Light Em Up (oc x oc)

XVII - Nova

Madison shakes me awake. I must have fallen asleep sometime, leaving them without a light.

"Don't worry," says Madison, almost picking up on my thoughts. "I can see fairly well in the dark. I didn't want to tell you..."

"Thanks," I smile, picking myself up off the floor. "Any bright ideas overnight?"

"Sadly no," says Nico, looking over the edge. "I have no idea where we are, and I don't even vaguely recognise this passage. We're screwed."

I look at Madison, then shrug. "Anyone got any rope?"

"Why would we have rope?"

I sigh. "Fuck it. If I die, I expect a national holiday."

I run back a few meters, before flat-out sprinting and hoping I make the leap. I hit the ground hard on the other side and tuck into a neat roll. I guess the sheer number of times I've fallen off the rock climbing wall has paid off.

"Madison, you have to jump! I'll catch you."

She peers over the edge, most of the color draining from her skin.

"Nova, I can't."

"You can. Just trust me, okay?"

"Madison," says Nico quietly. "She'll catch you. Trust her, okay?"

Madison walks back a little, closes her eyes and sprints for the edge. She lands tidily on the other side and doesn't even need my help.

"See? Perfect."

Nico almost steps over it without any effort at all. Not fair. I've been training longer than he has.

The three of us keep walking aimlessly, getting more and more lost.

"Light," says Nico presently.

The three of us slip through a narrow crack, into a woodland somewhere.

"Any clue where we are?"

Madison shrugs. "Beats me. Pick a direction."

"A direction?"

"It's your quest."

"It's your quest. Start walking. I'd go northeast."

"Why?"

"Camp is northeast from pretty much everywhere," says Nico. "I'm sorry I haven't been a great guide."

"You're not supposed to be a guide," Madison reassures him. "I don't think I've even thanked you."

"It's nothing. Nova was the one with the plan, I just helped."

"I didn't have a plan past run like hell. I'd have died without you."

Nico shrugs, blushing. "I guess."

Madison and I walk a little ahead, out of earshot.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing," I say.

"It's hardly nothing."

"I'm the reason you died. It's not bravery coming to save you, it's karma. I was a coward, I repaid it. Don't make me a martyr."

"I thought you were starting to overcome your self-hatred."

I snort. "It fades a little occasionally, but I won't get over it, as you say."

"You're hiding something."

"What do you mean?"

"Something happened that you haven't told me about. What is it?"