The Redeem: Chapter 1
#2 of The Redeem
If you haven't read the prologues, then might want to go here.
http://www.sofurry.com/page/217764/
As always, both me and kergiby appreciate any comments and helpful criticism. Enjoy!
My eyes still couldn't believe he was here. I angrily asked "Why are you here, Jason?"
The Samoyed simply looked in my eyes and said "I came looking for you."
At some point in my life, I would have melted at his sincerity, but now...I felt nothing. Something inside me cried out against him, to run away. Instead I held my ground and coldly said. "I find that hard to believe. After all, our last conversation ended with you wanting me DEAD."
My words were like daggers, and I saw him visibly flinching. He looked away for a second, trying to find some words. "That's... that's not easy to explain."
I spread my arms and signaled the desert, its broad expanse as far as the eye could see. I almost laughed at Jason, but my bitterness and anger won over. "Are you going anywhere? I'm sorry, maybe you'd like to be back with all your buddies and your girl."
I had expected him to snap at this, but instead, he looked like I had slapped him in the face. "You think that those fuckers are my friends? God! After you left... I stopped hiding from myself. I- I came out." He sounded undignified at first, but his voice softened, as if he was baring his soul to me.
I was too angry to care though. I was too hurt. "What's the point if you did?! You outed me to the whole school, and humiliated me! You have no idea how much it hurt! I looked up to you! You were my friend! Dammit Jason, you backstabbed me!"
Jason once again tried to explain what had happened "Isaac. That was an accident! When you told me, I was scared! I'm seventeen! I didn't know what I was supposed to do in that situation! Isaac, I played that part because I was too much of a fucking coward to come out. You were brave enough to come out in the open. I asked my sister, because I thought she would know what to do, and she spread it. Not me. Her."
My emotions flared. Had he really just blamed his sister? I couldn't let him pass the blame to her. She wouldn't be able to answer here. Instead I pressured Jason again. "Jason, even if she was the one that told everyone, you still said you wanted me dead! You called me an abomination, for God's sake! I don't think she had anything to do with that now did she? You deliberately hurt me!" I couldn't hold in the anger and pain anymore. I started crying again. Falling to my knees, I sobbed. With my emotion spilling out of my green eyes I softly moaned, "And to think I actually loved you..."
Again I saw Jason's guilt. He sighed and tried to piece an emotion into words. "Every word I said there... I regret. I can't tell you how sorry I feel. I... I can't forgive myself for that. Isaac, I loved you too. Damn it, I still do. I love you so much. I was protecting myself. I had a role to play. I know I said it before, but I was such a coward. I couldn't face the truth. The truth right in front of me. You."
Feeling my emotions being swayed again, I changed the subject. "How did you even find me? Here of all places."
He thought about it for a sec. "I... I don't know. I just started to walk. Before I knew it, I saw you coming up over this dune."
I sighed softly. I had to stop crying. Even my tears were precious at this point. I had made my choice. "Jason, I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you. Even if you say you were a coward, you really hurt me...but since we're together, we might as well stay together.
Jason looked like he had no objections. "Right. Which way should we head? If we should even head out at all... How do we even know there's anything here except desert?"
Thinking back to distant memories, I decided on two directions we could head out to. "We can either go north, or west. Choose."
Jason thought about for a little bit. "West. Isn't there a song from a movie, about heading out west?"
I gave an exasperated sigh. The last thing I wanted was to pretend I was okay with talking to him. Looking at him dead in the eye, I coldly said. "I don't know Jason. I don't really care. You may be thrilled to have found me here, but I'm not. Everything about you causes me pain!" I took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. I quickly calculated how the days would work. "...Since the sun sets in the west, and rises in the east, we'll be traveling in the day. We'll rest during noon, when the sun is overhead, and unable to guide us." There was one important thing that needed to be addressed. Looking at the floor, I said "Look, we need to find water. We won't make it long without it. I haven't had any water since yesterday. If we can find any plants or some cactus, we'll probably be able to get some there."
I guess Jason must have felt skeptical of the plan, because he asked "Wait, how do you know any of this? Okay, granted, the water is obvious, but the sun? What makes you the expert of the desert?"
I let my memories drift back as I remembered their voices. I hope they weren't too sad without me. As a small smile crept on my face, I told the Samoyed. "Mom and Dad always liked instilling survival skills in me. We're lions! ...they would say. I really enjoyed them telling me how to survive." I sniffed bitterly at the situation. "Never thought I'd actually get to use their teachings..."
"We're gonna get out of this, okay? There's gotta be some way..." he said soothingly.
Jason gently placed his hand on my shoulder, and something inside me exploded. I felt another surge of anger at Jason. I slapped his hand off, but instantly regretted it. He was just trying to help me feel better. Looking over at him, I apologized. "Sorry. Just...don't touch me Jason. I'm not ready yet."
Jason's pale, blue eyes showed his hurt, but he just half smiled and said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Just drop it." I cut in. "Come on. We need a get a move on. The sooner we move the better." Jason nodded and held his hand out to help me stand up. I simply stared at it, and then stood up. I didn't want to touch him either. I looked at the sky, and tried to get a feel for the direction of the sun. "We have to go this way. That's west. When did you last get a drink of water?" I asked.
He smiled nervously, like a puppy in trouble. "Umm... Before I got here."
He still hadn't answered my question. "And how long ago was that?" I pestered again.
He stopped to think back. "Two days."
"Jeez." More problems. "We need to find water fast. With these temperatures, you won't last much longer. I'd figure you have three of four days at most. Plus, your fur makes you sweat kind of bad. It wouldn't be so bad if it could actually keep the sweat for a while."
" I'm fine." He said. He started walking but I noticed him take a bad step and stumble.
I sighed, frustrated. He was probably trying to make me not worry, but his unwillingness to tell me he was tired annoyed me. "Don't lie." I said harshly. I walked in front of him, and couldn't help but notice the drying blood from the cuts and scrapes I had given him. It would be a problem if they got infected. "Hold still okay?" Jason simply nodded, while his pale blue eyes blinked rapidly. Was he...nervous? "I'm gonna lick the cuts I gave you clean. Just...don't move." I approached slowly and began to lick them, tasting the coppery tang of his blood.
He winced at my licks, and said "Ow."
I held him still, to make sure he wouldn't move away. "Don't be such a baby." I said.
"If you hadn't scratched me, we wouldn't be in this mess." Jason whined.
I simply sighed. I was too tired to deal with this. "Don't start this, okay? We'll just keep arguing, and I don't need that right now." I finished up, and gave one last lick to make sure. "Let's just walk, okay?" I turned and began walking away. It was later into the day, and the sun was ahead of me. This journey would be long. I could tell.
"T-thank you." I heard Jason say. I said nothing, but some small part inside me smiled. This would a long journey indeed.
Next chapter is up! Here's the link: