I gasped for air and tried to catch my breath. Water ejected from my stomach and I laid flat on the ground. The bright yellow sun shined into my eyes and I blocked it as best as I could. I could hear muffled screams from the background and I attempted to turn my body towards the noise. A hand laid gently on my shoulder causing me to lie back down. I couldn't see a face, but soon my senses started flooded back to me.
"Is she okay?.."
"Yeah she's good. What about..."
Sobs came from above me as I laid silent. The voices were still faceless but I had a feeling I knew who they were talking about. I tried to lift myself up again but was quickly pushed back down.
"You need to rest Camz. You've been out for almost 20 minutes. We thought we'd lost you too."
Suddenly the voice became familiar. But I couldn't believe it, so I had to see with my own eyes. I quickly sat up on the ground. The bright Yellow sun shined on her beautiful figure and I was face to face with the green eyed goddess we all knew as Lauren. I wrapped my arms around her waist and holding her close to me.
This must be a dream I thought. How could she be here, how could she be with me this very moment.
My arm lifted cupping her face into my hand. She was real. She was here.
"Ho... How are you here?" My eyes filled with water.
"I'll always get back to you Camila." She smiled wiping a single tear off my face and leaning in to kiss me.
Her lips were softer than before. The gravity of her lips were inescapable and I forgot for a second where I was.. And what just happened.
I pulled away turning around to see Dinah hunched over on her knees. She was crying and Max was beside her.
I remember now. Swimming, the monster, Cierra. Everything started coming back to me. I tried standing up, stumbling over towards Dinah but I was weak. Lauren grabbed me from behind and helped me over to her.
"She's gone." Dinah whispered.
I looked out towards the beautiful crystal lake and remembered the damaged done.
"I'm so sorry Dinah. I tried to stop her!" I cried.
"I don't blame you Camila." She turned around to face me. Her eyes were red from crying and she was still a little damp from the water.
I felt like this was all my fault. I should have tried harder to stop her. Tears started slowly running down my face. She's dead.. and there's nothing I can do about it.
"We have to keep moving." Dinah said picking herself up off the ground and walking away from the lake.
"Wait.. Just wait.." I huffed
"No! We've been waiting long enough. And if we wait any longer another one of us will die. Is that what you want?"
"Of course not. I just think we..."
"What?.. We should sit here and grieve her death? Have a whole ceremony for her? Is that what you want?" Dinah mocked piercing her eyes into mine.
"Dinah.. Take it easy okay. It was just a suggestion." Lauren scolded.
Dinah slowly relaxed and we waited for a second for her to regain herself. I knew she was grieving and I knew that she was furious with me. I would be too.
"Dinah's right. We have to keep moving. Those Dwellers in the woods weren't that far behind me. We have to go now." Lauren demanded.
We all generated our focus back to where we were headed. Packing what we had left and making our way closer to the mountains. We walked for hours and hours.
As we reached the front of the mountains I noticed a big tunnel on the side of it.
"I think we have to go through there." Max said pointing towards the tunnel.
"How do you know?" I asked
"Cierra... She.." Max started, but he couldn't finish. Dinah held him in a hug.
"Okay. Let's go!" Lauren walked towards the tunnel and we all followed inside.
The tunnel was dark and cold and there was an ungodly smell lingering off the walls. We continued to walk through the tunnel using our flashlights as guides. We came to a split. The large dark cold tunnel separated into two.
"Which way do we go?" I asked
We examined the tunnel on the left. Then the tunnel on the right.
"I think we should take the tunnel on the left." Max uttered.
"Why?"
"I don't know..." he shrugged .
"Well maybe we should split up. Two of us go to the left and two go to the right." Lauren suggested. "We could meet back here and decide which way we should take."
We stood for a moment pondering her request and then all nodding in agreement.
"Okay I'll go this way with Camila.
Dinah, you take the left tunnel with Max. We'll meet back here."
We all split up into the separate tunnels.
I walked slowly in front of Lauren guiding the way with my flashlight. The tunnel was short, a dead end, nothing but rocks at the end of it.
"Looks like Max was right. We should.."
I paused as I turned around. I couldn't speak anymore. My sentence was interrupted by the soft rim of Lauren's mouth. She pressed me against the rocky hard walls.
"What are you doing?" I managed to say prying my mouth away from hers.
She looked at me smiling devilishly. Her eyes examined my body hungrily.
She pushed me back against the wall hiking my leg up and around her waist pushing our hips closer to mine. The movement was so intense and I could feel her warm crescent body against mine. It felt so good to kiss her again and to be with her alone in the tunnel. It felt good just to have a body caressing mine. Something I hadn't had in a long time.
"I wish we could stay here forever." she whispered. She leaned in placing a kiss on my neck.
"Just you and me." She whispered kissing even lower.
I could feel her breath brush against my skin sending chills through my body. It was a perfect moment in time and I didn't want it to end.
"I have to tell you something." Lauren whispered. She stopped. I was kinda of disappointed but I stood waiting for her statement. She took a deep breath but before she could get her words our she was interrupted.
"Guys! We found something.." Dinah yelled into our tunnel snapping us out of our moment.
Lauren slowly dropped my leg back down to my side.
"Coming!!! " Lauren yelled back grinning my way.
"Wait.. What did you want to tell me?" I asked
"I'll tell you later. Okay."
I smiled and we made our way out of the tunnel.
