The Wrong Sister

A Stupid Decision

I pushed a flustered Riley out of the house with stern instructions about the types of bulbs he had to get and how he had to handle them.

"I need a lot of them. So get everyone you pass to help you." I yelled out the door.

"I'll send someone to watch you."

"I'll stay here. Don't bother. Have them help you. This is more important" I closed the door on his reply.

I rushed to the kitchen and pulled out the sharpest knife I could find.

I shoved my shoes on.

I stood for a while watching the clock on the side wall. I shuffled around, trying to find a good place to conceal the biggest knife I've ever seen.

I shoved it into the waistband of my pants. I couldn't move properly.

That wouldn't work.

I bent and stuck the knife in my shoe.

The knife cut into my foot. My frenzied mind hardly noticed the pain.

Fuck. I'd just hold it. It wouldn't be a shock, but he would be expecting me to do something. A knife he knew about is better than no knife.

I paced anxiously as the time ticked slowly by.

My shoe started to squelch at the repeated motion.

5 minutes finally clicked by. I sprinted out of the house. Riley should be far enough away by now and should have taken all the people who would stop me with them.

I ran. The surroundings blurred in my mind.

Tears wet my face.

I tripped over rocks. Sticks nicked at my skin. Sand clung to my shoe and was flung off in small clumps.

My breath heaved, and sweat stung my eyes.

I paused, leaning against a tree. My head pressed into the bark. The earthy smell cooled my burning throat.

I started running again, but a bit more slowly.

It was going to be a long way. Gabriel's house was not close to mine. I glanced up through the trees. The mountainside was still far away, but it was getting closer.

The stress made the trip to the mountain both a short blur and an eternity in purgatory.

I was exhausted. I could hardly breathe. My grip on the knife was loose and sweaty, but I made it. I was going to get her out.

I staggered, all of my energy depleted, into the mouth of the cave.

"Artemis!" Gabriel's yell was far away.

The dark of the cave swallowed me. It was cold and surprisingly humid.

I walked. The layer of dark sand on the rocks kept my footsteps from echoing.

My breath was loud in my ears.

I slipped down an unstable pile of rocks.

Gabes voice echoed sharply around me, "Artemis!" I winced.

He was coming. He would stop me.

I scrambled up to my feet and made my way through the first cavern,

The last time I was here, I had a torch. Now, I was stumbling in the dark.

I tripped and fell. A slightly sharp rock gashed my knee.

I kneeled on the floor. Desperation and blood poured from me as I crawled forward.

Overwhelmed and disoriented, I clawed at the sand covered rock. Trying to hold onto something certain. 

Jozef had Chloe in this cave somewhere, but it was a huge cave system. I no longer had any idea where I was. Moving forward might mean moving both away from Chloe and the entrance. I might just die of dehydration, and Chloe would be killed by Jozef.

I was so stupid.

Coming here. Not telling anyone. Dooming both Chloe and I.

Footsteps sounded out of the darkness.

They were soft, but the sheer silence of the cave let me hear the sand scraping against the rock.

I didn't know where the person had come from.

Should I be terrified because Jozef now had me in his grasp or. Should I be trying to get away because Gabe would force me back home.

I lay still. My tears had cooled on my face.

"Artemis." It was Gabriel's soft voice that washed over me.

"Do you remember how to get out of here?"

His calloused hands grabbed my bleeding foot and followed my leg up to my knee.

"Is that really what you should be saying to me right now?" His voice was oddly soft.

It felt like a warm blanket smothering my cold terror.

"I'm sorry. Chloe is in the caves. I got close to them before. I didn't think about bringing a light. I'm sorry. I've killed us all."

He sighed, "We'll be fine. I can see well enough."

"It's pitch black. How?"

"I eat my carrots." He pulled me up slowly and set me on my feet. "Come on then let's get out."

He tried to walk back in the direction he came.

"No. Wait." I pulled him back. "Chloe is in these caves. Joe will kill her if I don't get to her soon."

"You just said you had killed us all by coming in here. Now you want to keep going? This is exactly why I never showed you that note. I'm not trading you for her." His voice turned hard.

"Hear me out. We don't have to trade. But you need me to get us going in the right direction. If we work together, I can take us to where I got to last time. Then we just go a little further, and the note said they would be there. I promise after that I'll stay put. If you think you can beat Jozef. We can get Chloe now and all get out safe."

Gabriel's considered it, "We should get back up and weapons first."

"He'll move her or kill her if he thinks you're close. He might have heard us already. We need to go now. Also," I lifted my hand proudly, "I brought a weapon."

"Artemi-"

"Please, Gabriel. I can't take any more waiting. She is in pain."

I stared into the darkness and hoped.

"Fine, but you have to swear that you won't trade yourself or try to fight him."

"I swear." Relief washed through my veins.

"Give me that." He yanked the knife out of my hands.

It took a long time. He held my waist, helping me walk along. We whispered our directions to each other.

Finally, we saw a soft light around the corner.

He turned to me and whispered in my ear, "Don't move."

He held my chin softy between thumb and forefinger. The soft light outlined his face. He leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips.

"I'll be right back."