“I just want to get to Zavy and Toby and get as far away from Paylon as we can.” I turn around and Alexander tightens his arms around my waist, trying to give me some comfort. “And it’s also the paranoia that I may do something to lose you again.”
He’s quiet now and I glance over my shoulder. His eyes look hurt and he chokes out, “I don’t want you second-guessing yourself, Adaline. You won’t lose me, we’re in this together.”
“I’m not the girl you remember as a kid,” I whisper and turn back around.
I sink further into his chest and he says, “I know, and I’d choose who you are today over her anyway.”
I gaze at the stars through the canopy of leaves and flowers and ask, “Do you regret helping me escape?”
“No, no of course I don’t. I was planning my own escape from that horrid castle,” he says between a deep yawn. We are quiet for a minute and I can’t help but wonder if he doesn’t regret it because he may actually still have feelings for me. Could there still be a chance those feelings could be there? I don’t know if I want that, I know I don’t need that right now. If it’s true though that would mean he’s really forgiven me for keeping him in the dark about my gift.
“I also just feel protective over you, that’s all. You’re my responsibility as my friend,” he says, letting his voice destroy the hope I had that he really did still have feelings for me. He lets his eyes fall shut and slows his breathing down. It wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but it’s better than having him hate me. Maybe he isn’t the right person for me either. I match my breathing to his rising and falling chest, and I fall asleep to the beating of his heart in sync with mine.
Waking up to Alexander gently breathing behind me sends a warm and comforting sensation down my skin. I think to myself that this wouldn’t be such a bad way to wake up every day. Slowly I let my eyes fall open and I’m blinded by the sunlight seeping through the tree branches above. It must be nearly noon.
My chest rises and falls with Alexander’s. His arms hold me close to him as if someone might have come to try and steal me away in the middle of the night. I lay my head back on his chest and Alexander wakes up from my slightest movement.
“As much as I want to stay up here all day, we need to get to Zavy and find food,” I say, remembering how long it has been since we had last eaten.
We slowly make our way down from the tree and walk in the same direction we were traveling in last night, and Alexander was right, it is a lot easier to travel in daylight. With the sun up, the woods that surround us seem to take on a new life. We haven’t been to this section of the island before and I wonder how far Paylon carried us after they captured us. It doesn’t look like they were taking us back toward the castle because I don’t recognize any of this area. The dirt beneath our feet is dry and baked with the sun’s heat. The palms are taller here and they are scarce with fruit. The trees with flowers I had seen last night have a very dry and white bark. The muscles in my legs throb and I try to stretch them out as we go. We each pull out one packet of dried rations and eat as we walk.
“So what exactly can a Sensor do?” I ask him, bringing up his gift for the first time since he told me. “Besides open locks. I mean you already know I can basically just control anything that I see.”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure what I can do with it. All I know is that anything I touch I’m able to know all the information about it and its history. Like, for example,” he starts as he takes his water bottle from his bag,” I can tell you that this water bottle has been carried by ten other soldiers, it was produced three years ago, and currently holds exactly 8.3oz of water.”
“That’s incredible!” I say at all the knowledge Alexander can simply generate by coming in contact with an object.
“I don’t know,” he says. “It all seems kind of pointless if you ask me. Like, what am I supposed to use that for? At least your gift can help you in combat. Lucky for me, I’ve had some training or I’m sure I’d already be dead.”
“I just feel like these gifts hold more meaning to their use if we only knew how to use them,” I say. “Like the fact that I can use mine for fighting isn’t its only purpose, because I can also teleport items and people.”
“Yeah, I get what you’re saying,” Alexander says and we fall back into our quiet manner as we continue walking through the trees of the forest.
“What happens when you touch people? Do you just instantly know their life story?” I ask Alexander curiously.
“No it only works on objects,” Alexander says shortly.
“I mean, yeah that makes sense or else you would have known about my gift a long time ago,” I say more to myself than him. Again silence settles between us and we continue to walk and finish off our rations.
“Well, maybe it works on people, and I just can’t do it yet,” Alexander says and he
