Tyrant (Lazaretto Sequel)

twenty-two

June 26, 2094

CAMILA

I found myself walking ahead of Lauren along what seemed to be a rocky trail. We hadn't spoken in days, not since I finally told her that I loved her. I don't regret it, and I would do it again if I had the chance. The words burned as they came out of my mouth, but they couldn't be extinguished no matter how hard I tried to keep them in. She still slept next to me every night and held me close to her, her soft fingers toying with my scar, but she was always gone by the morning. The warmth of her body was always replaced by the cool morning air as I shivered and ached for her to come back. I knew she felt it, too. I knew she wanted to say it back to me. I could have sworn I heard her crying one night, but I must have been dreaming because this Lauren didn't cry. This Lauren didn't feel emotion.

The sun was sweltering, my skin having burned and tanned in a matter of a week. My back was damp with sweat, my hair sticking to my neck. Lauren and I had come to a clearing on top of a mountain. If I wasn't focused on everything else going on I might have enjoyed the view. I could see for miles. The valleys dipped and rose, the trees were a vivid green, and the rivers twisted and turned along the ground like serpentines. A cool breeze tussled my hair and clothes and I inhaled deeply, letting the oxygen fill my lungs. I held my hand in front of my face to block the sun as I felt Lauren's presence beside me. Her jaw was clenched as she looked out over the jagged mountain, and I wondered if she could see Boston from where we were standing.

"We aren't too much further," she said. 

She began walking again without another word, hoisting her backpack higher. I rolled my eyes as I took the water bottle out of my backpack. When I brought it to my lips I noticed that it was empty, sloshing the remaining bits around. I huffed in annoyance as I shouted to Lauren that I was going in search of some water. She never answered back so I shrugged my shoulders and started walking in the opposite direction towards the woods off of the trail. As I trudged through the thick forest, my mind wandered to Lauren again. Honestly, I wasn't ever not thinking about her. Especially now that I knew the contacts would be wearing off soon. The ultimate question was: would she be normal?

I came to a small ravine a couple minutes later and reached down into the cold water to splash some on my face, the sweat burning my eyes as I continued to rid my face of it. The cold water felt refreshing as it ebbed down my cheeks and dripped off my chin, dampening my shirt. Grabbing my empty bottle and beginning to fill it, I heard a twig snap, and I looked off to the left in search of the source. Standing up slowly, I swiveled around the empty forest.

"Lauren?" I asked out loud. Furrowing my brow as an answer never came, I decided to head back to the trail, tucking the newly filled bottle into the backpack once more and jogging back onto the dirt trail. Once my feet hit the solid ground, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I assumed it was Lauren waiting on me and I released a sigh of relief thinking she was the one in forest.

"You'll never believe what happened," I began with a small laugh. "I was refilling my water and I heard a twig snap—" I stopped explaining when I heard a low...growl? 

I quickly lifted my head and widened my eyes when I didn't see Lauren but a mountain lion. Shit. Shit. Shit. None of the training I had done even remotely prepared me for a mountain lion. What was I even supposed to do? It lazily stalked its way over to me, its vanilla fur stained with dirt and blood. Its ears were perked up and its tail was swinging back and forth slowly. I began backing away as it continued to approach me with its teeth showing. Its muscles protruded through its skin, and I gulped back the fear. 

"Lauren!" I screamed. Keeping my eyes fixed on the animal as it kept creeping towards me, I walked backwards until I felt myself at the edge of the cliff. I almost slipped, but I managed to keep my balance somehow. Looking over my shoulder and seeing nothing but emptiness, I had nowhere to go. I was trapped.