Spirits in The Rain - Martin - Chapter 1
Word count: 768
Chapter warnings: injury, violence.
Soulmate AU, hurt/comfort, angst, x gender neutral reader
I fired off the last shot I had in my pistol, throwing it to the ground as the man in front of me hit the ground with a dull thud, lifeless. I gasped, staggering backwards before taking off running. I didn’t know where I was going, I just knew that I had to get as far away as I could from this place.
I didn’t make it very far, having been weakened from lack of food and water, and especially sleep. My jailers hadn’t exactly taken care of me. I cursed myself for falling for their trap, their offer to help me. The bunker had food, and it was safe, but I couldn’t bring myself to stay there, not after what I had experienced there. Even if they were dead now. I just couldn’t.
I collapsed against a tree, my chest heaving painfully. My ankle throbbed, and my ribs were bruised. It hurt to take a deep breath. It wasn’t long before I struggled to my feet, feeling the need to keep moving. As long as I was in the vicinity of that place, I couldn’t feel at ease. I limped through the woods as far as I could, and I soon came across an abandoned cabin. It wasn’t nearly dark yet, but as badly as I wanted to keep moving, I decided to stop here for the night. The dark clouds hovered in the sky menacingly.
The cabin was sorely abandoned on the inside as well as the out, everything covered in a layer of dust. As I flopped onto the couch, a cloud of dust erupted from it, sending me into a coughing fit that made my ribs pulsate. I groaned, pulling some packaged foods out of my bag that I had managed to snag from them before making a run for it. I ate only part of it, knowing I'd have to ration my supplies.
As I settled down on the couch-after checking the entire place and blocking off any entryways with furniture-I heard the pattern patter of rain on the roof. Before, it would have been a calming, welcomed sound. Now, it only served to further agitate me. My eyes cracked open, suddenly aware that the place was broken down enough to have leaks in the roof. I watched, and sure enough, plump drops fell to the floor from the ceiling across the room from me. I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head and passing out in exhaustion.
The next day, and the day after, and the day after, I wandered through the woods with no destination in particular. I had no idea where I was. Already having been starved and mistreated in the facility, it didn't take long for my condition to worsen, and soon I was barely staggering through the brush, zombie-like. I was barely aware of my surroundings, barely aware of the gnawing pain in my gut, and barely aware of the progressive cold that plagued me until I was shivering constantly.
I broke down against a tree as a violent coughing fit overtook me, causing me to fall to my knees, hunched over defensively. As I straightened up, I heard voices, and feet crunching through the dry leaves. I stiffened, stumbling to my feet as quietly as I could. I gripped the knife at my hip.
Two men in hazmat suits appeared at the edge of my vision. I ripped myself away from the one that had grabbed my arm, shoving the other away from me and stabbing him in the arm before I took off running again, as fast as I could. I heard heavy footsteps chase after me; they were fast and unwavering, even after my own pace faltered not long into the chase as I weakened quickly. My feet began to drag as my pace slowed dramatically, and my foot caught on a root. I pitched forward, unable to stop my head from slamming into something solid. I blacked out instantly.
The men stood above me, peering at me through their hazmat shields. I shrank back, scrambling away from them until my back hit a tree. My head pounded and my vision was splotchy. I shook uncontrollably.
Their heads jerked up simultaneously when more people came running through the brush towards us. I attempted to struggle to my feet while they were distracted, but one of them immediately turned around and knocked me back with a sharp kick to the ribs. I choked out a cry, falling onto my side with a pathetic wheeze. The ground dug into my frail shoulder blades painfully.
"Let them up." A female voice called out.
