Oblivion

Chapter 10

         "Come on!" Orion grabbed my wrist and started to pull me in the other direction. All anger aside I let him drag me away for half a step before I started running alongside him. Allister was a foot behind me and Orion bringing up the front. Thunder rang out through the sky, water pelted down on our backs, soaking through my pants and bra, leaving me cold and frozen. Lightning cracked out above our heads, lighting up the whole sky.

          I willed myself to run faster at the rain poured down harder. I was cold, but I couldn't stop to worry about that I slid to a stop in fights when a bolt of lightning struck down near me, throwing me off my feet. My head hit the ground hard but I rolled to my feet and continued to run. An arm wrapped around my waist; Orion. He helped me regain my balance before we broke away from one another.

       The storm was approaching behind us. It was getting closer and closer each passing moment and I felt fear rip through my body. Another bold of lightning flashed and I saw the fear in both Orion's and Allister's eyes.

          Life was moving in slow motion when we all came to a stop; about a mile ahead of us was a ridge, steeper than the ones in Everlost. We're trapped! My mind thought desperately, it appeared that Orion and Allister had the same thought as I did.

       "What do we do now?!" Allister called over the roar of the thunder and lightning. Orion's eyes slid over the large mountain range, his face pale and his eyes calculating.

       "This way!" He called, before sprinting to the right of the ridge, Allister and I followed behind him; water pelting down on my face. We drew closer to the ridge until we reached the very bottom; I thought Orion was going to stop, but I watched in awe as he and Allister started to climb.

     "Addieca come on climb!" Orion screamed and I quickly started to scale the rocky ridge. The wind started to pick up and looking down, I grasped the rocky ledge I was hanging off of in horror; the ground below was flooded with water and it was rising fast.

        "Come on Red, you've got to climb!" Allister called down to me, he was trying to force humor into his voice. I clawed at the rock face, my nails chipping and the skin on the pads of my fingers were bleeding. Ignoring the pain, I surged on, keeping my eyes trained on Orion's back. My arms felt like jelly; the water was closer than ever, it raged below us no more than a few feet. We hurried to the lip and I stopped, looking up at the overhang right above out heads.

       Orion grabbed the underside of the overhang, he hung there for a moment, suspended in mid-air, before he started to move towards the edge of the cliff's lip. Allister followed close behind. But I was frozen in place, I could hear my heart pounding against my chest. They realized I wasn't following them when they had both pulled themselves on top of the ridge.

        "Addieca! Come on, you have to climb!" Orion called down to me, I saw his face upside down at the edge of the cliff.

        "I can't! I won't be able to hang on!" I wailed, tears pricked the corners of my eyes. The rocks shifted under my hands and I squeaked in fear, my eyes closed tight.

       "I CAN'T! I CAN'T!" I wailed, my arms shaking with strain. The rocks shifted again and I slid down an inch, the waves of the flood gurgled underneath me.

        "Addieca, you have to try! Please, please try!" Orion called down to me, fear was etched into his face.
          In a jerking motion, I tried to reach for the next rock, but that too gave way and I found myself tumbling through the air. Orion screamed my name, before my body hit the water. The black water curled around me, murky cold water slid over my skin; it burnt my eyes and throat.  

      Water flooded into my mouth and curled into my lungs painfully. I choked on water, my hands churned against the strong current, I was trying to push myself towards the surface. The current was so strong that it pushed me back towards the bottom. My lungs felt like there was a balloon stuck in my chest and it expanded until it burst and the familiar blackness erupted into my vision. I sunk to the bottom, the cold water now wrapped around me like a blanket. I let myself be carried off with the current. For the first time, I felt at ease, it's been a while since I had a chance to rest. I welcomed death; at least I'll be able to see my family again.