Though the evening was chilly, they agreed not to build a fire lest the smoke attract unwanted attention. The people who’d brought blankets laid them out on the ground. Clarke watched fascinated as Cooper and Vale half-buried themselves under mounds of dried leaves.
“Do you want to give that a shot?” a low voice asked. Clarke turned to see Bellamy grinning at her.
Seeing him smile filled her chest with warmth, as her anxiety drained away. “I don’t need to. I brought a blanket, unlike some very noble, very foolish people I know.”
Bellamy folded his arms and gave an exaggerated shiver. “What do you think, doc?” he asked, craning his head back to look at the sky. “Will I risk exposure? Frost bite?”
“Don’t worry. If you get frostbite, I’m sure I’ll be able to amputate without much trouble. That knife you brought is pretty sharp, right?”
“Of course, there is always preventative medicine.”
“Yeah,” Clarke said, elbowing him in the side. “Like bringing a blanket."
“I did bring one.”
“What are you talking about? I saw you take it out of your pack.”
Bellamy smiled, and without another word, scooped Clarke off the ground, walked a little bit away from the others, and then toppled them both over into a massive pile of dried leaves.
“Let me go!” Clarke said with a laugh, scrambling to sit up.
“Man, this is one feisty blanket,” Bellamy said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back down toward him.
Her fatigue caught up with her, settling into her limbs. She relaxed and allowed herself to sink into him, resting her head on his chest. “Now this what the doctor ordered,” Bellamy said, running his hand through her hair.
“Leave the medicine to me, Blake,” she said sleepily. She took a deep breath, smiling as her senses flooded with her favorite scent in the world, a mix of campfire smoke, damp earth, pine needles, and salt—the smell of Bellamy.
He kissed the top of her head. “Get some rest.”
She snuggled deeper against him. “You, too.” But instead of feeling his breathing grow steady and his arms relax as he drifted off with her, she could tell he was wide awake, his heart racing.
Clarke lifted her head. Bellamy’s eyes were wide open, his jaw tense. “It’s going to be okay," she said. "We’ll find them and bring them home.”
Published on October 30, 2016 14:57