To Kill Time

Chapter 1: Wounded and Wolves

"She's right."

June stopped walking away.
"How can you be so sure?" she asked.
"I can tell," Derek responded.
"How? I can't see it, Derek."
"That's 'cause you're not paying attention."
"I've been paying attention for two hours now," June complained.
"No, you've been talking to me."
"I'm gonna leave."
       June started to walk away from Derek to prove her point.
"Wait. Do you trust me?" Derek said. June stopped.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Believe me, she's right."
       As if to prove his point, he started walking into the cave. 
"Wait!" June screamed. "You might not even find it in that cave."
"Well, we'll just have to find out for ourselves."
"We can't trust her. I don't believe she's right. That's why I don't want you to go in there."
"Do you trust me?" Derek asked again.
June gulped.
"Of course I do."
"Then let me do this, June."
"No, it isn't worth it. You're risking your life for some myth that might not even be true. Our only source of information was from a creepy lady that looked frighteningly like me. With the green eyes and blonde hair...anyway, it might be a trap for all you know. And—"
"June, you know I've been looking forward to this my whole life. I did an infinite amount of research on this place. You can trust me."
       June was too late. Derek walked into the cave just as she was about to reach for him. 

       All of a sudden, he disappeared. "Derek?" June called out. She went into the cave cautiously looking around in the dark area. She looked down. There was an open hatch in front of her.  

       Should I follow him? June thought. If I don't, I'll probably regret it for the rest of my life. If I do, I'll be sure to get killed, and that will only slow Derek down. What should I do? After careful consideration, she jumped in after Derek, tumbling down the long, winding tunnel.

As soon as June jumped into the lion's mouth, negative thoughts clouded her mind and numbed the pain of falling.  
'This is stupid, but I just hope Derek is okay,' she thought.
June could see the light, the end of the tunnel. She braced herself ready to get a significant beating from the ground, but instead, she landed on something soft. Did it feel like a human body? She tried to look around, but it was too dark to see anything. Suddenly, the torches around her started to light by some mysterious force. She looked around again. This time, she saw large razor-sharp spikes all around her. 
'Then... Derek!' 
Sure enough, she was sitting on him. 
"Derek!" 
"June, is that you?" Derek said weakly. As soon as Derek turned over,  she regretted jumping down. She leaped off of him. Derek had a giant gash on his left arm.
"Oh, this thing? It doesn't hurt a bit." Derek said, wincing from the pain.
"That doesn't sound too convincing," June said, looking around the room again. 
She was searching for something to stop the bleeding. She found a huge leaf and started to cover Derek's arm, but he stopped her. 
"It's okay, June. Only one thing I have to ask you. Why did you follow me down here?"
"I don't know. Maybe I was just concerned about you, but I promise you're going to be all right. Please, just hang on."
June started to lift Derek.
'Just a little longer Derek. Hang on for me.' June thought.
       She walked around the large spikes, almost dragging Derek on her left side. They blindly walked through the peaks until they found a small teepee-like hut made out of the spikes. June decided to take shelter there. She set Derek down on the ground and went outside to think. June sat down and looked at the ceiling. She couldn't hear anything except Derek moaning a bit. 
'Wait, that isn't the only thing.' she thought. Somewhere deep in the distance, she heard a low growl. 
'What is that?' she wondered.
The sound seemed to proceed towards them. Alarmed, June stood up with a jolt. Within a few minutes, she could see them. Wolves. 
'They must have smelled Derek's blood.' she thought. 'What am I going to do now?'
       She started to pick up a branch next to her, but the wolves snarled at her with shining, white teeth. 
       June considered running, but that would leave Derek a sitting duck. Just then, out of the blue, someone or something tossed her a knife. She looked up, confused. She cautiously picked up the knife and held it in front of her. The wolves, attracted by the shine, began their attack. 
       June's hand was shaking with fear. What if I don't get this, right? Both Derek and I will be in a seriously bad situation. June shook her head. No, don't think about that right now. What I need to do is get out of this mess and tend to Derek's wounds. 
       One of the wolves behind her back lunged in June. She spun around quickly, and the knife hit the wolf's neck. It fell to the ground, curled in a ball of pain, then disintegrated. 
"That's weird."
       Another wolf, on her left side, positioned itself to pounce her. Two other wolves on the right and behind her did the same. A split second later, they all lifted themselves off the ground simultaneously—all heading toward June.