Stand Together In Life And Death

Kira had been sitting on the floor in a daze for hours. All of a sudden, she felt two strong fingers pinch her chin and tilt her head back. She opened her mouth to protest but only felt water being poured down her throat. She choked and sputtered. Gideon stood back, waited for her to catch her breath before shoving a handful of berries in front of her. ‘Eat.’ He’d picked them from a shrub nearby, washed them, tried out a few himself to make sure they weren’t poisonous. Kira wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glared up at Gideon. ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ Gideon said breezily. ‘Unless you want to die of dehydration.’ Kira pushed his hand away. The dewy berries scattered and rolled around on the floor. Kira got to her feet. ‘Where are you going?’ Gideon grabbed her wrist. ‘Let me go!’ ‘Not until you tell me what you want to do.’ ‘I have to go find him!’ ‘Are you crazy?’ Gideon maintained his hold on her hand. ‘Ryan!’ Kira shouted. ‘Get him away from me!’ Ryan stepped up bu