The group continued moving within the cave. They were sure that it had nothing inside it because, as Alice used [Analysis], it had the title of [Abandoned Cave]. Hence, they simply continued moving inside until they were at the end of it. Finally sitting down and resting all of their senses
"fuuuuck" Ethan wanted to scream but it was too risky. So he simply said this while also muffling his own mouth with his hands that covered his face.
"Why the hell is he afraid of thunder and lightning?" Jake asked, thinking how things would've been easier with Sol.
"That's quite ironic of you to depend on him now, seeing how you and Ethan just wanted him to fail throughout the whole maze right?" Alice defended, with Sol leaning on her shoulders.
"W-what are you talking about?" Jake retorted.
"Cut it out Jake." Was Peter's demand, finally making him shy away to the corner together with Ethan.
anwhile, Alice stroked Solomon's head. It was the first ti that she saw him in that state - weak and vulnerable. And for reasons she herself couldn't explain, she loved the feeling of getting needed by Sol.
The cave echoed the sound of thunder but, it wasn't as strong. And the flashes of lightning never fully reached them, only invading up to the middle of the cave. With every strike of lightning and, with every roar of the thunder, the only worry everyone had in their mind was Sol.
Deep down they thought that he could recover eventually. However, for the mont, they needed to think for themselves.
"Jake, put down the beds and make sure that they're still dry. Ethan, use the rope you have to make a line where we could hang our wet clothes."
"Wait, what are you"
"We can't get sick in this situation. If one of us gets a cold or fever, then that would greatly paralyze the group as a whole. Plus, if your concern is seeing my body, you don't need to worry. It's too dark for you to sneak a peak." Alice didn't mind getting naked with a bunch of teenagers. She was an orphan and a thief after all and, the life she lived didn't have much privacy.
"Co on Alice. It's still a bit awkward." Jake said.
"Seriously? Okay fine. I'll take off my clothes of first then I'll hide in the bed. Turn around while I do all of this so your consciousness are clear. Does that make you guys comfortable?"
"That should be better." Peter said, with the group doing everything in order.
Alice was the first to strip naked and, she also helped Sol do the sa. She hanged both of their clothes and, as soon as she was back to her bed and coated from shoulder to toes, the three remaining mbers of the team followed suit.
One of the fire crystals was also used by the group in order to dry them up. Keeping it at a warm enough temperature. With their clothes being hanged, it also served as a way to block most of the fire's light from getting out of the cave. And, with all of this being secured, the team tried to rest.
"Let's continue once our clothes have dried up. For now, we should just sleep." Everyone agreed to this, not even needing much effort in fact.
But, there was one person who couldn't get any decent shut eye. Even with so of the sound being muffled, the thunder still brought enough fear to Sol to keep him awake. His whole body was trembling and, no matter how much he tried drowning it in his thoughts, there was no effect. That is when a faint voice asked him a question.
"Can't sleep?" Peter thought that sothing like that would happen. That Sol would not be able to rest because, no matte how strong the front he tried to make was, Solomon was still a boy.
"It's nothing. You should get so sleep Peter."
"Oh, at least you're not stuttering now." Peter's bed was next to Sol's so he could talk without having to raise his voice too much.
"Zip it." Sol said, making Peter smile.
"Hey, I figured sothing out you know."
"What is it?"
"Well. I'm gonna die aren't I? A few days from now and the Culling would finally start. When we get on that stage, I'll probably be one of the first to get taken out."
"Nonsense. I'm gonna make sure you survive. I need you until the final phase." Sol said.
"You need huh. That's kinda heartwarming to hear from you." Peter was shocked by Sol's words, deciding to open sothing up to the boy.
"But you see, I'm already dead. In fact, I died a couple of tis already." Sol thought the statent was illogical. He thought that Peter was probably not in his elents so he suggested:
"You really need to get so sleep."
"Hey it's true you know. When I was young, I had four siblings and, I was the eldest among them. Those four depended on because both our parents were good for nothing." Sol listened closely to Peter's words as if he was hearing a bedti story.
"I worked hard in the plantation to get enough money and save my siblings from starving. But my parents would take away half my earnings and use it for their vices and their gambling. And if that wasn't enough, they would even beat up my siblings when I'm at work." Sol stared straight at the ceiling, not saying anything nor did he want to see Peter's expression at that mont.
"I always told them that it was fine. T-That they just needed to endure and, t-that deep down our parents really loved us. Those were probably the most fucked up lies I ca up with because, one day, when I ca ho, my three brothers were dead and bloodied while, my youngest sister was being raped by my own father." Peter's voice was shaking.
"I don't rember much of the details that ca or rather, my mid must've erased those mories. But I killed them. I killed my mother who smoked outside the house like nothing wrong was happening and, my father who was the devil himself." Everything Peter said was shocking for Sol. He never imagined that Peter had such a grim past. It was common in the slums of course but, it was the first ti he was hearing a story that dark firsthand.
"When my consciousness ca back, both my parents were already dead. Their flesh and blood were on my hands and my clothes were stained by the sa color. And if there was one thing that I regret in that mont, it was that I couldn't savor every second of killing them."
"I died in that mont. Life was dark and colorless and, no matter what happened next, I seed to be unaffected. It was like I was just waiting for death to take . In fact, I prayed to be selected for the culling. More than anything else, that was what I wanted."
"Then reaching twenty, I thought death really hated . It was making fun of and saying that it'll let live and suffer. But my na was called in the Culling and, unlike all of you, I actually loved it. I was finally going to die." Peter's voice sounded so lonely at that point. So much so that it pierced through Sol's heart.
"Yet fate made things cruel because the four of youboth your genders and your ages, all would've been the sa as my dead siblings right now."
Sol finally looked at Peter at that point. The guy was crying but he didn't stop. He was saying everything that was buried in his heart.
"It's funny. Fate is really mocking until the end because the longer I stayed with you guysthe more I got to know youthe more that my soul was getting back from the grave. And now, all of a sudden, death is once again a frightening thought."
"Peter"
"You don't need to say anything Sol. I just want you to know that, in the Culling, if an opportunity ever cos when I can save any of you, I will not hesitate to take it."
The fla was warm that night. It seed to embrace both Sol and Peter. Even in the midst of the raging storm, their souls had a calm that could not be disturbed.
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