He wasn't lying next to the rocks for long. The gentle noise of crickets and the deep croaks of frogs provided a distraction from his aching head. The smell around the air was earthly, refreshing from the tight knit area of Seabrook.
Zed was eventually able to breathe again without any hiccups interrupting him. He took a deep breath before picking himself off the ground, mud clung to his pants and shoes. He was then painfully aware of his hands, that stung when he stretched his fingers out. His knuckles were bleeding, trickles of blood dripping down his finger tips. Hopefully he didn't break anything.
The familiar soft sound of running water piqued his interest. He then realized that it was coming from the other side of the smashed in rocks. He lightly pushed against the wall, and watched as it crumbled, revealing a tunnel about six feet wide. Once he stepped in, he saw the protruding crystals from the overarching ceiling and jagged walls. Zed's eyesight was muddled down from the lack of light inside the cave (he forgot his phone back at the table), so he wasn't exactly able to appreciate them. The walls were littered with symbols, none that he could recognize.
He walked for a minute down the twists and turns of the carved out path, before he saw the blinding light of a stream. The water was spilling from a statue of a wolf's head, the jaws opened as wide as they could go, cascading down an abundance of purple crystals. The water continued on, leading out a very small opening on the ground, presumably outside.
Zed ran his hands under the water, sighing in relief as the cold water washed away the grime and blood from his hands. The red blended itself into the once clear water, coiling throughout in spirals and twists. He dried his hands on his jacket and was about to leave, but a twinkle of something caught his eye at the bottom of the stream where the dirt and rocks had settled.
The object let out small whispers, entering his ears and soothing his pounding head. He liked the gentle tune it poured out. He pulled out the object, turning it over in his hand. It was beautiful; an intricate metal weaving around a blue gemstone, which was carved in the vague shape of a heart.
The necklace continued its lullaby of a melody, growing louder as he unclasped the chain. It wouldn't hurt to put it on, right?
He shook his head, the song abruptly stopping. It would. No, he should not be putting on a necklace that he found in a creepy, magical cave.
He saw the blood from his wounds in the water start to spread, consuming the entire water into a dark crimson. He pocketed the necklace as the walls' symbols glowed, lighting up the whole cave in a violently saturated cerulean.
Zed dashed out of the cave, not taking his chances of looking back as the cave glowed angrily. He tripped over an uprooted tree in his clamber to escape, crashing to the ground. He stayed on the ground, letting himself breath again. Just when he calmed himself down he had to go and discover a magical cave.
His heart leapt once more as he heard several footsteps slowly approach his way. He turned over, expecting to see students and a teacher that finally decided to go find him. He didn't see anyone when he looked around though.
"Guys?" Zed called out, he received birds chirping.
A figure dashed behind a tree. Zed picked himself up, looking around at the trees and noticed that there wasn't a stone path like there usually was. He strayed off the path and couldn't remember where he came from, how awesome.
"Very funny, now come out wherever you are." Zed's voice dripped in sarcasm. The trees rustled as birds flew away. He stilled himself as eyes stared back at him from a distance. The eyes of a wolf.
Okay, a wolf, that may or not be hungry. He could take on a wolf. He heard leaves crunch from his left and whipped around, another wolf appeared. Then more wolves from all sides, he was being circled by at least seven. Zed didn't like the new math he was doing in his head.
So, they were definitely hungry and hunting Zed as their prey. The zombie just couldn't catch a break, could he?
One of the wolves snapped their jaws in his direction, and the other wolves joined in, growling and slowly inching forward, making his chances of finding an opening fall flat.
"I'll have you know, I taste horrible," Zed tried to reason with the wolves; as if they could understand him at all. "I'm the walking dead. Best to go find something fresh." He slipped off his Z-band, quieting his transformation as to not set the wolves off any sooner.
One of the wolves grew impatient, and sprinted forwards. Zed was ready and dodged the bite, grabbing onto the wolf's tail and hind leg, swinging it back into another wolf. The two yelped, but quickly recovered from their collision.
The other hunters bared their teeth, mock pouncing, trying to scare him into a more compliant meal.
A loud howl caught all their attention, Zed was tempted to turn back, but didn't want to take his eyes off the wolves and give them an opportunity to attack.
A wolf was tossed back, whimpering as it hit a tree. A dark figure landed in front of Zed with a thud, snarling at the approaching wolves.
"Wyatt!" His own voice was distorted, but he had never been so grateful to see the werewolf. Wyatt only continued his attempted intimidation, crouching into a defensive stance with his claws out.
The wolves grew irritated, pacing around their prey more frantically.
Wyatt's eyes flashed in a warning. The wolves flattened their ears and began a slow backtrack, eventually turning and scurrying away. Wyatt carded through the grass around them, finding the hidden Z-band and clasping it around Zed's wrist hastily.
He was almost mauled by wolves. That's some added trauma to his tragic autobiography. He placed a hand over his chest to calm his racing heart, the leftover adrenaline slowly fading along with his zombified veins.
"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Wyatt turned to him, grabbing his face and checking both sides. Zed pried his hands away.
"I'm fine," he said, but Wyatt narrowed his eyes and grasped his hands, looking at his knuckles. The scuffle must have prevented the injuries from healing, the skin yellowing into a bruise. Maybe not completely fine.
"What's this from?" Wyatt interrogated. The wolf ripped off two strips from his shirt, wrapping them around the wounds before the zombie could reply.
"I was just punching some stuff is all," Zed explained, "besides, I'm more focused on how cool that was! You leaped like 20 feet at least! You had those wolves running back with their tails between their legs!"
Wyatt flushed, finishing wrapping his hands and looking away from Zed's bright smile, "It was nothing. Normal wolves are naturally afraid of werewolves." He rubbed his neck.
"Still, I would have been puppy chow without you. Thanks." Zed enveloped Wyatt in a hug. The werewolf froze, unsure of whether or not it was okay to hug back.
"There's the lovebirds. I knew we heard your howl out here." Willa jumped down from an elevated rock, Wynter right on her tail.
Wyatt pushed Zed away, clearing his throat and straightening his vest, his face still pink. Zed shot him a questioning glance.
"I'm guessing the wolves you howled about are gone then?" Wynter looked around, and Wyatt nodded.
"You had me worried. I thought Willa might have had to pull her alpha card on them." Wynter smiled in relief. "Let's head back before someone snitches in our absence."
As they headed back the way they came, Willa spoke up, "Zed, what were you doing out this far?"
He didn't know whether to come clean and embarrass himself, or give vague details. "I uh, I was just, you know, blowing off some steam. Addison and I got into a small argument."
"You talked to her?" Wyatt sounded surprised.
"I didn't want to. It just got heated, and I acted out." Zed added sheepishly. He didn't like admitting to a weakness in front of the wolves.
"Eh, it's understandable. She can be frustrating sometimes." Willa waved it off. "I suggest waiting a bit to cool down more before talking to her again. We don't want you running off again now do we?" She flashed a smile his way.
"You know you're safe now, right? Nothings going to get you." Wynter reassured, she was looking down at his hands.
His hands were shaking. "Ah, yeah. I know that." Zed folded his trembling fingers behind his back, not wanting to draw any more attention.
"Well, well, what exactly made you kids think wandering off was a good idea?" A teacher scolded upon their arrival back to the main field area.
"Zed and Wyatt were trying to find the bathroom." Willa crossed her arms, giving the teacher an uninterested look.
"Why did that take four of you?" Teacher questioned, not believing the lie for one second.
"Zed and Wyatt went off to find the bathroom, and we followed because we also had to use the bathroom. Do I need to prove that we had to pee?" Willa sneered.
The teacher looked shocked, "No, but I do not need such an attitude from you. Get back to your groups before I write up all of you for truancy."
They scurried away, Zed grateful for Willa's excuse, but also wishing she could have sounded a bit more apologetic to sell it. Zed was able to grab his belongings at the table he abandoned on his way back to his group.
What a fun field trip this was going to be.