Not so Imaginary // On Hold // GxB Paranormal Romance

Part Sixteen | Buried Alive

S I X T E E N 

By the time the shaking stopped, a wall of stone and rubble trapped me in place. I crawled toward Ren and Charlie on hands and knees through the darkness, but came against only more rock. The jagged edges cut my skin and clothes as I scrambled across. I called their names to no reply. When I was silent, all I could hear was the sound of my own ragged breathing and heavy heartbeat in my ears.

"Are you there," I tried again, "Talk to me!" Hoping beyond hope for some sign that they were okay. Behind me, the rock wall was just as thick. I was trapped, with no way to help them and no way to get out. Already the air felt stale and dusty.

There had to be something I could do. There just had to.

I started grabbing rock after rock and chucking them behind me as fast as I could, trying not to think of what I might find buried beneath.

I dug and threw and hauled and pried and rolled and carried as fast as I could until the action became automatic and I'd been at it so long that the tears begun to stream down my face. Finally, I grabbed for a rock in the darkness but brushed still-warm skin instead.

"Ren!" I pulled stone after stone from his arm, terrified that he wouldn't be alive. But when I reached his shoulders, they were bare. He and Charlie lay unconscious but breathing under the glow and handle of his scythe.

"You saved Charlie," I breathed, not sure I believed it. For all the hate he put on, he'd protected both of them.

Charlie stirred at this, groaning as he shook the dust and stone from his legs. "What's going on?" he said, registering the situation, then, "You alright?"

"Ren isn't," I said, scrambling to pull the last few stones from his body. "Ren," I whispered, then louder, "Ren! Wake up."

"Shh," said Charlie, hand on my shoulder. "Sounds like he's out cold. I'll signal help." He pulled a small device with a glowing circle out from his pocket and muttered something into it.

"What is that?"

"Emergency communicator," he grimaced, "Just for situations like this. Been happening more and more lately all over the caverns, so I took it with us."

While Charlie gave more directions into the device, I knelt beside Ren. His pulse was strong and he was still breathing but that didn't help slow the tears that kept streaming down my cheeks. I tried to concentrate on each inhale--the least I could do was get ahold of myself. We had limited enough air that none should go to waste.

"Don't worry," said Charlie, putting the device away at last. "Response team will be here in just a few minutes. We just sit tight until then and try not to panic." He offered a confident smile, genuine concern in his eyes when he asked, "You sure you're okay?"

I nodded. I was physically okay, anyway. It was hard to say if I'd really be okay until I knew for sure Ren was.

When the team arrived, shoveling rubble from behind us faster than I would have thought possible, I wiped the tears off on my sleeve and prepared to help move Ren.

Turned out, they didn't need any assistance. The best help I could be, they said, was just to stand at the side. That's what I did while they slipped a stretcher beneath Ren.

Back in the lift, Charlie flashed me a grin. "You can hold my hand if you're scared."

I supposed the fact that he was back to flirty quips meant we were out of trouble, and tried to find this comforting. Instead, I remembered the way Ren would react if he were awake and almost broke down crying again.