Paradise

Chasing the Sun Part 2

Seth and I walked in silence for the start of the trip. We walked passed the lagoon and made our way up the hill towards the cave. We pushed passed vines that hung low from the trees, and jumped over fallen branches.The sun started to rise high in the sky and the breeze came and went whenever it pleased. After a few bites of fruit we found, we reached the top of the hill and I scouted the view before us. Everything looked the same, and there were no signs of anyone. We went into the cave for a quick break inside for some shade. Seth tossed rocks into the tiny puddles of water. Each splash made it echo softly in the cave.

"We should check the forest area left of the plane.  By the way it crashed it would make sense for anyone who survived to walk in that direction since the ocean isn't far of a walk. However, it's completely covered by trees, so who knows what's down there." my voice echoed in the cave and trailed off as my mind began to think of the possibilities.

"Sounds good to me." Seth said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. I was surprised by his compliance, I expected some sort of a rebuttal. He glanced at me and then at the cave entrance while he shaded his eyes from the sun to peer in the direction I suggested. "Well, let's not waste our time then, let's move." he said and exited the cave.

 I followed behind him and we carefully made our way down the side of the hill. This side was very steep, and I had to clutch desperately onto the rocks that stuck out of the ground. While I tried to balance myself, Seth glided down the rocks like an outdoors pro. There was a sheer drop towards the bottom and before I could warn him I watched him skid off and land straight through a pile of branches.

"Seth!?" I called out to him with concern. The bushes rustled a bit and the breeze blew the leaves in unison.

"Still alive." His voice finally came through almost masked by the thickets. I could feel my heart beat ease a bit at his response. "Watch your step Cleo, it's dangerous. If you fall...I'll catch you." I could hear amusement in his voice from below.

'Or drop me.' I said to myself.

I eased my way down towards the edge. My clothes were covered in dirt and pebbles stuck into the palm of my hands. I counted to three and  jumped off the ledge, plummeting into the leaves.I let out a tiny scream before my skirt got caught on one of the branches and I felt my foot connect with something hard as I hit the forest floor. Seth and I were in a heap on the ground. A groan escaped Seth's lips and I crawled off of him in an instant. There were no holes in my skirt thankfully, just a few leaves and twigs. As I stood up, I noticed him still lying flat on the ground with his hand on his head.

"Are you alright?" I said as I watched him rub the side of his head. I knelt down in front of him and scanned for bruises.

"You know, I expected you to fall into my arms, not your foot landing on my head." I didn't see any bruises or bleeding thankfully and sighed in relief. "But it's a start." Seth said as his eyes met mine. 

"Maybe it'll knock some sense into you." I replied with a smirk and pushed his head away. I stood up and brushed myself off from the leaves and twigs that clung to my skirt. He grabbed my hand and pulled himself up almost taking me down with him. I glared at him but he ignored me and brushed himself off. We  then turned our attention to the scenery around us.

This area had trees everywhere but the dirt patch we stood in was fairly clear. I looked back up from where we came from. A few tree branches clouded my view and I figured those were the leaves we fell through to get down here.

"I don't think we can climb our way back up, we'll have to find another way back." I said with a sigh.

 "I say we take the left path." Seth suggested and walked away.