The Cross Over (Silent Moments Series: Book 7)

Chapter 12

 Realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. "The wall moved," I gasped, my voice a mix of hope and desperation. I turned to Raven, urgency clear in my eyes. "Quick! Help me push it!"

With all my strength, I slammed my shoulder against the wall, over and over. Raven, however, remained still, watching with a skeptical expression. "Come on, Raven! It's a shifting wall. Maybe we can shift it back!"

Raven shook her head, her tone grave. "It's not a shifting wall," she countered. "Kegan, this isn't a cave. It's a living organism."

Her words stopped me dead in my tracks. The implication was terrifying. As I paused, a searing pain jolted me – a drop of acid had fallen onto my head. Raven turned to face me, her expression grim. "If I'm right," she sighed, "that's digestive enzyme, which means—"

"We're its next meal," I finished, the horror of the situation dawning on me.

The walls of the cavern began to move again, but this time, they were slowly closing in on us. The space was getting tighter, forcing Raven and me closer together. In mere minutes, the constricting walls had pushed us face to face, our bodies pressed against each other in the shrinking chamber. Panic set in as the reality of our predicament became clear. We were inside a living creature, and it was trying to digest us. Our time was running out, and if we didn't find a way out soon, we would be consumed by this alien entity.

Raven's voice was tinged with despair as she pressed against my chest. "We're not gonna make it," she cried, her tears dampening my shirt.

"The others will find a way," I said, trying to infuse my words with a firmness I wasn't sure I felt.

Through her tears, Raven managed a weak chuckle. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked, confused.

"Stay so damn strong," she sighed, looking up at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Whatever happens, Kegan Foster doesn't break."

"That's not true," I countered, feeling a pang of vulnerability. Raven's gaze held mine, searching for something beneath the surface.

"Really?" she pushed. "I killed four people in the reactor... eight more later, and I feel like I'm falling apart. You just keep going, like nothing can touch you."

"Raven..." I started, but she cut me off, her voice breaking with emotion.

"Maybe this is karma," she cried, "for everything we've done. All the people we've killed."

I cupped her face in my hands, trying to offer some solace. "Hey, the people we've killed, we did it to save the ones we love. I'd do anything to protect you or Madi. Anything."

Her eyes were filled with torment. "They loved people, too. When does it end?"

"It doesn't end here," I urged, trying to reach her through the despair. "I don't believe in karma, Raven. And if we have souls, yours isn't cracked. You're a good person, one of the best I know."

A tearful smile flickered across her face. "The best you know, huh?" She let out a bittersweet chuckle as I wiped away her tears. "I should have gone in myself. I could've welded those pipes. Instead, I sent Hatch and his crew... I was afraid."

"Hey, it's okay," I soothed, pulling her closer.

"I was so afraid," she sobbed into my chest, her body shaking with the weight of her confession. "Oh, Kegan, I'm so sorry—I never truly understood before. But now I do."

In that constricted space, with the walls closing in, our shared vulnerability was laid bare. I held her tighter, offering whatever comfort I could in the face of our impending doom. Her admission was a raw, honest moment of reckoning, and all I could do was hold her, acknowledging our shared humanity in the face of the unknown. The world around us suddenly trembled violently, a jarring quake that seemed to emanate from the very heart of the living organism that entrapped us. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on Raven, shielding her as best as I could. The shaking was so severe it swept our feet from under us, sending us tumbling to the ground. Throughout it all, I never loosened my hold on her, cradling her protectively in my arms.