Chapter 18: Cave, Part 3

Once inside the cave, we used the knives to strip the bark off the ends and whittled them swiftly into points, creating hotdog skewers. Quickly, Markesha, Jada, and I roasted all the hot dogs we could find, while Lisa fried hamburgers. Soon, there were piles of hotdogs and hamburgers stacked neatly on brightly colored plastic cafeteria trays.

As I waited for the last hotdog to cook, I swayed a little, feeling the heaviness of my eyes and my body. Wake up, I thought to myself, willing it to be so. I wanted to be awake when Derek came home. Home. It was strange to think of this cave as home, but that was what it was going to be for who knew how long.

I just prayed that Derek was okay, that he was safe. It seemed strange to be there without him. Since the attack, I hadn't been separated from him; not even for a minute. It seemed strange, being away from him now. It was as if part of me was missing.

Then, there was a strange noise outside the cave. For a moment, I was tempted to put out the fire and douse the light, but then I remembered that no one could see it in the cave, unless they were right at the door. The cave entrance was high enough up the hill that a fire would be hard to see, even at night. During the day, we couldn't have a fire because the billowing smoke would be too visible, but at night, it was another story.

Another noise; a rustling sound.

Jada placed a finger to her lips as she reached for the knives. She silently handed one to each of us, then edged closer toward the cave entrance.

Holding the knife in my slightly shaking hand, I wondered again if I could kill someone to save my own life or to save the life of another. I didn't want to be forced to have to make that particular decision at the moment, but I knew the time would come soon enough.

There was another noise, then another. I listened as I clenched the knife tightly within my sweaty grasp. My heart pounded loudly within my chest as I waited, holding my breath.

"What's going on here?" Trevor asked, bounding in the cave entrance carrying three filled back packs. He looked at our expressions and the knives in our hands. "Geez, get a grip!"

We all breathed a sigh of relief as Eric, Carlos, and the rest of the guys came into the room behind him. All of the guys were carrying three or more backpacks each. Lisa called to Brolin over her shoulder when he came in, motioning for him to come over, with the frying pan still in her hands.

"That's my girl!" Brolin said, eyeing the frying pan and the tray piled with hamburgers.

Lisa grinned broadly, clearly happy to see him, "Did you get more stuff?"

It was obvious that they had, but he nodded happily, sliding his arms around her waist.

"What's going on here?" Brittany asked sleepily, hearing the commotion.

Everyone laughed.

Smelling the food, she sat up, swaying a little, still groggy. She shielded her eyes, trying to focus.

My eyes were still searching, when they finally landed on Derek. He was the last one to step into the cave. My heart leapt within my chest as I spotted him, carrying three backpacks, and a broad grin erupted across his face when he eyed me.

"Wait 'til you see what we got!" Trevor said excitedly, ready to unzip one of the backpacks.

"Let's eat first," I interrupted, smiling. Trevor grimaced, but his stomach won out.

We were all ready to dig in when Jada stopped us. "Listen up, everyone. Let's say the blessing first. We still have a lot to be thankful for."

"Like what?" Trevor asked, placing the backpack to the side.

"Like we're still alive, aren't we?" Jada replied.

So we all bowed our heads while Jada said the blessing. We asked God to protect our loved ones, who were separated from us. Again, my thoughts turned to Mom, Timmy, Dad, and Brandon. As my thoughts turned to my loved ones, I wondered where they were, and if I would ever see them again.

"Now let's eat!" Trevor yelled, breaking the spell of the moment, as everyone laughed.

And a moment later, we were all shoving hot dogs and hamburgers on buns into our mouths; some of the guys weren't even bothering to douse them with mustard and ketchup first. Scott was so hungry he didn't even bother with the bun. He just shoved a hotdog into his mouth and practically swallowed it whole. As I raised the hotdog to my mouth, I never remembered smelling a scent so luscious. And as my teeth sank into it, I knew I had never tasted anything so good in my life.

It was the first decent thing any of us had eaten in nearly three days and it tasted heavenly. I ate three hot dogs, more than I had ever eaten at one time in my life. Trevor ate ten, at least. Derek stopped at about five or six. I wasn't keeping track. And I couldn't keep track of how many hamburgers everyone ate, either.

After Trevor ate the last hamburger, Lisa mentioned, "If anyone is still hungry, I can cook up some more."

"No!" about five of us yelled at once, and then we all laughed.

Suddenly, the day caught up with us and we were all lying around. In a few hours, it would be daylight. Jada and I managed to clean up what little dishes there were in the stream before we finally collapsed. As I walked near Derek, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down into his lap, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me back to lean against his chest.

"Don't worry about anything, Casey," Derek whispered into my ear. "You're safe with me. I'll keep you safe."

I nodded, feeling content. As I dozed off, Derek was playing lightly with my hair. And somewhere inside me, I knew it was true. I was safe, despite the environment. My mind drifted as sleep finally found me, safe in Derek's arms.