Part 6
I woke up early the next morning, still holding Liv. My arms were stiff and numb from lying like that. I decided to check on Nate. Being careful not to wake up Liv, I slid my arms from around her and stood up. I quietly left the shelter and walked over to his. It had finally stopped raining, but it was still wet and foggy.
Nate had his eyes closed but opened them as I walked in. I smiled and said, "Morning. You look like hell."
"You should see yourself," he smiled and laughed, coughing up more blood.
"How you doing, bud?" I asked sitting next to him.
His expression turned serious. "Pretty bad. I can't feel my leg," he motioned to the tourniquet. "I'm coughing up blood. My ribs are killing me. I've been better." He leaned in and whispered, "I don't think I'm gonna make it, tell-"
"Whoa, back up Nate. You're gonna make it. I promise. Don't you dare fucking die on me."
"Listen to me. I'm serious. Tell my parents I tried to make them proud. I love them."
"No. You're gonna tell them yourself. I'm telling you. We will make it. Two bodies on my conscience are bad enough. I don't need someone I actually care about joining them."
"Don't be stupid, Matt. Look at me. If that lunatic shows up, no, when he shows up, I'm fucked. I can't run. Or even walk. The rest of you get the fuck out. I'll hold him back, keep him occupied, and you get out. Let's be realistic here. I'm next. You and me have done shit like this all the time and come out of it in one piece. It's no big deal. I just didn't make it out this time, that's all."
"NO BIG DEAL?! He'll probably rip your guts out and eat them! I'll say this once. We go together or we don't fucking go!"
He was getting annoyed now. "You don't always have to play the fucking hero, you know. Do you have any sense of self preservation?"
"Excuse me, jackass, I saved your ass back there! Self preservation, my ass! I could've left you there to die! I care about my friends."
Nate started to reply, but Cody walked in to check on him too. Nate groaned and coughed up more blood. Cody sat down and loosened the tourniquet a little. "Feeling better?" he asked.
"Does it look like it?" Nate asked.
Cody shook his head. "It looks like you took on Rambo and lost. Badly."
Nate snorted and started coughing up yet more blood. "That damn log felt like a train. I wish I'd seen it coming."
"It was pouring rain. There was no way you could've seen it." Cody looked at him with pity. "Anyway, I'm going out to try building a fire. Coming?" he asked me.
"I'll be out in a minute," I said. Cody nodded and walked outside. I turned to Nate, "I'm gonna go wake up Liv. She slept like a fucking corpse last night. Ok? Shout if you need anything." I walked back to my shelter. Liv was still sound asleep. I tried to think of a creative way to wake her up, as well as get my mind off Nate's injuries, and finally got one. I knelt down and gently rubbed her clit through her pants. She moaned instantly and started grinding her crotch into my hand. I stopped as she finally opened her eyes with a smile. "Good morning, sexy," I said. "You were tired. I've been up checking on Nate."