Falling --COMPLETED

Chapter 28

 

"Please! Can't we wait another day?"



Len shook his head adamantly while his eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Fixer. We've already waited an extra two because of your begging."



"But-"



"We're running low on supplies…"



"Len, please!" She tugged his sleeve harder than she intended pulling him off balance.



"Stop it!" He jerked away. "You know better than me what the deal is!"



Turning, Sarah cast her eyes to the horizon where the earth gave birth to the mutated sun. "He'll be here. I know it!"



"Look," Len laid a hand on her shoulder from behind. "I know, but we don't have enough water to stay another day. We barely have enough if we leave now."



"I won't drink any. I swear," she whispered.



He squeezed her shoulder. "I can't let you do that. You're too valuable."



"You can't make me drink."



"Wanna bet?"



She caught the sarcastic tone and met his gaze, which again, was far more compassionate than the Len she used to know. He's grown-up overnight. Yeah, well, tragedy tends to do that to a person. She looked past Len to her brother who lay a few feet beyond. Grace had arranged for a litter to be fashioned and it sat next to him, ready to be used. He hadn't improved, nor had he worsened. Toby seemed to linger in a half-life of fevered consciousness. At least she'd been able to coax water and some broth into him, so dehydration was staved off for now.



Body slumping, she sighed. "No, not really. Besides, you've got the numbers on your side."



"Yep." He grinned, then slipped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Wow, I guess we've both changed, huh?"



Sarah jabbed him lightly in his side; Len yelped and loosened his embrace. "Watch it. Just because I'm letting you hug me doesn't mean I've gone soft."



"Okay, okay…" Hands held up, Len watched her for a moment, then laughed and dropped his hands.



Eventually she smiled. "Sorry, I'm just…"



"Yeah." He nodded. After a moment, he added, "We leave in twenty minutes."



Her eyes returned to the horizon.



"Sorry, Fixer."



She didn't answer and soon his presence faded from her side. Arms crossed, Sarah glared at the sunrise as if it were purposefully keeping Jareth away.



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"No!" Jareth stumbled and tripped, falling to his hands and knees. Powdery dust billowed and coated his limbs. He coughed and dropped his dead. Stringy pale hair, once platinum, brushed the ground. "No…" he said again, softer, and fell to his side and stared at the burning noonday sun. "Sarah."



Remains of a camp littered the area—old fire pits, footprints, bits of trash, but no Sarah. Though he felt her, felt the residual trail of her strange and powerful magic. He'd been following its pull only to have missed her. By very little if the camp's condition was accurate. The wind had yet to completely obliterate the sharp outlines of the footprints. He could still find her.



Eyes closed, he groaned. What did it matter? Without water, without food, without magic he was dead and only waiting to die. A spasm wracked him, cramping his stomach, and he curled into himself. How long had he gone without magic? Days? Weeks? Even the small taste through Sarah wasn't enough to sustain him. He needed a pure source. And water.



"Bloody hell!" He dug furrows into the dirt with his fingers. So close!



As the cramps subsided, Jareth exhaled and laid on his back to stretch out his abdominal muscles. His tongue stuck to his palate and he had no saliva to unstuck it. He might as well be as stuck to the ground for all the strength left to him.



Danu, is this how I end?



'Giving up so easily, boy?'



Da? Jareth let his head sink to one side, eyes still closed against the scorching light. Dirt plowed into his face. I thought you'd gone.



'I'm never truly gone.'



I'm glad you're here, Da, but I'm not giving up I just… I can't go on. Too weak.



'That's not the Jareth I know.'



Jareth chuckled. Many things have changed.



'So that's it? You'll lie there and die?'



What would you have me do? Crawl another dozen feet to die there instead?



'Perhaps.'



Da? Jareth opened his eyes and squinted. Approximately a dozen paces away sat a canteen, upright with its cap on. Forlorn, a ragged white cloth hung from its neck in the windless heat. What were the odds? Dredging energy from deepest reserves, Jareth rolled to his stomach, dug his boots into the ground and pushed. After more time than it should've taken, he grasped the canteen. The plastic was hot, but its weight indicated it was full.



Too warm water never tasted so wonderful!



Satiated, he lay on his back with the sealed canteen clutched in his hands and resting on his chest.



'Still too weak now, boy?'



Jareth sighed and sat up with a groan. No, Da.



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Sarah cradled Toby's head in her lap and dribbled more water into his open mouth. Light from the fire illuminated half of his face while the chill of the night crept at her back. She'd have to reposition soon or else suffer the cold. The blanket Len had given her wasn't quite enough. Though having Toby's body heat helped. Several others huddled around the fire, but gave her as much distance as possible. She was still Fixer, after all.



"You doing okay?" Grace asked as she sat next to her.



Sarah shrugged. "I guess."



"You look tired."



"Been a long week," Sarah said, keeping her face downcast.



"Yeah, Len told me about your friend."



"His name is Jareth."



"Right. So, um, you get dinner?"



"Uh-huh."



"So, I noticed you only refilled one canteen tonight."



"So?" Sarah dribbled more water into Toby's mouth. "It's hard to get a lot of water into him."



"Well," Grace picked up a stick and traced a random pattern in the dirt, "just wanted to be sure you both were okay."



Sarah looked up, meeting her eye to eye. "We're fine."



"Okay, then." Grace stood and tossed the stick into the fire. "Let me know if you need anything, Fixer."



Sarah feigned a smile. "Sure."



The darkness swallowed Grace as she left the circle of firelight for an adjacent fire, to rejoin Len obviously. Sarah's heart ached and she gazed into the distance. Had she done the right thing?



Toby moaned and squirmed violently, smacking her face.



"Toby!"



His eyelids fluttered, then flew open. "Jareth!"



"What? Where?" Sarah twisted in place, careful to keep a hold on her brother.



"Jareth!" Toby said again and pulled from her grasp to flop to the ground on his side.



She knelt over him while he continued to writhe and cry out Jareth's name. "Toby?" She shook him. "Wake up!" Others around the fire scooted closer and offered to help.



"Sarah, what's wrong?" Len asked as he and Grace approached.



"I don't know, he just started freaking out."



Sarah and Len hovered over Toby as he became more and more distressed. Len had to hold him down to keep him from rolling into the fire while Sarah tried to rouse him to full consciousness. Meanwhile, the others helped Len as Toby became more violent.



Grace stood behind Len. "Maybe if we, Oh my god!"



"What?" Len and Sarah both asked, then looked in the direction of Grace's pointing.



"Is that…?"



"Jareth!" Sarah sprang from Toby's side and ran to the edge of the darkness where the pale outline of Jareth lay. The farther she went from the fire the colder the night became and she was wrapped in its freezing air. How long had he been walking in this? She skidded to a halt and collapsed to her knees at his side. "Jareth!"



He was face down, one arm stretched toward their fire. His skin was icy and gray in the low light from the distant fires. In his other hand, at his side, was her canteen. He'd found it! Thank God!



"Sarah…" He moaned and rolled to his side. Their eyes met.



She grabbed his collar and pulled their mouths together. Ice touched fire.



Sarah fell upon him, covering his frozen body with hers. Slowly, his arms encircled her and leeched her body warmth. They shivered as they kissed. Jareth's fingers dug into her back, and Sarah grasped his hair, then she pulled back, her lips touching his and said, "Don't you dare die."



"Never, love" Jareth whispered between teeth chatters, "but I might need to be closer to the fire first."



Author's Note:

R Holtz- You're welcome, lol! I know the fic you're talking about. I enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. hehe.

So sorry it took me two months to update. For those of you who know me on other sites and know what's been going on, thanks for the support. For everyone else, yeah, it's been a crazy few months. Work has been very stressful. I'm a paramedic and I've been given a new partner and station. Things have been settling down a bit this month though and I've had a bit more time to write, hence this chapter which I whipped out tonight.



Also, I've been picked to be on author panels during the Houston Comicpalooza during Memorial weekend!!! And... get this. I get to not only meet Jacqueline Carey. THE Jacqueline Carey, but I'll be on the same author panel as her answering questions from the audience. HOLY CRAP! For those of you who've been reading my fanfic for awhile, you know I started publishing my original work last November. It's been a slow but steady climb as I continue to write and publish and market. I also got to meet Hugh Howey last month! And John Scalzi a few months ago. Marketing, marketing, marketing is the hardest part of being an author and I love and appreciate every one of my readers. Whether you read my fan fic, my original work or both!



And because someone asked...You can find my original work under the pen name Jacqueline Patricks on every site. If you decide to check out my original work and hopeful enjoy it, then drop me a line and say hi! Indie authors live and die by the quantity and quality of the reviews they receive. Also, I don't have any intentions of stopping fanfiction, but it'll probably be slower updating. Just hang in there and keep the comments coming. I really do read each one and they do help keep me motivated. )



Read, Enjoy and Review!



Jinx