Another Tribute

"Auden, I can't believe that even happened," Ariella says as we retreat to our hideout. I almost forgot where it was it's so well hidden.

"I know, I don't know what happened to me."

"You were mad, that's all," Ariella says as she looks through the pack Eli always carried around for the stuff he used to heal me. Sure enough, she produces a vial with a white liquid in it. She gently takes of his shirt, Nico's shirt really, and is careful not to make too much more damage to it other than the hole the arrow made.

"What do we do about the arrow? Aren't we supposed to not pull it out and wait for a docter?" I say stupidly.

"Now's not the time for waiting around," Ariella says, yanking out the arrow. I bite my lip in anticipation as Ariella puts a couple drops of the liquid on the arrow wound. Did it pierce his heart like think Dianca had wanted?

"Ugh. This sucks," Eli says quietly. Ariella and I both laugh.

"Nice to have you back, bud," Ariella says, ruffling his hair. He grins at her. I'm about to ask when she started calling him 'bud', but I realize I have been absent for a couple days. Who knows what happened.

"Thanks Ariella," he says.

"Hey Eli," I say quietly.

"Hi Auden," he replies. Then there's this really awkward silence.

"So...should we get some rest?" Ariella asks. Eli and I both nod in agreement. As I reach into one of the packs and get out a sleeping bag I realize we all have one. Which means we have three. Didn't we only have two?

"Uhm...where'd the third sleeping bag come from?" I ask them. They both grimace.

"Someone almost found our hiding place. I had to take them out. Luckily they had a lot of useful supplies!" Ariella says, trying to lighten the mood. I shrug and tuck myself in my sleeping bag, but my heart feels heavy as death becomes an everyday reality.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hello again, dear," Nico says. My suprise is nothing short of pure shock.

"Nico, can't you just leave me alone?" I ask desperately.

"Don't think so sweetheart. I've got a lot of boring years ahead of me, I want to make this last," he says, snapping his fingers. I'm suddenly strapped to a metal table.

"What are you going to do?" I ask, that sweet voice overtaking me again.

"I was thinking tonight we could do a bit of an amputation. You know, for scientific research," he says laughing at this as if it's the best joke he's ever heard. I try to say something rude, but nothing comes out of my mouth.

"Come on, Auden. If you want out, you're going to have to beg."

Am I desperate enough to do this? As he gets out the saw-like knife, I know I am.

"Please, Nico. Don't do this," I plead. He laughs.

"Only three words will get you out of it," he says, grinning. I try to think of what he's talking about, and suddenly it pops in my head. Before I can stop myself, I say the words.

"I love you."

"How refreshing. However, not going to work," he says, lowering the knife to my leg. He saws it off, and I feel more pain than I've ever felt in my life. My screams are silenced.

"Beg, Auden."

"Please don't. I love you." I say quietly. He shrugs and cuts of my other leg. The pain is immense and I see the blood flowing from my limbs.

"Please! I love you!" I beg, losing all the pride I have left. He laughs and cuts off my arms. By now, I've given up.

"Auden, when will you learn? I don't give a damn what you say."

And with that, I woke up.

"Auden! Are you alright?" Ariella is saying, startled awake. Eli has taken to the same routine as the last time I had a nightmare and has my head in his lap, stroking my hair. I want to cry, but at this point it would be too humiliating. I try to answer Ariella, but nothing but gibberish comes out.

"She'll be ok," Eli says. Ariella nods.

"It's almost dawn anyways. Why don't I go check the net?" she asks Eli. He nods. I wonder what the net is? As soon as Ariella leaves, I can't hold it in anymore. I quietly sob and Eli just continues to stroke my hair. I find myself sitting up and leaning into him. He's just so darn comforting.

"Are you better, Auden?" Eli asks me. I nod.

"I think so."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next night, the same thing happens. This time I wake up crying. Ariella looks scared by me and leaves the hideout muttering something about taking watch.

"Auden, it's alright," Eli whispers to me.

"I'm ok, I just have to regain my bearings," I say as I sit up. I realize I'm sweating, which pretty much makes sense because in the nightmare I was running away from Nico, unable to escape.

"Auden, what did you dream about?" he asks.

"Nico," is all I have to say and he understands. He brings me in and hugs me tightly. I get that warm feeling again, and I mostly forget about Nico.

"Hey Auden, are you really ok?" he asks me. I look into his eyes and see compassion like Thisbe's. She was always so understanding.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't know what will stop these nightmares," I say hopelessly. I'm doomed to suffer forever.

"Why don't we just try going back to sleep?" Eli says, tucking himself into his sleeping bag. I sigh and do the same. Before I know it, I'm sound asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I wake up in the morning the first thing I realize is that I managed not to have another nightmare. The second thing I realize is that Eli's hand is gently intertwined with mine. For a couple minutes I just stare at our hands in confusion, and then Eli wakes up and sees the look on my face.

"Did it work?" he asks me, looking a little flustered.

"I didn't have a nightmare," I reply. He looks relieved. Ariella comes back in looking chipper.

"While you two were being lazy I got us a real gormet meal!" she says happily showing us three eggs she must have stolen from some kind of nest. Her happiness turns to a frown when she sees our intertwined hands.

"Thanks Ariella," Eli says to her.

"Uhm what's going on?" she asks, looking a little mad. Which is weird.

"You know how Auden was having nightmares? Well, I thought maybe if she had a connection to reality or something she'd be nightmare free. And it worked according to Auden," he explains. Ariella seems to understand this and puts her smile back on. Eli lets go of my hand and the warmth disapears.

"How do you like your eggs?" Ariella asks using a mom voice.

"Raw!" Eli says, laughing.

"You will not being eating raw eggs mister. Could get sick! Shame on you," Ariella says, still using her fake voice.

"Yes M'am," Eli says, sticking his toungue out at her. They both laugh and I feel really left out. I feel something like anger burning inside of me, but I have no clue why. They're just having fun.

"Come on Auden, let's go cook us some food," Eli says, motioning for me to follow. I stare at my hand one last time, and then follow them to the outside world.