The Valley

It was raining when Annie and David reached the village. The water soaked their clothes and washed away the dried blood from David's wounds, and more blood began to trickle from the wounds. Annie eyed the blood trickling down his arm especially with worry.

David's breathing was heavy as the two ducked into an alleyway, the rain batting harshly against the tin roof above their heads. Annie swallowed hard, placing her hands on her companion's shoulders after helping him sit with his back against the brick wall.

"I'm going to have to steal some food, okay?" she looked into his eyes as she spoke. David nodded, his eyes half lidded again. "Are you going to be okay waiting for me?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," David smiled and placed his hand over hers.

"Don't fall asleep, okay? Not until you've eaten," she patted his shoulder with the hand that wasn't covered.

"Don't worry," David squeezed her hand gently. She handed the tome to him, and he took it carefully with his uninjured arm.

"All right," Annie nodded and stood up, exiting the alleyway.

A glance about the place proved that it still seemed as abandoned as ever; and she was very thankful for that. She made her way over to the grocery store, stepping into the building with caution.

There were no video cameras in sight. The only other person in the store with her was the cashier, and his eyes were glued to a magazine that he held up to his face. A small smile formed on Annie's lips.

Keeping a careful eye on the cashier, Annie made her way over to a shelf stocked with canned goods. The shelf provided a barrier that would keep the man from seeing her pull anything off of it.

Her eyes quickly scanned what was available, and then she stuffed a can of peaches into her shirt.

Once again she watched the cashier as she moved onto the next shelf. This went on until she had the can of peaches, a box of crackers, and two mini sandwiches the store had prepared all hidden within her shirt.

"Have a nice day," the cashier's voice startled her as she reached the door. She turned to look at him, and found that he was still glued to his magazine.

"You, too," Annie dared to say, and rushed out of the building.

David was running his fingertips over the binding of the tome when Annie returned. He looked up at her, then caught the sandwich she threw.

"Eat up," she grinned, opening the can of peaches and turning the lid into a spoon. David grinned and unwrapped his sandwich as Annie shoveled spoonful after spoonful of peaches into her mouth.

The tome was tucked safely away within her shirt once more when they continued their journey. With no time to worry about taking proper care of it, they left the trash in the alleyway.

"You're awfully quiet," Annie pointed out as they left the village.

"I'm tired, in pain, and still on the hungry side," David chuckled. "Forgive me if I haven't much to say."

"Point taken," Annie shook her head, sighing. She was also still hungry, and definitely could have used more sleep, but she would have to make due with what she had.

"We'll be home soon," David said, more to reassure himself than her.

"If we're headed in the right direction," Annie sniffled.

The rain stopped, but the two shivered as the temperature dropped. When the sun was almost set in the sky, they agreed that it was time to rest again.

David sat down and leaned back against a tree, holding his arm out. After a moment of hesitation, Annie rested carefully against him, wrapping her arms around him. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tight against him and rubbing her back.

"H-hope you c-can sleep well," Annie said, her words broken due to her shivering.

"You, too," David sighed and placed a kiss against the side of her head. Her eyes widened, though she had little time to dwell on what he had done. Sleep pulled her under quickly.

When Annie opened her eyes again, her head was resting on David's shoulder, whose lips were pressed to the top of her head.

"David?" her eyebrows knitted together.

"Hm?" he hummed against her.

"What are you doing?"

"Staying warm," he mumbled against her hair. Annie took the time to note then that though their clothing was no longer soaked, it was still on the damp side.

"We need to get going," Annie lifted her head. David's hand moved quickly, though she felt very aware of it as it slipped up her back and rested on the back of her neck.

"I want to stay like this for a while," he said quietly.

"David, we need to get you to a hospital, as soon as possible," Annie let out a long sigh. His fingertips slowly caressed the back of her neck, sending a shiver up her spine.

"I'll be fine," he said, leaning close to her. Annie rested her wrist against his forehead.

"You're not fine; you're running a fever," she pulled his arm over her shoulders, helping him to his feet. "Now, let's go."

"Fine," David said, kissing her cheek and allowing her to help him walk.

"Stop it," Annie demanded, a disapproving look on her face.

"Okay."

David was cooperative and silent the rest of the way back to their town. It was amazing how easy the place was to find on the way back.

They entered the nearest bar they could find, and Annie helped David into a chair near the back.

"You two look like you've been through hell and back," William's voice made Annie jump. She turned to see him standing there, his gaze resting on David. Though his sudden appearance was suspicious, Annie paid it little mind.

"Thanks to you," Annie said bitterly. She took a seat next to David, glaring at William.

"I did warn you that it wouldn't be an easy journey," William raised his eyebrows and sat across from the two. "Did you manage to obtain the book?"

Annie nodded and pulled the large tome from her shirt, while William placed a large roll of money onto the table. Resting the tome on the table as well, Annie took the money and stuffed it into David's shirt pocket.

"What are you doing?" David asked, grabbing her wrist.

"You need this for any medical care you're going to receive," Annie replied. "I've got a much better payment coming anyway, remember?" He looked at her for a moment, his cheeks flushed, and beads of sweat dotting his forehead.

"Right," he nodded and released her wrist. He pulled the chain that carried his mother's engagement ring off from around his neck, placing it in Annie's open palm. A smile found its way to her lips as her fingers closed around the ring.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I'll take him to the hospital," William spoke then. When Annie looked at him again, he was standing and the tome was tucked under his arm. "You can carry on with whatever it is you need to do."

Annie nodded and turned back to David, whose gaze appeared to have never left her. She reached out an gently squeezed his shoulder.

"Are you going to be all right?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he answered. His usual grin was plastered on his face in that moment. Annie smiled, patting his shoulder and standing up.

"Okay; I'll come back to check on you later."

"Yeah, right," David scoffed jokingly. "You hate my guts."

"Oh, shut up, lunatic," Annie laughed, though the comment wasn't made to insult him.

"See you around, Annie."

With that, Annie left the bar, chain and ring in her hand. Her next destination was the black market.