The Unexpected Truth

  The blow caught Kate’s jaw. 

  Her bones ached with the force, and she fell to the ground, arms bound by cutting rope behind her. 

  “Stop it, you pathetic piece of s**t!” snarled James, his own face marred with puce bruises. “She’s f*****g not done anything wrong! She’s doing what you’re f*****g telling her to do!”

  Kate was heaving sobs into the grass. 

  Ben was numb beside James, both tied to a hut. 

  The undead slammed his foot into her stomach - Kate shrieked inhumanely. 

  Then, with a sharp chuckle, the undead smirked at the men and disappeared. 

  “Kate!” James roared, pulling against his bounds as they sliced into his wrist. “Kate, can you move over here at all? Kate!”

  “Where did they take Varjak?” she said through jungle-like noises of pain. “Why isn’t he with us?”

  “You would be with him very soon, if the men had got their way.”

  James’ look was fierce - Ben was still an empty shell. 

  Kate’s vision was blurred by tears. 

  “And who in the f**k are you?” James snapped.

  “No need for names. I would rather my name was not mentioned in this.” The voice was female and soothing. “Varjak will be at the river soon. You must go to meet him, or you will never get out of here.”

  Kate sat up slowly, and rubbed the tears determinedly from her eyes to see this saviour. 

  To her surprise, the woman was beautiful - blonde curls cascaded from her head, touching the top of her curved stomach. 

  Her face was angelic in appearance - soft edges and baby blue eyes. 

  But Kate had seen that angelic look before, and was not to be fooled. 

  “Why in the Hell should we trust you?” she said hoarsely. “For all we know, it’s just another place to torture us.”

  The woman laughed like a bell. 

  “Firstly, it would not be a woman escorting you to your torture. Secondly, I bring you sustenance. You will need it.” 

  The woman revealed a bag-pack by swinging it to her front, and pulled out bread and meat, as well as bottles of water. 

  A hand to her back, she carefully kneeled to Kate, offering the cold meat and bread in a single hand. 

  “Take it,” she urged. “If there was more time I would ensure absolutely that you could trust me. But there is not, and you must eat this now. If I am caught, I will be killed too.”

  Kate’s brain was flashing warning signs, but her hunger was ravenous. 

  With absolute gratitude she seized the bread and meat with her mouth, ripping a chunk from it and barely chewing. 

  The woman smiled frailly, and when Kate was finished, slowly stood up and gave the men food. 

  Ben snapped out of his state upon seeing the food, and was likened to a wild animal as he ate from her hand. 

  The woman stepped back with a satisfied smile as the three swallowed. 

  “Now, when I release you, you must follow my instructions to the letter. I cannot guarantee Varjak’s safe arrival at the river, but I can tell you he plans to go there now. Your lack of invisibility is a distinct disadvantage, and I can only direct you through the most unpopulated part of the forest. Upon my releasing of you, you must each take separate paths to the river.”

  “What?” said James incredulously. “Are you insane?”

  The woman gave a small shake of her head. 

  “If only one of you is discovered, they will go back to check where the others have gone. That at the very least gives the other two more time.”

  “Oh great. So it’s every man for himself then?” said James darkly. 

  “In a manner of speaking. It is more important that someone is saved than no one.”

  “Maybe to you,” snarled James. 

  “There is no other way,” said the woman sternly. “I cannot be caught. This is as far as I will help you, and I will disappear any moment now. So you may listen to my plan or go it alone.”

  “Shut up James,” said Kate. 

  He snorted. 

  “You will each go separately to the river. Varjak will not be long after you - until you see him, keep under cover. The undead vision in any sort of shade is far less than in light. My instructions end there, Varjak will fill you in on the next course of action.”

  “Wait, have you spoken to him or something?” asked Kate. 

  The woman’s expression was an introverted haunt of what it was a moment ago. 

  “Again, in a manner of speaking. His plan will come entirely from his own person however - this is as far as I will go to help humans. And it is now I hopefully say goodbye for the last time.”

  “Just, one last thing, since this is the last time we’ll ever see you and crap,” said Kate. “Why are you helping us? You’re obviously not pro-human, so just why are you helping at all?” 

  “Good question,” said James.

  She sighed. 

  “I suppose you could say I owe it to my human existence. Now, I bid each of you the best of luck. Go west from here and ensure your own separation.”  

  She was gone.

  “Hey, wait! What about our ro- ” Before James could finish his sentence, each felt a sudden give on their bounds, one after the other. 

  “Hey, thanks, whoever you are!” said Kate to the air, then stood up carefully. 

  The men were soothing the raw dents in their wrists as they stood. 

  “Well, you heard her!” said Kate, feeling the electric taste of freedom. “Let’s head out west and keep in the shade!”

  “Hang on,” said Ben, voice fragile. “We have to be separate. I will go first - without the chemicals I’m the most disposable here.” 

  Before they could argue, Ben had bolted away from them, pelting through the forest thickness until the dim consumed him. 

  “Kate,” James began quietly. 

  James' injuries were bad, but could have been a lot worse. 

  He had sustained bruises to his face and body and a broken arm. 

  “Is this really the time, James?” She said with pain, crushing her excitement. 

  “Walk, and keep in the shadows,” said James, beginning to move. Kate followed. “We will separate but not immediately. I don’t know when else we’ll get to say this to each other.”

  There was a pause where they stared at each other, as though it was a miracle that they could. 

  “Kate, we're going to get out of this,” he said softly, his voice a clear tenor, and slowly his hand pushed towards her own. 

  Taken aback by the sudden gesture, and also feeling a rush of happiness that she could have this moment alone, the tips of their fingers met. 

  James's fingers curled patiently around her's, and the action pulled her just the slightest inch forwards. 

  She didn't really want to speak, but she knew she had to ask.

  “How do you know we're going to get out of this?”

  “Intuition, and believe it or not I trust Varjak.“ 

  Still holding her hand, James suddenly gripped it and launched her and it towards him, so much that she stumbled and fell into his chest, cracking a twig. 

  There was a moment’s terror at what the disturbance might bring, but it seemed they were alone in this part of the forest. 

  It was a sign to move further, and they continued walking, hands entwined, until James pulled her into the summer shade of an oak. 

  The scars on his face only deepened the anger displayed on it. 

  “Varjak will think of something. It’s me that will hold you back, if anything. I mean, look at me now. Putting your life in danger just to make a point. I’m the loose thread here, the one that doesn’t even need to be saved.”

  “I really wish you'd stop thinking that you're not worth anything,” Kate hissed up at him. 

  James looked directly into her eyes, and his expression fell by the slightest touch.

  “I'm not worth anything, unless I have you,” he whispered. 

  These words nearly didn‘t register with Kate. 

  This was too much. 

  She began to feel light-headed and only just resisted the urge to sit down and breathe.  

  James seemed to detect this, and pushed a hand through her dark hair to support her head, pulling her closer to him, if that was even possible.

  “Surely you must have known that I was falling in love with you?” he asked her gently, not helping the now even more dazed Kate, who was staring bleakly into space with her cheek pressed against his chest. 

  It felt like there was a red 'X' across her heart, telling her not to go there with him. 

  What made it more odd was the fact that, to an extent, she had always been aware of a soft spot for James, so why the Hell couldn't she just go and declare her love back? 

  At least it would cut the conversation dead so they could concentrate on escaping. 

  “I‘m not joking James - we really need to get moving,” she said, trying to sound brisk. 

  James pulled her the slightest amount away from him, as though unwilling to do so, and dipped his head to kiss her, as though he couldn't stop himself anymore. 

  Kate allowed herself into the kiss, both desperate for love of any degree and curious to see if she would feel anything. 

  Within seconds the kiss had heated up considerably, James running his hand through her hair and arching her back with a little bump against the oak tree. 

  Caught up in exhilaration, Kate was finding the kiss amazing, but still the 'X' pounded at her heart, furiously telling her to stop. 

  She did, when James had pressed his chest into her own and moved his lips from her mouth to her neck. 

  Then, she decided to stop.

  “James,” she said breathlessly, giving him a light shove off. 

  Given their physical weakness, the light shove was more than enough to get James off her.  

  His expression was confused.

  “Don't you love me too?” he said with equal breathlessness, staring at her for an answer.

  Yes, no, yes, no, I really don't, maybe I do, but I don't, but I really might, said Kate's brain, giving her a slight headache. 

  She wanted to say yes, but more for his sake than her's. 

  She had no idea why she felt so reluctant to say yes. 

  If this was like a typical romance story, she thought to herself, then logically I should be falling for James. 

  But I'm not, and I haven't. 

  So...do I not love him? Could I ever love him?

  “No.”

  The pair fell into a shocked silence, James' eyes widening and Kate feeling wildly stunned that she had actually said it. 

  The 'X' over her heart disappeared with an internal pop.

  “You don't love me,” James stated, sounding sickened by it. 

  Kate could feel the intense rhythm of her heart. 

  “No, James,” she said desperately, looking apologetic.

  “But you've acted like you do.”

  “I know.”

  “You honestly don't? Not even a bit?”

  “No, James,” Kate repeated. “And we are currently in the middle of escaping! We have to follow the woman’s instructions or we’ll die out here!”

  As though to agree, James took Kate’s hand and moved her impatiently to the next set of shadows.

  “Then why have you put me in this mess Kate?” he growled, turning from her. “I only reason I agreed to come to France with you was in case you would fall for me. I started falling for you from first sight. I wasn't concerned about my safety - I only ever wanted something to happen between us. I knew I'd be safer in America. I knew if we came here, they'd still find us. But I came for you. Only you.”

  “Don't you dare start guilt-tripping me!” she hissed at him. 

  “I'm only telling you the truth,” he hissed back.

  Kate glared at him. 

  “Then what will you do if we get out of here? Fly back to America and abandon us, now that your plan of romance has failed?”

  “I never said that,” he spat. “You might not love me Kate, but I don't think I can stop myself liking you. And since that has happened, I can't ever leave you again. Not when your life is always at stake. You have me, yes, but you only have me for as long as I like you.”

  “So no grounds for friendship then?” she said sardonically.

  “I'll think about it.”

  “Well you don't really have a choice in the matter,” she said sharply. “You may as well go back to America if you'll only stick around here to be a grumpy idiot who's only there to protect me.”

  He sighed. 

  “Of course I’ll always stay with you. But just so you know, I - ”

  Kate’s shoulder was wrenched downwards - she nearly screamed, but James’ hand was quick over her mouth. 

  ‘Footsteps’ he mouthed to her, pressing his forehead to her’s and making them as compact as possible. 

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I held us up…” he whispered in near unfathomable breaths. 

  The steps crunched nearer to the tree now, and Kate was in a blind panic. 

  She held onto James as he held onto her, trying to remain well within the perimeters of the shade. 

  The steps continued without pause past them, but they did not move until several seconds after they had faded. 

  “Come on,” said James. His voice was a man’s now - rough and firm. “You have to go it alone now. Try not to make pit stops unless necessary. We can’t be far from the river.” 

  “Okay,” said Kate meekly. 

  James kissed her forehead, then pulled her up.

  “Go on. I’ll be there for you, don’t worry.”

  Without thought, Kate threw her arms around James and held him tightly. 

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t love you back, you’re a good guy,” she said. She kissed his cheek, then turned from him, running blindly to follow Ben into the coming night. 

  

Reviews

[tynamite]

It would be nice to have some description as to where Kate and James were. James had to pick the worst time to say that he loved Kate. They're supposed to be fleeing, not kissing.

[w2de35657u687y4324rf]

I can only say: I really f*****g hate James-- excuse my language, please. I find it a bit sad how Ben went first. I just think James is the most disposable... Ben has much more knowledge. I liked how Kate couldn't exactly feel for him. That was good (and preferable, in my opinion). If Gwen had made a plan with Varjak you'd think the last chapter wouldn't have ended how it did. Hmm, I hope James dies =).