Blood

Nate, or rather Jason which was his real name, hadn't been lying. Militia were everywhere, scouting the area in long lines, using machetes to cut through the thick forest, looking for them. Or rather they were looking for Aaron, who still kept the pendant safely around his neck. The men were heavily armed, which meant Monroe was taking this very seriously which no doubt meant he must have collected the majority of the other pendants. Charlie glanced at Nate, er Jason, who met her eyes and in a silent agreement she nodded her head. It was true, and they had to move. Fast.

Turning the pair of them darted back towards the camp. But they were moving too fast in too unstable a place. Jason's footing was lost as the soil under his boot collapsed downward tripping him. He gave a short grunt in pain as he hit the forest floor. Charlie stopped and looked back at him. He'd pushed himself up to his knees but as he tried to stand his ankle seemed unable to support his weight. It was worse than a twist, it was probably broken.

"Go on ahead," Jason told her, "I'll catch up." Charlie's lips pressed together in a tight line at his words. She wasn't stupid. Instead of leaving like he told her, she couldn't fathom him actually thinking she would, Charlie hurried over to him and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder before hauling him to his feet. "I'll only slow you down."

"Can it." She snapped, her blue eyes hard. She didn't miss the small smile pulling at his lips at her reaction. He knew what kind of person she was, knew she'd never leave him; even if he were dead or dying. This was a very embarrassing moment for Jason. Almost as bad as when Charlie had tricked him and hand cuffed him in the forest. That seemed so long ago. Jason was right though, he was slowing them down. They could hear the shouts of the men behind them closing in. Charlie felt adrenaline surging through her system and her whole body seemed to tense. She knew full well that if those men caught up there was no way she could take them all on. Luckily the men were spread out so there were probably only eight or ten that would eventually find them. She tried to quicken their pace but it didn't seem to help. So Charlie made a decision.

Hurriedly Charlie deposited Jason next to the nearest tree with enough shrubs around it to where he could hide. If they didn't look hard and weren't paying all that much attention they wouldn't find him. She could see the distress on his face. He thought she might actually be taking his advice. Charlie shook her head before disappearing from his sight.

He felt cold sitting there against the tree surrounded by a thin mass of shrubs. The voices were approaching as well as the slicing sound of brush and vines as they cleared their path. Jason thought about getting to his feet and trying to make a run for it. But then they would see him and catch him, if he stayed put they might not notice him. He drew his knife and held it tightly in his hands. His father had told him never to trust anyone, told him the only thing he could rely on was his own strength. Jason had taken a leap of faith with Charlie. She'd seemed so caring and kind he thought if anyone in the world had any kind of decency left it was her. Apparently he'd been wrong. He was pulled from his thoughts as the men came towards him.

"Found you." Jason's face paled. The man called out to the others in the area and soon he was surrounded by six. Slowly and painfully Jason got himself to his feet, still heavily leaning onto the tree for support. He had no way of defending himself against so many; he probably wouldn't even get a blow in before he was impaled by their machetes. Setting his jaw and grasping his knife so hard his knuckles turned white he prepared for death.

"Where's the pendant?" One of the men asked darkly. Jason didn't answer and he didn't glare or show much of any emotion on his face aside from determination. Growling in frustration the man lifted his sword and thrust it forward. But it never met its intended destination. For a moment all of them were frozen in confusion. A burst of blood had exploded from the man's head and now it was clearly visible that there was an arrow just barely sticking out of one of his eye sockets. The man fell to his knees before falling, dead, to the ground. In the confusion another arrow shot from above lodged itself in another man's neck. The second man choked and it was clear he'd be dead in moments. Jason took advantage of the distraction. He lunged at one of the men and managed to strike him with his knife. The pain in his ankle made him grunt in pain as he rolled off the dead man. Just as a sword thrust into the dead man's abdomen, if Jason hadn't rolled out of the way it would have hit him. The man yanked the sword out of his dead companion and turned it back towards Jason.

He wouldn't have enough time to roll out of the way for the next attack and he couldn't get to his feet the way he was. There was a sudden cry from above them and both of them turned to look. Charlie had leapt down from the branch she'd been sniping from, knife bared and aimed right for the man as she fell towards him. A loud thump and a grunt of pain from Charlie, she was suddenly next to Jason still on top of the man she'd killed.

"You okay?" Charlie asked, turning back to the two men still standing as she spoke.

"I thought you'd left me," it was practically a whisper and his voice and tone made her heart ache. He seemed to never to have had someone who truly cared about him.

"Never," she winked trying to lighten the mood. She quickly dumped her cross bow and arrows next to Jason, as that was a weapon he'd be able to use without standing or moving all that much. Then she grabbed the dead man's sword and engaged the others.

Jason was able to help with the crossbow but from the angle he was at he was doing minimal damage, lodging an arrow or two in an arm or leg. Charlie had darted forward and wielded her sword well. But she was no Miles. Her sword skills were not as good as the two men. Jason shot at one of them causing the man to stumble back and Charlie, seeing this and believing the man to be preoccupied turned to the other and slammed the butt of her sword against the man's temple. He fell to the ground in a heap. Charlie was about to congratulate herself and Jason for a job well done when she heard a shout from behind her.

"Charlie, look out!" The warning wasn't soon enough though and as Charlie turned to see the other man rushing at her she had no time to dodge or block. A jolt of pain went through her as the man's sword was sheathed in her abdomen. Her eyes were wide in shock and she suddenly had trouble breathing.

"Charlie!" She barely registered him calling her name; her ears were ringing as she looked down at the sword still inside her. The next thing she knew the man was yanked off of her and the sword fell. Now she was looking at a hole. Her hand moved to the wound and was instantly soaked in blood. She watched as the hot red liquid trailed down past her hand drenching her shirt and pants. Charlie's knees buckled, but she never hit the ground. Someone had caught her in his arms and was calling her name in a frantic and terrified voice. Her eyes flickered from her injury to the man who held her.

"Miles?" It was almost a whisper.

"Yeah," his voice sounded relieved and he smiled down at her. "Yeah, it's me." She was so happy and yet at the same time hated that he was seeing her like this. One stab in the gut and suddenly she was out? No, Charlie was tougher than that. Or at least she thought she was. She could feel whatever material it was that Miles was using to try to stop the bleeding, which was odd since she couldn't seem to feel anything else.

"Hey, Charlie!" Miles called, he sounded angry. "Don't you dare fall asleep on me." It was an order, one which Charlie wasn't sure she could follow.

"Miles…" Her vision faded and she was surrounded by darkness, an echo of the voice calling for her followed her into oblivion just as did the deep crimson color of her own blood.

AAAAAAAAAAAAA/NNNNNNNNNNNN

OMG is she dead?

Thanks so much guys for the reviews I'm so glad someone likes it :)