The Incorruptible Bond

Chapter 10

I'm walking straight into my death.

This is the last time I'll be seen alive.

But isn't a dark cave better than the wolves jumping down to devour you from the cliff?

Although her brain was short on oxygen, it seemed that it was working in overdrive. Ember was still heaving as she and Aurora reached the back of the cave, shrouded in darkness. They hunkered down to get as far back as the cave would reach. Around the heavy breathing each girl tried to focus their hearing on the outside.

"Shh!" Ember hissed as she tried to quiet her breathing.

"You're breathing heavy too!" Aurora snapped.

"Yeah, but I heard leaves crunching. They might be closer."

As they waited, they could hear more small snapping of crushed leaves as their pursuers attempted to find them. They waited there for another 10 minutes, and Ember let out a soft sigh in relief. A soft sigh that heaved a detrimental cause to their whole 'hiding out' campaign.

Immediately a growl could be heard directly outside of the cave and Em began a squeak that Aurora quickly covered with her hand.

"Stay quiet, they aren't in here yet," Aurora said, barely loud enough to hear. They waited with baited breaths in their enclosure, the small space seemingly smaller as the minutes passed by. Nearly an hour later and girls had yet to move. Their joints were growing stiff, the muscles acing for a movement other than controlled breaths.

"I think we're safe if we still stay quiet," Aurora said to Ember. The two girls crawled forward till they could stand up and paused as they stretched out their bodies.

"Hey, it looks like the moon is still out--" Ember was cut off by a small gasp from Aurora. "What is it?"

Turning back to where the white haired girl stared, Em pulled in her own breath to stare mouth-open in wonder.

The cave walls were glowing. Stones and jewels of varying smaller sizes were embedded into the walls, lighting the cave in their glow. Some were as blue as frozen ice, others as red as a flaming fire. The contrasting red and blue cast their colors all around, mixing and twisting in beautiful hues.

"It happened as soon as you said moon," Aurora whispered, too caught up in the moment to notice her lowered volume.

"It's so beautiful," Ember said following suit in the whisper game. The two of them spun in slow circles, staring at every elaborate piece, attempting to capture this vision in their memories for a long time. "What do you think they're here for?"

"I don't know," Aurora said honestly. "Nature has it's own way of expressing art, this is just something I've never seen."

Ember looked towards the opening of the cave to see the moon still there, yet closer to the West side of view. "We have to go! It's nearing morning."

Silence filled the area as Ember and Aurora walked side by side in the direction back towards their houses. It was close to time for Ember to separate when a question she had yet to ask popped into her mind.

"Why were you in the woods to help me?" Em could swear she saw a falter in Aurora's steps.

"I um..." Aurora took a deep breath in and let it out before she continued. "This will sound crazy, but I woke up and could tell immediately that you were in trouble. All I knew was that you were running from wolves and that I needed to save you."

"And you actually came." Ember mulled this over and over in her head. This girl, the one that seemed to cause her head trouble daily with the way thoughts spun out of control and constantly annoyed her actually came to her aid. Em didn't even think of the aspect of how Aurora knew she was in danger, she was having enough trouble thinking about the why.

"Most people say thank you," Aurora grumbled.

"You do realize you said that out loud, right?" Ember said slightly irritated, yet it felt more like a natural, friendly complaint.

"Whoops?" Ember smiled.

"Well this is where we part, do me a favor and don't get attacked on the rest of your journey back," Ember chuckled.

"I do believe I should be the one saying that to you." Aurora even cracked a small smile on her face.

"Bye Aurora."

"Bye Ember."

As Em sped home and to her room, she felt happy and she dare say safe. But then the thoughts struck again. What the heck just happened out there?