-Endless Summer-

- V | It's What You're Meant For -

C h a p t e r F i v e
I t ' s w h a t y o u ' r e m e a n t f o r

You were lost in the pitch black cave beyond the islands emergency shelter. Darkness smothered you, left you gasping for air.

As Jake led your group hand in hand through the blackness, you tried desperately to calm the raging nausea and dread unfurling in your stomach, focussing on the gentle but rough touch of the fingers laced with yours: Jake's, rough, protective, and strong; Quinn's, fair,
kind, and small.

"You still with us, Princess?" Jake asked, and your heart hammered at the close proximity and the worry in his voice.

"Don't you worry about me, Top Gun, I can handle it."

"Who said I was worried?" You heard him scoff, but the way his hand tightened on yours countered his words.

"I'm the one that's worried. This is the part of the movie where the audience yells 'what are you doing? Turn back! How are you guys so stupid!'" You heard Diego's voice from somewhere behind you, and a small smile slipped onto your lips.

Again, he made a valid point.

"Relax, keep moving forward. The schematic says that this is the only way out." Jake said.

You glanced back over your shoulder, past where Quinn and the rest of the group followed you, linked hand in hand. All you could see was darkness. The light from the halls of the emergency shelter was long gone as you ventured deeper into the depths of the cave.

"Just hold onto each others hands. I think we're about to-" Jake cut himself off and let out a startled cry, and your heart jammed in your throat.

"What happened?! Is the pilot dead?!" You heard Aleister demand from the back of the line, and Jake scoffed in front of you.

"What? No! The stupid little fox thing ran over my foot. It just... spooked me a little, Okay?"

You snickered slightly, and his hand squeezed yours  playfully. "... I'm gonna preemptively tell you all to shut up."

You could hear the sound of tiny paws on dirt as the fox scampered ahead. "Where's he going?" Lila asked, her voice shaking madly. She sounded terrified.

"He's leaving us to die. Can't say I blame him." Diego mumbled unhappily. The fox let out a murmur of disagreement and pawed at your ankle before scampering on ahead.

"Wait, listen!" You said to the rest of the group as it let out a series of yap-like sounds. "I think he wants us to follow him. Maybe he can see in the dark!"

Tracking the foxes call, Jake led the group around a tight corner, and immediately the cave was flooded with a strange blue-ish light. "Um, am I seeing things now or is there something glowing in front of us?" Diego asked the group after a confused moment of silence.

The light was coming from a cracked stone wall, and seemed to be originating from some form of crystal embedded into the rock. "Looks like some sort of crystal or gemstone. It's mounted in the wall of the cave somehow." Quinn said, mirroring your thoughts.

Now that you could see, you slowly let go of her and Jake's hands and made your way towards it, the strange light casting harsh shadows across your face. "Certainly not natural. Look, it's smoothly polished." Aleister pointed out as you ran the tip of your finger over the cool surface. It seemed to pulse with energy at your touch.

"Why did the fox lead us here? To use this as a light source? I'm not sure it's bright enough." Lila said, and you couldn't help but agree. The gem barely illuminated five feet ahead, and even then the light was incredibly dim.