Page 66 of Red Rabbit
I looked up at the sky. We could really use some rain to help wash the trail away but it didn’t look imminent, even though it was overcast as night came on. I didn’t allow for a break but we alternated between walking and jogging. When I could, I doubled back and covered our trail and I did every trick I could think of to throw Cooper off and buy us precious extra minutes. Kaelin pushed on doggedly but after a few hours I could see her starting to lag behind so I finally called a full stop.
“Fifteen minutes,” I panted.
Kaelin collapsed onto the ground and leaned against a tree.
“You shouldn’t sit down, your muscles will seize,” I said.
“I can’t go much longer,” Kaelin said. She scrambled up and promptly threw up in a bush.
“Shit,” I hissed. “Seriously? Way to leave a trail.”
“Fuck you,” she snapped but her voice was thin. I peered at her through the dimness and saw her shivering.
“Is your hip hurting?”
“Does it matter? Once upon a time you said you’d leave me behind if I got hurt,” she said quietly, her voice catching.
“I didn’t mean it.”
“You sure? Because this is much worse than a twisted ankle.”
I stalked up to her. She was using a tree to support herself and she watched me warily as I approached, pushing herself back against the trunk. I put my hand on her hip and she nearly fell over as a sob of pain escaped her lips. Her hand came up and gripped my shirt. It was shaking.
“Stop—” she gasped. “Don’t—touch it.”
“Jesus, Kaelin,” I muttered.
I quickly pulled the gauze from the pack and batted her hand away as I carefully pulled down her pants to expose her hip. Every time I looked at her injuries, I felt an anger so complete, I wanted to raze the Warren to the ground and then resurrect everyone in it so I could do it again.
She looked down at the damage and then leaned her head back against the tree, relinquishing control to me. Some stitches were pulled and it was bleeding again so I wrapped it double with gauze and cut some of the pant away so it wouldn’t rub against it, then buttoned her back up.
“A few more hours, then we’ll stop for a longer rest,” I said.
She met my gaze and we both couldn’t hide the worry we shared.
We weren’t out of the woods yet—literally.
I pushed us hard again for several more hours until the gray of dawn arrived and I slowed to a stop next to a river. I saw Kaelin’s legs give out and she lay on her back, her chest heaving and an arm thrown over her face. She was shaking and I worried I’d pushed her too hard. The last thing we needed was for her to escape the Warren and die of an infection. I came over and knelt next to her.
“Drink,” I said, helping her sit up. She took a sip and immediately threw it back up.
“I need to—I need to get him off me,” she stammered. She clawed off my flannel she was wearing. She almost didn’t seem to notice I was there as she unbuttoned her pants and pulled off her shoes before stumbling her way into the shallows wearing only the white dress I’d found her in.
I let her have a minute and found a sheltered cluster of dense bushes we could hide in for an hour or so and then I turned back around. Kaelin was sitting in the shallows facing the river with her knees drawn up to her chest and she was violently shivering. I came over to the edge of the water.
“Kaelin.”
She didn’t answer. She was fixated on a lash mark on her arm and was rubbing at it like she was trying to get it off her skin. I waded in and as I crouched next to her I put my hand over her trembling fingers. She looked up like she was startled to see me. Her eyes were wild and unfocused like she was reliving something terrifying.
“I can still feel him,” she choked out.
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut and I watched her face collapse as she started crying again. She tried to rub off a different lash mark and I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms where she held onto me as though I was the only thing keeping her from drowning. I picked her up and carried her out of the water to the blanket I laid out.
“Take that off,” I said.
I nodded to the soaking clothing she was shivering in and held up my flannel to block my view. She hesitated and then I heard the dress drop and I helped her wrap the flannel around herself and button it up.
“I’m going to look at your hip.”
