Save My Life

"Leave it there. I'll get to it later." Nathaniel instructed, watching as the blond boy lowered his bow down. "It just needs a little tuning, is all." That was a bit of a lie on his part; the bow was handmade and looked like it needed a helluva lot more than a "little tuning," but Heck refused to tell the boy he couldn't do anything to help. He'd just have to find another that looked the same.

Bryleigh had recoiled at the thought of marching through such tall grass just for the small chance of startling a rabbit, and made a lame excuse (but Avery wasn't in the mood to tell her she saw right through it). It was, after all, impossible to hunt without a flask of water. Sage scoffed at the girl's reason for scurrying off now, her light eyes trained on the ground below her. She reached up to brush a few stray strands of blonde hair behind her ears.

@ rust and stardust

Christina walked around the camp to check up on the workers, especially since it had been a rough couple of days. Stumbling upon Nathaniel, she could only feel a twinge of annoyance bubbling in the pit of her stomach. "How's it holding up here, Heck?" She questioned while examining their make-shift bows, seeing the deranged one in the corner. With a frown, she moved over to it and picked it up to look at it further,"I thought I told you that these had to be in pristine condition? Those grounders out there are not going to be hurt by something that can't even properly shoot an arrow." Christina took in a deep breath and attempted to relax her short temper. "We can't accept failures like this, Heck, you know this."

--

Ryland stalked through the tall grass with the herbs inside of his pouch. With the poison that had infection one of his people, his journey was imminent. Hearing a sound coming from a few feet away, the grounder paused to survey his surroundings. He narrowed his eyes when he found two people of a race he had never seen before. A girl with long, flowing blonde-hair accompanied by another with pixie-short, black hair. Ryland wondered if these were the people that his tribe had been speaking of. They had destroyed at least one of their villages, and his people weren't thrilled in the slightest. It would be easy to just take out the both outsiders with one fatal swoop, but Ryland could not sense any type of threat that willed him to.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Nice try, Trainor, but it's not mine. It's that kid Sigler's. I'm fixing it for him." The man stood so that he towered over her instead of vice versa, and raised his eyebrows. "Those grounders aren't going to be hurt by anything short of bullets, and you know that. I told you not to let those guys hunt big game with the guns. We need that ammunition." The man said tightly.

-

"Avery, that grass is moving an awful lot. Sure there's not a rabbit there?" She wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so Sage almost dismissed the comment until she spun around and saw that the grass was swayed softly, almost imperceptibly. Sage placed a finger over her mouth and stared intently at the patch of tall grass in question, slowly raising her bow and daring to take a few steps closer.

@ rust and stardust

"We don't need incompetent people trying to fix our weapons. If Sigler can't do the job, find someone else who can. They need more help collecting food anyway." She stated as if it were the most obvious answer. Despite the obvious height difference, Christina wasn't fazed by the man standing before her. There was no way in hell that she was going to allow their biological build to be the determining factor in who led this team. "And we need the food unless you would like to starve. So, you better fix those bows and hope to God that the arrows pierce the grounders." She gave a tight smile back to Heck then swept her gaze over the rest of the weapons.

--

Ryland paused and knew that his cover was completely blown by his movement. Seeing that one girl had raised her bow, he grit his teeth before standing up to expose himself. "I mean no harm! I was just on my way back to my village." He announced with his hands raised, signaling that he only wanted peace with the two girls. Hopefully, the one with the bow wasn't trigger happy and accidentally fired against him. "Please." Ryland reiterated once more with an apologetic expression.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"And what are you doing, besides ridiculing everyone else? At least I'm trying." He was juggling hunting patrols and fixing weapons, and overseeing the treatment of a few injuries some of the hundred had acquired, occasionally. "Oh, and we're not trying to eat the grounders. These arrows are supposed to be for prey. The Grounders have arrows that we won't be able to match unless we steal."

-

His sudden motion seemed like an attack to her, and she fired, but missed. Behind her, her companion had pulled out her bow and taken aim, as well. "Shoot him, Sage. You know what Heck and Trainor told us." Sage looked him over now, mulling it over. The blonde reached into her quiver and pulled out another arrow, grey eyes cold.

@ rust and stardust

Christina was appalled that Heck had even used that statement against her. "Me? I am doing everything in my power to help out everyone while you hide here with your weapons! Merron twisted her ankle a few minutes ago and needed medical assistance. Where were you for that? Right, complaining about not having enough ammo. Don't talk to me about not doing my part." With a shake of the head, she crossed her arms over her chest. "When we run out of ammo, we are going to use these arrows for everything to that we can. If we can kill grounders, I am sure as hell that we can pierce a few deer." Already feeling a headache, Christina didn't want to speak of the matter any longer.

--

Ryland felt the arrow shoot past his face, leaving a fresh cut on the side. "Sage, please do not. I have very sick people back in my village who need help." He attempted to reason but could see the fear in her eyes. This girl couldn't recognize him as a friend or a foe, which could cost his life. "I haven't attempted to pull a weapon on you and I would appreciate if you lowered yours." He on continued with pleading eyes towards Sage.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"I'm not hiding! I just got in when Sigler asked me to come and take a look at his bow! Well, great to hear you made yourself useful for once and helped Merron get help from someone else. Kudos." He picked up the bow and started taking it apart, figuring it'd be easier to just reassemble it completely.

-

"He speaks." Sage said, not lowering her weapon completely but dropping it a few inches. "English. I have to wonder where he learned that. It's a trick, I bet." The blonde turned to look at her friend and saw that she'd turned and started running back the way they'd come, always dependable in the art of running away. "It's a trap, Sage! Run!"

@ rust and stardust

Merely rolling her eyes, she couldn't believe the crap that Heck was practically spouting from his mouth. "Right, because cooping yourself up inside of a tent isn't hiding. Just when we need you, you just happened to be impossible to find." Christina scoffed once more since it was so hard for her to believe his story. "I think that our people have obviously seen that I have been a better leader than you have. Who found that water resource yesterday? Not you."

--

Ryland was relieved when he saw that she was lowering her weapon down. Maybe he would be able to leave this confrontation with his life still intact. "Yes, I do. All I ask of you is to let me leave and I will not pose a threat to you." He attempted to reason with the girl named Sage. When he saw the other girl take off into a sprint, he sighed since her friend wasn't quite reliable.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Who taught the guys how to properly hunt and string a bow? Not you." Water was important, but so was edible food. The plants were hardly anything worth trusting; God only knew how much the radiation had affected what was left on Earth. "Screw off, Trainor. They'll never follow a girl." It had nothing to do with her personally and everything to do with the fact that most of the men were too proud to do so.

-

Now alone and feeling vulnerable to an ambush, the blonde grew a little less bold and took a few steps back, bow lowered. "Go on, then. Are you alone? Put your hands up." Her grey eyes flickered to the trees behind him for answers.

@ rust and stardust

Christina frowned since it seemed as if they were just as equally important for the camp's survival. Being biased towards herself and all, she would never admit that though. "You sexist pig. You think I can't lead people because I'm a girl? I've got more survival skills that you ever will, even if you are a boy." She countered with a pop of the hip while crossing her arms over her chest. There was no way that Christina Trainer and Nathaniel Heck could ever have a pleasant conversation.

--

Placing his hands back into the air, Ryland could see that it would be easy to take this girl down, considering that she was all alone. That would completely defeat the purpose of him giving up his position in the first place though. All the grounder wanted was peace. "Yes, I am alone. I have already told you that I wish no harm." He once again reiterated with soft eyes.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Her girly swing of her hips was slightly attractive, but also proved his point. "I never said you couldn't lead. It's not a matter of you leading, but of the guys out there following you. And I'm telling you right now, they won't. You need me. They'll sooner listen to another guy before they bend to the orders of a girl." If she wanted to get anywhere, she needed him, too.

-

"Okay. Now, get lost." A scream pierced the air from behind her, and she turned her back on the grounder in her rush to get to the source. "Bryleigh! Bryleigh!" She stumbled over fallen branches and through patches of weeds until she nearly stepped on the brunette, who was entangled in some sort of snare. Barbed wire, she recognized from the history books. "Something's on the tips, get it off! Get it off of me!" Panicked, the blonde took a step back to get a better look at the entire picture.

@ rust and stardust

Giving a roll of the eyes, Christina couldn't believe that he believed that the men of the group wouldn't listen to her. "So, basically, they won't follow me because I'm a girl. I don't believe that's true for a minute." She defended with a glare at Heck, because she didn't need anyone to co-lead with. "But, if the guys are too stupid to realize that I should be the one leading, then that's their mistake. I am not going to allow other people to die because of it."

--

Ryland turned to leave until he heard a scream break through the silence. Rushing over with the girl, he found her friend all tangled up in barbed wire. That was something that could definitely hurt. "I advise you to not move. It only makes it worse as the wire digs more into your skin." He told her as he examined the situation. Unfortunately, his knife wouldn't be enough to cut through the wire, but he may be able to remove it using his hands.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Fine, don't believe it's true. But it is. So, if you want the strength of this squadron behind you, you'll lead with me. Otherwise, they won't listen to you. You'll have the loyalty of the girls, and that's great, but it's not enough." She couldn't take charge by force without any force at all.

-

She knealt down beside her and tried to pull some of the wire away, but other parts dug in deeper and her companion screamed. "Stop. Stop moving. There's something on the tips and you're getting it in the wound." The blond shot an accusing glance over her shoulder. "Poison, isn't it? One of your traps. Get her out of it." Avery snarled, drawing an arrow from her quiver.

@ rust and stardust

"How do you know that I just have the loyalty of the girls? Hell, some of the girls may even look up to you as a leader.. for some reasons that I can't understand." She took a moment to breathe and gain her composure before continuing on. "I don't even know if I can lead with you. Whenever I try to suggest something, you completely tune me out like I'm a little girl who doesn't know anything." Narrowing her eyes at him, she was sure that them working together would be the downfall of the group.

--

Ryland sighed since he had explicitly told the other girl not to move around, but she didn't listen to him. "It is not one of my traps. My people use wire to capture food and not people." He explained while approaching her friend and using his gloved hands to start unraveling the wire as quickly as possible. "There is poison on these wires. We have to hurry. Otherwise, your friend may not make it." Glancing over his shoulder at the blonde once more, he announced,"I work better without being threatened. You can put down the bow, because I am already helping your friend."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Nathaniel Heck chuckled. "Well, don't lead with me. But you'll lead with me or not at all, because with only you at the wheel, this is a sinking ship." No one would obey her, not the way she wanted them to. And she was right: she might've not even had the full loyalty of the girls.

The girl wrinkled her nose, and once he'd turned back around, lowered the bow. "But it's your trap. You might not have meant to catch a person, but it's yours." Her pride began to ebb away when he confirmed that it was, in fact, poison, and that she might not make it if they didn't hurry. "How can I help?"

@ rust and stardust

Christina couldn't believe that Heck was telling her this of all people. Up in the Arc, neither of them had any type of authority, but he spoke as if he had been the Chancellor. "I could say the same thing to you, Heck. It is obvious that with your leadership we would only be burnt alive by the grounders." She replied while glancing over her shoulder to see two people dart away. Of course, they had a few people eavesdropping on them.

--

Gesturing for her to come over, Ryland instructed the blonde girl to put pressure on the wound when he got the wire off. "You will have to stop the bleeding for now. I do not have the appropriate herbs to heal your friend. I should have them back at the village." He continued to untangle the barbed wire until he got to the core of the problem. "This will hurt. Try not to scream." Ryland requested when he started to pull off the wire that was cutting into her flesh.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"With a fireproof government, that won't happen. The men here will set this place on fire themselves before they take orders from you, and that's all I have to say. Get out, Christina. I have better things to do than argue with you." He promptly turned his back on her and went to work on a new bow.

-

The blonde knelt down and helped to hold her friend down, pressing the fabric from her shirt on the wounds when he lifted the wire away. Her companion screamed despite him advising her not to, and Avery cringed slightly. "She'll live, won't she?"

@ rust and stardust

"You hide back here with all your weapons." She mumbled to herself, promptly spinning on her heel to exit the tent. If she had to prove herself to everyone, she would. They were many reasons why she would be a better leader than Heck ever would, and their people would realize this soon. Christina then went back to the medical tent to help out the recently injured girl.

--

Ryland examined the amount of blood loss she was having in addition to the poison spreading throughout the blood stream. "She does not have much time. We need to move her back to my village, which is ten minutes away." He explained, attempting to get the girl onto her feet to carry. They would have to move as quickly as possible.