make sure that everyone in its responsibility came home without a single scratch. When Cora had told her that was impossible, Ree walked away stubbornLee. The girl looked more like Juby than Cora would ever do. Ree was right, though, but playing it safe could prevent a lot of things to happen. From good to bad things.
The guilt entered her body again, screaming that her decision of stopping the group would cost more than they could afford.
"Cora," her friend felt the culpability in Cora's voice. "What's done is done. But since the sweat soaked all of our clothes, the night is going to feel even colder. We better keep ourselves warm. Body warmth is the most obvious way."
By Hercules! Cora totalLee forgot about her poor siblings, that now froze to death. Talking about cold, Cora was still feeling surprisingLee warm.
"Be right back," she told them in a rush.
"Wait!" Cosmo yelled and Cora's brain sent a message to her legs to stop moving. Her corp members reluctantLee obeyed.
"What is it?" Cora was aware of her rude tone, but as much as she liked her new friends, she couldn't but put her blood first. She had to know if Ree and -especialLee- Twix were doing all right.
"You don't understand. We need to keep each other warm. All of us. It won't help if we separate. Just trust me on this. We have to make a lot of body heat by all sleeping near each other. Everyone together. One big mass."
"How can you know that?" Cora shot at him. Knowing that body warmth can heat up a great lot was one thing, but sounding as confident as he was about it was another thing.
"I- I don't know, okay?" his voice broke and his faith dimmed. Confusion overpowered every word and breath and made it clear that he tried to remember things he couldn't. "Can you just trust on this?"
As much as Cora wanted to believe in him, her will of hugging her brother and sister, she hadn't talked to for at Leest three hours enlarged every second.
"Okay," she contained herself. "Plush, are you going to tell them?"
"I'm too cold," she whispered shivering, while Cora's skin was covered with a warm, almost suffocating breeze.
"Cosmo, you go ahead if you don't mind." Cora proposed. It had been his idea, after all.
"Sure"
Along with Plush and Cora, Cosmo tried to inform everyone of the 'plan'.
"We have to keep each other warm," Cosmo told them, whoever he was speaking to. "Hold each others hand until we found everyone."
A small, freezing hand grabbed Cora's and she heard the kid thanking her and the girl even let out an "aah". Cora's hands were burning.
Soon everyone was holding hands.
Cosmo gave the instructions. "We're going to sleep in a tangle of bodies. Take your wet jackets and pullovers off and use them as a blanket. Try to touch your sleeping neighbours as much as possible. That may sound pretty uncomfortable to you, yet this is our biggest chance of getting out of here alive."
Cora turned to Cosmo, squeezing softLee in his shoulder and laughed: "By Hercules, don't be too morbid. These are kids!"
"It worked so shut up," he teased back.
And so it did. Before she even realised it, everyone was sleeping on top of each other in nothing more than a T-shirt, underwear and a pair of socks.
ObviousLee, the ten first minutes, everyone complained that the almost-nudity was even worse and very uncomfortable, embarrassing and awkward. Afterwards everyone thanked Cosmo greatLee. The guy deserved some love.
Cora checked on Ree and Twix. Ree was sleeping close to her newLee made friends and Twix was sitting straight on the ground, his eyes big and full of adrenaline. The boy was getting more distant from her as Cora fought the urge to cry.
Cora took some distance from the Wildcats and sat down on a fallen tree. Someone had to keep watch and was the onLee one who wasn't cold. The fact that almost touching Cosmo caused it was as ridiculous as it sounded. There was no way.
"Why don't you join us" Cora jumped as she suddenLee heard Cosmo's voice. Cora, who normalLee heard everything and payed attention to every sound and movement cursed herself for not perceiving him. What kind of guard was she?
"Cosmo! You scared the elbow out of me!" she screamed in silence, a scream that sounded pretty much like the mixture of a yell and a whisper.
"Sorry for that. But for real, though. Aren't you freezing?"
"I'm not. Someone has to stay awake to look after everyone," Cora said and even she was surprised of how cold she sounded.
"Why alone, then?" she couldn't see him, yet Cora knew an amused smirk covered his face. "Let me join you."
"Be my guest," she murmured, exhausted, after a long day of walking and supporting everyone to keep going.
"I realised I-" he hesitated. "I like talking to you."
Cora, being the most curious person on earth, did want to know why she, out of everyone, was a good ear to Cosmo. She gave a nonchalant shrug, as if it didn't realLee matter and asked: "Why?"
"You have to ask nicely though," he sounded serious. Cora couldn't believe him.
"Please, Cosmo. Please tell me why you like me so much." a blush reddened her brown face. "Can you, oh you, great master of earth, confide me why my ear is so dear to you," she added with a medieval accent and Cosmo laughed, clapping his hands to congratulate her acting skills.
"Great acting Cora. And since you asked so nicely, I can't but trust you my dark secrets."
Cora clenched her jaws, like she often did when curious.
"It's crazy because my problems should be less complicated since almost ten years of mess was taking from me, yet it doesn't feel like it.
"Isn't it just five years?" Cora asked, thinking of how, with a soothing and caring voice like his, Cosmo could have easiLee been a radio presenter. The teenage boy hadn't even started the story of his life, yet Cora found herself hypnotized by his narrating.
"I think it depends on the person," he admitted. "But I do remember how old I was during the last memory in my brain except of course what came after the sickness."
"How old?" she asked.
"It was the night of my eighth birthday."
"What happened?"
"Geez, Cora, you interrupt every sentence I say," he laughed.
"Sorry," she squeaked.
"Never mind," Cosmo waved his hand casualLee and continued. "It began as one of the most beautiful days of my life. The shining sun, burning our eyes, the singing birds, the melody they carried and my big sister. Galaxy. That was her name," his voice broke. "She had prepared a cake for me and although it was burnt, Galaxy had put so much effort in it, that it tasted delicious. Galaxy and me, that was just something else. She loved me more than anything and I would have done everything for her. I still would. We exchanged presents; I had spent all day putting together a necklace made of leaves for her. In return, she gave me this," a ruffling sound clarified that Cosmo was taking something from his jeans pocket. A round slippery object was cooling in Cora's hand.
"It's a Pacific stone," he explained. "like those on the path in the forest. A path leading to your house. I feel like it couldn't be coincidence. Not knowing what the stone was, was very confusing, especialLee at the beginning of my nix."
"Nix?"
"That's how we call the shift. When you start to forget." Cora nodded in order to react to his response.
"What happened next?" she wanted to know.
"After Galaxy gave me the stone, she told me that if one day I was lost, I needed to find the blue path, follow it and knock at the first house I saw. Your house. That was the last time I can remember of that we spoke. Then a stranger came in, smashing the door. Galaxy had just enough time to grab my face, forcing our eyes to meet and telling me that I was going to be fine. The lie I grew up with. I don't even know if she's alive, Cora. Next thing I know I'm with a bunch of people I never met and finds out to have doubled my vocabulary."
"So how exactLee did you meet Plush?"
"That's the thing. She won't tell. That's why talking to you is kind of refreshing. You don't hide secrets like everyone else and instead of asking how the nix feels like or if I still remember something that happened in between. And I get it. They're confused and want to understand what has happened to me. But I forgot half of my existence, as I'm confused as well. And I can see you are, too. Yet you don't torment me with questions and you treat me like a normal person."
"Which you are," Cora said, moved by his deep words and the trust they were building.
"That's were you're wrong. I am not. At least, not anymore. I don't even know who I am, let alone expect others to do so."
"That's the thing," Cora finalLee said. "I don't know your eight years old self. Neither do I know the pre-nix Cosmo. But I got to know you. With or without memories, you're a great, caring person who wants what's best for everyone. That's rare."
Bao let out a loud snore and two friends laughed.
"It feels good. Almost as if we were real teenage friends sitting around a non-existent fire, melting some marshmallows" she joked.
"Are you sure you want to use me as a teenage friend example for that? I'll disappoint your expectations," he said and the depression seemed to take over again.
"Let me be the judge of that. So far, Starr, you're doing a great job as my marshmallow-melting partner"
"I don't know if I should feel flattered or not," Cosmo shivered along with some sneezing kids. Cosmo's body warmth solution was effective, but not good enough.
"Why don't you warm yourself up with the others?" Cora asked, not wanting to make him get sick.
"Don't worry about me, I'll live," Cosmo shrugged. "How about you? It's freezing, right?"
Truth was, she wasn't freezing at all. She wasn't proud to admit it, but since she fell with Cosmo a few hours ago, her blood was boiling like hot water.
"There's no way."
To prove Cosmo her skin realLee was scorching, she offered her sweaty hand.
"Feel my hand," she suggested. Cosmo did what she asked, his freezing hand slipping in hers. But the cold fingers, that were supposed to cool her down, onLee created more sweat.
"Giyaah, you're hot," he said in disbelief, letting go of her hand.
"I don't understand. This never happened before."
"That makes two misfits of us," he chuckled.
"Not funny, Cos," the nickname escaped from her mouth before Cora could even stop it.
"Cos?" he was having a moment of perplexity and said: "I like it. Makes us even more of a roasting-marshmallow team."
"Can I hold your hand again?"Cosmo asked, out of nowhere.
"Why would you want that?"
"I'm freezing, remember?"
"Of course!" and without thinking about it, she grabbed his big hand and tangled her fingers around his.
"Impossible, your hand literally feels like a kettle! I can't believe you didn't tell me about it earlier! We could have warmed up the others," Cora knew he didn't mean like it, but suddenLee she felt like an idiot. Why hadn't she come up with the idea before everyone getting a fever?
"You're right. I should probabLee go," as much as she enjoyed being with him, she knew it was self-centered of herself to sit any minute longer.
"I know it's selfish, but could we just stay one bit longer?" suddenLee everything screamed in Cora's head. Her promise to Jade, her new friends, her siblings yelling for help, Juby and her sweet smile. But above all, hE wAnts mE tO stAy. HE wAnts mE tO stAy. HE wAnts mE tO stAy. Cora's heart was pounding irregulareLee as everything was a big mess. Difficulties to breathe and an urge to throw up filled her empty stomach. The next fase she was in, was disgust. Why was she holding hands with a stranger? Juby had always warned her to stay on her guard. ThIs Is wrOng, thIs Is wrOng, thIs Is wrOng. But she wasn't able to let go of the stranger's hand. Until he did.
Cora returned to reality. Cosmo. Not a stranger, or was he? She couldn't tell.
It had felt like a bad dream. Except it wasn't. Questions filled her mind as she couldn't see what was going on.
"Cora, look at your hand," she obeyed and saw what he meant. A second later it disappeared.
But she had seen it and Cosmo had, too.
An innocent-looking element above the hand that had held his. Her hand.
Fire.
WORD COUNT: 2600
About 10 pages