May Dawney - Survival Instincts

REN STIRRED IN HER CHAIR, and Lynn woke up for what felt like the hundredth time. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had been just one night, but last night had been just as bad, and constantly being observed was grating on her nerves to the point of snapping.

“Could you please just sit still!” She rolled onto her side to face Ren in the lamplight and sent her a glare that, if looks could kill, would have incinerated her.

Ren blinked her eyes open and rubbed them. “Sorry,” she mumbled, then seemed to realize who’d yelled at her and scowled. “But you could just ignore it.”

“Well, I can’t. Seriously, don’t you want to go to bed? I am not going to hurt Dani. I think that’s pretty much a given by now, right?” She pulled her legs under her until she sat cross-legged with her blankets draped over them.

Skeever looked at her accusingly as she roused him from his slumber.

“You probably won’t, no.” Ren shrugged. “But orders are orders.”

Lynn groaned. “Oh, come on!” She rattled her chain. “I am not going anywhere, I am not going to hurt Dani, and your back must be killing you after so many hours on that chair. Kate’s not here. Just go to bed. If something changes with Dani, I’ll, like, shout or something.” They both knew that was a very unlikely scenario anyway.

Ren hesitated. The chair creaked as she shifted, presumably to get comfortable on the hard wood.

“Go to bed.” She accentuated each word.

The weight of exhaustion visibly crashed down on Ren and caused her to sag, and after a few seconds, she nodded. “I suppose it won’t do harm.” She searched her eyes. “Promise me you won’t harm her—and you’ll shout for me if she wakes up.”

“Will you believe me if I do?”

“No.” Ren stood. “But it would make me feel better to hear the words.”

“Then I promise.” I’m not going to let anything happen to Dani anyway. I might as well swear it to you.

Ren exhaled deeply. “Okay. I suppose that’ll have to do.” She picked up her empty mug. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She made it a point to wave with her shackled arm, despite the pain in her shoulder as she lifted its weight and the weight of the chain. Its jingle followed Ren down the hallway, since she left the door wide open on her way out.

Lynn glanced at Dani. A sharp longing to be close to her now that she finally had the privacy to do so pierced her heart so suddenly that she gasped out loud. Not yet. Maybe Ren would come back, or she’d send Cody to take her place. Lynn didn’t want them to see her hold Dani. She needed her armor; she couldn’t show that level of affectedness.

When her patience ran out, she tried to keep her chain from jiggling as she slipped off the bed and padded over to Dani’s.

Maybe it was the firelight, or maybe she was getting used to seeing her like this, but Dani seemed to be a little less pale. She’d eaten very well yesterday, and Ren had decided to hold off on the third round of maggot therapy. The last time she’d checked, the stitches held, and fluid no longer built up in the wounds. She was still unconscious, and her fever was still sky high.

“Hey.” Lynn smiled as she stroked Dani’s forehead and hair. “Is there room for me in there?”

Dani smacked her lips, now seemingly always associating Lynn’s voice with food.

Lynn’s smile widened, and she lifted the blankets. It took some doing with her chain and sore body, but she managed to find a comfortable position on the narrow strip of bedding and carefully laid her hand on Dani’s shoulder. She didn’t want to risk hurting her by wrapping her arm around her waist, not even high up.

Exhaling contentedly, Dani turned her face toward Lynn.

Lynn didn’t mind Dani’s morning breath at all. She snuggled a little closer and allowed her leg to brush Dani’s, making sure she wasn’t rubbing against her bruised knee. Dani’s body radiated heat, quickly overheating Lynn as well, but it was so good to be close. She nuzzled closer on Dani’s pillow, connecting their foreheads, and slid her hand down over Dani’s arm to find her hand.

“This is good.” She whispered the words, making Dani smack her lip again. “You really have to come back soon, okay? I need you. These asshole friends of yours don’t like me much—which I warned you about.” She smiled and squeezed her hand. “You need to wake up and tell them to get off my back.”

She leaned in and kissed her cheek, finally allowing herself to inhale Dani’s scent much more deeply than before.

A sob tore through her body. Lynn tensed, but there was no stopping the rush of emotions as her walls gave way under the pressure of her hostile environment, her own slow recovery, and most of all her worry about Dani. She buried her face in the crook of Dani’s neck and tried to be as quiet as possible as she surrendered to the inevitable.

“I-I didn’t bring you back just to watch you die.” Sniffling, she let Dani’s hand go so she could cup her cheek. She pulled Dani’s face more firmly against hers and pressed close. “I didn’t open up to you just to lose y—”

Dani coughed.

Lynn froze. Her tears ceased; her heartbeat galloped. “D-Dani?” She barely dared to pull back, but Dani groaned and Lynn hurried to sit up.

Her eyes were open—unfocused, but open.

Lynn’s breath caught in her throat. She stroked her cheek with trembling fingers and leaned forward, trying to get Dani’s eyes to settle on her. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she forced herself to appear calm. “Dani? Can you hear me?”

Her soft words were enough to draw Dani’s attention, but it took a few seconds for her to focus on Lynn’s face.

Hope constricted Lynn’s throat. She blinked to make sure she didn’t imagine it, then released the breath she’d been holding. “Dani?”

Dani’s lips parted, but she remained silent. Confusion flickered in her bloodshot eyes.

“You’re okay.” Lynn smiled and nodded for emphasis. “You have an infection, you’re sick, but we’re taking care of you at the Homestead. You’re home, okay? Home.” She checked her forehead, growling in frustration when she got her chain caught behind something and had to pull it free first.

When she looked back, Dani’s eyelids fluttered, but her eyes never closed entirely. She struggled to lock their gazes again.

Dizzy with emotion, Lynn gripped Dani’s hand. “You’re going to be okay.” For the first time she dared to believe it herself. Consciousness was a good sign, wasn’t it? She should ask Ren, but she didn’t want her here, despite what she’d promised. Not yet.

Dani licked her lips, parted them, frowned, and parted them again. This time she managed a broken croak that seemed to frustrate her.

“Don’t talk. You don’t have to. All that mat—”

Dani squeezed her hand and glared at her.

Okay, shutting up. Lynn leaned in so Dani would be able to whisper.

“D—” She sucked in breath. “D-Did… j-job.”

Lynn pulled up and watched her, trying to put the words together in a way that made sense. Then she smiled before giving in to a laugh that seemed to dislodge a lump of darkness in her gut. “Yes, you did do your job.” She stroked Dani’s cheek and pressed their foreheads together. “You did the best job. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Sit.” Lynn was deftly relegated to her bed while Ren moved in to inspect Dani.

Cody stood by, watching her more than Dani as Ren checked everything from vitals to pupil reactions to Dani’s extremities to see if she could feel them all.