Hunted || Wesari

Chapter Seventeen: Fuck

(A/N: this chapter is quite *ahem* mature. You have been warned. If you're skipping, read the last sentence. It's important to the plot.)

Mari had been there for at least a month

Neither of them had brought up that conversation; the one where they'd talked about their pasts. They acted like it had never happened. Wes couldn't be more grateful for that. Whenever he thought about it, his cheeks burned.

He'd learned a lot about the purple-haired girl, though not from her words. Mari always spoke with so much sarcasm and humor that it was hard to believe anything she was saying. But her actions; those were an entirely different story.

She'd help out. A lot. Whenever she saw that he was having trouble with something, she'd offer a helping hand, though Wes usually turned her down. He was used to working independently, and it seemed that she preferred to work that way, too, as she never asked for his help on any of her personal tasks. Not that it mattered; Wes was usually asleep when she performed them.

But what told him the most about her, however, was when he caught her kneeling next to Courtney and Olivia's grave, weeping. Well, he hadn't caught her, to say. He'd seen her, through the front window. After he saw that, he solved the mystery of who had been leaving wildflowers. like dandelions, in front of the tombstone.

That was when Wes started to trust her. When he let go of any worries that she was going to betray him, was going to hand him over to Ian. He was glad he did. It was a lot easier to spend time with her, talk to her, without having to worry that she was going to stab him in the back.

And while he'd never completely forgive her for killing Courtney and Olivia, he didn't hate her anymore for it. He didn't hate her at all, in fact. She'd talked a lot about Ian; how he was a terrifying ruler, who killed whoever disobeyed or angered him. He could understand why she'd been so eager to kidnap him; the consequences for failing would be dire, so dire that she hadn't considered the possibility of running away, of never going back, until Wes tied her up and gave her time to think. The thought made Wes happy, in a way; he'd freed her.

They were sitting at the dinner table, eating the classic; fish. Thankfully, Mari had found some sort of herb in the forest, and had ground it into a spice. She'd also crushed up some berries and added it to the water she'd cooked the fish in. Tonight, the meal was more than edible; it was delightful.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Wes' mind. In the chaos of everything, he hadn't thought about Matthew or Monica, or anyone else at camp. What had happened to them?

"Mari?" He asked, causing the woman to freeze with her fork inches away from her mouth. If anyone could tell him, it was her. "What happened to the people at my camp?"

Mari slowly put down her fork. "Do you really want to know?"

Wes nodded. 

Mari let out a sigh. "Wes, I've told you how Ian's temper gets. When you escaped, he was so mad... you know what happened to Joven. That was just the beginning.

"He sent Noah, Shayne, and Damien to your camp. Noah could barely hurt a fly, but Shayne and Damien... they were killing machines. The trauma those two suffered in the past had turned them into psychopaths. And Ian... well, Ian gave them permission to do whatever they wanted to the inhabitants of your camp, as long as they didn't do anything to the outer walls."

She looked Wes in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Wes. I'm so, so sorry."

Wes was silent for a long time, as he took in her words. Matthew, Monica, Anthony, Sarah, and so many more... all dead. Because of him. Just more names to add to the ever-growing list.