The Serum

F I F T E E N.

I'm frozen to the ground. I can't move, can't talk, nothing. All I see are memories of Sam and I, flashing wildly through my mind. 

Finally, I reach out a hand, hovering above his dirty face. His eyes brim with tears as my breath catches in my throat. It's him; it's my Sam, standing right in front of me. He protected me from the others. He still remembers. 

"I can't believe it's you," I breathe to him, willing him to say the same. But Creepers don't talk in English, so instead he hums. Tears continue to fall endlessly, a mixture of relief, shock, and disbelief. And joy. 

I open my mouth to say something else when Oliver yells to me. He hoists me up and holds me behind him, breathing hard. It's the only time I've ever seen him riled up. Lucas and Aria watch from a distance, clutching each other. 

"Oliver, no!" Oliver raises the gun and fires, but Sam dives to the floor. I catch his gaze and hopefully translate that I won't let Oliver hurt him. I wrestle my way in front of him and grab the wrist of the hand that has the gun. Oliver looks down at me, eyes widening.

"Don't," I warn in a low voice.

"He was about to hurt you, Lizzy," Oliver replies in a low voice. I shake my head determinedly, refusing to budge. 

"I know him. It's Sam," I whisper his name, choking on the word. My mind still can't come to the fact that Sam's here, right now. 

Oliver studies me, but keeps the gun up. I can hear Sam edging away.

"Are you sure?" He asks slowly.

I nod, squeezing his wrist.

"I'd know those eyes anywhere. It's him. He was protecting me from the others, Oliver. Please, lower the gun." 

"He's still a Creeper, Lizzy, whether he remembers you or not."

"Creeper or not, the others were about to eat me and he stopped them. Please, put the gun away."

With a sigh, he stuffs the gun into his pack. Keeping a steady eye on Sam, who's clambered to his feet, he brings Aria and Lucas over to where I am. Aria breathes quickly, never looking away from Sam. Sam looks at me, ducking his chin, before running away.

"We shouldn't kill anymore Creepers." I say finally, staring into the fire. Lucas, out of surprise at my words, drops his stick and his sausage into the fire. He glares at me, huffing.

"Great, there goes my dinner." 

Noiselessly, I toss him mine. I don't think I can stomach food at all. Oliver jostles me gently with his broad shoulder, smiling softly. He understands how I feel; Aria and Lucas wouldn't, considering they haven't lost anyone. 

"You're joking, right?" Aria says slowly, around mouthfuls of food.

I shake my head.

"Are you nuts? We'll die if we don't! Since when have you began to sympathize with Creepers?"

"When one saved me, earlier today." I tell them quietly. Aria and Lucas stare open-mouthed at me and I don't look at them. One, because I can't, and two, Lucas still has chewed up sausage in his mouth. That alone will make me want to vomit. 

"Was it the one that Oliver almost shot?" Lucas asks, muffled.

"It was. I-I know him." I force the words out. I'm not going to tell either of them about Sam; I don't trust them as much as I do Oliver.

"But if we don't, how will we escape? Who knows how many of them are out there? Do you expect us to sacrifice ourselves for people we don't know?" Lucas demands.

"Even if we don't know them, others would. They used to be people; people who had families, who were loved." The last word tastes like acid in my mouth. "I don't want to kill them anymore." I say, more firmly this time.

Aria looks down at her shoes, her blond hair falling forward.

"I understand, Lizzy, but some things can't be helped." Heavily, she raises her eyes to meet mine. "These people have no hope. There are no cures to transform them back to who they were, and no one would try. No one would accept them after that. Even if we did, their lives wouldn't be as they were before. It's useless."

The four of us stare grimly at the fire, crackling and hissing. Immediately, my mind backtracks to the cave paintings I saw in the canyon, the way the arrow had been facing the wrong direction. Aria's words just confirm my confusion. 

After a few moments of grave silence, Oliver gets up and stretches.

"Well, I'm going to hit the sack." He says, overly bright. To compensate for the serious discussion we just had. "Who else is coming?" 

Aria and Lucas volunteer and eagerly run off to their own tents. Oliver shimmies inside but pops his head out. Worry pleats his brows.

"You're not sleeping?"

"In a bit," I give him a wobbly smile. "Goodnight."

He purses his lips but retreats inside. I can hear him shuffling around then finally, blissful silence. Tonight, I'm not as afraid as I was the night of the bear attack. We've been out here for weeks and the forest is actually kinda growing on me. I toss some dirt and stones on the fire, watching the last of its embers die out. I look up, leaning back against a mossy log. The stars wink down at me, brighter than ever. 

Dad always told me that stars can't shine without darkness. 

He's right, as always. Here, in the complete blackness, they seem brighter than ever.