Apocalyptic Love

Tears stung my wide eyes, filling to the brink before tickling a slow trail down my cheeks. The aftermath of the attack stained my thoughts, emotion bubbling inside of me like I hadn’t felt in nine years. In the crevices of my mind, I chastised myself for being so weak. For allowing myself to weaken to such a state, but even as I willed myself to stop the tears streaming down my sweaty face, I couldn’t. I’d become the very thing I’d forced myself to stop being the second I’d split from Doc.

I became human.

Jared’s arms were wound tightly around me. His hand was buried deep in my hair, pressing my head into his chest. I could feel the beat of his heart, calming a steady rhythm through my body, but still I was frozen. I didn’t know what to do or what to think. My renewed emotions warred heavily with my instinct to survive, and it was only when I felt a large wet splash nest atop my untamed hair that the war was won.

Untangling my body from Jared’s, I glared up at the green canopies above, knowing that even if they seemed like cover enough from rain that they weren’t. Heavy drops of water began powering down from the green heavens, relentlessly washing my skin of the sweat I’d previously been drenched in.

Slicking back my hair, I whistled lightly at Jared and Ellis, grateful for the fact that we weren’t the only species that wouldn’t dare to be caught in this storm. The wind was picking up as quickly as the rain had come, cutting through the trees in a powerful hurricane and drowning out any words I might have needed to say to the two boys. Instead I lifted an arm, holding it across my forehead in an attempt to shield my eyes from the down pour. Immediately, the boys followed suit, nodding as I indicated that we needed to get moving.

Digging as much weight as I could into my feet, I led the way through the unyielding storm, my free arm shielding myself through the slick leafy bushes. Fighting against the wind and rain was only getting more difficult, the jungle floor suddenly softening into mud as we climbed our way to higher ground in search of a safe place to camp out.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that I had lived in this jungle for nine years, I might have had no idea where we were. As luck would have it, I knew the trees like the back of my hand, and even in the slaughtering rain I knew exactly where we would find shelter.

I’d found the cave-like hollow a while back during a hornet attack, stumbling luckily and waiting out the deafening buzz of their wings. I’d made sure to remember where it was, knowing that I needed a safe zone if I ever needed to hunt this far. Fortunately, this meant I knew exactly where we were.

As we crawled though the burrow’s entrance, I jumped at the sound of Jared’s loud voice echoing in the darkness. The sound of the rain hammering the trees outside was somewhat reduced in the hollow and Jared’s roar had been unexpected. I’d barely even heard his words before Ellis was biting back in reply as I pulled out a solar powered torch, one of my most useful tools.

“If we hadn’t gone back to get your fucking girlfriend, he wouldn’t be gone,” Ellis snarled, his face frightening in the light of the torch. “We have more use of him than we do with her.”

Jared’s eyes darkened, appearing almost entirely black. Only the slight glint of blue seemed to penetrate through, making them shine a cold steel. The look made me feel guilty, even though I had done nothing wrong. I hoped I never had to be on the receiving end of that glare.

“Without Harley, we have no way of getting through this jungle,” he growled quietly, the mere tone sending goose bumps across my arms. “If I hadn’t gone down to get her, we’d be worse off than we are now. So how about you keep that worthless mouth shut.”

Something in the air suddenly snapped, the tense heat of testosterone permeated the hollow, consuming it in a deep hatred as Ellis hastily lunged at Jared only to be flipped onto his back as Jared pressed his forearm into Ellis’s neck.

“Pull your head in, kid,” Jared snapped. “I don’t have the patience for your shit right now, so go get some God damn rest. I’ll keep watch.”

It seemed like hours that the boys stayed in the same position, but Ellis eventually calmed down and grudgingly stalked off as far as the hollow would allow. Rather than go anywhere near him, I stayed beside the burrow entrance, watching the blurry grey world outside as I waited for it to stop. Despite the relative safety we were in at this point, I wasn’t game enough to lose my guard. Instinct had won the battle, and I wanted to move as soon as possible.

“He doesn’t mean anything by what he says,” Jared whispered in my ear.

Stretching out beside me, I pointedly kept my gaze from his lightened face. Of course I was happy to have found Jared and Anna again, but I’d been getting too chummy. Too emotional over the fact I’d found not only humans, but my long lost friends. Sensing my discomfort, Jared frowned, his brow rising as he questioned me.

“You okay, Quinn?”

Giving him a small nod, I kept my gaze on the outside world, internally willing Jared away. I could still feel his eyes burning into the side of my head as if looking at it long enough might give him the power to see into my mind. I merely turned my head a little further, until he was completely out of my peripheral vision.

“I know you aren’t,” he grumbled. “Look, don’t take what Ellis said to heart. Don’t feel guilty about what happened to Jimmy. We all know what’s at stake. He signed up anyway, because he’s a stubborn ass, with a sense of damn heroism.” He paused; the simple moment enticing me to look back at him. “It’s not your fault,” he said.

Trying not to notice what looked like relief as I turned to look at him, I simply shook my head, ignoring the disappointment churning in my chest when his small smile immediately fell. “I can’t do this,” I whispered, the moment reminding me of the talks we’d had when we were younger. “I’ve spent nine years alone, and I’ve been content –”

“But you don’t have to be alone anymore,” Jared cut in, leaning in closer.

Opening my mouth in objection, I was stopped short as Jared cupped a hand around the side of my neck, his thumb rubbing over my cheek lightly. The feeling was nice, and calming. I couldn’t help but feel safe with his simple touch. He was only making it harder for me to say the words. To tell him that once this was over, I wasn’t going to leave my jungle.

Whether he sensed what was coming or not, I wasn’t sure, but it seemed as though he might have already guessed. With concern warming his eyes, Jared leaned closer, his lips brushing over mine lightly as if asking whether it was okay. I could feel my body tense, but even so my lips melted beneath his touch, and I was falling.

Just one kiss had my body whirring in a hurricane of butterflies, warming the chill of my drenched clothes. Just one kiss, filled with a desperate plea, and love, and want. It was almost enough to stop the thoughts running through my head, of leaving him. Of staying here in my jungle.

We said nothing more. Just a boy and a girl, sitting side by side, watching the rain fall. Though I would never admit it, I cherished this moment, knowing it would be one of my last with him.