Uprising by Shelly Crane Page A

but at once dropped to my knees, shaking and crying, grabbing my shoulder, writhing in intense spasms. Cain didn’t waste time arguing or asking questions, thankfully. He lifted me with ease and threw me over his shoulder as he ran the opposite way of the store, the opposite way of the massive amount of Markers headed for us.
     
    I must have blacked out. I woke up lying on the ground with Cain huddled behind me, rubbing his hand up and down my bare arm to warm me. It was musky, humid and pitch black. My whole body ached and stung and I was so cold, my teeth were chattering and my lips and fingers felt numb.
    The floor was hard. I blew out a swift breath as realization took me and I remembered what we had just encountered. We were alive, somehow, and Cain had carried me somewhere. He stiffened as he realized I was awake.
    “Sherry? Ah, thank God. Are y-you ok?” he said, sounding way too worried, his teeth chattering.
    I turned, even though it hurt so bad, to face him. I couldn’t help thinking how highly inappropriate this was, lying on the floor, face to face, bodies pressed together and legs intertwined, his hands running over me.
    Sounds romantic but it was anything but. We were both shaking so violently and his freezing ice cold hand was doing absolutely nothing to warm me but I figured it made him feel better to try so I didn’t say anything. We were too cold to even think about it being a compromising situation. Too close to it being something else way more morbid.
    It felt like death. A slow painful death that was swiftly approaching. I finally mustered up the nerve to ask him, though I didn’t think I’d like the answer.
    “What happened? W-where are w-we?” I chattered, wrapping my arm around his waist, not even asking for permission.
    “There’s a cliff,” he said wrapping his arms around me too, “and some old caves a w-ways back from the s-store. I ran with you and hid in one. We’ll have to w-wait it out until morning.” I could feel his jaw shaking on my head as I was tucked under his chin. “You passed out,” he continued. “The Lighter must have thrown a rock or something at you. You’re leg looks horrible. Might be b-b-broken.”
    I remembered the pain in my leg now. I also remembered the Lighter has recognized me. Crandle must have sent them all the image of me. Merrick was right. It would have been trouble for me to go on the trip with them yesterday.
    “I can’t even feel it,” I stammered. “Too c-cold.”
    “That’s probably the only good thing right now. We c-can’t leave. I still hear them out there screeching and yelling every now and then.”
    “How did you see my leg in here?”
    I hear him jingle something from his shirt pocket, he pulls out his key chain and turns on the little keyhole light on the end of the ring. It barely illuminates between us and he quickly turns it off to save it in case we need it.
    “C-Cain. I...I don’t know. I feel like I’m dying already. Are we even going to make it until m-morning?”
    “I t-tied off your leg with the pull string strap from my pants. If we can just keep as w-warm as possible until then-” As he spoke I immediately pulled him to me even closer as if that would some how be the answer to our survival.
    He wrapped tighter around me too.
    “I’m sorry, Sherry. I s-should never have let you come with me,” he said like it was a confession.
    “N-no. It wasn’t your fault. I s-should’ve woken Merrick like I had wanted to but...I was the one who pushed you out the door, remember?”
    “Merrick is not gonna be happy with me.”
    I had to chuckle a little at that despite the situation.
    “You mean for my getting hurt or for us laying all over each other, lounging around laughing on some romantic w-warm getaway somewhere?” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
    I feel him chuckle.
    “Either one,” he said and then laughed again.
    I’ve heard that you can’t feel defeated and give up when it looks hopeless. So I joke.