I heard a grumble from my gray-eyed neighbor but that was the most I got from any rejection. Still, I turned to the gossiping group and hushed them.

“You know we are in what is like a hospital wing right?” I said placing my finger to my lips.

Donny gazed at the emancipated guy and back to me. “Are we disturbing you?” he asked.

The man shook his head and switched sides grumbling some more. Donny turned to me. “He says we’re fine.”

“Nonetheless, keep it down alright?” I muttered watching the man as he grumbled to himself. Something was really familiar about the way he did that, but I couldn’t put a face to him from my memories.

“How long do you plan to hide out here?” asked Gabriella her eyes running over the cave and appliances by the bed. “It’s creepy.”

“I chuckled. “It’s not so bad, and as long as it takes for them to move me further into the caves.”

Andromeda who was sitting on the empty bed beside this one, shot up. “You can stay with me! I have room and I am deep within the cave system.”

I glanced at her unsure. Right now everything was good but when I showed my monstrous side again? And I was bound to. No ifs about it.

Gabriella raised a brow and glanced between us. “I don’t know about this,” she said turning to Andromeda. “Aren’t you scared of him?”

I sighed looking down. Please don’t answer that.

“I-I was–still am but I’m slowly working my way out of that place. At least I’m trying,” she said holding my gaze and smiling, and damn me if I didn’t feel her heart racing with every word. They were genuine and I felt like screaming because I knew something was going to happen to ruin her view of me again. This was a lot of progress tho for a day and I’d take whatever breadcrumb she left behind.

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I stood and walked over to her. I took her hands in mine. “Are you sure Andy?”

“Yes,” she whispered peering up with those beautiful Spanish eyes. I leaned down and right when we were about to kiss the cave started to vibrate and shake.

“Everyone to the ground!” I shouted picking Andromeda up and layng her on the floor. Technically we were screwed since we were meters deep in a cave but this quake didn’t seem seismic. It almost seemed manmade as if something or someone blew something up. Still we covered our heads from falling debris. Donny had grabbed the grumbling man, and had brought him to the floor, kicking and grumbling.

“Oomph!” he let out as the grumbling man punched him in the chest. He still held on and the quake worsened calming even the man who grumbled and covered his head. I watched as Donny lay there short of breath. A cracking sound came from the roof right where Donny was. I used my speed to stand and grab the flummoxed kid as the stalactite came crashing down seconds later where he had once been. It slowly stopped shaking.

We both breathed out and he glanced at me from the floor where I put him. “Thanks, Matt. I-I guess this means you forgive me?”

I raised a brow. “Kid, you saw the worst of me. Out of everyone, I understood your fear. Yours wasn’t based on maybe’s and ifs. You saw me at my worst.”

“S-Still I let that f-ear guide me and I was wrong… just take the apology!”

I laughed. “Okay okay. If that’s what you want, to be treated like the rest?”

Donny nodded.

“I haven’t forgiven the rest yet, tho.” I placed my hand on my chin like The Thinker from the photos in our history books. Donny swatted at me chuckling.

“Yo let me thin…”

“Awoooo”

Gabriella was up from the ground and Andromeda was a close second. I stopped kidding around while Donny shook.

“Houls?” he whispered from the floor.

Gabriella started to walk towards the entrance when Ike busted through bloody and out of breath.

“All of you have to leave. They have arrived to take us prisoner. They don’t know about this place yet.”

“Who’s arrived, what’s going on?” asked Andromeda shaking from behind me. Gabriella armed her laser beam and stood in front of Donny who was quaking. His eyes kept darting to Ike who flittered like a bumble bee around the room. He pressed down on what I thought was a nice coat rack and the walls shifted apart to show another crack in the walls.

“Quickly we haven’t much time before they reach us!” he said grabbing a torch by the wall and standing by the crack urging us forward. Another howl burst through the hallway and I made the decision to trust Ike.

“Fine. Andromeda grab Donny. You two are coming in with me. Gabriella, you have the tail,” I said grabbing a torch and passing it to Donny. “Stick right behind me, Donny. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Donny gripped the torch tighter and nodded and we entered the crack with Ike leading us down further into the cave. I heard Gabriella huff about it stinking down here and Andromeda wrinkled her nose agreeing. Donny was too scared to say anything tho he nodded his head when I spoke out.

“What stinks?”

“It’s the sulfuric acid that the cave naturally has pockets of,” whispered Ike as he led us down which to me seemed no way out. Then we turned left and began to climb a slope. I’m not sure how long we were climbing for, but I was coated in sweat, and Andromeda looked disheveled. Gabriella was grumbling, and Donny was huffing. The grumbling, emaciated man, on the other hand, took to this like a fish to water, nearly smiling.

“I’m glad someone likes this,” mumbled Gabriella. I raked my sweaty hair from my eyes and watched Ike as he led us forward. A prick of light dotted the cave above and I sighed in relief. We were almost out. A few more minutes. The pinprick grew in size becoming a well-lit entrance to a room, where the council was waiting, decked in fighting regalia. More importantly, a tall, dark-skinned, dance professor was with them.

Machi was back.