Life was much easier when they had an abundance of medical supplies.
Jaxton tossed her knife in his bag and slid Sann’s gun to him, then searched her for additional weapons. He found another knife tucked into the back of her pants, but no gun. Her gear bag was also missing. She must have dropped it when she was running. Either she dropped her handgun as well, or she’d stowed it in the lost gear bag. Both scenarios left the psychos roaming the forest with a larger arsenal and them with fewer ways to defend themselves.
“Let's go,” Sann called as he slid his shirt on.
Jaxton nodded and stooped to picked up Gemi's motionless body as carefully as he could. The irony was not lost on him about how he had treated her moments earlier. He slung her over his shoulder and positioned her to where it wouldn't press into her stomach too much.
“Dude, you have got to be shitting me. We’re not bringing her with us.”
“I'm not leaving her here,” Jaxton said as he trudged back up toward the path they had been following earlier.
“She literally just tried to kill us,” Sann called from behind him. But judging from his feet crunching on leaves, he decided to follow them anyways.
“We've all done that.”
“In a test! This is the real world. We ain't waking up from that shit.”
Jaxton spun to face him. It didn't matter what Sann said, he wasn't leaving her to be killed or to do something she would regret later. They would figure out a way to bring her back. They had to.
“I'm not leaving her here."
“So what happens when she wakes up?”
As if hearing, Gemi groaned on his shoulder, but didn't rouse. Sann thrust a hand in her direction in response.
“She's not armed anymore. We'll be fine.”
“Need I remind you of the rock, head incident?”
“That was in a test, remember?” Jaxton smirked at him before turning back to the path once again.
Sann let out a long breath and jogged to catch up. “At least let me tie her up. Legs and feet. It will take a hell of a lot of work to get at us like that.”
The thought crossed his mind of saying a smart-ass remark about how Sann's first choice was always to tie her up, but considering he was agreeing to stay together, he let it go.
“Fine.”
Jaxton pulled her into his arms before setting her on the ground. He had bashed her pretty good, probably harder than he needed to. In his frantic state he was only thinking about stopping her before Sann killed her, and hoping beyond hope that it would knock some sense back into her.
While Sann began securing her legs Jaxton decided it was the best time to patch the wound that he caused on the back of her head. He rolled her on her side and pulled the small medical kit from the same backpack that Sann was pulling rope out of. At least they had forethought to bring both items.
At the bottom of the bag Jaxton spied a vial of clear liquid. He removed it and rolled it in his hand, examining the label. It was a sedative. Not the normal stuff either. It was strong, hospital-grade, knock-you-on-your-ass sedative. The doc must have packed it just in case anyone got crazy. Would have been nice to know before using brute force.
Sann finished with her arms and sat back to examine his handiwork, looking a little too pleased with himself.
“Go get off about this somewhere else,” Jaxton said as he threw the sedative in the bag and grabbed the meager supply of liquid used to seal wounds.
“You're a sick man.”
“Uh-huh.”
A few minutes later Gemi was no longer bleeding and no longer able to attack them at a moment’s notice. With the knowledge that he had another way to sedate her if needed, he picked her back up and draped her over his shoulder.
“Can we go now? With all that screaming and commotion, I’m almost positive the crazy ones know exactly where we are,” Jaxton said.
“If that's the case, don't you think it's best we stay off the path?”
“Can you guide us there without the trail?”
“Sure. Just find the direction that it heads and follow parallel.”
Jaxton raised an eyebrow at him. He acted as if paths couldn't wind in directions other than straight.
“Look, man, if you've got another idea I'd love to hear it,” Sann snapped after catching Jaxton's doubt.
Jaxton motioned for him to lead the way, thinking he would do just about anything for a GPS device.
Sann pushed past him, not trying to hide his irritation with the whole situation.
The truth was they both knew they should just head back to base. It was a pointless mission, but neither one of them was willing to say it out loud. Sann knew it would just start another argument. It was Gemi's last request and he sure as hell wouldn’t give up on it. If they turned around, they would just watch her deteriorate further until she died. It would play out the same way until all of them were dead.
“This way will definitely take longer,” Sann called over his shoulder. “We’re not going to make it before dark.”
“Then we get as far as we can.”
“It's going to be way more dangerous now with...” he cut off midsentence when he glimpsed Jaxton's face. “Right. Well, we make it as far as we can.”
Gemi groaned again from his shoulder, but this time she was moving her head from side to side. It didn't appear she would be out for much longer. Jaxton chose not to tell Sann about the sedative until it was the last option. He would have him use it then and he was desperately hoping she would wake up acting normal.
“Hey, is she waking up back there?” Sann stopped and turned to face them.
“No. She's fine.”
“And what exactly is your plan when she wakes up all crazed again? She was screaming like a hyena. It will lead the others to us.”
“We'll be fine.”
“Why don't you just head back? Let Doc deal with it. I can go the rest of the way on my own.”
“We're staying together,” Jaxton snapped. “That's the end of this conversation. Let's stop fucking wasting time and go already.”
“I'm getting pretty sick of you telling me what to do. Just because you're screwing the person in charge doesn't make you second in command.”
“Enough, Sann. Let's just get to where we need to go.”
“What did I just say?” Sann dropped his backpack to the ground and squared off.
“Am I going to need to tie you up too?”
“I'm completely sane. You're simply working my last nerve. Always protecting that bitch of yours.”
Jaxton's face hardened. He slid Gemi off his shoulder and set her on the ground next to a nearby tree followed by his bag and rifle a few feet from her. He would need to end things quickly if they were to be on their way before she woke up.
“What’s your issue all of a sudden? You were laughing and joking and now this.”
Sann laughed loudly and over dramatically as he took a step forward. “I'm sorry, almost being killed kinda puts a damper on my whole day. Through everything you always put her before everyone else, even when she doesn't deserve it.”
“She can't control what's happening right now. I would do the same for you. This is a waste of fucking time. Why don't you take your own advice and head back to base? We’ll be fine on our own.”
“See, I'm pretty sure I already asked you to stop throwing your weight around. I don't take orders from you.”
“Well, seeing as I'm the only sane one—” Sann pushed roughly into his chest causing Jaxton to stumble back a few feet.
“Seriously, just stop. There is no need to measure dicks. We’re wasting time.” Jaxton turned his back to Sann, preparing to pick Gemi up and be on their way.
“Why don't you ask your wife whose is bigger?”
Jaxton whipped around to face him. “The fuck you say to me?”
“Why don't you ask her how much she loved our little hookup in the kitchen?”
Jaxton's jaw tightened as he struggled to control his temper.
“Oh, what? Did you think you weren't getting any because she was trying to rediscover herself? No, it was because she was already getting it good on the side. No need for a pathetic, lovesick asshole like you.”
Images of the many times he had found them alone flooded his head. Jaxton never thought much of it considering they were all friends. Friends who needed help to remember who they once were. But then he remembered the night he saw him sneaking out of her room, the same night Allon attacked her and something snapped in him.
His fist connected with Sann's jaw with such force, throwing his head into such a weird angle that he feared he had broken his neck for a split second.
Sann recovered quickly and launched himself at Jaxton. His shoulder slammed into Jaxton’s chest, knocking the wind out of him as Sann's arms wrapped around his waist and forced him to the ground. Sann came down on top of him, using it to his advantage as he landed a few good shots to his face.
Jaxton could taste blood in his mouth as he threw his arms up to block the blows. He thought of the bag and the sedative. With both of his traveling companions completely mad, there was no way they would make it home or to the facility.
Sann's fist connected again with his jaw causing a blinding light to flash through his vision. Until that point, he hadn’t been attempting to attack Sann back. But as Sann landed another blow and his brain got foggier, he switched from defensive to a tactic he knew would work.
In between punches Jaxton abandoned his blocking. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Sann's back and pulled him close. Using the moment of surprise, he threw his weight to the side effectively dismounting Sann and rolling on him to win the upper hand. He hardly hesitated before letting his own fist connect with Sann's face.
The struggle. The sweat. The blood. It released a tension that had been building in him for months.
It felt good.
“What...what are you doing?” a weak voice called from the ground beside them.
Jaxton halted midpunch. Through his now-swelling eyes, he could see Gemi trying to regain a sitting position. He rolled off of Sann and jogged to her side. He pulled her up and rested her back against the tree. After making sure she was steady, he fumbled for the knife at his waist just as another hand shot out and snatched it from his grip.
“Are you insane?” Sann growled before spitting a large amount of blood in the dirt. “She tried to murder us and what, you're just going to untie her so she can do it again?”
Jaxton broke his eye contact and turned back to Gemi. As much as he hated to admit it, Sann was right.
“Gemi, do you remember what happened?”
She wrinkled her forehead as if in pain and shook her head.
“You tried to kill us like a psychopath.” Sann crossed his arms and stared down at her.
Gemi's eyes widened. “What? Baby, what is he talking about? I would never hurt you.”
Something in the way she spoke to him made Jaxton pull back. Never once did he remember her calling him baby. And her tone—it was off. He pushed to his feet next to Sann, putting distance between them before he could change his mind and gave in to her.
“Baby, please untie me. These ropes hurt. Please.” Her eyes welled as she stared at them.
It took everything in him to ignore her plea.
“I'm sorry, we have to leave you tied up until we’re sure whatever happened doesn't again.”
The pleading expression on her face vanished as it was replaced with hollow eyes and a sneer, distorting her into a person he hardly recognized. “I'm still going to kill you. I will slit your throat and watch your frantic eyes plead and beg for me to save you as you bleed out.”
Jaxton met Sann's I-told-you-so gaze before he directed his attention to their gear bag. The sedative came in handy after all. He produced the vial and syringe from the bag and, ignoring Sann's quizzical expression, pulled some of the liquid into the needle. As Gemi thrashed frantically trying to untie herself, he grabbed her head and plugged it into her neck pressing down to release the liquid into her body. Almost instantly her movements stilled as she fell into unconsciousness.
“About time you did something.”
“Shut up, Sann!” he snapped and threw the syringe back in the bag.
“I'm just saying. It took me literally beating some sense into you.”
“You act like you're walking away unscathed,” he grumbled and not at all interested in his banter.
“True, but we can check the scoreboard?”
“Shut up!” Jaxton hooked his rifle across his body and spun around to face him. His blood was boiling again after the brief reprieve of Gemi waking up. “How long have you two been going behind my back? Is that why you’ve been fighting?”
“No, that's because she pulled a gun on me in the kitchen. You saw that though.”
His heart was throbbing in his chest. He wanted to trust her, to know that Sann was making it all up, but considering they all had large gaps in their memories, it was possible there were other things going on. Things that made him sick to even consider.
“How long?” he repeated.
“I was just messing with you, man. Although, I did kiss her. That's why she pulled the gun.”
Jaxton threw his fist into Sann's stomach. He bent forward with a grunt and sank to his knees.
“That's fair,” he gasped.
Jaxton picked Gemi up and stalked off in the direction they were headed in before their impromptu pit stop. He didn't look to see if Sann was following him. In all honesty he didn't care. He wanted to get to the damn location and do what they had set out to do. Then he could focus on fixing her. Considering she skipped all the seizures and sickness and jumped straight to the crazy, there was no saying how much time she had left.
Sann trotted up beside him, but Jaxton kept his face forward. He still wanted to pummel him and if he caught one glimpse of a grin on his face, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back.
The sun was already high in the sky. At the pace they were moving, they wouldn't get very far before they had to stop. The forest got way too dark at night and since the wild ones were also more active, he didn't want them walking around with torches drawing them in.
“You know, we haven't talked all that much since everything went down at the base,” Sann said from beside him.
“Please stop talking.”
“Oh, come on. Are you just going to ignore me the whole way?”
“That's the plan.”
“Come on. I said I was sorry.”
Jaxton clenched his jaw and took a deep, steadying breath. He was beginning to question how they had become friends in the first place.
A crunching noise from behind distracted him and made them both whirl around. What happened next happened so quickly Jaxton hardly had time to react. He saw someone running toward them with an ax raised. There was movement to his right followed by a deafening blast. The person dropped to the ground motionless as Sann laughed.
Jaxton squinted and tilted his head as his ear began ringing. Sann had fired the gun so closed to his head he was sure his eardrum had ruptured.
Sann clapped him on the back and walked over to the person. He kicked the man’s hand away from the ax then picked it and slid it into his belt. After glancing into the trees and determining the guy was alone, Sann stooped down and rummaged through his pockets.
The man looked as if he’d been living in a cave his whole life. What was left of the tattered bits of clothing he wore were caked in mud and all sorts of other grime. He had gashes all over his body. Some were already healed into scars, but the others looked on the verge of infection. They puffed up the skin, leaving red rings around the wounds and green scabbing. It was always shocking to see how far a person could fall.
Sann sighed and stood back up empty-handed. “Guess they don't need to carry much on them, huh?”
“Have you lost it?” Jaxton yelled, a lot louder than he intended. His ear still rang and was beginning to ache, throwing off h
is senses.
“Have I lost it?” He took a few steps back and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not the one carrying an unconscious woman on his shoulder.”
Jaxton shifted Gemi so he could hold her legs to his chest with one hand. With his now freed hand, he slipped his handgun from the holster. “If there are more of them, you just sent them a pretty loud invitation.”
Sann rolled his eyes and strode past him. “You're welcome.”
Jaxton watched him walk away, his anger nearly boiling over. They would never make it if he kept acting without thinking. They would end up dead somewhere in the forest leaving the others back home to rot.
“You coming?” Sann called over his shoulder.
He was going to kill him.
CHAPTER NINE
Jaxton set Gemi down on some moss and covered her with a blanket. They had made headway once Sann finally shut up and focused on walking. Now that it was dark they had no choice but to stop. As much as he wanted to keep going, he was glad for the break. His muscles were aching and starting to lock up from carrying Gemi the whole way. Sann never once offered to help, but it wasn't as if he would have accepted it anyways.
Sann tossed him a meal bar and plopped down on the opposite side of the narrow clearing facing him. He leaned against the tree and stared up at the sky. They hadn't seen any more roamers since the one that he shot so he was more than relaxed. Jaxton on the other hand was completely on edge.
Thankfully, the night was balmy despite the loss of sunlight. It was a good thing. As uncomfortable as it felt to be surrounded by muggy air after sweating all day, it meant they wouldn't require a fire. Not that he would have allowed one. They didn’t need a giant flaming beacon drawing any of the affected to them.
“Why don't you sleep first?” Sann offered.
Jaxton’s eyes drifted to Gemi. “No, I'm good.”
“Suit yourself.” Sann lay down, using his bag as a pillow, and fell silent.
Paroxysm (Book 2): Paroxysm Aftermath Page 9