Kids Never Die

Chapter 11: What happened here?

Everyone was shaken with fear. I rubbed my forehead and ran my hand through my wavy, brown hair. 

"What in the hell was that?" Shouted Nick. 

"I guess it was a giant ass spider." Choked Morgan.

We all looked at each other, out of breath, hot, sweaty. All of the above. And well, we began to laugh. Something about the situation was so funny, that we all laughed in unison. I coughed loudly, clearing my throat. "Now how did that spider get to be so big?"

We all looked at each other, trying to find a reasonable explanation. "Aids?" Gavin suggested.

"No, no, it had to be more than that." I shook my head. 

The floor of the cave was covered in a thick, sparkly powder. Angela took some in her hand. The crystalic dust had some defiant features. She brought it close to her face, and wafted the scent towards her, then she dabbed her tongue in at, but quickly spit it out.

"What is it?" Kyra asked. 

Angela held her hand out. "Zinc" 

"Zinc?" Asked Nick.

"Yeah, a highly toxic mineral when released into the air. It seems that it has all fallen now."

I moved closer to her. My eyes burst with wonder. "That could be what killed everyone." I nodded. "Yes. When that asteroid, meteor thing hit earth, it probably let this zinc cloud into the air."

"How did we survive then? Asked Katie.

"Well, the blast radius would have to be at least two miles and the rock smashed near the school. My guess is that we got damn lucky." Gavin added.

I thought back to my science class. Learning about airborn minerals. They don't just fall to the ground. The continue moving in an outward pattern until there is nothing left to spread. I looked down. "So this cloud... it's still moving. Killing everything in its path."

"Yup." Angela nodded. "If we survived though, how did everyone else die?" She asked.

"Well," Began Sam. "Two entire schools just burned and collapsed."

"True." I said, "But that doesn't explain the spider. Why did it grow to such a massive size?" 

"Along with zinc, there's also tetro-do-toxin" Angela added. "An expansion, mutation mineral. The affects wear off from the mineral itself but once you grow," She shook her head "You don't shrink again. It's heavier weighted so it stays low to the ground."

"I think we need to move. Out of this cave at least. Who knows what's out there?" I announced. There was still the crackle of fire and snarling of a burning beast. 

"Sounds good." Nodded Emilee. 

Miranda helped the others up and Gavin and I passed around a water bottle from Morgan's bag. Nick took some of the web he had collected, and wrapped it around a stick, then lit it on fire to make a torch. We all walked into the cave. The light of the flame danced on the cave walls as it flickered. The area was dark, and eerie. 

Sam took an opportunity to lighten the mood. "So what was this about no hot girls being here?" she looked at Morgan.

"Okay, I lied." He chuckled, "I'm a pretty hot girl, so ya know." 

Sam punched him in the shoulder. His feet fell from under him and he flopped to the ground. "Is she allowed to do that?" He asked, sprawled across the floor.

"You were asking for it." Nick laughed. 

The cave was a dark blue color, with dancing red across the walls. The light trickle of water offered a soothing sound. The scent of the zinc was heavy, and metallic, like a copper taste. Almost burning to the tongue but not overwhelming. After walking for almost twenty minutes, a light appeared at the end of the cave. We all looked at each other and sprinted. As we neared the end, we saw that it was another dense forest.

We slid out of the cave into the leaf covered ground. We kept our guard up this time, being sure to have the lighter out at all costs. We walked slowly, and made sure to keep eyes on all sides. There was nothing. Just the high, overbearing forest over head. The leaves falling to the ground, a bright green or yellow. The trees, held massive brown branches, but no webs. It was safe. Calm. But there was no sound. No birds singing, no cars driving or music. Nothing. 

"What happened here?" asked Katie. 

"I don't know, but I don't like it." I shook my head.