Chapter 10
"Come on, follow me," Will said from far ahead. "I have a surprise for you."
Really? I said to myself in my head. Don't get me wrong, we had been walking for 5 hours because Mister Leader didn't want us to take the car. It seems that on foot we have less chance of being spotted. It was probably true, but my feet were protesting painfully. Especially since he was taking us through some pretty tough spots.
"Is it still far?" Max asked.
"No, no," he reassured him. "We'll be there in about thirty minutes."
"This is a joke," Rachel whispered to me. "I can't take it anymore and we'll have to walk back the same way."
"Yeah, but we'll have a break, time to recover, I hope," I answered.
"Yes, me too," agreed Laura. "If not Chloe, you will need to use your charms to convince him."
"Hilarious Laura," I retorted." Just to annoy you, I wouldn't do it."
"Don't forget that I do most of your training," replied the young woman.
"Okay, you win, I'll go see him when he finally stops."
"Hopefully not in an hour," Rachel sighed.
We kept walking for a good half hour, just as Will had predicted when he finally called out that we had arrived. I was hurrying to finish the last few meters when suddenly I was blown away. The view was simply magnificent. And it was well worth all the trouble this walk had taken.
"Wow," Liam said beside me. "It's sublime!"
And I totally agreed with him. We had reached the top of the mountain and we could see absolutely all of the forest below us, as well as beyond, where a huge lake cut out of the green expanse. This landscape was just incredible, with a mixture of green, blue and white, as the snow had settled on the trees. I couldn't take my eyes off this wonder.
Then I felt arms around my waist. Knowing it was Will, I rested against his chest, enjoying the moment we shared together. We stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying the moment.
"I have another surprise for you," he whispered in my ear.
"You do? Why?" I asked.
"For our one week," he said.
"What?"
"No," he laughed. "I just wanted to give you something. When I found this, I thought of you, so here it is."
Then he took a necklace out of his pocket. It was a simple gold piece of jewelry with a beautiful stone, a breathtakingly beautiful sapphire. Then he helped me put it on.
"It's beautiful. But where did you get it?"
"When I went to make a supply run," he replied. "I was afraid you wouldn't like it, that it would be too... I don't know, just too much."
"As long as you don't offer me one every day, I'm fine with it," I laughed. "Wait, but did I take the words out of your pretty mouth?"
"What? Nonsense!"
"Yeah, right. Don't worry, I love it," I said in a serious tone before kissing him.
And he answered my kiss in a fiery way, as if he needed it, as if his life depended on it. It worried me at the time, but I sank deeply into the embrace. Because after all, I needed it as much as he did, in this life where we cling to the present and to the people who are with us, before it all disappears and leaves us alone in a war that seems endless.
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