Chapter 12

“I knew it was a bad idea,” muttered Annette, washing the blood-stained clothes.

Three days had passed since the boat stopped on dry land and Jack's wound was not getting better. For a few minutes he was sane but then returned to unconsciousness. The tourniquet she had made was not strong enough to stop the bleeding and the loss of blood was playing against him.

She was stressed, she really didn't like being in an unknown place with the blond getting worse every second. It was an odyssey to find that lake near some trees so she could take better care of him. The first night in the outside world she couldn't sleep because she was trying to bring down his fever. She should have known that, once outside, their survival would not be easy. They had to move further every day, otherwise Mr. Craig's guards would soon find them and Annette was not strong enough to defend herself, much less Jack. She could not stay forever in that lake that saved them from dying of thirst, but she could not bear to carry the blond one more day.

She hadn't slept well, her food wasn't the best either. She managed to catch a few squirrels and cooked them as best she could, it wasn't the tastiest thing she had ever tried, but it was better than the food in that place. How long would the food last them? The correct question was how long would their luck last?

Letting out a sigh she went back to where the blond was now awake and, without looking at him, she went back to clean the wound on his arm and then re-did the tourniquet with more force. She was irritated, weren't the men supposed to rescue the girl in distress? Why then the roles were inverted? Jack protected her from the guards every chance he got, he received terrible punishments because of her, but, in the end, it was Annette who ended up saving him. It had always been like that.

“I think I feel much better now,” whispered the light-eyed boy, repressing a moan of pain from the binding. Jack was no fool, he knew that Annette was worried and that he was only bringing her trouble. He wanted to recover faster than ever to get as far away from that greenish and cold scenario they were in, however, the loss of blood, dehydration and malnutrition made recovering more difficult.

“Eat, it won't be long before it's light. We have to move soon.”

“Eat with me...”

The murderous look of the black-haired girl stopped all words and actions of the blond, it would be better to leave her alone and propose a break while he stood guard.

“Ann.”

“Just shut up and save your energy.”

She sank her head between her arms that embraced her legs, thinking of a route. They were walking aimlessly, she felt stupid for not having asked Emer how to get to The Gold Star, a key point or something.

What if the right route was the one Oliver took? If they didn't get there in time, could they be caught? Would they survive the cold? How to find Oliver? The outside world was huge. That forest was eternal, and, although it was quiet enough, Annette wished she could hear some noise that would give her a hint of human civilization.

“I'm sorry, I was the one who dragged you into this and now I'm a burden to continue,” her friend's regretful voice brought her out of her thoughts, she payed little attention to his words, “first, Oliver, and now, me. I can't protect anyone.”

A dry laugh came out of his throat, and he shook his head several times.

“You were right, we needed more time.”

Jack was starting to blame himself for all the things that had gone wrong. Even though Annette also blamed him a little. she hated listening it, she preferred his optimism and his irritating good mood than this. She took a breath and walked over to him, annoyed.

“Oliver is fine. He went in the right direction. Knowing him, he will have found his way there by now. He is the strongest of the three.”

The black-haired girl also was worried about Oliver, but she had to remain positive: Oliver was quite shy and fearful, but when the situation called for it, he was the strongest and bravest person. She was sure he had managed to escape from Mr. Craig and that he was on his way to The Gold Star.

“He has no one, I shouldn't have encouraged him to escape on his own.”

Her brows became more pronounced, she grabbed Jack's face to force him to look her in the eyes, it was the only way to bring the real Jack.

“There was no choice, if he had stayed to help us, he would have died and us with him. If it wasn't for you, we would have never run away. You said it wouldn't be easy, but you trusted us to make it and we did. We should have thought that the plan would not work properly, but when has anything ever gone as planned? You are alive Jack, that guard could have shot you in the lung or in the heart, but it was in the arm, and we have managed to survive. I won't let you die so easy. So, stop crying and rest, we need your brains in order to reach our destination.”

She had sounded ruder than she intended, but to the blond's good or bad fortune it wasn't the first time Annette had spoken to him that way. In that way she was identical to her mother: a cute and dangerous creature to whom Jack had fallen prey.

A listless laugh came again from the lips of the blue-eyed boy as he placed his hands on the cheekbones of the girl who held his heart captive.

“You're always the gentleman who rescues this damsel in distress,” he joked, looking at her mesmerizing honey-colored eyes, “you're right, there's no time to get me down. I promised you I'd get you to The Gold Star alive and that's what I'll do. We'll meet Oliver again and have our own fairy tale.”

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The crunching of glass against the floor along with guttural grunts was all that could be heard in Elliot Craig's elegant office. He couldn't believe those vermin had managed to escape before his eyes, aided by that traitor Emer. How had it happened?

>>I wasn't the only one loving Collette. <<

How could he be so blind not to realize that insignificant guard had feelings towards his Collette?

>>It doesn't matter if I am your wife in front of the whole world, I will never be able to feel anything but disgust and hatred for you. <<

His fist hit the wooden table heavily. He hated to have underestimated Collette and all his guards. He should never have let her have contact with anyone but him. It boiled his blood to imagine Emer and his Collette having a secret relationship... No, that wasn't what bothered him the most because, although he would never admit it, Collette remained in love with that sneaky rat. It didn't matter if he took away everything she wanted, in the end, Elliot could never win the love of his life.

He swore revenge with the horrible son who was the exact copy of that rat who stole his Collette's heart. He swore he would completely destroy the offspring of the love he could never compete with. Oliver was nothing more than an insignificant and annoying pebble in his shoe that he would crumble to dust. And for that very reason he couldn't allow him or his friends to escape. Why had he allowed those three little boys to grow up in his domain? He should have gotten rid of them when he had the chance; why didn't he?

Now, with those three on the run, Collette's son was free and he would not allow that vermin to enjoy freedom. He would find him and torture him until the end of his days. He would kill him so slowly that the boy would beg him to end his life as soon as possible.

“I WANT YOU TO FIND THEM!” shouted angrily towards his right-hand man, Mason Jones, “BRING ME YOUR FIVE BEST MEN, I'LL GO AFTER COLLETTE'S SON AND YOU'LL KILL THE OTHER TWO!

“Gladly, boss.”

Mason Jones smiled reassuringly, heading for the exit. He had been waiting for orders for a few hours and the game was just beginning.

“And Mason,” he called back, calmer, stopping the man's walk, “don't disappoint me.”

“When have I ever done so?”