Random meeting and blood~Nick~

Nick feels great against me. I get so comfortable that I start to drift off again. Apparently I still haven't caught up on sleep. It's just so peaceful here, and I feel safe even though we are both on the run. It concerns me that if we are caught he will be punished more severely than I, but nothing is ever really fair in the districts. It's a sad thing to know, but it's true.

The feel of his face against mine is great. His stubble tickles slightly, but I kind of like it. He admits that he cares for me, and I feel a few butterflies pop up in my stomach. I know most guys don't talk about their feelings, at least if most of my brothers are any indication, so I realize that something special is happening. When he's finished speaking, a touch him gently on the cheek and give him a quick kiss. "Yes, I've felt it...with you. There's just something inside that feels like it's drawing us closer." I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it feels right.

It's starting to get late. Again I'm starting to drift off, but I'm trying to fight it at the same time. We need to get some form of supplies out here, and there's only one place I can think of to get some of it. Still, it is hard to leave as it is so comfortable here in his arms. Eventually, I can't fight off the feeling and drift off to sleep after we kiss a little. My eyes close, and I'm out.

I'm not sure how long I'm out, but when I awake again, I notice Nick's absence immediately. My instinct is to call out his name, but I stifle that at once. There is no telling how close the pks are, and I don't want to risk alerting them to our hiding place. Instead, I get up and start to look for him. I take some turns and twists in the cave. I find some more blankets which I carry with me. As I walk, I'm thinking more about things we will need if we're going to stay here for a little while. That's when I come to a decision. I have to leave to get some supplies.

Eventually, I come up to the other cave where I find Nick drinking water. Honestly, I probably should've been able to figure that out, but I'm just happy to see him. I set down the blankets and walk over to him. "Hey Nick," I say gently. "I wondered where you were." I'm nervous about the idea of leaving him here, but it really is for both of our sakes. We can't survive with only blankets and this water. We need clothes and food and more bandages for him.

"I was thinking. I think it would be a good idea for me to try and get us some supplies. We needs some things if we are going to stay out here. I was thinking that I would sneak back to my house, grab some things, and then come back here. The pks are definitely still looking for us, so we're going to have to stay here for a little while. Then we'll move to a new place. So, I think I'm going to go. It's dark out, and I can stick better with the shadows in this darkness."

"I don't think they know about this place, or if they do they don't think that we would make it up here." I know he's concerned, but I've thought this out. If the cards thought we were in here, they would've reached us already. Clearly, they didn't know where we were. It was a good thing this place was kept secret.

I'm about to turn, but Nick starts towards me. I see him push his hands onto his wound and make a mental note to try and get hold of some pain medication from my mother. Any other medicine will need to be obtained from the doctor, but so far it doesn't look like we will need it. Even though it's for both our benefits, I feel so terrible about leaving him.

His hand touches me, and I feel electricity go up my back. "I'll be careful. Don't worry." I know that saying don't worry has never really stopped somebody from worrying, but he doesn't need to worry. I have no intention of getting caught. He apologizes to me about the pks looking for me. "Don't apologize. I'd do it again in a heart beat." It's true; I would. The only thing I'm slightly concerned about is what will happen if I'm caught while at my family's place. I want to keep them out of it as much as possible.

My lips meet his, and it makes it harder for me to think of leaving him. Still, I know it's what I need to do. Gently I return his kisses and run one hand through his hair. Parting my lips from his is almost painful, but I know it's time. When he speaks, I pat him gently on the arm. "I will," I say. "You take care of yourself. If you have a chance and are feeling up to it, you can explore this room. Who knows, maybe somebody left some food you can have until I get back....be careful Nick."

With that, I leave. I go into a nearby tunnel which leads to another cave. Sticking close to the rocks to hide myself, I look over the edge of the mouth to see if there are any guards. My eyes don't detect anything, so I slowly make my way down the rock face. This opening isn't as far up as the one we climbed was, but it still isn't easy to get down. After I get down, I close my eyes for a moment to let my senses take over a little.

I can't hear anything that sounds unfamiliar, and no smell seems out of place. It isn't too far to my house, but I need to stay away from the pk outposts that are scattered among the people that live here. This is going to be interesting. At first, it's pretty easy. There are a number of rock walls and dunes to use as cover, but then I'm out in the open. Almost as if they were waiting, I see the lights of the pks out combing the beach. NOrmally they aren't out here, so I know they are looking for Nick and I.

They are getting closer, and I can now make out brief snatches. From what I can hear, they have no idea about where the two of us are nor how we were able to escape. Hopefully that means those who helped us are safe. I can now make them out, and I know soon I shall be noticed. There is no cover here, and for a moment I'm unsure what to do so I continue to walk. Then, I get an idea. As quickly and quietly as I can, I walk into the water. The coldness of the water hits me, and my teeth chatter inside. So far they have not seen me, so I continue walking but in the water up to my nose. I take short breaths every once in a while but keepg in the water until I'm a fair distance away. When I climb out, I'm freezing.

I keep going until I reach my house; there are a few more close encounters, but I'm not spotted. Before I start towards the house, my eyes sweep the area. I don't see anything out of place, but that doesn't mean anything. Carefully, I sneak up to the house and listen against one of the walls. There is no sound, but there is a light on in one of the rooms. Slowly, I stick my head up and look inside. From there I see my mother and two of my brothers. There is nobody else, so I figure it is time I go ahead and go in.

My heart is thumping a little as I turn the knob of the door. The sound of my family rushing towards it makes me jump out of the way and just in time. THey all come out carrying various implements which they lower when they see me. My mother is on me immediately, and she starts to cry. My father quickly pulls everybody inside and shuts the door.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," he says. Yes, this is definitely going to take some time.

My family confirms my belief that one of the first places they would check for me is the house. They searched, and then they waited. After a while, they left. Apparently, they didn't think that we'd be coming here since we hadn't shown up right away. Of course, my family believes that they would still come back and look for me for a little while. That means that Nick and I will have to make other arrangements.

As I sit listening to them tell me what's happened here, I look at each of them to try and decide what they are feeling. My mother just seems happy to see me, but I know my father and brothers are some mixture of worried and angry. Getting them to let me leave again might not be easy.

Soon it is my turn to explain; they know that I went out with Nick for a fishing expedition and that the two of us ended up at the coast guard, but that's it. So I tell them the whole story, minus the kissing and things like that. When I mention my ankle, my mother halts the story to take a look at it. It's slightly swollen from all the walking I just did, but mostly it doesn't look too bad at all. Once she's put a new bandage on it, she has me continue. While I know they need an explanation, I know I need to get back to Nick.

I tell them that, and my oldest brother loses it. He tells me how worried they've all been and wants to know how I can think about going back out there for some guy I don't really even know. "He didn't even tell you he wasn't from the district, and now you could get punished. For helping him, that has to be at least 20 strikes on the back in the square." I look up at him, and I don't see anger in his eyes. Instead, I see fear not for himself but for me.

"I know he didn't, but it doesn't matter. He wasn't trying to deceive me or anything like that. Besides I care for him, and I need to get back. He looked after me when I was hurt, so I will do the same for him."

"What if you get caught?" my father asks gently.
"Don't worry about it."
"Sis, you really just can't expect us to let you go like this."
"I do...you know you cared for somebody this much once," I say.

After that, the matter seems to be close. My family knows what I'm referring to, and they seem to feel that if I feel this strongly about Nick, I won't be stopped even if they try. The next few minutes I spend dashing around the house and grabbing things that I believe Nick and I will need. However, I have to be careful how much I take. If the pks get back, I don't want them to be suspicious that too much food is gone or something like that, and I can't afford to be too weighed down.

Finally, after a hug from my family, I'm off again. My mother shared a few moments with me, and her words are fresh on my mind. HOwever, I know I need to get back as quickly as possible to Nick. At first, the journey is pretty easy. It is still somewhat dark out though the morning is coming, and I feel a sense of urgency in my step. I don't want to be caught by the sun; I will be very noticeable. Still, things seem to be going well.

Unfortunately, my luck lessens slightly when I come to the stretch of beach that is wide open. I poke my head around the last rock before I'm a sitting duck, and I see a few coast guard and some pks. Taking a deep breath, I start walking along the beach. I'm trying not to bring attention to myself, so I keep my pace normal. Thank goodness I remembered to change clothes before I left so that they aren't looking for what I have on. However, the coast guard still notice me. My heart speeds up, but I keep walking. They don't call out or anything, but I know they're watching.

I keep walking across the space, and when I'm out of their eye shot I duck behind the rocks. Just in case they start following me, I start taking a different route to get back to the cave. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my arm. At first I think it's a pk, but I realize that there would be a more powerful grip and not a gentle one. Still, the last thing I wanted was for somebody to see me and acknowledge me.

I look and it is the coast guard from before. He's got a hold on my arm which is gentle but firm, and I know he suspects that I'm taking stuff to Nick. Fortunately for us, this guy has no idea about the cave. I put a smile on my face and greet him.
"What are you doing out here?" he asks. "You know they're looking for you."
"Yes, I'm laying low for a while."
"You call walking about now, laying low? Don't try to fool me. You're bringing stuff back to HIM aren't you?" he asks with a hurt expression.
"No," I lie. "I haven't seen him for hours. I have no idea where he is. For all I know he skipped the district."
The guy seems to believe the lie which is good, but I'm wasting time here. I know I can't trust him enough to tell him about Nick. He'd turn Nick in in a heart beat and then 'save' me. I start to walk again, but while it is in the correct direction, it isn't to the cave. I can't risk that.
"Look, why don't you come stay with me?" he asks. "They won't look for you there."
"No, I've got my own place to go. It's better if I stay away from people as much as possible. No need for more to get in trouble."
He's still got my arm, and he pulls me to a stop which hurts my arm a little; I hate my delicate skin.
"Come on. It will be fun. I don't want you somewhere on your own. Let's go."
I shake him off me and fix him with a glare.
"Leave me alone. You can't help me right now. I've got to lay low. Just let me go now, and I'm sure I'll see you again when I think things have blown over."
At first, I think he's going to get angry, but instead he simply nods and says he understand. As I watch him walk away, I know that I haven't seen the last of him. At least I know he won't turn me in or report an information about me. However, I shake this thought from my mind and quickly head towards the cave.

Thankfully, I manage to reach it before day break. I've been careful to make sure that nobody is following me and that I've covered up my prints. I toss the bags inside the opening and then climb up.
"Nick?" I whisper into the darkness.

Though I figured that he was still safe in the cave, I am still relieved to hear his voice. I was worried that something may happen to him while I was gone, but it appears that he is still quite well. Carefully, I make my way in the direction of his voice. It would be bad if I ended up breaking a few of these things, and I really don't want to drop the clothes and blankets in a puddle of water.

My eyes are adjusting to the darkness; some light comes in from the mouth, but it is still rather hard to see. That's why I jump slightly when I feel Nick's hands. However, my body relaxes immediately. Though I'm sure he can't see it, I smile at him. "Yes, I made it. Sorry it took a little longer than I expected. I hope things weren't too bad without me." As I speak I put the bags down on the ground after I lean over to make sure it isn't in a wet spot.

I kiss him back and then start taking some thing out. "Yes, I brought you clothes. They might be a little big, but they should do. They're in this bag." I hand over the bag of clothes I brought for him; there are all types in there, so hopefully he will be set. "I also brought food; that's in this bag," I say tapping another one. "I also brought some pain killers, bandages, water containers, and a few other things besides. This should be enough for now."

There is a little silence before I answer. Technically I'm okay though a little shaken by seeing the pks and the run in with the guy from the coast guard; I can still feel where his hand was on my arm. However, there wasn't any real trouble. "Well, getting there I had to walk in the ocean for a while, and of course my family is a little...well my brothers are upset." I pause for a moment as I think back on everything. "I did see some pks and a coast guard guy, but mostly it was pretty easy."

I stand up. "So, do you think we should stay here by the water or move a little down one of these passages?"

I smirk at his comment about me being soaked. Of course, I need to get out of these clothes as soon as possible. I can already feel the cave chilling me a little. As he dresses, I pull out some clothes for myself and shimmy out of the wet ones. My hair is still soaking, but there's not too much I can do about that. It will just have to dry on its own.

He asks me to help put on his pants, and for some reason this makes me blush. Thankfully, he can't see that since it's dark in here. "No problem," I say trying to keep my voice even. I sense his pain and try to comply with his request to hurry. Of course, I have to be careful not to hurt him while trying to hurry. "There you go," I say once they're on. "How do they fit?" If they're too big, the next time I go back I can always grab one of my other brothers clothes to work with.

"Honestly, it's probably going to take a couple weeks to fully heal, but the pain shouldn't last as long as that." I rummage around in one of the bags for a moment and pull out a bottle. "Want to take some of this? It's a pain killer." I'm sure that if this had been normal circumstances, he would've been prescribed pain killers, but since it isn't I grabbed some from my place. "We just have to be careful with it. I brought some new bandages too. We can't keep you in those old ones."

I blush again when he calls me a savior. That isn't at all how I feel; I feel I should've done more and then perhaps we would be in this mess. "There's some bread, some fish, apples, and then some non perishable things as well. I'm not entirely sure what all there is; some of the things I just grabbed." There was no telling how long we'd be here, and I wanted us to have enough for a while. Since we were on the run, I couldn't constantly go back to my house; it was too risky.

"Here," I say. "I brought a light and also some matches and candles." I hand both over to him so he can choose what he wants. He's right about moving further in. I pull all the stuff together. "Alright, do you want me to help you or can you manage?" I ask. My arm hurts slightly for some reason, but I don't tell him that. I probably scraped it when I was climbing back up the rock face, or I could've done it coming back.

"So, when we get settled and start getting dry, I'll heat up some of this stuff. The fish was something my mother had prepared, so we just need to warm it." I realize that I'm blabbering now, but for some reason I am starting to feel a little shy and nervous. Perhaps because yet again, I'm about to spend a lot of alone time with this guy that I haven't known for long. He's got such a hold on me, and that makes me both excited and nervous. "I guess I'm just lucky," I murmur out loud to myself.

"I tried to. Of course, I was rather hurried, but I hope I got the essentials." I'm not noticing the cold or how hungry I am; right now I'm still worried over Nick and trying to think about our next moves. I'm caught a little unawares by the light of the candle. Though there isn't a mirror; I'm sure I must look a wreck, but I manage a weak smile back at him. "Not really a swim. I had to walk in the water to keep from being seen at one point, but fortunately none of our things got wet."

"Well, thank you," I say softly. "I am a little tired, but not too much. I should be fine to heat up some of this." Honestly, I feel somewhat exhausted, but I think that's more of the emotion from the whole experience rather than being tired for physical reasons.

My eyes follow him as he gets up. It looks painful, but I let him do it on his own. "I'll grab the rest of the stuff," I say grabbing the blankets. "Well, you did have surgery and lost an organ. It will probably feel a little strange for a while, but maybe we should take a look at it in a little to make sure." I'm concerned about infection, but I don't want to voice that to him. He's been through enough.

Nick tells me I'm bleeding, and I curse in my head. Why am I always bleeding at some point? "Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing though," I say. I'm still trying to work out how it happened. I suppose it could've been from that coast guard, but I was doing a lot of stuff that could've caused it as well. Still, it doesn't look bad, so it isn't really anything to worry about. "You might have to help me wrap it. I'm not so good doing stuff like that with one hand."

As we walk, I make sure to keep track of where we are in the caves. I know them pretty well, but the whole thing can start to look the same after a bit. Plus, Nick doesn't know the cave as well, so it's best if I try to note things. We get set up and start a small fire. I heat up a little of the food and hand it over to him. "Here, you need to eat this," I say. "You need your strength."

When he asks me to come to him, I do. He wraps me up, and I immediately feel safe again. We are once again, wrapped up in one another's arms, and things are starting to warm up. I feel him shivering and draw a little closer to him to try and transfer some heat. "You make me feel safe too," I tell him returning his kiss. "I was a little scared out there," I admit. Normally, being scared is nothing I would admit to, but this time it seems alright. "Nick, I'm sorry I can't do more for you."