Blue Moon

Chapter 12

Arlo looked over at Alona as he held a finger to his lips. She rolled her eyes as if she didn't know to be quiet.  

He pointed into the cave, motioning her away from the entrance. She began scooting away from him and the opening. He was crouching at the entrance when Alona began to hear the voices. They were close, too close.

Arlo backed up to where Alona was hiding. He turned around and searched the dark cave.

He found what he was looking for, a harder place to find, and pointed at the small opening high up on the wall. Alona looked at the hole, she could barely make it out in the darkness. They would have to squeeze in there. She looked back at Arlo and shook her head.

She mouthed the word claustrophobic to him. He didn't buy it. He pointed at the hole again, this time it wasn't a request. She sighed, giving in. She snuck over to the ledge and climbed the ledge. She crawled inside, sliding all the way to the back.

Arlo jumped up behind her and crawled in. It was completely pitch black in the tiny hole.

The voices grew louder. Arlo tensed and threw his arm in front of Alona as if she was about to run after the people out there. Alona heard men climbing up the wall and into the cave.

"I swear, I saw someone climb up in here." A man said whispering.

"Horse shit Reg. You ain't seen nothing." Another man said, "You just drank too much, you old piece of shit." The men laughed.

"Boys I been in here before. This is where I shagged Lyra." A different man spoke this time. She heard someone laugh then spit.

"Ain't a chance in hell she came 'ere wit' you boy." She heard an older man say and someone chuckle.

"Man I'm tellin' ya! I ain't gotta prove nothin' to y'all." She heard more laughter then glass exploded against the wall, right below where they hid. She flinched. She heard the men laughing.

Another bottle exploded against the wall. This time glass made it into the hole. Arlo's arm wrapped around Alona, shielding her from the glass.

The men laughed and cheered even louder.

"Damn drunks." Arlo whispered. 

Another bottle exploded against the rock, this time it hit right above the hole. Alona jerked as the glass showered them, little pieces of glass pricked her hands as they landed on her. There were more cheers and laughter.

"Aye. Y'all better get out here." Someone outside the cave yelled. "They found footprints headed west!"

They heard the men leaving the cave. Glass shattered and people spit, Alona even thought she heard someone peeing.

Arlo lifted his arm off of Alona and peered out of the hole.

He leaned back into the hole and rested his head against the wall.

She could hear the men outside the cave still talking.

"Well?" Alona whispered. "What're we going to do?"

"Wait them out." Arlo answered.

Arlo shifted his body into a comfortable position.

Alona hated being in the tiny space, she couldn't tell if it was better that she couldn't see anything or not. She could feel how tight it was. Arlo was pressed against her left side and rocks were on her right. She tried to squirm away but couldn't get far. A rock was stabbing into her right thigh.

"Stop moving." Arlo grumbled.

Alona stopped moving, then moved into a slightly more comfortable position.

Alona stared into the darkness. She couldn't hear the men anymore.

She wondered who they were looking for. She wondered who the men were. It scared her knowing they had been so close to finding them. 

"I can literally hear your heartbeat." Arlo whispered. "They're leaving. Relax." His voice was deeper than usual, she figured he was tired.

Alona took a deep breath and laid her head on her arm.

Eventually, Arlo fell back asleep and began softly snoring.

She was so uncomfortable. How in the world was she supposed to sleep?

She laid in the darkness as Arlo slept, listening for any signs of the men returning.

Her mind was so busy, she didn't know if she could sleep even if she were comfortable. She thought about how weird her life had become. It had been days since she had been sent through time, but it felt as though it had been weeks, or months even. She suddenly remembered she had an English project due next week. She thought of her half-finished PowerPoint on 'The Great Women of Literature'.

She shook her head. She'd much rather be researching Lisbeth Salander and Jane Eyre than stuck in dark cave surrounded by men that wanted to kill her.

She adjusted her head, trying to get comfortable. Her leg was falling asleep. She turned it trying to wake it up. 

She sighed, feeling frustrated. She had had enough.

She slowly crawled to the edge of the hole, over broken glass, and peered out. In the darkness she couldn't see anyone, nor hear them. She listened to Arlo's breathing for a moment, making sure he was sleeping. 

She smirked as she crawled out of the hole. Once on the ledge she turned herself around and dropped to the cave floor. 

She waited on the floor to see if anyone had heard her. She decided it was safe then to the cave opening. She peeked out of the cave looking for the men; in the distance, she could see the glow of their fire coming from behind a large boulder.

She looked around the cave, she was definitely not climbing back into that hole with Arlo. There was a pile of rocks on the opposite side of the cave. She decided she would hide there. 

She crept across the cave, making sure not to knock any stalagmites over. She felt around the small area, making sure no one had left a broken bottle behind the rocks. 

She laid down, not finding any broken glass. It was much more comfortable than the small hole. She curled up into a ball, finally feeling tired, and slowly fell asleep.

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Sawyer :)