Chapter 70 – Run!

AN: Sorry for the delay all, I've been rather poorly to say the least. I promise I am still here and still writing though! I give you my word I will NOT leave this fic unfinished. (Besides, my wonderful friend and beta KenyanCougar would kill me if I did lol, especially as it was her plot bunny in the first place!) As even thank you so much KenyanCougar for the fab beta job, all mistakes are still mine though :) Thank you so very much to all who have taken the time to fave, follow, and/or review, you truly are wonderful!

As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)

Disclaimer: I own the mistakes in my fic, but Arrow is owned by The CW, not me, shame lol!

At first she could see nothing and her heart sank with the knowledge of their failure to find anything substantial. But then, just as she was about to give up, her fingertips brushed past the edge of something as yet unknown but with a fabric-like texture. She wriggled further into the hatchway, her fingers finally getting purchase on the fabric and Laurel tugged for all she was worth before going flying as suddenly the case – for that's what she could now see it was – found release and came free. Laurel smashed back against the wall, her foot flying out and catching a wire that had been previously hidden by the ivy. She barely heard her sister's whispered gasp of alarm as she was unceremoniously pushed out of the way and they crashed to the floor in a tangled mess while red hot pain flared through her upper left arm and her world went dark …

Mixed POV

"I promised you I would tear away everyone who cares about you, destroy those you love …"

Slade's voice boomed across the camp terrifying Thea with the threat and danger it held, her heart breaking and temper rising at the same time at the words he spoke – the threats she now knew her brother had been living under for the past five years. She ran after Roy for everything she was worth, fear rising and her heartbeat increasing as it pounded in her ears. The knowledge that Slade was gaining on her was inescapable, she was scared she was not going to be fast enough and Roy was keeping pace with her – his own promise to her brother just as clear as the one Slade had just revealed.

Bullets tore into the ground right behind them, frighteningly close,and the dirt was hitting them as it was kicked up by the bullets. The threat was getting closer and Roy knew it could only be a matter of minutes before one of them was hit. His thoughts were running at a thousand miles an hour as he tried desperately to come up with something, anything, that would get them – get Thea – out of this alive.

Despite all the training he had received from each of the various members of the Team he couldn't recall a single thing that would help them now. Roy knew he could go faster, but Thea couldn't and there was no way he was leaving her behind! Roy felt a bullet hit the back of his shin just as he heard Thea's cry of pain and saw her holding her left arm, the blood starting to show between her fingers as she continued to run. His own pain was dulled by the Mirakuru and Roy knew Thea's adrenaline was keeping her going too, but for how long? How bad is she hurt?! He was filled with a desperate need to know while not daring to waste her breath or break her focus by asking.

Roy saw her stumble and caught her arm to keep her up and running, eliciting a further sound of pain from Thea in the process. He paid no attention to his girlfriend's cry though, his thoughts full of a desperate hope as a sudden memory gave birth to a plan every bit as desperate as Oliver's own had been against Merlyn on the night of the Undertaking.

"Thea, you have to trust me!"

Roy's words were urgent and full of authority in a way that Thea had never heard him speak to her before, but they were all the more commanding for that. Through the haze of her pain she briefly nodded yes, knowing his eyes were on her and having no breath spare to answer.

Roy didn't bother to wait for further answer, there was no time if this was going to work and he didn't dare explain. This was the only chance they had. Slade's footfalls were getting louder as he chased them through the undergrowth of the forest. He was continuing to gain on them and Roy just hoped he could find the place Oliver had described so long ago on one of the rare times he had mentioned the Island to him; a place also mentioned in the conversation Thea had overheard and told him about.

Yes! Roy punched into the air in his thoughts as he saw the edge he had hoped for come into view, just as he felt Thea pull back on his arm. No time! "Thea we have to. Trust me and JUMP!"

Roy didn't give her time to think or hesitate further as he tightened his hold on her, pulling her into his arms as they literally ran off the edge of the cliff. He wrapped his arms around her, twisting in hopes to ensure he would be the first to hit the water as they fell into the ravine…

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"Laurel. Laurel!" Laurel came to hearing her name spoken with increasing urgency by her sister, awareness bringing with it a new flare of pain in her arm.

"What happened?" She asked groggily, unsure as to what had gone wrong. The last thing she could remember was the case coming free as Sara had yanked her backwards … then darkness.

"I was right. Slade had left a trap. You caught a trip wire with your foot as the case came free and I pushed you out of the way as a claymore exploded." Sara saw the look of confusion on her sister's face and knew she was trying to figure out how they were still alive if a claymore had gone off so close. "We got lucky, the case must have turned the claymore as it came free, the explosion went off to the side of us, only shrapnel damage."

Laurel realized then that Sara's description of getting 'lucky' was about as accurate as Oliver's use of the word 'fine', for now she was more with it she could see cuts all down her sister's arms along with a few makeshift bandages. There were also rips and tears in Sara's pants indicating further damage. She finally dared look at her own left arm which felt like it was on fire and she was just in time to see Sara tying off a strip of material as another makeshift bandage, her breath catching as her sister pulled the dressing tight. Laurel lifted an eyebrow questioningly, not entirely sure she wanted to know how bad the injury was, but understanding she probably didn't have much choice in the matter either.

"You need a couple of stitches. It'll be alright for now, just hope there's some of that glue left." Sara purposely kept her answer brief, not wanting to elaborate on what she may be forced to do if there was no more glue. Her dark thoughts distracted her for a second as her mind flashed back to cauterizing Oliver's wound; her hatred for Slade taking on a whole new level with what Sara now knew she may be forced to do to her own sister.

Laurel's exultant smile in response was less than expected and Sara worried that she'd hit her head harder than she had first thought. Not another concussion. Can't we get a break ever?! "What?" Sara asked, more than a bit annoyed at Laurel's reaction and the whole situation. Nothing of use and now more injuries! Come ooonnnnn!

Instead of answering, Laurel simply reached for the case and turned it over, revealing what she'd already seen but apparently the keen eyes of the Assassin had missed. HA! She couldn't help the triumphant gloating thought at knowing she'd seen something her sister had failed to notice for once! Nonetheless, she was elated at the look of growing delight on her sister's face and, for the first time since being here, she felt like the big sister providing for her younger sibling once again as Sara saw the green cross denoting the case as a first aid kit.

"I know it's not what Felicity wanted, but it will still help, right?" She couldn't help the question, much as she already knew the answer. Despite her elation, the events of the last hour on top of everything else that had gone before had knocked the lawyer's confidence almost to the point of non-existence.

"More than you know!" Sara's reply solidified the smiles both on Laurel's face and on her own. They may not have found any tech, but with a first aid kit they would have a real chance at surviving the battle that was sure to lay ahead – to say nothing of being able to properly treat the injuries they already had. "We better get it back, our injuries will wait until then and there's a storm coming fast."

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"Arghhhh" Roy groaned in pain as his back scraped on the ledge sticking out on the way down, only for him to lose all the breath he had left with the force of the impact in the water of the river below. Thea found her way free of his arms as they both struggled to get to the surface, only to be pushed under again by the force of the waterfall as they were swept past it by the speeding water. Again and again they found the surface, only to lose it before they could catch more than the merest gasp of breath.

After what felt like an age, but could barely have been minutes, Thea and Roy found themselves on the sandy edge of the riverbank that Oliver had spoken of, the same one he had found himself on after Yao Fei rolled him off the cliff above. Slowly Thea made it to her feet, groaning in pain as she made her way to her boyfriend's side and grabbed his hand to help him up, before yelping in sudden pain as the wound from Slade's bullet made itself known to her again. In all her fear of the crazy fall, followed by being bashed and bruised by the water and the rocks, she had somehow forgotten about being shot.

"What kind of half-assed plan was that?!" Thea demanded angrily, her pain coming through into the fire of her voice.

Thea's emotions from the last hour were hitting her all at once. The nerves of the mission, the excitement of finding the desperately needed tech and tools, the horror at her own screw up, followed by the terror of hearing Slade and being chased by him – they were all crashing over her and she was overwhelmed by them, especially when added to the pain she was now in. His plan might have actually worked – they had made it away from Slade after all – but she had no intention of letting Roy off so easily, especially as her bow had been lost in that crazy jump. She was now weaponless, hurt, and vulnerable once more. Thea felt lost without her bow and she was shocked at just how much it had become a part of her in such a very short time. She was beginning to understand why Oliver had been so happy at seeing his old bow back at the fuselage on that first day.

"Hey, don't blame me, I was taught by your brother remember." Roy retorted, but with no anger as he simply tried to catch his breath and figure out where they had ended up. Roy pushed himself up to standing, slowed by his most recent injuries, unlike Thea he had been the one hitting all the rocks so had been hurt far more than her – just as he had intended. Roy turned away from Thea before grabbing the bag that he'd managed to somehow keep hold of right up until the final seconds of their journey downstream, but which had thankfully been washed up alongside them.

As he turned Thea was able to see his back and the damage done on the way down – her anger disappearing as she saw the gash down his right shoulder blade through the remnants of his shirt and realized that he'd not only saved her from Slade up there, but he'd saved her during their fall too. The sight was too much for her, she'd been trying to be strong and hold it together for what felt like so very long. Now, seeing the damage that he had taken to protect her, on top of her own pain and everything else, it all overwhelmed her and she collapsed to the ground shaking with silent tears.

Roy was at a loss to know what to do, while he was better with emotions than Oliver, this was still very much Felicity's area of expertise, not his. Now what? He took a few deep breaths, desperately trying to ground himself the way that Oliver had shown him. What do you have, what do you need? He heard Diggle's words of instruction and advice in his head and decided that that was as good a place to start as any. Emotions would have to wait until later – there was still no way to know if Slade had decided to find another way down and would still be after them. He was also worried about finding their way back in the dark and, city boy or not, even he could tell there was definitely a storm closing in on them. I need to know our injuries to figure out if we can make it back before dealing with them and I need to know what needs treating now.

"Thea, I know it's hard and I know you need time, but we just don't have it ok. We have to get out of here, Slade could still be coming!" Roy let the urgency show clearly in his voice, hating to scare her but knowing they had to get out of there and fast. He was relieved to see her nod her understanding and scrub her hands over her face, deep shuddering breaths showing her struggle as she fought to stop her tears.

"How's your arm, let me see?" He queried, even as he started to pull the bits of her sleeve apart. Roy muttered a muffled curse at the sight of the wound – there was only one, no exit wound. It's still in there, we'll have to get it out! Roy made a quick visual check of the rest of her wounds, as far as he could see there was nothing that he had to deal with immediately so he chose to use a strip of his torn shirt to bind her arm up, leaving the bullet there until the others could deal with it.

Next he looked at his own bullet wound, relieved to see that it was just the flesh wound he'd believed it to be. He knew his back was pretty torn up going off of the pain in his shoulder blade. "I need you to check my back, bandage up any wounds that need it as quick as you can, we have to get going … and we're going to have to figure out where we are and how to get back." He sighed as he saw her gulp, she was clearly holding back and trying to stop her tears from restarting. He turned his back to her so she could see the wound and stayed as still as he could while she clumsily tied a makeshift dressing, cursing a few times herself in the process.

"Shoulders are really not easy to keep dressings on!" Thea declared as she finally finished. "Don't know how long it'll hold but it's the best I can do with what we've got." She finally looked around the area they were in properly, panic showing in her voice as she spoke. "Roy, where are we, do you have any idea?"

"We need to get out of here, get to high ground and look for the landmarks Sara and Oliver showed us." Roy sidestepped her question, hoping she wouldn't call him on it as he looked around for a way out. Oliver got out so there must be a way, just hope we don't have to go all the way down to the sea to find it! Roy was aware that the cave was a fair way inland, so following the river down to the sea would be making their journey a lot longer, time they couldn't afford to waste right now, especially as the first drops of rain were beginning to fall.

Finally, he spotted what he'd been looking for, a crude pathway hewn out of the rock – or at least what could vaguely be considered to be a path of some sort and right now he wasn't going to be picky. He checked around quickly to ensure there was nothing left behind or that had washed up having come out of the bag, before showing Thea the 'path' he'd found. "Time to go, before we lose the light we have left."

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"You know, just because it's impossible to wear a groove in rock like that you don't have to try to prove you can do it anyway." Felicity said pointedly after watching Oliver pace up and down for the umpteenth time.

"Hmm, what?" He replied distractedly, not having really heard what she'd said.

"The rock, you're attempting to wear a groove into it and it's not going to work." Felicity replied, knowing full well what he was thinking, but trying to distract him regardless – even though she was just as worried herself.

"They're late."

AN2: Thank you all so much for sticking with me and continuing to read The Island, you are the best! Please do fave, follow, and/or review if you feel it is worth it. Reviews are golden and truly feed the Muse more than you know, thank you!