Under the Dome

Chapter 13

I took the lead as Douglas and Travis was having trouble keeping up. I had to stop occasionally so the two boys wouldn't get lost; resting a couple of times to catch our breath, me turning back so they could know where to go.

As I lunged Larann in my arms, it was like holding a pup. She was skinny, lean and limp. She lost so much blood I was worried that she already left me. I checked her pulse on her neck and sighed in relief as her heart beat responded lightly. I squated down in the dear trail to scan over her wound. She was cut pretty deep on her side; right in between her rib cage.

I rip off a long strip from the helm of my shirt to wrap her wound. I ran out short but I blocked off her cut so she wouldn't bleed out.

After I bounded her wound, I scanned the rest of her body to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere else. The only thing I found was a purple bruise on her temple which possibly caused her to be unconscious.

I looked behind me to see Douglas striding up the trial with Matt in his arms. Matt's blonde locks flipped and flowed in the open air, eyelids closed, body covered in cuts and blood.
Poor Matt. Poor Travis. I understand the lost of a loved one but I'm not opening my mouth until the time was right, that, and I only known them for half a year.

But Matt looked like he was sleeping, not...gone.

"You alright?" Travis asked from behind Douglas.

I saw Jr limp in Travis massive muscles. His back was dark red and I'm betting that his torso was crimson. I'm still surprised that Travis could hold up the adult by himself.

"Yeah. I think I can hear the river from here. We aren't far." I replied.

I gently picked Larann back up and set back off on the trail again. I knew that we were being followed but whatever it was, it kept secret within the underbrush. The lively birds sang an elegant song above our heads while the wind tickled exposed skin, which distracted my thoughts for a while until crackled twigs brought me back to reality.

Before I knew it, I stumbled upon the river. The same river that my father and I played in during the summer, where I bathe, and unlimited amount off fresh water quenched my thirst. My chest tighten and the butterflies in my stomach flipped into free birds.

"So, where to?" Douglas snapped me out of my refresh memories.

"We have to cross the river. Then up another short dear trail to get to my cave." I nodded my head to the other side of the bank.

"I can't go on anymore." Travis huffed and fell. His knee buckled and fell like an old rotten tree. Jr's body tumbled from Travis's shoulder and slammed on the dirty, muddy ground.

"We are only thirty minutes away." I pleaded. I sat down to rest my aching legs while I slid Larann in my lap; I opened my legs in a U form and held Larann so she slumped her head on my shoulder.

"Can we bury them here?" Douglas whispered lightly. His head was hung low in disappointment and he kept his blue eyes on the running river instead of holding eye contact.

However, Travis seemed pissed off at first then sighed in defeat. His jaw was set like anger fuel his motivation, and yet, this was different. The way he hung his head, his muscles twisted but held stiff, and shoulders was pushed back but slumped forward.

"I...I don't want to bury Matt here," he paused. "I would rather have him near Jade's cave." Travis's green eyes matched the vegetation around us; sprouting neon green, deep mucus slime, and light frosted emeralds.

It took me a minute to realize that both boys was seeking an answer from me while I was lost in Travis's green irises. I blinked back my fathom of fascination and tried to focus.