Unedited
Cameron could feel her body tiring. The numbing cold of the water rising past her shoulders; the darkness around her leaving her sight useless; the sound of the water sloshing around as she tried her best to keep Arlo's head above water; the utter fear stemming from the helplessness that she was unable to do anything but wait.
Wait for her brothers to come.
Wait and hope.
Wait.
A low airy cough forced it way past her shivering lips. Her eyes felt sluggish, her tongue heavy in her mouth as she tried to dampen her lips. Her arm felt frozen around Arlo, the low temperature taking away the ache of her muscles of keeping her brother alive.
She hugged Arlo closer, small shivers running through his body.
She just needed to wait a little longer.
They would come.
The oddness of knowing that she was standing, but not being able to feel her legs was something she had never experienced before. She wouldn't even know if anything floating around in the water had touched her.
Mainly her fake parents' dead bodies.
Her slitted eyes closed, the pickle colour disappearing behind the pale lids. Her stiff fingers curled into a clenched fist around Arlo's jumper. That's what she hoped it was anyway.
A shallow breath left her as she tried to shut out the cold.
She pounded on the door, her school bag wet and heavy on her back.
"Mum? Dad? Are you home?" Pickle orbs glanced behind at the water droplets falling from the sky and bouncing along the street. The nine year old peeked her head back out into the rain, to see a light on in the living room window.
Her parents were in then.
She pounded her fist on the door again, leaving a red mark along the side of the palm in its wake. "Mum! Dad! I know you're there. Let me in."
The silence left frustration brewing in her gut. She lifted a leg up, booting the door with her wet, muddy trainers, the water soaking her socks. A sharp pain spread across her toes and up he r foot. Gasping, she grabbed her toes, hopping about wildly.
"Bad decision, bad decision." Her muttered words came out quiet, followed by a couple of curses she knew her parents would punish her for if they heard her. Thankfully, they didn't.
Once the pain of stubbing her toes had subsided, she stood unsure what to do. The ill-lit street filled with the worst rain storm of the winter season was something she did not want to go back out into, especially in just her school uniform and a holey coat. She had already tried to wait it out at the school but it only got worse.
A shiver ran through her body, from the tip of her toes, all the way to the top of her head. Her sorrow-filled gaze moved from the front door and back out to the street. Her parents weren't letting her in and she had no where else to go. It wasn't worth getting soaked again if she didn't know where she was heading.
A sigh and another glance around.
She slid the weighty bag of her aching shoulders, dropping it onto the porch. The splat of it hitting the porch made her wince.
Another sigh.
She brushed the dull, moist hair out of her face, leaving it to stick in all directions.
Following her bag to the floor, she shuffled back so she was against the door.
She was stuck on this porch, with no where to go and no one to help. The biting cold easily made its way to her skin through her wet shirt.
Fear crashed into her. A single tear flowed down her pale cheek. A second quickly followed
The pickled eyed child curled up into a small ball, leaning back against the door of the bungalow, trying to preserve what heat she had left. Her choked sobs were stuffed within her arms, and the tears hidden in the water on her face.
She shivered, each shiver slowly becoming more violent.
Cameron Dyers was cold.
She would give anything not to be on that porch. Not to ever feel this type of cold again. Never to feel scared or lonely.
And this wasn't the first time she wished to be anywhere else and to feel safe, and it wouldn't be the last.
Cameron blinked her eyes open lethargically. The darkness was still around her, not the porch. The porch that had been destroyed in the explosion. Only her memories remained from that bungalow now, as it no longer stood.
She wished her memories had gone up in flames with that dastardly place.
A single slit of light entered the room, blurring out as her sight was restricted from her half closed eye lids. She blinked, unsure if her mind was playing tricks on her, but the light remained, only growing bigger within seconds.
The water splashed up her back, rushing past her towards where the submerged door was. Where the light was coming from.
Her grip tightened around Arlo as the movement of the water knocked her legs out from beneath herself. The water was quick to engulf them both within it's crisp grasp.
Cameron didn't struggle against the current, letting the water take them towards the door. The door that had been letting light in. The door that must have been opened.
Relief flooded through her, but was swiftly washed away when the urge to take a breath came. She bit her cheek, keeping her lips tightly shut, knowing air would come soon. And it did.
The water level lowered, leaving herself and Arlo in a crumpled puddle on the floor, in a brightly lit, unknown corridor. A choked laugh left her, shivers wracking over her form, as she gasped in as much oxygen as she could. The air hitting her soaked form wasn't warm, but it was better than the temperature of the water.
She crawled onto her hands and knees, her arms feeling uncharacteristically empty.
Arlo.
Her head whipped around, seeing her brother lying on his side, his back to her.
"Arlo!" Her voice cracked throughout the croak she had gained. She stumbled to her feet, her numb legs giving out from beneath her multiple times before she made it to his side.
Rolling him onto his back, she tilted his head back, leaning in to listen for breathing.
Nothing.
She squashed the panic that tried to rear its ugly head at the realization her brother wasn't breathing. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, muddling her thoughts as she tried to think clearly on what she needed to do.
CPR.
His head was already tilted back. Pinching his nose between two fingers, she breathed in a shallow breath, before leaning down and forcing the air into him through his mouth. Leaning back up, she took in another breath, and tried again. And again. And again.
"Come on Arlo," She pleaded in a heartbroken whisper. She breathed in, her head dizzy, much like after blowing up balloons. She could feel the tears brewing, turning her pickled orbs glassy.
"Cameron!"
Her head twisted to the left, much too fast in her dizzied state.
Two figures ran towards her, both dressed in black. One with midnight cropped hair and a neatly trimmed beard. The other with inky black hair tied back in a bun and a shiny golden stud earring in his left ear.
"You're here." She choked out in relief. Hysteria swirled around, accompanying the dizziness as she tried to stand. "Arlo's not breathing, I can't- he won't- please."
Myles caught her as her legs gave out on her once again, bringing her to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. A strangled sob left her as the warmth of Myles' hands felt like a hot poker against her uncovered skin. She didn't let herself calm down, watching as Reid continued where she had left off, breathing into Arlo's mouth to get him to breath.
It was like holding a breath, the silence tense, the repeated action of Reid like the tick of an irritating clock. It was stifling, terror-inducing, watching as one brother tried to get the other to breath. She held her sobs in, knowing if Arlo didn't-.
Reid turned Arlo onto his side as water was heaved up and out onto the floor. When no more water came out, Reid rolled him back onto his back. The rip of velcro being pulled apart echoed throughout the wet corridor, and an epi-pen appeared in Reid's right hand, and a knife in his left.
Placing the epi-pen on the floor, he pulled Arlo's trousers outward partly, before pushing the knife into it swiftly. The tear of the material seemed loud in the silence, as the knife created a hole to Arlo's thigh.
Dropping the knife to the floor, he formed a fist around epi-pen, pulling off a cap and shoving it straight into Arlo's leg. An almost silent click was heard, and Cameron saw Reid relax a tiny bit.
After what felt like days, Reid removed the epi-pen, placing the cap back on it, and rubbed the injection point.
"He'll be okay," Reid muttered, glancing back at Cameron and Myles.
Cameron let herself go limp in Myles' arms, a small smile tugging at her lips. Arlo was going to be fine. She wouldn't be guilty for the death of her brother.
Fucking hell, she had almost just lost her brother.
And once again, it was her fault.
She closed her eyes gently, holding the tears of guilt and relief behind her eyelids.
"We need to get you two out of here, and somewhere warm." Myles stated.
Cameron opened her eyes when Myles moved back, letting go of her. She watched as he took his jacket off, throwing it over her shoulders, his tattoo sleeve not hidden beneath his t-shirt. Her chilled muscles relaxed subconsciously, his body warmth still within the material and slowly transferring to herself.
She slipped her arms into the lengthy sleeves as Myles spoke again.
"Kal, is the way clear?.... Okay, we're on our way." If it had been anyone else, they would have thought he was speaking to himself, but the familiar shape of the earpiece sat in his ear. "Reid, have you got Arlo?"
Cameron glanced back towards her two other brothers, finding Arlo's unconscious form over Reid's shoulders. When that had happened, she had no idea.
A squeak of surprise burst from her, as a pair of arms lifted her up from the floor. Her hands rapidly latched onto Myles' shirt, her head spinning at the quick movement. She leaned her head onto his shoulder, her vision blurring.
"I got you."
She smiled a tired smile, her grip loosening on it's own, as she fought to keep her body awake. Her eyes slid closed.
She trusted her brothers to get them out of there; where ever 'there' actually was.