Cheating Time (Longevity, #1)

by T. R. Graves

Chapter 11

  In the Beginning…

  Carlie

  It only took about two hours before I regretted my decision not to eat before we left. Pride kept me from saying anything.

  I'll drop dead from starvation before I'll let Jayden know I'm hungry.

  As if the Surrogate Soldier could read my mind, he sidled up next to me, opened his hand, and held out the eggs Tawney had peeled for him.

  I stared longingly at his hand and said, "Those are yours. Why haven't you eaten them?"

  He shook his head. "I ate mine already. These are yours."

  When I looked over my shoulder to see if Tawney was anywhere near, I saw that she and Gran were lagging pretty far behind.

  "Go ahead. You'll never be able to keep up this pace if you don't eat something," he said, slipping them into my hand.

  "I'll take two of them. You need to eat the last one. Your pack weighs more than all of ours combined," I admonished.

  Deciding he'd rather see me eat two than none, he grabbed one back and bit into it, eating half of it in one bite. I did the same thing. As proof that I was starving, that egg was the best-tasting food I'd ever put into my mouth, and that comparison included every piece of chocolate cake I'd ever eaten.

  I moaned with pleasure. "Oh my God! This is so good."

  Jayden smiled. "It took me a little time this morning, but I was able to find a few newly created bird and duck nests. These are the duck eggs."

  Jayden was proud of himself, and there was no reason for me to keep tearing him down. The hike had cooled my temper.

  "They're great. You did good."

  "Listen…" Jayden looked over his shoulder and checked on Tawney and Gran the way I had seconds before. "Today's trip is going to go pretty slow. The earlier rain made the forest's floor slippery. There's no sense pushing them any harder than necessary. We'll only wear them down and make the trip harder than it has to be."

  Instantly, I regretted leading at such a fast pace. "Oh. You're right. I'll slow down. Neither one of them should be out here doing what we're doing," I complained.

  "It is what it is, but I'd appreciate it if you'd take it just a little slower. I planned on walking for about another two hours, take a break, and walk until it's nearly dark. Are you good with that?" Jayden asked.

  This was the first time he'd ever asked my opinion, the first time he acted as though my thoughts mattered at all to him. He was treating me like a peer and not one of his charges. It made me feel good.

  "Yeah. I think that's a great idea, Jayden. I'll do my part. I promise," I said.

  Jayden smiled, "I know."

  Then he slowed down until he was the one walking behind our caravan, keeping an eye on us, and protecting us from anyone who might come up from behind.

  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We walked. It rained. We stopped. It rained. We stopped and ate the boar jerky Jayden made from last night's leftover meat. Finally and to everyone's relief, we stopped for the night.

  By that time, Tawney and Gran were so exhausted they could barely put one foot in front of the other. Like the night before, my energy was unlimited. I was sure I had the MicroPharm to thank. I was equally sure that Tawney's illness was preventing her from experiencing the same benefits.

  After helping her remove her backpack, I pulled Tawney to the side and said, "I'm going to help Jayden get the camp set up. You keep Gran company. The last thing I need right now is for him to feel like he needs to help. It'll go faster with just Jayden and me."

  As testament to how tired she was, she nodded, turned, and dropped down next to our great-grandfather without any sort of argument at all. I was sure she'd be asleep before her tent was up and ready, which was why I decided to work on hers first.

  Jayden must have known the same thing. Rather than wait for camp to be set up, he pulled from his pack bottles of water and more of the jerky. Then he gave healthy portions of the meat to both Tawney and Gran before offering me my own ration.

  Waving the food away, I shook my head. "Not now. I have things to do first. You eat with them. I'll eat while I'm on guard duty later."

  Jayden ignored my orders that he eat. He put up the meat and followed me over to where the tents were going to be set up. Ten minutes later, sleeping quarters were erected, and I was leading Gran to his tent and Jayden was carrying Tawney to hers. She didn't awaken, but she did nestle into his chest and hum contentedly.

  Even in her sleep, her love for Jayden was obvious. Jayden cleared his throat uncomfortably before glancing my way to see if I'd noticed. I talked to Gran and pretended to have been oblivious.

  Gran, a man of few words and one who'd barely said anything all day, looked at me and asked, "Are we making good time, Carlie? She won't be able to last any more than five days. We can't be delayed at all. Not if we want to get there with enough time to make her comfortable and let her pass peacefully."

  Gran wasn't an emotional man. He was a man of science, a man who understood the physiology behind life and death. His love for us was the kind that didn't need to be talked to death. He'd been with us my whole life, and there wasn't a day when I didn't remember him being there for me.

  It was almost as if he'd been appointed as the guardian angel no one would ever expect because he was so quiet, approachable, and unassuming. No one would ever imagine him risking his life for Tawney or me, but I knew he would without giving it the first thought.

  I kissed him on his soft cheek and said, "We'll make it, Gran."

  Putting way more faith in me than I was putting in myself, he patted my arm and said, "I know, little one. I know."

  While Jayden got Tawney tucked in, I found the tree closest to his tent, leaned against it, and sank down to the ground. I may have ignored Jayden's orders last night, but I was prepared to do what was asked of me tonight.

  Minutes later, Jayden was sitting next to me and offering me the jerky I'd refused earlier.

  "Eat," he demanded.

  My instincts were to do anything but what he ordered me to do. The problem was I just didn't have the wherewithal to do anything but take the meat from him and chew.

  "We're making good time," he explained after we'd eaten and drunk our fill.

  "Yeah. According to Gran, we don't have a day to spare. Let's keep up the same pace tomorrow. Okay?" I asked.

  Jayden nodded. "We'll keep going like this as long as we can."

  Before the words left his mouth, the sky opened up. The rain that had been drizzling all day was coming down in sheets and drenching us.

  Jayden grabbed my hand and pulled me into his tent with him. His was a little larger than mine. In fact, it was big enough for two people, and I was instantly jealous.

  "Good lord, Jayden. Your tent is way roomier than mine," I said, studying it and making a mental note of all the things Jayden prized enough to keep with him even while surviving.

  I couldn't have been more surprised when I saw he had a Bible next to his sleeping bag. My stare bounced his way the instant I saw it.

  "You read the Bible?"

  He shrugged. Without asking for his permission, I dove toward the extremely worn and dog-eared book. Jayden was quicker than me, but I was closer, meaning his attempts at grabbing the book before I had a chance fell flat.

  Giggling, I had it in hand and tucked underneath my T-shirt before he could stop me.

  "You think I wouldn't go in after that if I truly wanted it?" he asked, bobbing his head toward the Bible's hiding place.

  My shoulders bounced. "Maybe, but I don't understand why you care. Lots of people read the Bible. They're not ashamed of it."

  "I'm not ashamed. I just don't trust that you won't make fun of me about it," he said, and something about that hurt me.

  Feeling guilty that I'd behaved in such a way in my life that Jayden questioned my integrity, I gulped, pulled the Bible from under my shirt, and handed it to him.

  "I'll take first shift," I mumbled as I moved toward the door of the tent, deciding soakin
g in the rain would be better than sitting in a dry tent with someone who didn't even trust me.

  Jayden grabbed my arm. "There's no reason for you to be out there in the rain."

  "I'll be fine. Get some rest," I said, trying to pull my arm away from his grip.

  "No. No, you won't, and you'll probably end up with pneumonia so bad the MicroPharm won't be able to cure you. You getting sick could cost us a day," he said.

  Like Jayden, I knew none of us could do anything that might put this trip at risk.

  "I'll go to my tent, then."

  Again, I tried to scoot away from him and toward the door, but he didn't let go.

  "You need to stay right here. I'll sleep for an hour or so. Then you can sleep the rest of the night. If you go to your tent, I'll have to go out in the rain to switch out with you. This way… no one gets any wetter than necessary."

  "Whatever," I said, turning my back on Jayden and sitting as close to the door as possible. The thunder, lightning, and pouring rain kept me from seeing anything more than six inches out, but I sat studying the area like I could see for miles.

  "Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," Jayden began, and his words were those of a man praying rather than a man reading, a man reminding himself that there is something more to the universe than that we've seen.

  Shocked that he was sharing something that was obviously so personal to him—his spiritual journey—I turned my head and looked over my shoulder at the only man in the world with the power to really hurt me, a power no one else possessed.

  Timid as he allowed me a glimpse into his deepest secret, Jayden's brows were furrowed and he was biting his lip.

  "The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters…" He continued.

  I'd never read the Bible so I wasn't sure how far along he was when he stopped. I do know he read until a giant yawn interrupted him. His words and the melody of his voice were so soothing and comforting that I missed them the moment he closed the book for the night.

  "That was nice. Thanks," I said.

  "I was enjoying it myself. I'd keep going if I weren't so tired," he said, turning off his solar light.

  "Good night, Jayden," I mumbled, listening as he situated himself on top of his sleeping bag.

  After he finished squirming, he was a lot closer to me than was necessary, and his face was at the end of the tent where I sat. It may have been my imagination, but it seemed like I could feel his breath on my back where my shirt had ridden up above my jeans. It made chills shoot from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

  A few minutes later, his breathing was the long, deep kind that signified sleep. At least, I assumed he was asleep until he murmured, "Carlie…."

  I twisted around and was about to ask Jayden what he needed when he said, "Don't leave. Don't leave me again."

  There was a sob with his words and a desperation that scared me. I wanted to know what he'd been going through. For the millionth time, I wondered why he hadn't come with us.

  His breathing was ragged. Between it and his periodic moans, I decided to wake him. Not so he could take over for me, but so he could be freed from the nightmare that was affecting him so terribly.

  I stretched out next to him and was about to whisper his name—wake him—when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. It was only then that Jayden's breathing smoothed out and his moans turned into a quiet contented hum. Since my only goal had been that of pulling him out of his dream so he could rest, I decided not to say anything.

  It won't hurt me one bit to let him use me as his pillow until it's time for him to take over guard duty.

  That was what I planned to do. That was what I'd assumed I'd do. That was not what I did. At some point, my eyes started bobbing. I knew I was tired, but I thought I could hold out a few more minutes. I wanted Jayden to get as much sleep as possible.

  The next thing I knew, I was tucked deep into his chest, listening to the thunder and catching the periodic flashes of lightning and… eventually sleeping.