"Christ, it's freezing out! Hey Bon, can you see the weather on that thing?" Shima whined as he tightened his academy jacket around himself. His rooster friend raised a clenched fist at him, but took a deep breath before speaking.
"If I was able to see the weather, that'd mean I would be close enough to a cell tower to get my location. Seeing as how I have no service, I don't think I can get the weather, and checking will just drain my battery." I saw where he was coming from, and I'd get irritated too if I was pestered about something like that. I sighed to myself and rubbed my hands together, the friction doing little to warm my numb fingers.
"We should all try to sleep, the night only gets colder from now on. When we wake up, it should be warmer." Even though Yukio's logical answers normally bother me, I couldn't be any happier to have him here. His words usually quelled our agitation and kept everyone calm, for a moment at least.
I heard a few murmurs from my peers and soon enough, we were all laying down, waiting for sleep to take us away from our reality. As I glanced up at the night sky, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of urgency strike me. For what reason, I had no idea. The starless night unsettled me as well, the overcast sky didn't promise a happier morning.
.oOo.
I was startled awake by a loud crack, my eyelids flying open and my body tensing. The first thing I noticed was the fierce wind that hit me as I sat up, the chill was enough to make my eyes water. Our fire was just barely lit enough for me to see the surrounding trees. The branches swayed and bent at odd angles, making anxiety bloom in my stomach.
Another gust of wind blew and a loud crack echoed in the night. I jumped when a branch fell not even ten feet away from me. I jumped to my feet and took a step toward Izumo, who I immediately started to shake. Her tired eyes opened wide and she smacked me, "what the hell?!" She paused, assessing our surroundings and realizing what I just had. We were not safe out here. She turned to me, red irises shining with worry, "wake the others."
I nodded and moved on to wake Shima and Bon, who both had similar reactions. Izumo had waken Shiemi and was in the process of getting Shura up as well. That left my twin, which was odd, he was usually a light sleeper. I nudged his arm, but he didn't even shift. I didn't have time to wake him politely, so I dropped to my knees, which hurt like a bitch, and grasped his shoulders. I shook him and he slowly came to, "wha..? Huh..?" His eyes flew open, "Rin, what's wrong?" His voice sounded muted, even more so than it sound with the howling wind, but I couldn't quite tell.
I jumped when another branch snapped and hit the ground a little farther away. Yukio immediately stood from his makeshift bed and grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the van. "Everyone get inside! It's not safe out here!" There was something wrong, but I couldn't seem to put my finger on it. It also didn't seem like the right time to ask questions, seeing as the world around us was falling.
He pushed me in before him and I sat down in almost the exact same seat I had when we crashed. The rest of the group came on our tails, well, my tail for sure, and piled into the van. "Ow! That was my heel!"
"Shut it!"
"Don't even start," my brother growled out, which startled my classmates enough to quiet them.
Shura was the last one inside, all eight of us crammed into the back on the vehicle. I watched as Shura tried to close the door to no avail. She kicked at it and cussed, the wind blowing inside and making me shiver. "It won't fucking close, ugh!" Shiemi was right behind her and tried helping her, but she only succeeded in bending her finger in the wrong direction.
"Just leave it open, even if we close it, we have the broken windows to worry about." Yukio stated dully and I felt the wind tickle my neck from behind me. Shura huffed and sat down on what little seat she could. It was her, Shiemi, Yukio, and I in a three person row. The fact that some of the seat was also taken up by the smashed side of the van and the branch also made it a tighter fit. I could feel my brother pushing up against me as to not be up against Shiemi. She was practically in his lap and I could tell that he was flustered.
Another crack sounded outside and Shiemi gave a small squeak when a smaller branch thudded against the roof. I could feel Yukio's body heat but it did little against the fierce wind blowing through the vehicle.
A few minutes of white noise and cracking continued before I spoke up, turning as much as I could to face Ryuji. "What time is it?" Everyone turned to us, waiting to hear as well. My friend pulled out his phone and I saw his features illuminate with artificial light. He sighed and the light disappeared.
"It's quarter after five."
"In the morning?!" Shima whined, and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Gck! What the hell, Kamiki?"
"Of course five in the morning, it sure in hell isn't afternoon you idiot." Shima mumbled and whined a little more before quieting down. The silence in the van incomparable to the deafening sounds coming from nature.
"We should all try to sleep some more," Shura said after awhile. "There's not much we can do except wait it out." Her words echoed Yukio's when we first got stranded here, but I knew she was truthful. My classmates seemed to agree and it wasn't long until I heard one of them snoring.
Yukio didn't seem close to sleep, at all. I nudged him and he turned his head to look at me. The sun was just started to peak over the horizon, but through the thick of trees, it was barely enough to make out his basic features. "Aren't you tired?" I asked in a whisper and he sighed.
"Someone's gotta stay awake just in case the wind get's any worse." There it was again, his voice sounded... off. I narrowed my eyes at him and I saw a little more than I had before. He looked entirely worn out, and now that I thought about it, he had every right to be. He was in charge of six teens and a superior who was no better. We were in a worst case scenario and he had to find a way out.
"Get some sleep," I said firmly and he grunted, "you look like hell."
"I'm not sleeping with Moriyama basically on top of me."
I huffed, "would you rather her be sitting on someone else?" That seemed to shut him up and he shifted slightly so he could lean his head back. A breeze blew in from my window and I felt both him and I shiver. With a sigh, I decided that I should shut my eyes as well, but after a few minutes, I realized that sleep wouldn't come that easily. I was too worried, too antsy. I wanted to get out of here, just like everyone else did, and the fact that we were all sleeping inside of this damned van made me feel horrible.
Why did I jinx us like that? I'd basically said that something would happen to us because Shima didn't have his seatbelt on. Well, something obviously did happen, and I couldn't help but to feel slightly responsible for that.
A large gust of wind hit me and I felt Yukio shudder. He was most definitely asleep by now, his even breathing told me so. I shifted slightly to give him a little more room, but he only moved closer to me. Understandably, I was freezing, and his body heat was the only thing keeping me semi-comfortable. I scooted closer to him and pushed the hair from his face, my eyes widening when my fingers brushed his heated skin.
"Stupid goddamn Dalmatian," I hissed under my breath, I felt his skin with the back of my hand, his forehead slightly clammy. He was running a fever, and most likely had a cold or maybe something worse. No wonder his voice sounded odd, but now I was just angry that he didn't tell Shura or me about this. I sighed and pulled him closer, his shivers sending a wave of guilt through me. He shouldn't have to bear the weight of the mess by himself. Sure, he was driving, but who's to say that anyone else would have reacted differently?
He didn't hesitate to get as close as possible to me, and I didn't blame him. The heat was making me sleepy and it didn't take long for my eyelids to feel heavy.
.oOo.
I don't care who it is, but stop shaking me....
I know, I know...
... I don't wanna wake up just yet, leave me alone...
Ugh... fine...
After a few more seconds maybe...
Okay, okay!
I groaned and slapped away the hands that were shaking me. I mumbled once again and stretched as much as I could. The weight on my belly was warm and heavy, I cracked my eyes open and yawned. Shura was the one who woke me, and she had a devilish smile on her face. If I hadn't just woken up, I would've became nervous. I glanced around and noted that I was leaning against my door. I'd somehow managed to push passed the broken branch and find a comfortable spot. I yawned once more and rubbed the back of my neck, a furrow creasing between my browns when I felt some dried blood flake off.
Oh yeah, the broken window, I must've leaned against some of the shattered glass. I had to have been sleeping hard for that not to wake me. Shura exited and left me alone...
Actually...
I looked down and saw my younger twin hugging my torso. He was breathing through his mouth and I could tell that his nose was plugged. He must have been hit hard with this cold, so I really shouldn't wake him. I sighed and gently pried his arms from my midsection. It was kinda tricky lifting him off my stomach and laying him back down without waking him.
His legs were up on the seat and I knew there was no way we'd slept that way the entire night. Had the others left us to sleep a little longer? Maybe Shura knew Yukio was sick, too. It wasn't that much of an issue, however, and I shrugged it off, along with my academy jacket. My twin may not be cold now, but the chilly air would get to him sooner or later, and he needed my jacket more than I did at the moment.
After I left the van, I squinted in the light, taking in the scene around me. My peers were in sporadic places, picking up items off the ground. As I neared our small campfire, I realized that our belongings had blown off in the wind. Those who had left their suitcases open didn't have anything left. I noticed that my bag was still closed and intact, thankfully. Something crossed my mind and I glanced over to make sure Yukio's bag was still there.
It wasn't.
I cussed and scanned the area around me, searching for the damned suitcase, spotting it a few yards away. I sighed and walked over to it grabbing it and immediately letting go. "When the hell did it rain?" I said loudly, but no one bothered to answer me. I huffed and grabbed the handle and hefted it up, all of its contents falling out and landing in the dirt. "Of course," I growled, "of course you'd leave your suitcase open when it rained." I reached down and picked up a wet shirt, now covered in mud.
It can't really get much worse than this, can it?
Shut the hell up, Okumura, before you jinx it again.