HURT

"I know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it."

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Hurt

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The explosion knocked Robin off her horse, sending her plummeting into the dirt. She coughed as she rolled a bit, her body aching with pain. The excruciating feeling rippled through her body even when she wasn't trying to get up on her feet again. Nothing was going to stop the blood flowing from her stomach and head, so she pressed her head back against the grass blades underneath her. She couldn't even breath because it hurt so much.

Her breathing became short and ragged as she tipped her head to the side. She could barely see anything through the blur and haze that accumulated against her green eyes. The ringing from the explosion pounded in her ears, she could barely hear her horse crying out as it plummeted to the ground beside her. Robin tried not to look over at it, instead, she tried to still her body completely, but the pain still convulsed through her body.

She couldn't see the silhouette of Joel sitting on the ground beside her, trying to talk to her. Robin shook her head, the immense stinging returning and running down her neck. It made her want to twist her body enough for it to go away, but she couldn't. Her body was too weak to lift itself up from the dirt-covered ground. Joel gripped onto her arm tightly, causing her to cry out harshly in pain. She couldn't move, she felt like every bone in her body was broken.

Joel turned around, pulling Robin's arm above his shoulder and letting her rest against it. She groaned, the air catching in her throat as pain rippled through her body. Blood poured out of her stomach, and she maneuvered her hand over to the wound as adrenaline began to kick in. Her hand soon became coated in blood, mixing with the dirt that had accumulated over her palm. Her forehead wrinkled as the older man began to walk forward, the prickling ache slowly beginning to numb out of her body.

His voice became much clearer as Robin's ears stopped ringing. "Kiddo, I'm gonna need you to try and step forward, okay?" He asked, his voice laced with his own pain, although- it wasn't as bad as Robin's discomfort. "I can't exactly carry you without breakin' my back." Joel tried to emit a chuckle, but hope was lost as the girl leaning against him only grunted in pain. The adrenaline coursing through her veins would wear off soon, she had to get back to Jackson.

"Fuck." Robin swore lightly, still trying to breath as little as she could. They continued walking down through the trees, the girl bobbing in and out of consciousness as more and more blood fell from her stomach. A piece of debris had lodged itself in the side of her body. Joel took notice and quickly moved her blood-soaked hand from the wound. He stopped in the middle of the ground, letting Robin's body stop convulsing with pain for a moment.

He grabbed a chunk of fabric from his pocket, placing it against the bleeding area. "Hold it there." He grunted, pulling her hand over and pushing it on the fabric. Robin winced as the pressure against the wound pounded against her head. She slowly shut her eyes from her sudden exhaustion, trying to think of different things that could help her forget the pain pricking against her body. Joel continued to walk as her eyes fluttered and her body completely shut down.

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Robin's mother paced around the living room, almost digging a hole in the hardwood floors beneath them. Rebuilding the entire resort was hard enough, the young girl was worried that her mother would completely ruin the flooring. Nevertheless, she continued to pace. Something was obviously worrying the older woman, which- in turn- caused her daughter to panic a bit as well. She had no clue what was going on behind the scenes.

The young girl didn't know that her mother and father were in a constant argument about whether they were to get out of the Lakeside Resort and take their chances with the Fireflies or stay with David's crew. Her father was adamant on leaving to the small farmhouse they had found near Salt Lake City on an assignment. Her mother, on the other hand, felt it would be safer to stay where more people were, even if it meant that they had to deal with David's weird requests.

Just a few days earlier, he had convinced James- his right-hand man- to keep one of the girls they had picked up. To Robin's father- and most of the other members of the group- that was a big red flag. Why would they keep her? She was an enemy, she came from the killing at the university. They were running low on food because winter had settled in thick, her father didn't understand why they hadn't killed her and eaten her yet.

A door slammed shut, causing the whole house to rock back and forth a bit. Robin's father stepped into the living room, brushing the snow off his shoulders and staying silent. He didn't speak a word to his wife, and vice-versa. Neither did he bother talking to his daughter. It was a tense time in the household, so Robin opted to stay silent as well, letting her fourteen-year-old mind wander to the world she had made up.

Moments passed, and Robin couldn't tell how long it had been since she had zoned out on the couch in her living room. She blinked her eyes, returning moisture to the hazel gaze she held. Her mother and father had left, most likely to bicker on their own. Nothing felt like home more than the constant yelling of the married couple. Although the amount of fighting had drastically increased over the prior months, Robin had gotten used to the inclining arguments her parents had.

The girl got up from the couch, stretching her back out and gazing out the window. Light snow fell onto the ground, signalling a harsh snowfall that was to come over the next few days. She loved when snowstorms befell onto the Lakeside Resort, even if all the other adults around her despised it. They hated it for reasons unbeknownst to her, but she didn't let them stop her from running out and dancing in the snow. She adored it.

She took a deep breath through her nose, gathering the beautiful smell of fresh snow lightly pattering against the window. It was a smell Robin never wished to forget, even if she lived somewhere with no snow one day. She propped her elbows up on the windowsill, letting the small crack in the glass blast harsh wind onto her face. It prickled against her cheek, causing her to smile lightly as her skin slowly turned a bright pink.

Nothing was quite like the sun shining through the clouds on a snowy day, and Robin felt honoured to see it poke through a few of the buildings across from her house. It was almost like a miracle, something that shone through no matter how many obstacles there were. The young girl liked to think it was some kind of sign. A sign that something beautiful was to come out of the harsh winter that her community was dealing with. And maybe- just maybe- her young tuition was right.

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Robin's body ached as she blinked her eyes open. Bright, white lights followed her gaze and flickered over her broken bones. She looked downwards, seeing her body laying in a small cot. She had a large bandage wrapped around her stomach, but other than that she only had minor stitches. To have that miniscule of wounds was both surprising and a miracle. She had been blown up by a bomb. That was insane.

She maneuvered herself to a sitting up position, ignoring the burning pain circulating through her whole body as she moved. Nobody was around the hospital-like room she was in, so she pushed the door open slightly. The room lit up with the sunlight pouring in through the windows, she was in a small, real hospital. Not like the ones that were littered around the WLF bases, no- it was authentic with life and real people.

Joel was standing outside of the door of the hospital, waiting for Robin. He obviously felt quite off about what happened. There was a grenade sitting barely outside of Jackson. The young girl assumed it was WLF tampering, but they wouldn't get in more fights unless it was absolutely deemed necessary. Most of them knew she was there, Isaac most likely sent them to try and get her to go back. At least, that was her theory.

The man turned at the sound of the road crunching with footsteps, seeing Robin standing just outside of the small hospital wing in the town. "You doin' alright, kiddo?" He asked. "Claire said that you didn't have any major wounds, but it was enough to kill ya'."

"Thanks for the reassuring words." Robin replied sarcastically. "But yeah, I'm alright." She looked down to the ground, lightly touching the blood-stained bandage wrapped around her torso. "Did they find out who planted the grenade?" She asked boldly, still curious about what had happened earlier in the day.

"They think it's some government group up North." He replied, confirming her theory that it was most likely Isaac who planted the weapon. "Nothing's definitive, though. The grenade was blown to bits before they could take a good look at the branding on the side."

Robin nodded thoughtfully, still trying to keep her act up as someone who couldn't handle themselves well. 'Niki' was a completely different person than she really was, but she had to keep up the act in order to stay in a good position in Jackson. She could let absolutely nothing get in the way of the murder of Ellie and Willow. Even if it meant that she couldn't be herself until the deed she had to do had finally been done.

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