Born 01 - Born

feel the smallest amount of fear and hope simultaneously.
    On the ground is a small bandage and above it is a broken branch. I look deeper into the forest and see another broken branch.
    "They got away. They're this way." I point.
    Will looks at the bandage and frowns. "Emma, that could belong to anyone."
    I shake my head. "No, it's not. It will smell like tea tree and the branches." I point to them. "I told Jake it was how I always found my way through the woods."
    He bends his face to the ground and sniffs the air around the bandage. "It is tea tree."
    I turn to run, but he grabs my arm as he stands and pulls me into him. "One thing first." He puts his hands on the small of my back and lifts me into his arms. His lips meet mine with desperation and excitement. His tongue slides into my mouth, caressing mine. He sucks my lower lip and nibbles it. His hands take up most of my back as he rubs and caresses me. Suddenly his hands make their way lower. I don’t feel uncomfortable as he cups my butt and lifts me into him. He wraps my legs around him. I'm feeling the way I used to when I read the romance novels Granny had stored at the cabin. I feel a heat rising low in my belly.
    He lets me slide down his body, till my feet touch the ground again. Air rushes between us. I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them, and look up into his face.
    He grins. "I am going to have a hard time staying focused."
    I giggle like a schoolgirl, as my Granny always said. It is the first time that has left my lips, a giggle, that is.
    He kisses me softly one last time and walks away toward the broken branches.
    "I never imagined they were alive. I went back to where they were when I got taken and I couldn’t find them. I knew Jake was young and not very responsible. Well, neither of us were." He runs a hand through his dark shaggy hair.
    "Anna told me you guys were pretty bad at paying attention."
    He chuckles and I catch myself staring at his butt. It is round and firm and when he takes a step, it moves in a way I enjoy. I realize when I watch him I feel a small amount of guilt. Jake kissed me too. Jake made me smile and made me laugh.
    Will makes me scared of him but safe against the world, where as Jake makes me feel the opposite.

Chapter Twelve

    The sun sets as we reach the top of a hill I have never climbed. It is in the opposite mountain range from where I've been, and I am nervous of it. I don’t know what lies on the other side. My feet hurt, and I'm tired.
    He lays a bunch of boughs on the ground and gives me a very appealing look. It makes my stomach hurt.
    I walk to where he has chosen to sleep and smile at it. There are branches on the ground making a mat for sleeping. He has chosen a huge tree with great boughs to protect us in case it rains. He is like my father, more than I expected him to be. Not that I ever expected to meet him.
    I glance over at him and frown. "They think you're dead."
    He puts the last bough down and sits on it. He takes the jacket he has brought with him out and puts it down. He pats it for me to sit beside him.
    My steps hurt my feet now that we've stopped walking. I drop onto the ground beside him and watch his eyes sparkle as darkness takes over the night sky. I tuck my bow and quiver next to me, always close.
    "I was taken to the work farms. We were hiding in this old house like your farmhouse there. I wasn’t smart like you, though. I never even thought about bunkers or having a few different houses and traveling between them. I was an idiot. Anyway, they came. I hid Anna and Jake and let them take me."
    His face is stoic. I want him to kiss me again. I start to wonder if he's going to.
    "How did you get away from the farms?"
    "I met some people while I was there. Doctors who were forced to work the breeder camps and other scientists. They convinced me I needed to start a revolution from the outside. I escaped with some of them." He shakes his head, as if his thoughts entertain him, and brushes his hands through his hair again. He looks at me and smiles, "You know of a good spot to clean up around here?"
    I shake my head. "Never been here before. You're starting a revolution?"
    He nods. "The camp we were just at is one of our peace camps. It's like a retreat. The children and young and old stay there. We have people coming and going constantly. Didn't you notice how easily you were welcomed?"
    "I guess. I just thought that’s what people were like when they live in a camp like that.