Atlantians

Chapter 8

"Ow," Katarina complained as Anthony poured hydrogen peroxide over the gash that ran along her left forearm.

"Hold still cuz." Anthony held her arm in a tight grip as she flinched.

"I'm trying, but it hurts like a son of a gun." Katarina grimaced and reached over to fan the stinging wound. Anthony swatted her hand out of the way as he began to gently pat it dry. Anthony took his time drying it and then sprinkled some cinnamon and honey over the wound before he wrapped it up with cheese cloth.

"Cheese cloth?"

Anthony looked up at her and grinned. "Hey, when it's the only thing you got you have to make it work."

Katarina sighed and leaned back against the tire of the truck she was by. She looked down at herself and realized how dirty she was. Her clothes were covered in dust and dirt. Rip holes and tears marked her clothes where they had gotten caught on rocks. She had other scrapes, cuts, bumps, and bruises besides the one on her left arm. Ordered chaos swirled around the little bubble that she sat in with Anthony. Several of the tents had been destroyed when the ground had opened up underneath them. Half a dozen workers were being tended for bruises, cuts, and broken bones. Everyone else was busy trying to set the camp back to rights and instill order. Katarina shaded her eyes and peered up at Christiana as she stopped beside them.

"What happened?"

Katarina shook her head. "I'm not sure. All I know is that the ground collapsed underneath me. I was lucky enough to have caught myself before I fell all the way through."

"I wonder what caused it all to happen." Christiana asked as she sat down.

"I don't know Christiana." Katarina shook her head. "I don't know."

"There has to be some kind of explanation."

"Good luck finding one. If you do let me know," Katarina said a little sarcastically. "There's not a scarier feeling that having the earth drop right out from underneath you."

"Hey we found something over here!"

"Who's shouting?" Katarina asked without getting up.

Anthony turned and peered over his shoulder. "It's Jonathan. He's standing over by the fissure. The last thing we need is for him to fall in. Can you go see what he's shouting about?" Anthony asked Christiana.

"Sure. I'll be right back." Christiana climbed to her feet and disappeared out of Katarina's line of sight.

"You should court her."

Anthony looked up at her briefly before he went back to tending her other injuries. "Why do you say that?"

Katarina hit Anthony weakly on the shoulder. "You know why. She likes you and you like her. Besides, I think you two would make a great couple."

"She knows nothing about me Kat."

"So...." Katarina drew the word out before she sucked in a sharp breath of air as Anthony poured more hydrogen peroxide on her injuries. "I wish you'd stop doing that."

Anthony chuckled dryly. "I'd say that I enjoy seeing you squirm, but I know how much this stuff stings. Mom would always pour it over my cuts and scrapes. That's why I always ran when I did get hurt cause I knew what was coming."

Katarina laughed. "I remember that. I got it a time or two too."

Christiana came running back eyes wild with excitement. "A cave," she blurted out as she slid to a halt and steadied herself on Anthony's shoulder. "They found a cave. That's what caused the ground to break and collapse on itself. All of our movements opened up an underground cave system."

"Do we know if there's an entrance to the cave around here?"

"We're already looking for one Kat. Isn't it exciting!?" Christiana's voice was filled with excitement.

Katarina frowned and peered up at Anthony. "The pictures didn't show any rock formations big enough to hold a cave."

Anthony shrugged as he climbed to his feet. "It could be a manmade cave dug into the ground. Like the Valley of the Kings."

"Is the ground strong enough for that?" Katarina mused.

"I guess we'll find out," Anthony said as he helped Katarina carefully to her feet. He steadied her before he let go. "How about we go and check out the caves?"

"Sure, but don't expect me to do any crawling or climbing around today or tomorrow for that matter."

"Spoil sport."

Katarina stuck her tongue out at her cousin and limped over in the direction that Christiana had pointed. Her body was already beginning to ache which meant that she'd be sore as hell tomorrow. Maybe Anthony would rub some of the healing salve, which their Grandmother makes, into the worst of her aches and pains. She was sure that she'd have to bribe Anthony with something, but she was good at bribing Anthony. You just had to find the right leverage to use against him.