Bandit Bride

When Felix woke up, he felt like he weighed twice as much as he used to. He felt heavy and groggy, and while his mind was awake and active, his body was still asleep. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept through the night, let alone slept so deeply. The sun was high in the sky, and he could hear voices outside. Multiple voices. Allen’s voice? Had Felix slept in longer than Allen did? That was enough to wake him up and he sat up on his mat, his eyes taking a moment to adjust. He was slightly dizzy when he finally got to his feet and went out.

Everyone went silent and stared at him, except for Elisa. In contrast to their shocked expressions, she simply hummed to herself as she poured out a bowl of porridge and offered it to him. Felix quickly fixed his hair before taking it and sitting down.

“So,” Allen said, being the first to break the silence, “She really put you to sleep did she?”

Felix felt his cheeks turn red and Elisa looked down at her feet with a slight smile.

“What?” Felix frowned. “Oh. No. No, no. Nothing like that happened. It was just because it was cold out.”

“He was every bit the gentleman,” Elisa said softly. “Once he started snoring, he was out for the night.”

Everyone chuckled, but Felix knew what it must have looked like. He and Elisa really did keep their distance, as far as he remembered. Then again, he was actually asleep. He didn’t remember much. He wondered briefly if the deep sleep had anything to do with her, but he shook the thought. He wasn’t going to overstep his boundaries.

Felix kept to himself as everyone started to pack the camp up and get moving again. He let them take care of it, leaning against a tree with a map in one hand and a compass in the other. Jack walked up to him, a pack nearly as big as he was on his shoulders.

“We’re ready to go,” he announced.

“Alright, let’s go,” Felix said. “Give me some of that, you’re going to strain your neck.”

“No, I’m twelve now,” he protested. “I can take a full pack on my own.”

“I’ll let you carry most,” Felix promised, taking some of the load off his brother. “You can carry the whole thing when you start growing facial hair.”

“I had some questions about that-”

“Later, kid. Later.”

Jack sighed and walked ahead in defeat. Lyle led the way while Felix lingered back, but soon Elisa was walking by his side.

“I guess you got some sleep last night,” she said.

“I did,” he admitted. “I feel great, honestly. I feel like I could run for miles. Or carry Jack on my back like I did when he was small.”

“It’s sweet that you look after him,” she said. “My sisters and I look after each other. I do miss that.”

“We didn’t have much of a choice,” Felix shrugged. “He was only a baby when our mother died. Anthony was fourteen years old, and I was ten. The choice came to him, ultimately. He could have dropped Jack and I at an orphanage, but he decided that it was best if we stuck together. Whether or not he was right, we’ve stuck together since.”

“What was Anthony like?”

“Like me,” Felix said, thinking for a moment. “Braver. More confident in what he was doing. A natural born leader.”

“I think you’re a good leader,” she said.

“I appreciate it,” he chuckled. “But I wasn’t meant to be. I just took on his duties and leading happened to be one of them. Trust me, I’d much rather be walking in the background.”

“Allen is walking in the front.”

“Well that says a lot about Allen, doesn’t it?”

They laughed softly, biting their tongues when Allen turned to look at them. But just as he turned, the world lurched and Felix found himself flying up in the air, Elisa shrieking beside him.

“Felix!” Lyle yelled. “You triggered some kind of animal trap!”

Sure enough, Elisa and Felix were tangled in a net hanging from a tree.

“You don’t say!” he grunted.

The net was small. Any time they tried moving they just slammed into each other or lost their footing. Burns stepped forward with a knife to cut the rope, but it was then that they heard dogs barking in the distance.

“Shit,” Felix grumbled. “Here. Give me the knife. You four run. We’ll follow the river east until we catch up to you.”

Burns put the knife in Felix’s hand, the four of them running.

“Maybe the hunters will help us,” Elisa said.

“They won’t,” Felix promised, sawing the rope as fast as he could. “These traps aren’t set for animals. They’re set for people. And the bounties on their heads.”

The dogs got closer and Felix started sawing faster, until the ropes finally snapped. They crashed into the ground, Elisa falling on top of him. They just laid there for a moment to catch their breath.

“Run, we need to run,” Felix said. “Come on, get off the trail.”

She followed behind him as they ran into the trees. They didn’t have much on them, but Felix had the compass and that’s all they needed. As the sound of dogs got closer, Felix grabbed Elisa’s hand and pulled her in a different direction. Leaves crunched under their feet as they ran, and Felix regretted what he said earlier about feeling ready to run miles. Rather, he lost his footing and slipped on a pile of leaves, which had been hiding the small cliff they were standing at. He fell back about six feet, landing nearly flat on his back and feeling a sharp pain shoot through his shoulders and head.

“Felix!” Elisa called out, hurrying down the cliff. “Are you alright?! Can you move?”

“Hardly,” he grunted. “Just my luck. Hide in that crevice, they won’t find you.”

“By myself?”

“It’s fine, I’ll find a way out of whatever they take me to.”

She pursed her lips, crawling over and getting a firm hold on him, pulling him over to the crevice as fast as she could without hurting him. They curled up in the hiding spot together, quiet as stone when they heard the footsteps of the bounty hunters nearby. They held their breath when the footsteps drew nearer. They hesitated, then walked away when their companions shouted something in the distance. Once the hunters were gone, Felix and Elisa let out the breath they were holding. Felix felt the world spin around him.

“Not good,” he mumbled. “Here.”

He handed her the compass he had been holding.

“You want me to navigate?” she asked.

“Yeah, I just hit my head,” he slurred. “I’ll be able to walk when I... wake up from my nap.”

“Nap?” she frowned. “No, now is not the time to close your eyes, Felix. We have nothing with us. We have to get to the river before it gets dark.”

“We’ll be fine, I’ll show you,” he said. “Nap first.”

“Felix, no.”

Her protests went unheard as he lost conciousness.