Curiosity Book 1 ✔️

Chapter 20 Part 1

     Kai and I reluctantly swam out of the small cave and stood up with our hands up.

     "We've got nothing, sir, ma'am. All of our stuff is up there," Kai spoke, not noticing the looks the two and I were exchanging. Confusion, betrayal, mainly confusion.

     "Cameira?" The male whispered.

     "Cami? I-I thought you d-died?" The female said, a million questions filling her eyes.

     "I can say the same for you, Jewel," I stared at her, a million more confusing questions filling my mind.

    I got out of the water, Kai following behind, I threw my black tank top over my wet body. I almost entirely ignored the shorts.

     "Tanner, Jewel. I thought both of you were dead," I smiled, the one thing I wanted was to pull them into a hug and never let go. I was soaked and I had no idea how many extra clothes they had.

    "We're all here, Cami, all of us that survived so far," Jewel smiled.

     "Except you. Where in the world have you been?" Tanner said, pulling me into a hug.

    "It's all a really long story."

    "Well, come on, we've got time," Tanner said, before noticing Kai, "Who's this?"

     "I'm Kai, I'm part of the really long story," He smiles his crooked smile and nods.

    "Well, if we're gonna have story time, we're gonna do it right," I smile up at Tanner.

+~+~+~+~+~+

     We sat at a pavilion by the tree that I found Jewel at all those months ago. We were sat at a bench, Jewel and Tanner sitting across from Kai and I.

    "Okay, so Jewel, explain. How the hell are you alive?"

~Jewel Pov~

            "They're not alive, Cam. They're not. Stop saying 'If they were,' because they're not."

            "You would cast me out. You fu-"

    That was the last thing I heard from her.

     "That's a lie!" I yelled into the abyss of rubble, knowing full well she wouldn't hear, "You're my best friend, I love you!"

     I landed in the water with a loud splash, rubble falling around me with even louder splashes.

     I closed my eyes and waited for an inevitable death.

     It didn't come.

      The rubble landed in a way that it still formed a little cave around me. I was in an air pocket.

     I dove under the water in an attempt to find an exit. After finding nothing, my lungs screamed for air and I resurfaced.

     I noticed an opening towards the top, the sun peeking through. It was pretty high, and the opening was pretty small.

I began climbing, I have no idea how I did it. I simply did. I felt the warm sun on my cold, wet, and bruised skin.

I pulled my small body through the hole on top of the cave. As I began to climb down, I felt the rocks below my hands begin to shake and crumble.

In a panic, I quickly looked around, spotting a patch of grass littered with small rocks. It was the safest place I could see that was nearby.

I jumped. I jumped towards the grass.

I missed the patch of grass by about a foot and landed where the water met the land.

I slipped the second I landed, slid in the mud and wet grass. I was now covered in mud; an unpleasant experience, in 5 words or less.

My already ruined clothes were now utterly destroyed; no hope in saving them now.

I stood up, wiped off what I could of the mud and began walking. I didn't have a clue as to where I was going.

I simply walked until I came to a store, the glass door broken to peices. I stepped into the store.

I took a few steps inside, I didn't notice the glass on the floor until I was on the floor with it.

I laid on the broken glass and scratched tile for a few seconds. I groaned and began to push myself up.

My hand pressed into a shard of glass as I stood up, "Fuck," I whispered below my breath in pain.

Now on my own two feet, glass in my hand, arm, dusted on my clothes; everywhere. I shuffled to a chair behind the counter. I watched the ground for glass this time.

I basically dropped myself onto the chair and began to clean the glass off. I started by tugging it gently out of my arm. I soon started on the glass in my hand.

It was deep, really deep. Blood seeped out of my hand. I bit my lip and pulled the glass out. I looked around the area before finding a white cloth on the counter.

I grabbed it and wrapped it around my hand, using my teeth and good hand to tie it.

I took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. I rested my good hand on my stomach before feeling a sharp, fiery pain burn through my side and stomach as my hand lay there.

I looked, seeing my black shirt wet and darker. There was a new tear that hadn't been there before. I lifted it up, seeing a peice of glass buried deep in my skin.

"Mother-fucker!" I screamed, slamming a fist onto the counter nearby. I couldn't tell how big the glass was, or exactly how deep it was; but the blood seeping out of my side signaled that it wasn't good.

I stood up, internally screaming in pain. I refuse to let myself die in a grocery store.

I wandered through the aisles until I felt something press against my head and I heard a click.

"Who are you, where are you from, and where is your group?" I slowly turned towards the male voice, my hands up, "Answer me! Where is your group!"

"I-I. I'm alone!" I looked at the black mask that covered his face, the hood over that. There was a slot for his eyes, in them were fear.

"I doubt that! No one is alone in this country. No one! Not ever!" Tears spilled from his eyes before disappearing into the mask.

I slowly lifted my good hand, put it on the gun and lowered it. I looked into his sad eyes, "Then why are you alone?"

"Shut up! I can still shoot you!"

"No. You won't. You're just as scared."

"You don't know me!" He raised the gun again, shaking my hand off of it first.

I stepped towards him, lifted my hand to his mask and pulled it up. A scar ran down his face, his left eyebrow looked as if it had been burnt off, part of his hair looked the same.

"Oh, but I do, Tanner," I put my hand on his scars. The last time I saw him, these weren't there.

They were being made when I saw him.

"Who a-are you?"

"Jewel Cunningham. Your best friend."

He dropped to his knees, and put his hands to his forehead. He leaned into my legs and I heard him start sobbing.

I joined him on the floor, wrapping my arms around his sobbing and shaking frame.

"How did you get out?" He suddenly asked.

"I. I don't know," I lied to him, knowing he would blame himself somehow, "How did you?"