Love Unspoken

Abigail knew she'd been spotted, so she stopped hiding and hurried over to Landon.

Landon tossed her a few fruits. She managed to catch two, but the rest hit the ground. She bent down to pick them up.

"What kind of fruit is this? Are we gonna get poisoned if we eat it?" she asked.

Landon shrugged. "Only one way to find out." He grabbed a fruit, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a bite.

Abigail tried to stop him, but it was too late.

After a bit, when Landon seemed fine, she grabbed a fruit, wiped it on her sleeve, and took a bite too.

The taste was pretty awful-dry and kinda bitter. She had no clue what it was, but it was better than starving and, hey, it wasn't poisonous.

After munching on a few fruits, Abigail finally felt a bit better.

"So, where are we headed now?" she asked.

Landon shrugged again. "No idea." Abigail rolled her eyes. Typical Landon.

Since their pursuers hadn't caught up, they could chill for a bit. Abigail wasn't as freaked out anymore.

They didn't go far, just hung around looking for more food. They planned to move again once it got dark.

Moving during the day was too risky; getting caught would be a nightmare.

Abigail found a clean-ish spot, sat down, and leaned against a tree. "I'm gonna take a nap. I'm beat." "Go for it," Landon said.

She closed her eyes, already half-asleep. "Don't leavebehind," she mumbled.

She sounded like a real partner in crnow.

By the tLandon thought of something to say, she was already out cold.

He sat down next to her. When he glanced over, he noticed the little rabbit he'd made sticking out of her pocket.

He reached over, took the rabbit, and gently rubbed its grass tail.

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Abigail had leaned over, her head resting on him.

Landon turned slightly. From this close, he could see every detail of her face.

He stared for a while. When he snapped out of it, his fingers were almost touching her cheek, and he quickly pulled back. Tflew by, and before he knew it, it was dark.

Abigail woke up on her own. She rubbed her eyes, remembered she was still on the run, and looked around.

"Landon!" she called out.

"Yeah," he replied from beside her.

She sighed in relief. "I thought you'd left." "They haven't found us yet," he said.

"So, if they do, you'll leave?" she asked.

"Yeah." "You!" Abigail huffed, feeling a surge of anger. She instinctively reached into her pocket and felt the rabbit.

"Should we keep moving?" she asked.

"Let's go," Landon said, standing up.

Abigail tried to follow, but her legs were numb. She yelped and started to fall.

Landon caught her, and she caught a whiff of grass from him.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"Just givea sec. My legs are numb," she said.

Landon let go, and after about ten minutes, she said, "Okay, let's keep moving." Landon led the way, and Abigail, struggling to see, grabbed his hand. Worried he might shake her off, she quickly said, "I'm just scared you'll ditchand I'll get bitten by a snake or something." Landon replied, "Doesn't seem like there are any snakes around here." Abigail shot back, "Just 'cause we haven't seen any doesn't mean they're not here. They could be hiding in that tree over there." Landon didn't argue. She had a point, and they needed to save their energy, so he let it go. They moved slowly, almost like they were taking a leisurely stroll.

It wasn't by choice; they were both dead tired and could only manage that pace.

Even at this snail's pace, Abigail was out of breath. Her wound throbbed with every step, but she pushed through the pain.

She couldn't help but think, 'At this rate, we might just drop dead from exhaustion or get bitten by spoisonous bug before anyone finds us. We'll die together in this jungle.' After another night of walking, they stopped.

The grass and trees were much sparser here. Yesterday, they could see in the forest around nine, but today it was already bright by eight.

"Are we almost out?" Abigail asked.

"No," Landon replied.

Abigail looked confused. "The trees are so sparse here. Aren't we near the exit?" Landon explained, "It's just a different direction. Do you see any signs of an exit?" Abigail looked around and saw he was right. No paths or buildings, just endless jungle.

Landon let go of her hand and pulled out a fruit from his pocket, one he had picked yesterday.

"You actually saved sfood," Abigail said, taking it without hesitation and biting into it. It tasted better than yesterday, probably because she was starving.

Landon looked at her. Despite the dirt on her face, he could see how pale she was.

"You don't look so good. What's wrong?" he asked.

Abigail was startled. Her expression turned uneasy, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes. She turned away and took another bite of the fruit. "I'm just tired. Aren't you exhausted from all this running?" Landon stared at her for a long moment but said nothing.

Abigail finished the fruit and sat down to rest. She touched her wound through her clothes. The injury from before hadn't fully healed, and the scar hadn't even fallen off. With all this intense activity, she felt dizzy.

"I'm sleepy. I need a nap," she said, leaning against a tree trunk and falling asleep instantly This timen Landon didn't stay with her. He scouted the area to make sure it was safe before coming back. Abigail slept until it was almost dark, waking up earlier than the day before. She rubbed her stomach and said hoarsely, "Landon, I'm hungry." Landon handed her another fruit. The forest was dim, but she could tell it was different from yesterday's.

"How do you always find these weird fruits?" Abigail asked, eyes wide.

"I've already tested it. It's not poisonous," Landon said.

Hearing this, Abigail felt a strange sense of frustration. "Do you always eat wild stuff so casually?" "Do you want it or not?" Landon asked.

Abigail took the fruit sullenly and bit into it. This one was better than yesterday's, at least it was sweet and tasted a bit like a crunchy persimmon.