Under the Dome

Chapter 16

Days pasted by before weeks skipped away, then months flew through three seasons. All of the vegetation around me bloomed in light green, a mark of spring in a waking death from winter.

I occupied myself in the training arena. I already went through eight sets of working out; twenty squats, push ups, planks, sit ups, lunges, and I ran to the river and back. Eight times twenty equals too much! I should've done four sets because my muscles was screaming in pain. I was sore all over, it was hard to move with my body so stiff.

But I had nothing else to do. Yesterday, Sunday, I was sparing with my sword and working on my target practice with my bow and arrows. I tended to my weapons also; sharpening them and cleaning.

Today, however, was different. I worked out my lazy muscles that I haven't used in a year and a half. The only thing that didn't hurt was when I breathed. So I just laid down on the grass, gazing up at the light blue sky as fluffy white clouds lingered here and there.

"Is this what you've been doing all day? Laying on the ground?" Larann's voice boomed.

I have to say, as six months passed by, her wounds heal tremendously. She had a nasty scar on her left rib cage that looked like a huge paint splatter, but she was all to happy to have her first scar; even if it almost killed her.

"For the record, I'm resting from my reaps." I panted. I tilted my head off of the ground to look at her. Her blonde curls cascaded to her lower back, her slim figure was slowly becoming more fuller than it was when I first met her, and her gray eyes was bright and happy.

"Now why do I find that hard to believe?" She giggled, sitting next to me on the ground. Lex trotted up and sniffed around the area like he was hunting.

"Look, you believe in whatever you want but I'm getting too old for this." I complained. Larann gave me a crude face expression before she laughed.

"I'm older than you! Don't give me that crap." She said, lightly knocking my arm. Which hurt like hell! Working out so much that my muscles burn in crying pain, then having Larann touching me wasn't fun!

I gave her a disgusted look, joking of course. "How old are you anyway?!" I asked.

"I'm 24." She said plainly, like I was supposed to know this. I had to do a double take; she didn't look twenty four! She looked like she went skinny dipping in the fountain of youth.

"You're joking." I stated more than asked.

"Nope, I'm truly am twenty four, counting this year. I think Travis was like twenty nine and Matt was definitely twenty five. And Douglas was twenty one." She watched Lex stuff his black nose in the bushes and dirt while talking. I turned my gaze away from her and pouted at the dirt below me.

I'm the youngest out of all of my friends. Well past friends and Larann. I was seventeen when I was captured and forced to live in the dome, living a year under that hell hole and a year out of the dome with Larann; I'm nineteen now.

"How old are you now? You know, counting this year."

"Nineteen." I replied plainly.

Then there was silence for a long beat. The birds sang their lungs out as the wind added to their melody. The river begged to join the chorus but it was hushed by louder echos. The day was bright and perfect; clear from storms and gray clouds.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened to the boys? Just saying that they were killed isn't enough." She grumbled.

Her questions always annoyed me. To be fair, she was hiding in the cave while the whole Sara's visit happened and thank god that her men wasn't smart enough to look in my cave. If they did, I would be alone.