| Chapter 13 I shivered. The cold, damp darkness was frightening. I tried to remember what had happened, why was I here? I listened at the sounds around me. A wave crashed against the rock. Then it hit me... Mark. "Mark, where are you?" I asked. I crawled around in the pitch black of the cave. I couldn't hear anything, nor see anyone. "Mark!" I said a bit more worried this time. 'Where is he?' I thought. I turned away to crawl back to my area. I stopped immediately when I heard a bit of a murmur. "MARK!!!" I screamed. The sound echoed through the cave. It was endless. 'This place is scary.' I thought. "Mei? Mei are you there?" I heard a weak whisper ask. "Mark? Keep talking so I can find you." I replied. I listened closely. "Mei, Mei, help me please." He whispered again. I touched something cold and wet. My heart stopped, but then I realized it was Mark. "Mark? Mark, what happened?" I asked. "It's my foot, Mei. My foot." He whimpered. "Let me take you into the light, ok?" I asked. I gently dragged him closer to the entrance of the cave. I looked at his swollen foot in the light. It was bleeding and very swollen. I looked closer and noticed a few black stick-like objects were in it "Dammit, Vanna!" I hissed. He must have stepped on some of it when he dragged me into this cave. Vanna was very poisonous and I knew it needed to be removed right away. 'But how?' I had no access to anything and we were pretty much trapped in this cave. He needed medical help, fast! I looked over my choices. Stay here, or climb the cliff. Either way we'd probally die, either of starvation or slipping off the algae covered rock. I had to take a chance."Mark, I'm going to try climb up to get help, ok?" I told him. "Am I in danger?" he asked. "Um, well, yes. I need to go." I explained. I wasn't sure whether lying would be be the best thing to do in this situation. "Oh, Mei. I'm scared." He cried. Mark looked at me with fear in his blue eyes, "Do you have to leave?" he asked. I nodded, "Yea, I have to. You'll be fine, don't worry. I need to get you help for that foot before the poison enters your bloodstream. Please understand." I said. I gave him a big hug, "If I don't come back, or if I fall start screaming for help." I paused, "Don't try to save me. We both don't deserve to die, and plus you already saved me once today." I continued. "Yesterday. You've been sleeping for a day." He corrected. "Oh, then I better get going now." I got up, "Mark if you get hungry, I think this type of seaweed is edible." I said pointing at the plant in the small pool of salt water. "Ok. Take care alright, you can't leave me here all alone forever." He pleaded. "Good bye, Mark." I whispered giving him a hug, and a kiss on the forehead. "Bye, Mei." He replied. "Look. Take this, ok? Keep warm, no matter what." I commanded. I removed my shirt from my back and handed it to him. "Thanks, but you really don't need to." He told me. I looked back and pushed the shirt back to him, "It's ok. I still have my swimsuit on anyway." I explained, "Take care, Mark." I turned around and crawled closer towards the entrance of the cave. "Good bye." He said, "I love you, and don't you forget it." He smiled. "Love you too!" I said before I disappeared up the side of the cliff to find help. Chapter 14 'Don't look down, don't look down.' I told myself. I climbed higher, careful not to let my footing slip or miss the rock. The sound of the waves pounding against the cliff was a dreadful reminder of what lay below me. I shivered and climbed on. 'Almost there.' I thought. I reached up and tried to get some good rock or root I could hold onto to help pull me up. I found a small stone and held on tight. I got my other hand up and pulled hard. The stone came loose and fell. I slipped and tried to regain my balance. I looked down to see the rock hit against the cliff before plummeting into the water. 'Must get up!' I told myself. I swung my leg over the ledge. I sat down and attempted to catch my breath. "Are you ok?" a man asked me. "Kian?" I said turning around to face him. I flung my arms around him and sighed. Perhaps things could get better now that someone else was here to help. "Where's Mark?" he asked. I tried to stay composed as I told him about everything, my fall, almost drowning, Mark possibly dying, everything. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed, "Let's go back now. We need to call an ambulance." He continued. "Not an ambulance, a helicopter." I corrected, "He's in a cave, it's going to be tough getting him out. He's stung, bad, and needs immediate help." I said. "Well then, let's get a move on it." He called back as he rushed back home. ----------------------------------------------------- "Hello? Hello? Is this 911?... Oh, ok... Alright, listen, my friend, Mark, is hurt and we need you all to come out and save him... where?... Oh, in a cave on a cliff by... Yea, I think that's it... Ok we'll meet you there then... Bye and thank you." Nicky put down the phone and looked up. "So what did they say?" I eagerly asked. "Well..." he paused, "They said they can try to save him but it's not positive he'll survive." There was a moment of silence. I looked down at my hands and tried to play with my shirt. "Clara, would you mind if I could go change?" I asked. "What? Oh, go ahead." She replied removing her head from Kian's arms. I walked into her cottage, grabbed some clothes and a towel, and walked into the bathroom. I got into the bath-tub and let the cool water mix in with the bubble bath. 'This is what I need right now.' I told myself. I sighed as the warm water surrounded my body. I thought about how good it was to be alive. 'God, I could have died.' I thought of Mark, he managed to save me, and yet, now he may die, and I can't do anything to stop it. 'Now he may never know how I feel.' My heart cried. I vowed to myself I'd tell him the truth... if I ever saw him alive again. --------------------------------------------------------- "Mei! Mei!" Esther cried coming into the house, "The helicopter's here!" she said. I quickly put down my hairbrush, pulled my hair back into a pony-tail, and bounded out onto the front lawn. "You're coming, right?" Shane asked. I looked at him and said, "Of course! This is kinda my fault and all." I looked down. "Mei," Shane said lifting my chin, "This is not your fault. Whatever you do don't blame yourself." ---------------------------------------------------------- I sat impatiently in the helicopter waiting for the rescue personnel to give us the news. Everyone in the helicopter held hands and said prayers as we waited for him to come back. The rope began to be raised and I looked eagerly at the door. The man walked in quickly and looked about. "Ok everyone, the news you are about to hear may come as a shock." We looked at the man in dead silence as we waited for him to finish his sentence... |