Group Z

Chapter 26

I open my eyes to the same sight I fell asleep to. The only difference is that there is no one in the cave with me and the rock door is wide open. The breeze seems to rush out and dig hooks into me, pulling me towards the cave door. I stand up and walk over to the cavernous space, hoping to find everyone as there's nowhere else they could have gone. I jump over the ledge, but something seems to snag my shirt and I stumble one foot dangling in the water. I pull myself up and keep walking to the door.

'Zi.' I hear from my left, I look to where the voice is coming from and see a purple and blue fish sticking its head out of the water.

As I look its mouth opens again and it says in a voice sounding like Sapphire, 'Zi.'

I keep walking and it swims alongside me popping through the hole in the wall popping out in the other side.

'Come on, hurry up!' It calls.

'I'm coming.' I mumble.

I slip through the cave opening seeing the fish's light shining on the wall. Other colours join it swirling together, an orange fish, a red fish and a small, yellow fish.

I keep walking and they swim alongside me, 'Zi, Zi, Zi.'

A deluge of voices surround me sounding like Sapphire, Lizzie and Damon. Their voices call me to the water and I step into the knee-deep stream between the two pathways. I stumble to my knees and water splashes up drenching me. I stand up and move to walk forward again but I'm slammed to a stop by an invisible wall, unable to move any further. I feel a sting across my face as if someone's slapped me and fall to my knees covering my ears as the voices swirl around me.

I open my eyes to someone gripping my shoulders tightly and shaking me back and forth. I blink in the darkness trying to work out where I am. Lizzie is crouching in front of me and I feel a numbing sting that tells me that I've been slapped across the face. Someone's also grabbing me around my arms from behind and craning my head I see Sapphire standing above me.

'Saph?' I say tentatively. 'What's wrong?'

She drops to her knees and wraps her arms around me in a hug. 'You were sleep walking, we couldn't wake you up!'

'I'm ok.' I tell her, still slightly dazed and confused. 'So everything in my dream happened?'

'Well it must have. You were muttering stuff. It's like, your eyes were closed but you could see where you were going.' Damon says stepping into my view Benny huddled at his side.

'You kind of need to get this sleepwalking thing under control Zi.' Lizzie says patting my shoulder.

'Wait, what? Under control?' I ask, unsure at how Lizzie makes it sound as though it's something I do often not just every now and again. She waves me away with her hand, so I move on.

'How long were we asleep for?' I ask instead.

'Not long enough.' Damon says rubbing his face and stifling a yawn.

He sets off, his arm around Benny's shoulders back in the direction of the chamber. Lizzie pulls me and Sapphire to our feet and I'm guided with Sapphire on my arm and Lizzie's hand on my back to the chamber. I hadn't walked far into the tunnel and it only takes us a minute to walk out. Lizzie pushes the door to almost closed again.

We lie down again, and this time I'm right against the cavern wall. Sapphire again puts her arm over me, gripping me tightly and Lizzie lies between us and the door. I turn my back on the door this time facing the wall. I feel a little dazed from having been woken up so abruptly and as soon as I shut my eyes, I fall asleep. This time there aren't any dreams.