A/n: EARLY UPDATE!
I will be having much more regular updates now. I will be aiming to update once every three days, but that will depend on how quickly I can write the chapters. I hope you are all loving this story and actually like it. I try my best and can't wait until it is finished to see the final result!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter! And check out that song ^^^^ that's my song of the day choice!!!!!!!!
Enjoy! TaylorLeFay
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AND DON'T FORGET TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER!
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Chapter Seventy Four:
The day was long, it seemed to drag forever. It got really uncomfortable laying in the ditch with Lucas but eventually night fell after a day of both silence and talking as we waited for night and prayed to no to be discovered.
Unfortunately, when night fell we still could not do anything as the clouds of the day had drifted and left a mostly clear sky at night. The moonlight shone so brightly it was impossible to make our way across without being seen.
It was cold, and we shivered as we cuddled in closer to each other trying to get some extra warmth. It was not until around midnight that finally a large cloud that still lingered drifted towards the moon and we knew that we only had a small brief chance to make it out alive. But we still had to wait a little longer before we could go.
"You see over there," whispered Lucas from beside me as he pointed up at the night sky at a collection of stars. "That's the constellation Hercules."
"Where?" I asked leaning up a bit but he quickly raised a hand and placed it on my chest pushing me back down into the ditch as we laid side by side. I almost forgot about exposing myself.
He leaned half on top of me and pointed at a cluster of stars in the sky, pointing his finger above me so I could follow more easily where he was indicating.
"It has the square in the middle," I followed is fingers action, connecting the stars. "And you see how on each point of the square there is a leg of stars that stretch out then again at the end of their point stretch to the left."
I nodded and smiled as I truly could see the shape constellation faintly in the distance, "I actually see it."
I felt his chuckle vibrate through me as he laid back beside me and sighed softly. I let my eyes wonder off of the beautiful constellation and turned to him. His eyes were wide as he took in the luminous night sky above us before eventually he felt my gaze and made eye contact with me.
There was a certain look in his eyes. A certain kind of softness that made my heart melt and made me feel warm inside. But there was now a sort of intensity as he kept eye contact with me and tilted his head slightly towards me.
I felt a faint blush rise to my cheeks for no given reason before I turned back to the sky and stared at the other constellations that Lucas had pointed out to me.
"How can you recognise so many constellations?"
I heard him softly sight beside me and for a moment there was silence and I thought he wasn't going to answer. Just as I had given up waiting for an answer a breath of cold air left him.
"My Ma," he replied and I turned to him to see a soft smile on his face.
"When I was a little boy she would always take me outside at any chance we got and we would lie on the grass together. Whether it was in the backyard, on a camping trip, on the beach, where ever we could. She would always make a big thing out of it, we would have a sort of midnight picnic and spend all night just staring at the stars as they made their journey across the night sky."
I smiled as he told me his story as a child and closed my eyes as I felt myself warm once again. It was both a beautiful and cute story he was telling me and it left a lasting happy feeling of sensation.
I turned to him, "It must be why you can tell time well."
He nodded in response and glanced at me.
"It was kind of a given, from the amount of time I spent staring at the stars and watching the moon take its course. It was very similar to the sun so it kind of became second nature to always know the time."
I smiled at him and watched as his gaze suddenly grew darker. In the same sort of intensity that it held moments before which caused me to blush. I felt myself froze as suddenly the pain in my body disappeared and a tingly feeling filled my body and consumed me.
Slowly, he started to lean his head downwards towards me and my breath fell short. I watched as he hesitated as he got closer but felt my own head tilt slightly upwards.
Wait a re we going to kiss?
Suddenly, the light faded out and grew darker and simultaneously we pulled back quickly and glanced at the sky. The clouds had finally covered the moon.
Lucas coughed soundly from beside me and I quickly made sure to put even more distance between us. He sat up and glanced at me quickly as he grabbed his bag from beside him.
"We have to go, now."
I nodded and grabbed my own and slung it over my shoulders.
I almost fell over when I stood due to my weak legs and aching back from lying all day. But it was when Lucas's arm jotted out and quickly grabbed me that I did not fall.
I turned to thank him but he quickly pulled his hand back and I briefly saw a blush rise on his cheeks.
I felt shock grow in me and I was about to comment on it but he looked to the sky where the moon was and said, "We need to be quick, its about three am, the sun is going to be rising at four, so we have less than an hour."
He glanced at the distance of land between where we were and the hill further out, squinting and barely seeing it.
"That's going to take us at least an hour to cross and that is without going up the hill. This is too close."
I gulped.
"Yeah, I don't like these odds."
He rolled his eyes, "Suck it up, Princess, it's now or never."
I sent him a quick playful glare before we started off at a slow jog. The next forty minutes was one of the worst experiences I ever had.
Trudging along sand was hard enough let alone running across it. We were lucky with the cover of the clouds but were not lucky enough to have more time. It was going to take a miracle to make it out alive.
The sweat that perspired from my skin quickly froze from the cold chill of the night that made me shiver to the bones and I felt fear rise as time passed quick yet the hill seemed to be further and further away.
We ran as quietly as we could trying not to draw attention to ourselves as we moved at a quick pace. I tried to spread my running out so I was not as tired because even though we might be lucky enough to make it to the hill before sunrise, that was the least to our problems.
As soon as the sun rose we would be seen and will still have difficulty going up the hill. There was also the problem where we did not know what was on the other side above it and could be running into a trap, not like we were not already in one.
It was when we were only about two hundred metres away from the hill that the sun began to rise. From beside me Lucas swore as he saw glimpses of light in the sky.
"Bryce! Come on, we are almost there!"
I was breathless and in pain and knew that if not for the adrenaline pumping through my body I would be dead by now.
We finally reached the hillside and began the hard climb up it. We had to be careful as it was steep and one wrong step would send us tumbling back down it. The hill was bigger in person than a distance and would take us at least twenty minutes to climb it.
"Come on, come on," Lucas whispered as we were halfway.
I glanced to my left and saw that the people keeping watch with guns on the mountain were not paying attention to us and instead were staring out at the empty flat valley of sand laid before us.
I prayed they could not see our footprints but the winds of the night seemed to do a good job of hiding the fact we were dead. Instead, it did so good of a job that we never crossed the two bodies on our way through the sand.
Unfortunately, our luck ran out when I took one wrong step and my feet flew out below me and I let out a ridiculous squeal as I began sliding my way down the hill.
I heard Lucas scream out my name as I slid and I shut my eyes wincing in pain. Not physical pain, but emotional pain as I heard a cluster of noise whirl around us and men began screaming as they pointed us out.
"There, over there!"
I only slid about ten metres below Lucas and quickly climbed my way up to him.
"Really, Lucas?" I scorned as I reached beside him and he grumbled.
"You gave me a heart attack."
I heard the sound of a bullet fire and flinched as it landed in the sand right beside me. Simultaneously, Lucas and I quickened our pace as we were very close to the top. "Well, that is now the least of our worries."
Finally, after dodging a few more bullets Lucas and I reached the top and began running at a sprint as we tried to avoid the people rising from the hill themselves and began chasing after us.
"There is two of them, do not let them get away," one boy screamed.
We were lucky enough to get a head start and quickly put some distance between us. It was not much but distance was distance.
Glancing behind me, I saw that we probably had about two hundred metres between us and they were adamant to catch up as they too began running full speed after us.
But when I saw one of them raise a gun I quickly looked forward and pushed Lucas to the side separating us. I watched him glance at me in confusion before just where the two of us were running together, the shot was fired and Lucas's confusion turned into horror as he glanced behind us.
"Motherfuckers," he said roughly before turning back around and running even faster.
We made sure to not run in directly straight lines as continuous gun shots were fired at us. I felt myself grow tired much quicker than I should've and I glanced behind me to see that they were catching up fast.
Too fast.
We were at an extreme disadvantage after already spending the last our running across the sand then trudging it up the large steep hill we just did. We were lucky we did not run into their camp and I saw before the camp was set up to the far left so if we did go around we still would've ran into them.
I glanced back a third time to see they were less than a hundred metres behind. They hollered and screamed as the ran and I watched as one guy raised his gun and shot a bullet directly at me.
I tried to dodge, but did not move in time and let out a loud cuss and low scream as the bullet grazed me left shoulder.
"Bryce? Bryce!"
I glanced at Lucas who came next to me and ran beside me as I raised my right hand and resting it on my arm where the bullet had grazed me. I felt a searing pain as I glanced beneath my hand which was pooling with blood to see that the bullet had taken out a chunk of my arm about a centimetre or two on my arm.
I held my breath and my running slowed from the pain that was throbbing. My adrenaline after being pumped for an hour straight was not strong enough to mask the effect of the pain on me and I felt tears brew in my eyes.
"What happened?!"
I glanced at Lucas through my tears and saw his eyes widen in shock at the blood coating my hands before they turned dark and feral as he realised I was shot.
"I'm okay," I whispered through laboured breath.
He went to open his mouth but I cut him off.
"I'll live for now."
I could see he wanted to do something, but based off the bad situation we were in he nodded and we continued running.
"As soon as we lose this fucktards," he promised.
I nodded and suddenly felt anger trickle into me.
"Well, fuck this shit."
I reached with my bloody hand to my holster and grabbed the shotgun I had. Knowing it was already loaded with ammunition, I turned the safety off. Turning behind me quickly, I raised my uninjured arm and started taking random shots.
I heard yells of pain and loud swearing as I continued firing until I was out of bullets.
As I turned back around I stumbled and almost stacked it. Luckily, I caught myself before I kept on running. But what scared me after that was when I did not hear yelling, but instead heard the roaring of an ignition.
Glancing behind me, I saw three vehicles in the distance racing across the sand and closing the distance between us way to quick.
"Lucas," I warned dragging out his name.
From beside me he turned around and saw the vehicles. I registered the look of shock and the sudden look of defeat rise on his face. "Oh, fuck me."
The vehicles bobbed on the sand as the drew closer and closer, we continued running as fast as we could. But what really got me was when I looked to my left to see a fourth vehicle driving full speed towards us and was going to make it in mere seconds compared to the other vehicles.
I glanced at Lucas to see him already staring at the vehicle that was already slowing before us and I knew that we were utterly screwed and were actually going to die.
He made eye contact with me and I saw fear in his eyes. With one last sight I searched his face and glanced at his eyes as we made eye contact, maybe for the last time.
"Make that a promise and come back to me if we make it out alive."
I saw confusion cloud his face before a slow smirk rose on his face as he remembered what he said. He winked at me as a new determined look rose in his eyes. He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as the fourth vehicle stopped right in front of us forcing us to stop running.
And for some reason I really did hope we would make it out alive.
For our survival though of course.