Ethereal

Chapter 28: Shipping Master Eli

One moment, I was searching for my family and eating a rat in the mud.

The next thing I know, I'm racing through mud huts and trampling over tents with people still inside, hand in hand with the same boy I thought I would never talk to again. But here I am.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, my chest burning as I struggled to bring air into my lungs. Jax and I had been running through the Camp for almost a half hour and hadn't spoken a word to each other since he told me he was getting me out of the Camp.

"Somewhere you'll be safe, at least until I can come back and get you." He said, pulling me to a stop behind a hut. I couldn't see over his board shoulder, but I heard the hurried footsteps of people approaching, and as they passed the spot Jax and I were hiding in, I caught the sight of the official's white and black uniforms.

"They're looking for me," I said once they rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. Jax didn't say anything, his hand only tightening around mine. He waited another moment and pulled me back into the street, bringing us to a jog as we continued deeper into the Camp.

"How do they even know what I look like, Jax? No one could have seen it but the little girl," I said, and a flash of hope went through me. Maybe they were still trying to figure out what happened in the first place, giving Jax and I more time to figure out what I was going to do next.

"Most of the time, when Campers see something, they look the other way." He said, slowing us down to brisk walk. Wherever we were going must be somewhere ahead. "But with an official dead, they'll be looking into what happened. Offering people coins or food as a reward for talking. It happened before during the Riot Season a couple of years back. Even if you think the little girl was the only one you saw, there are always eyes watching in the Camp. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody has already come forward with our descriptions." He said.

I felt a knot form in my stomach. "Our descriptions?" I said.

Jax gave me a look over his shoulder, his eyes softening around the edges. "Guilty by association." He said.

I felt my chest tighten as I absorbed his words. If Jax and I were caught, it wouldn't only be me that would hand for Edwin's death. Jax would suffer too, just because he was helping me.

My feet slammed into the mud and I pulled my hand out of Jax's. He turned around and gave me a questioning look, then reached down to grab my hand again.

"No," I said, stepping away from him, "you have to go – I won't let you get in trouble because of me." I pictured the dark-haired little boy. What was Jax thinking? He had more important things in his life that he needed to take care of instead of me.

"Nor," he said, sounding tired. His eyes moved around the darkness around us, listening and watching for officials. "I'm not a child, and neither are you." He stepped closer to me, pulling my face into his hands as he tilted my head upwards. "I'm sorry about what I said to you before. But I know what I'm doing. You're not going to run away from me this time."

I weaved my fingers through his as he held me, closing my eyes as I breathed in the scent of him. He dipped his head lower until our foreheads rested against each other, neither of us saying a word. If I could stand with his hand in mine for the rest of my life, I would.

A shout echoed close by, making Jax and I spring away from each other. The noises grew closer, and I heard the distinct sound of an official cocking their gun.

"Come on," Jax said, pulling me back down the path. "it's just a few more houses."

I followed blindly behind him, trying my best not to slip through the mud. Jax slowed down as we approached a decently sized mud hut. There was one barrel lit up with flames in front of it, casting pieces of stone and wood into the light. I felt my eyebrows wrinkle at the sight of it – I had never seen a mud hut that was made with anything other than, well, mud.