6.2
As they waited for Jelani to wake up, Nikki faced Blake and hissed, "Are you kidding me? Since when have you made a decision like this so quickly? How can you treat his life like it's nothing?"
"That's not what I'm doing," Blake promised her. "It's simple: we're in a pinch, so the decision has to be made quickly."
Nikki narrowed her eyes. "Pinch? We're not in a fucking pinch. There's no reason to think that woman is actually following us. Although, I can tell you're hiding something. You've always been."
He simply smiled. "I believe that Jelani can do it."
"You can't hide anything from me, Blake."
"Really?" he asked with a surprised expression. "Nothing at all?"
Nikki shot back, "Corvus is an anomaly. A normal person can't handle that thing, and you know it."
His face relaxed, growing serious. "I think I've already addressed this. We're just going to have to hope that Jelani isn't a normal person."
Any retort that she was going to make was interrupted by the sound of a zipper. They spun around to see Jelani, the young man in question, climbing out of the tent.
"Good morning," Blake called.
"I'll expose you one day," Nikki muttered.
– – – – –
Fainting wasn't an uncommon response to consuming an element, and it certainly didn't indicate a lack of tolerance. In fact, Jelani had been unconscious for over 8 hours when he'd consumed the element of explosiveness.
In other words, the rest of the squad was uneasy, but not overly concerned by Jelani's limp, lifeless body.
After he'd toppled over sideways, Nikki wiped the tears off her face and gently placed a hand on his back. Her eyes were red, but her tears had run dry.
She sniffled.
"Help me carry him."
Nikki lifted her eyes to find Eve standing over her.
"Eve?" she whispered faintly.
Together, they lifted Jelani and carried him to rest inside the shelter of the tent. Eve left to grab one of the backpacks, and when she returned, she propped up his head before sliding the bag beneath it. Finally, she stepped out again to approach Blake.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Not that I know of. Although, maybe thoughts and prayers really are helpful," he contemplated. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Eve stood still for a moment before finding somewhere to sit down.
She gazed up at the sky to see sunlight shining down through the branches of the pines, giving their needles a golden sparkle.
It's a nice day, I guess.
Hours dragged on.
Jelani hadn't moved an inch, and his breathing was soft and shallow. Blake poured over his notebook. Nikki and Corvus went out for a walk. Eve sat near the tent. They all were silent.
Finally, shadows crept out, and the day came to a close. As always, everyone but Corvus entered the tent. The moon was bright, so he went off into the woods, searching for a good clearing to view it from.
As they lay in darkness, Nikki slid closer to Eve and whispered in her ear, "Try not to worry too much. All we can do is hope for the best."
Eve already knew that. She knew she should just go to sleep, but she couldn't.
Every shallow, ragged breath of air Jelani drew seemed to echo deep within her.
She covered her face in her hands.
What happened to being brave?
– – – – –
As soon as Eve heard the bids chirping, she knew it was a lost cause. She wouldn't be getting even a minute of sleep that night.
The sun rose hopefully, but Jelani's condition had only worsened. His breaths grew increasingly uneven and sharp, and dark circles had formed beneath his eyes. It had now been nearly 24 hours, and Jelani's future was…
Blake was the one to break the sad silence. "We need to move today. Corvus, you'll just have to carry Jelani. Eve, that means you should grab a pistol as you'll be the only one ready to fight."
They moved, and, almost like robots, swiftly packed the tent and were on their way.
Again, their direction was south, straight towards the northern slopes of Mt. Hood.
For Eve's sake, Nikki tried to remain as cheerful as she could, but when she looked at the young man who hung limply over Corvus's shoulders she could do nothing but swallow and pray, Don't die on us, Jelani.
"Where are we going?" Eve asked Blake in a fragile, fragile voice.
"Mt. Hood."
"...what's our plan?" she asked after a silence.
"I'm not really sure," he said. "I'll figure it out as we go."
"…"
The poor girl, Nikki thought, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She desperately needs something to distract herself, but she can't even make small talk.
Nikki sped up a little, now walking at Eve's side. She started chatting with her about the first random things that came into her mind, like what they would buy if they had one day in the city.
I wish I could give her a hug, but I know she won't let me.
– – – – –
When the day waned, Nikki turned her attention to Blake.
"Blake," she said at his placid side profile, "why'd you say you don't have a plan?"
He casually turned his head to her and declared finally, uninterested in hearing any retorts, "I know you think I was lying, but I wasn't. It's true that I have a few things in mind, but I have no clear idea of what's going to happen going forward. After all, that depends on Jelani."
Nikki hissed, "When have you ever not had a plan? I don't even need to think to know that you're lying through your teeth."
"Hmm… What sort of plan?" Blake mused. "Long-term? Short-term? You can't really believe that I know what's going to happen next."
"I do believe that," she whispered. There was malice in her voice. "I think that you know exactly what's going to happen to Jelani and exactly what we're going to do, both before and after that."
"Wow," he marvelled. "If you think I know that much, then why haven't you asked me what's going to happen to him? You're dying to know, aren't you?"
"If an angel appeared in front of you and offered to tell you the date you would die, would you want to hear it?" Nikki asked through clenched teeth and flared nostrils. "No, I don't want to hear a prophecy from your shitty mouth. I'm going to wait and see what happens for myself."
Blake sighed. "You know I don't like that kind of vulgar language."
"But," she ignored his response and continued, "you have no right to keep your plans to yourself. We're all in this together, or at least we should be."
He wasn't upset, and his response was even.
"As I just said, my plans are still hazy, and I believe it's best to keep things to yourself if you aren't sure of them."
"Who the hell do you think you are?"