As my feet hit the bottom of the dark hole, Cary lights up a sparkler to dimly illuminate the area around us. There are two tunnels stretching into opposite directions.
"What is this place?" I ask. Joe doesn't answer, just starts walking. I look back at the other tunnel before running to catch up.
Now that my heart isn't racing with adrenaline from running for my life, I am slowly becoming more and more aware of the pain in my leg. Running around on it probably wasn't my best idea, but what was I supposed to do? Get killed?
As we quietly move down the tunnel, we find that it branches out into even more tunnels to form a whole network. I have no clue how we're going to get back, since I'm already lost. Up ahead, a giant cavern filled with TV's, dishwashers, and other appliances opens up. And there's something hanging from the ceiling, but I just can't....
.....I turn to my left and come face to face with one of the things hanging from the ceiling. It's the sheriff, his face white and eyes wide. I'm about to scream when Cary puts his hand over my mouth and pulls me away. He follows Joe behind a rock and removes his hand.
"I-it-it's the Sh-Sheriff!" I whisper. I keep staring at his body, hanging from the ceiling. Is that what's going to happen to us if we get captured? We get knocked unconscious and then hung from the ceiling until all the blood pools in our heads and kills us?
Once again, a feeling of regret and hesitation takes over my mind. What did I get myself into?
"Guys, there's bodies everywhere," Joe whispers. Thanks Joe, but that's not really helping.
"Where is this?" Cary asked.
"Under the water tower." I look around, trying to see if I can see Sara or Alice. Suddenly, the monster drops down from the ceiling and I flinch. The monster walks around a stack of ovens, grabs a person from the ceiling, and....Oh my God.
"It's eating a person," Cary mutters. The monster eats a whole leg, and then turns around to walk to a engine.
"Wait, I see her!" Joe says and points. Over on the other side of the cavern, Alice is hanging upside down.
"Cary, we need to use your firecrackers," Joe whispers.
"I don't think that's gonna hurt him Joe."
"No, there's other tunnels. I need you to make noise right here in 2 minutes. Make it loud, and make it last. You can't be here when it blows, you gotta run and get out." With that, Joe gets up and starts to run back down the tunnel.
"Joe! Where you going!" I whisper and try to stand up, but Cary pulls me back down.
"Chloe, help me with these," Cary says as he begins to pull firecrackers from his bag.
And all at once, my old self returned. The one who doesn't like to talk to others, the one who is afraid of adventure, the one who is scared to try. I back away from Cary, shaking in fear.
"Chloe, what's wrong?"
"C-Cary, I can't do this," I whisper. "I mean, we're just kids. What chance do we have against a monster?"
"We already escaped it before."
"Barely. I bet Sara is already dead, and Alice is next. There's no point anymore. I might as well yell for this thing to take me now." Cary stares at me in disbelief. Honestly, I can't believe myself either. I stand up on my knees, and open my mouth to yell. But right before I manage to make a sound, Cary clamps his hand over my mouth and pulls me down to the ground again. We both stare each other with wide eyes, forgetting for a moment what's right down the tunnel.
"Chloe, you're just scared," Cary whispers, barely audible over the sparks shooting from an engine. "I know that this is scary for you, trust me I'm terrified too. But we can't give up now. This isn't just about us anymore. This is about about all of Lillian, maybe even more than that. You and me, we might be what decides the fate of everyone else...." Cary slumps his shoulders a bit, the determination in his eyes fading a bit. "You know, you're right. We are just kids..."
Seeing Cary like that, so defeated and scared, broke my heart. He has never given up on anything before. Anything.
I move forward and start to arrange firecrackers. Cary is all the motivation I need.
Maybe I've already given up on myself, but I won't let Cary give up on himself.
"Chloe, what are you-?" Cary starts to ask, but I cut him off by shoving fireworks at him.
"A boy once told me that he'd always cared for me. Even when I only pushed him away, he cared. I still don't exactly understand why he cares, but it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that I will do anything to show him that I care for him too, and I won't let him give up. So are you going to help me with this or are you going make me do it myself?" Cary stares at me for a moment, before a faint smile appears on his lips. He quickly begins to arrange the firecrackers while I look out in the cavern again. The monster turns around, and he pulls Alice from the ceiling.
"Hurry!" I say. Cary flips out his lighter and flicks it, but nothing comes out. There is no way that we are getting this close and failing now, there's no way.
Finally, a small spark leaps to life and Cary lights the fuse. I look up at the monster again and something catches my eye.
"Chloe, let's go!" Cary says.
"Cary, look," I say, completely ignoring him. Not that far away, I see a woman hanging upside down. Sara.
"Chloe, we've got to go right now," Cary pleads.
"But she's right there. I can run and get her-" Cary grabs my hand and pulls me away right as the fireworks leap to life. He drags me around a corner and down a tunnel.
"She was right there..." I say, shocked that she's alive.
"I know, and I'm sorry. But we need to get out of here." We both stop and look around. There are four tunnels, each extending in different directions.
"Which way?" Cary asks. I hear a roar come from my left.
"Any way away from that," I mutter as we sprint to the right. After we run through about 5 different tunnels, we run into Joe, Alice, the Sheriff, and some lady.
"I thought I told you guys to get out!" Joe yelled.
"I thought this was the way out!" Cary yelled back. He looks over at Alice. "Hey Alice, welcome back." Suddenly, a giant hand grabs the sheriff. We all scream and run away from the monster. I am running next to the lady when she suddenly disappears from my side.
"It took her!" Cary yelled. "I don't want to be next!" We turn into a tunnel and meet a dead end. The alien climbs around the corner, and we all back into the wall.
"I don't want to die!" I say. "I haven't driven before, I haven't graduated, I haven't been kissed-" At that last part, Cary grabbed my face and his lips met mine.
It's kind of ironic that the first thing I think of to describe it is fireworks. When I think about it, it's the only word that makes sense.
Because for that moment, we weren't in a cave.
We weren't about to be killed by an alien.
It was just us, together.
Fireworks.
And then that moment was cut tragically short, as we both pulled apart. For a moment, we just stared at each other. But then, I am pulled away from Cary and into air. I come eye to eye with the alien. It roars in my face, and I scream and try to inch out of its grip. But like a shock of electricity, I understand.
I don't belong here.
Why won't you let me go home?
I just want to leave here.
But I will kill anything that keeps me from going home.
I will kill you too.
But there is something that you have that belongs to me.
Give it to me, and I won't kill you.
I gasp and stare at the alien. I have something?
Suddenly, a lit sparkler hits the alien in the eye and it drops me. I fall to the ground, landing on my back. Cary pulls me up and over with Alice and Joe.
We are in a dead end, and now stuck with a pissed off alien.
"Are you okay?" Cary asks. I can't believe he fought and alien with a sparkler to save me.
"Yeah, I think so. It told me that I have something that belongs to it."
"You talked to an alien?" The alien roars and we all scream and back into the wall. But then Joe begins to yell at it. The alien grabs him, but he stays calm. Amazingly, the alien listens to him, sets him down, and runs off.
"Wait a minute...what?!" Cary yells. Alice runs over to Joe, asking if he's okay. Cary turns to me, out of words. Luckily for him, Joe yells for us to get out of the cave.
And unluckily for me, Cary nods at Joe and pulls me along out of the cave.
I wanted to hear what he had to say.
I want to know if he felt the fireworks.