The Beginning of the End - Book One

thirty three

Lidia:
"Lidia?!"
    I hear his voice screaming in the distance. Urging, protective, passionate. I hear it over and over again.
    It's dark, it's cold. I can barely see anything, I don't know where I am. But I can hear his voice.
    I hear his voice.

Caleb:
"Lidia?!" I call her name for the third time now, she still doesn't answer.
     I only have two thoughts. Where the hell am I? And where is she? I can't see her - I can't see anything. I just want to hear her voice, I want to know she's okay.
     I was going to tell her everything. I was going to tell her how I felt, no matter what would come after. I wanted her to hear all of it, she deserved to hear all of it.

Mateo:
"Mateo."
     "Mateo. Wake up."
     My eyes barely open, I answer. "Maria. What are you doing?"
     "I'm sleeping." I add, blocking the light from my face with my hands.
     "Mateo." She repeats, sounding urgent and desperate, stern. I wipe my eyes and look over at her.
      She throws a shirt at my face. "They're gone."
      I pull the shirt over my head. "What? Who?"
     "Lidia and Caleb. Who else?"
     "They probably just went to get breakfast." I say, brushing it off.
     "Mateo! It's mid afternoon!" She throws her arms in the air.
     "What? Why didn't you wake me?" I protest, standing up now.
     "Well because I figured you went to bed late last night. And you hate it when I wake you." She says, making her way out of the shelter.
     "Yes, but not for something like this." I pause. "What do you mean they're gone?"
     "Well they're always awake before us, anyway. So when I woke up, I went to see if they got breakfast." Maria bites her lip. "And then both of their shelters were empty. So, I walked around the island for a bit, but they were nowhere to be seen." She looks into the distance anxiously.
     I grab her arm. "When was this?"
     She looks into my eyes now, full of fear. "Two hours ago."
     "And you didn't wake me?" I shout.
    "I thought they would come back. But they haven't."
    "Well we have to go out looking for them." I say, gathering supplies.
     I stop, stare at the ground. "God. Maria. What if—what if Javier took them? What if they're—she's hurt?"
     Maria pulls me into a hug. "Mateo. Listen to me. Lidia and Caleb - they're strong, okay? Lidia is strong."
     We stand there for a minute, until Maria finally says. "We're going to find them."

Lidia:
It feels like an eternity later. But I can still hear his voice. It circles around me, above me, engulfing me.
   "Lidia!" He calls, time and time again.
    I lay on the damp ground, darkness surrounds me. I turn slightly. Footsteps—I hear footsteps coming towards me. Someone's here.
   I try not to focus on that. I focus on his voice, I focus on knowing that he's out there - looking for me.