Against the Unknown

Chapter 9

~Seb's POV~

"Come on Cadi, we need to go find Kate," I say, trying to get us away from our lifeless friend. She nods and wipes away her tears with her sleeve. Before she gets up, however, she takes Evan's pole from his cold hand. As his hand falls to the ground, Cadi bursts into tears. I walk up to her and hug her. I know I need to help her right now and I think this is the best way to do it. Once she has stopped crying we make our way down to the bottom of the tunnel. Although, when we get there, we are met by an unexpected scene. The beast is lying dead, on top of the remaining eggs. The other eggs must have been destroyed during the fight. "Well there's our job done!" I say, pointing at the eggs.
"Yeah, but where's Kate?" Cadi asks.
"Shit, yeah! Let's start looking," I suggest. I examine the dead body sprawling across the room. I notice several arrows embedded in the beast's stomach, back and legs. But that can't be what killed it! I look at the head and find many arrows going way down into the monster's skull. Well I guess I know how she did it. Suddenly, I hear a moan. Looking down, I see Kate's head and shoulders sticking out from underneath the beast's massive head. "Cadi, I found her!" I announce. She rushes over. "Help me lift its head!"
"Don't bother guys," Kate says, coughing up blood, "I don't have long left anyway!" we don't listen to her. Together, we manage to lift the giant reptile's head and drag Kate out. We then sit her against a wall.
"What happened?" asks Cadi.
"When I finally took it down, I fell off of it's head and it toppled over on top of me," she explains, "Nailed it!" she says with a laugh. The laugh soon ends after, however, as she coughs up blood again.
"Kate we have to get you out!" I exclaim.
"No, don't. It'll only make it worse and kill me quicker," she explains. "Can you promise me two things before I die?"
"Anything!" Cadi and I say in unison.
"Tell Anna I love her... I always have. And make sure I'm buried next to everyone else who's died here,"
"We promise Kate," I say, holding her hand tight.
"Thank you," she looks up at us both and smiles, then puts her head back against the wall. After two minutes of silence, she goes still and stops breathing. I've lost two friends in one day. No one should have to experience that. No one! Once again, Cadi bursts into tears. I put my arm around her and she rests her head on my shoulder. A single tear drips onto my lap.

~Anna's POV~

As I slump down the wall and sit against it, all I can hear are the depressed cries of my friends. Elle and Cerys are gone. They died hand in hand. They couldn't handle the wave of lizards that they were dealing with so they gave up, grabbed each other's hand and dropped to the floor, letting the lizards take them. They weren't eaten, off course. We made sure to prevent that. We killed the lizards before they could get that far. They do, however, have several large chunks of flesh missing from their bodies. I failed. I let people die. I look over at the two cold, lifeless bodies in the corner of the room, then bury my face in my hands, wanting to shut myself out from the rest of the world. I hear footsteps and look up to see Alesha standing over me. "It's not your fault, Anna!" she assures me. I smile weakly at her.
"Thanks but I feel differently,"
"Well try not to," she says before walking off again. As I watch her walk off, I spot Cadi and Seb in the corner of my eye emerging from the tunnel. I stand up and advance towards them. But then I notice that they're both carrying something each. Bodies.
"Who the fuck are they!?" I ask. They look at me sadly and lay me down in front of me. Firstly, I see Evan. What? No. No Evan can't have died. This isn't happening. But the shock just gets worse from there. I look at the other body. Kate... my bestfriend... dead... I collapse onto my knees in between the bodies and hear the others gathering around me, gasping. Cadi bursts into tears and runs into Alesha's arms. Millie and Ellie embrace and Seb and Jacob pat each other's shoulders. Then there's me. Holding onto Kate's motionless body for dear life. "Anna," Cadi says. I look up at her, tears forming in my eyes. "Kate asked for two things before she died," she tells me.
"And what were they?" I ask.
"She asked for us to tell you that she's always loved you. And for her to be buried next to all of the people who died here. So that's just Evan, right?" I look up at her and my chin begins to shake. I nod towards Elle and Cerys and then go back to my grieving. I hear Cadi gasp. "Then her, Evan, Elle and Cerys will be buried next to each other,"
"And we need something for Scott!" exclaims Millie. Everyone agrees. But, honestly, all I care about right now is my best friend. Kate.