Chasing Tails (Original)

51. Freedom

Julie woke from her dream - the first she had in the last several hours - hoping that somehow Miranda heard her prayers and had told Dresden what she wanted to say. All of the candles were out, making the cave extremely dark as she rolled over on the bed. Darren was next to her, wide awake. In the dark, she could see his smirk as he looked at her with amusement.

"Hello." He greeted. Julie sighed and closed her eyes, wishing so hard that Darren would go away. He reminded her too much of Dresden and it was beginning to make her want to cry. "You look like you haven't been sleeping well." She felt him brush his fingers through her hair, nice and smooth, slowly taking out any tangles.

"I haven't slept well in the last year." She whispered, knowing he could hear her perfectly.

"Is my offer stressing you?" He asked. When she didn't answer, he sighed next to her and she felt him move. His fingers brushed under her chin and he lifted her face to look up at him. His hand brushed her hair behind her ear, staring at her with what seemed like a cherishing look. "You've hardly given me a chance to make a case."

He leaned forward and took her lips into a gentle and warm kiss. Her heart jumped in surprise, shocked by the sudden movement. Her lips stayed still against his, her stomach feeling sick. He'd pull her lip, gesturing for her to kiss him back. She felt hot with embarrassment, feeling more dirty than she has ever felt. She wanted to rinse her mouth out, to brush away the feeling of him as his hand rested on the nape of her neck. She felt invaded and betraying, her mind thinking of Dresden. She tried to hold it together as she slowly allowed herself to kiss him back, wanting to cry. She had to keep him calm, keep him thinking that he was making a good case. The longer she could make him be patient with her, the longer she had until she could escape.

When Darren pulled away, she stared up at him nervously, hoping he couldn't tell how much she didn't enjoy it. She bit her lips, wanting to scrape away the feeling his rough lips left behind. She ignored her racing heart, looking away from him. He chuckled at this, seeming to be amused as he wrapped his arms around her. She adjusted her position with him, resting her head on his arm rather than his chest. She wanted to push away, to cradle herself against him. But she had a feeling that kind of rejection was not going to do her any good. She closed her eyes, tricking to trick herself into thinking it was Dresden, and sighed. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to deal with this.

She missed Dresden's warmth. She missed his deep, melodic but tough voice. She missed his cross temper and how easily frustrated he got. She missed how he made her felt small but important. She'd repeat the thoughts he shared with her - the ones that spoke of her with sweetness and admiration. They made her feel brave and proud and confident and were the only things that kept her going in this game of charades with Darren. She wanted to see him, to hold him and to kiss him. And that was when she realized, she loved Dresden.

She loves Dresden.

An echo went through the cave, ringing in their ears. Darren was quick to sit up, taking Julie with him. She looked through the dark, as if she could pick out something that would explain the noise. Darren could see perfectly but judging from his expression, the echo wasn't from anything close. He unwrapped his arms from her and threw his legs over the bed.

"Stay here." He told her, disappearing into the darkness.

Julie, more alert now, felt hopeful. This was her chance. She threw her legs over the bed and stood up, feeling her way along the wall to see where she was going. She was just lucky to be able to detect the candles she ran into before they could fall over. The sound of them would have been soft but more than her own foot steps, would have alerted the pack of her movements. She felt the wall curve and knew she came to the end of the cave-room and was in the main tunnel. Now, it was only a matter of choosing right or left.

She didn't know which way Darren had gone but she felt with her gut that it was towards the exit, whichever way it was. But if she chose the wrong way, going further into the cave, she would risk a dead end or worse, being caught. And who knows what'll happen then? Darren had told her to stay but she has never listened well. 

She licked her finger, knowing that wind would push currents into a cave at times and held it out in front of her with all of her hope. She felt a breeze, though slight, and guess that going right would give her a bigger chance of freedom. She took a shaky breath, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. Using her hand as a guide, she turned and moved forward. Something wet every now and then would fall under her hand, making her shiver in disgust. She could only imagine what kind of stuff she was touching.

She continued her way down, slowly and quietly. Every now and then she'd trip, running her foot into a rock or part of the cave wall. She'd stop, pressing herself up against the wall with the hopes of hiding from any of the Alphas that might hear her. When nothing echoed through the tunnels, she'd continue.

She found it odd. It was too quiet in the cave. She had always heard something echoing from somewhere whenever she wasn't sleeping. There was always someone in one part or another, making noise or laughing at something. But now, she only heard the very faint howls in the distance, as if they were whispers from the walls themselves.  She prayed to Fenrir her hearing wasn't fooling her as she descended into the darkness.

It felt like hours had passed since she left the cave-room. Her eyes still couldn't see clearly and she was still running into parts of the cave. Noises had seemed louder now, echoing more and more with every step forward. The sound of rushing water, pounding against rock, assaulted her ears. More and more, she was filled with hope. She kept herself under control, not letting her guard down for a second. She didn't want to blow her cover when she was already so close.

The walls seemed to close in on her, the darkness growing more and more dark. She felt anxious, her chest heaving for air as she gripped the wall each time she touched it. She felt dizzy and drowsy, her instincts telling her to run forward while she still had the chance. But she shook, keeping herself close against the wall, slowly moving forward with impatience. The idea of being trapped in a cave forever crawled its way to the front of her mind and she felt her eyes watering with tears. Her body shivered, a chilly air blowing around her.

Then, she saw the light.

It was blue, constantly dancing across the rock walls of the cave. The sound of rushing water pounded around her and as she turned the corner, seeing everything with a clear eye sight, she felt relief wash over her. Spray from the water fall blew onto her face as she raced towards it. She held her hand out, the water feeling like a hundred pebbles landing on her skin. She took in a deep inhale, smelling the fresh water and the fresh air, relaxing. She stood still, catching her breath as the cool water made her shiver with delight.

After refocusing herself, she looked around. An opening at the side of the waterfall appeared to her and she walked to it. She couldn't tell how high she was from the ground. The waterfall blocked her vision. But there was no guard which meant that she was just one step from freedom.

She looked behind her, listening for anyone in the shadows to reappear and drag her back into darkness. She felt confident that she was good to go and slowly squeezed herself through the opening. The waterfall assaulted her with cold water, making her gasp and shiver, her skin instantly losing any warmth it was trying to create. She found a good grip on the wall, taking a step out into the open air and onto a small ledge. Once she was out of the cave, she glanced up. Rocky ledges greeted her, twisting and turning into each other as it went up further to where the waterfall started. She closed her eyes, begging that she wasn't so high up and then looked down. She groaned.

She had a couple of meters of sharp, rocky ledges to climb down. It was a risky climb. She couldn't see any sure way of going but at the bottom was hope. Green, grassy grounds greeted her, looking soft and welcoming. Her body tingled at the thought of feeling the grass again. It had felt too long since she's been in the open air.

She peaked through the opening, double checking to make sure no one had found her. Then, she started her descent.

Author's Note:

ONLY 3 MORE CHAPTERS! YAY! And seeing how the next two are long, I'm going to stop here for the night. Until tomorrow!

Stay thirsty, my friends.