The Cave

Chapter 2

I jump as the bus jerks to a stop. I sit up and hit my head on something hard. I put my hand on my throbbing head. I look over and see Michael rubbing his head. Crap, I must've fallen asleep leaning against him.

"I'm sorry, for falling asleep on you." I say sheepishly. I look away.

" It’s all good.”  He replies tapping my knee. I look back at his smiling face. His cheeks are a light shade of pink.

"Everybody, we're going to start the tour and you need to stay with your partner at all times." Mr. Winchester calls from the front of the bus.

Everyone starts to exit the bus; Michael stands and stretches. He offers me his hand and I take it. He pulls me too my feet. "Ladies first." He says, ushering me forward.

I step into the aisle ahead of him. Once I get off the bus and a cool wind crashes into me. I see Bella and Scott towards the back of the group along with Kate and Mr. Winchester; Michael follows me as I head to stand beside Bella.

Some ranger lady starts talking at the front of the group and I find myself not paying attention, but instead my focus is on Michael who is standing beside me. He keeps moving his hands, in a nervous manner, but finally settles after stuffing them into his pockets.

I lightly nudge his arm with my elbow and he looks at me with a confused look. I raise one eyebrow. He shrugs and nods his head towards Scott and Bella.

I wonder for a second if he likes her, but that thought quickly disappears when he leans over and whispers in my ear, "Does Bella like Scott?"

"Why?" I ask and by the look on his face he can tell he knows that's a yes.

"Because Scott likes Bella and I don't want my best friend getting hurt." He says, and I'm suddenly aware of how close his lips are to my ear. His hot breath makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Oh..." is all I can manage in reply.

"What about you?" He asks, still close but not as close as he was before.

"What about me?" I ask turning to see his eyes shining.

"Nothing, never mind." He says straightening up. I look up at him and he looks rather flushed.

I try and focus on what the ranger is saying, but I guess she finished because the group starts forward into the cave.

The further we go the darker it gets and the more my nerves act up. I feel like the walls are closing in around me. I quickly look around to focus on something, anything else aside from the closeness of the walls.  I look behinds me and  think I see Kate and Mr. Winchester holding hands, but I could be totally wrong; after all I am basically blind even with my glasses on.

I hear a crash and turn around. I see Bella laying on top of Scott and they're laughing, hard. Bella's face is the color of a tomato and Scott's cheeks are rose pink.

"I'm so sorry!" I hear her say between fits of laughter.

"It's okay." He says still laughing.

"I tripped and well... I guess you know the rest." She replies trying to stand, but slipping and falling on her butt.

"Seriously Bella, you're good." He says offering his hand; she takes it. He laces their fingers together and his face becomes bright red.

Michael nudges me and I look up at him and he winks at me then looks away. We all gather ourselves enough and continue after the group.

Mr. Winchester pulls out a flashlight so that we can see and I can tell Kate is plotting and or thinking about something. She has her thinking face on.

A shiver runs through me as I feel Michael’s hand on my forearm. "You should probably watch where you're going." He says pulling me out of the way of a wall.

"Thanks." I mutter still trying to figure out what's going on with Kate.

"Something on your mind?" He asks.

"Uh..." Is all I manage trying to get a hold on my thoughts again.

"Was it about Kate?" He asks.

"Yeah... Something's going on with her but I can't figure it out." I say trying not to shiver from the coolness that surrounds us.

"Maybe we can become investigators or something." Michael suggests cracking a smile.

"Sounds like an adventure." I say smiling back.

As we retreat further and further back in the cave the ceiling gets lower. Breathe, I tell myself. After ten more minutes of walking we come to what seems to be a dead end.

"Attention!" The ranger says from the front of the group. "We're going to have to army crawl for a little while. Now everyone get single file and be patient." She continues and we all get in line. Scott and Bella in front of me and then Michael followed by Kate and Mr. Winchester.

As we start to crawl I try to breathe, but the space around me just feels suffocating. The farther we go the tighter the space gets. I start to breathe funny. I feel something cool wrap around my ankle. And Michael starts to say, "Hey, Rien. Are you okay?"

"Huh.... No..." I say between breaths.

"How can I help?" He asks concerned.

"Not.." I take a deep breath, "sure..." Another breath.

"Give me your hand." He says.

"What?" I ask.

"I said, give me your hand." He says again. I reach my hand back as far as I can. He wraps my hand in both of his and starts to whisper a prayer. "God, I just pray that you help Rien get through this and every inch of space feels like two and this cave opens up quickly. Amen." After he finishes this and releases my hand.

I start forward this time and it feels more spacious. I can feel Michael close behind me. Luckily it opened up sooner and after about five minutes of crawling I stand in an open area and see the rest of the group standing and waiting.

Michael comes out and walks over to my side. "Hey." He says lightly brushing his thumb against my cheek.

"Hi," I say exhaustedly.

"You okay?" He asks, dropping his hand away from my face.

"Yeah, just need a moment." I say holding a hand to my stomach. He stands there, close to me until the rest of our group gets out of the tunnel.

"Now, guys. I know that most of you won't want to do this, but this next part is where you get down and dirty." The ranger says. "We must go through about two feet deep water to that rock wall and climb it." She says gesturing behind her.

I hear a few complaints from the girly girls, but I shrug it off.

We wade in and the water is cold. It seeps into my skin and I immediately go numb. Michael takes my hand and I squeeze it to tell him that's okay. I could use all the support I can get right now.

I look around and don't see Kate and Mr. Winchester  anywhere.

"Michael," I say concerned.

"Yeah?" He asks.

"Where did Kate and Mr. Winchester  go?" I ask searching the group with my eyes.