Fallen

Chapter 19 "Tunnel of Truths"

A slow continuous drip echoed while the sloshing of footsteps fell in correlation one after the other. It was pitch black in either direction so getting lost wasn't the problem—Moving forward was, especially with the element of the unknown, a constant annoyance with each step taken. Like the sounds of an empty cavern bounced off of the circular concrete tube, the sensation of being closed in gnawed at me. I remembered a dream I had as a kid, minus the light and shadow at the end of the tunnel—I was also reminded of Hade's Corridors. I perish the thoughts because that would be the last time I got to hold Arion.

"How in the hell did you find this?" I said, keeping up with Cameron's pace.

"When you're from the hood, growing up in New York—places like this become a kid's playground," said Cameron.

Although he had a smile on his face, there was much more. He was hiding something from me, and I would have to get to the bottom of it.

"I was born in New York, remember?" I snapped.

"In the hood?"

"No."

"Then you don't know what it's like, growing up here, Lydia!" snapped Cameron, pausing as he led me to a dry section of the sewer.

"What happened?"

Cameron leaned back, plopping down, relinquishing the burden of the world momentarily. And as the silence of our actions became completely still, I could hear him for the very first time speak to me. He wasn't performing or displaying his usual flamboyance—He was genuinely just talking to me like a friend and not my style coach.

"I ran away several times," said Cameron as his eyes welled up.

"It's okay, Cammy," I said, sitting next to him and putting my arm around his shoulders. He was trembling, so I pulled him into me. "Shhhhh—it's okay, Cammy," I whispered.

"I thought the streets had to be better than home—but it wasn't," wept Cameron, resting his head on my shoulder, "They would chase me—If they caught me, I-I-I—"

"—It's okay, Cammy," I interrupted, embracing him.

"Kids can be so cruel—it makes sense why the world is at war. Pain and destruction are what humans are good at—No wonder hell is upon us."

"So you came here?" I said, putting the pieces of Cameron's life together.

But Cameron didn't respond; he just wept like a little child. Then, agony uttered his lips, "Four kids from the block trapped me in an alley one day. They stripped me naked, tearing my clothes off of me," he whispered, placing his hands over his face as he added, "They threw a pair of girls' underwear on the ground and walked away with my clothes. They said, 'get home now—FAG!' Then, they left me there."

"Shhhhhh—it's okay, Cam. I'm with you now, and I won't let that happen to you," I whispered, rendering a nurturing embrace.

"—And when I got home, I got the beating of my life from my father. After I got out of the hospital, I was sent to live with relatives in Texas."

Cameron was right—I never once experienced what he did. My parents always protected me—my father never even spanked me; they were strict but always fair. Cameron lived in an entirely different world from mine, and it made sense to me now. I never saw him back down from a fight. I never saw him lose either. He wasn't Muhammad Ali or anything, but he could sure handle his own.

                                                         ~*~