The Serum

E L E V E N.

"Is she okay?"

"She looks dead."

"Lucas!" 

My eyes flutter open and I crane my neck lightly, seeing three hazy faces. I emit a small groan and everyone sits back. I wheeze, hacking the last bits of water out of my chest before struggling to an upright position. I'm numb, everywhere, bone-cold. My head is muddled and the light filtering into my eyes makes them throb. I groan again. Is this what it's like to be drunk? I'm not one for heavy drinking, because my dad discouraged it. I try to respect his wishes, even though he's gone.

"What happened?" I say, barely louder than a whisper.

"You fell into the river and blacked out." Oliver tells me gently.

"Yeah, and Superman here dived right after you." Lucas hooks a thumb at Oliver, who smiles softly. 

"Thanks," I croak to him, tapping my head with the heel of my hand. I'm never going swimming again, that's for sure. I stumble around, looking up. The river drifts next to us, so it's clear we're at the bottom of the canyon. The sun is a bit lower, but not far, which tells me it has only been an hour or so. Good. 

"Lucas and Aria came down as quick as they could. I brought you out and we found this cave-" he jerks his chin to the stone opening behind us. "-that we're going to sleep in for the night." 

"Aww, you did that for me?" I crack at Lucas and Aria. Lucas snorts.

"She's definitely feeling better." He says, but I detect a glimmer of relief. I think we all are. I brush off some nonexistant lint. 

"I know what you guys are thinking. Man, how would we survive this place without Lizzy?" I grin. "I get it." 

Aria scowls but mirth glitters in her bright blue eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you need to say to make yourself sleep at night." 

"I don't think she'll have a problem sleeping," Oliver notes lightly. Pushing off a large rock, I stand. Oliver rushes to my side.

"Are you sure you'll be good to walk?" I give him a reproachful look and he backs away. As feeling slowly creeps into my legs, I observe the cave. It's made the same limestone as the canyon, which is to be expected. The weird part is the odd markings covering the walls. Not just one wall, all of them. With the same picture, too. A crude drawing, but recognizable. I peer closer at it, trying not to squint too much. 

It's a burnished red color, a grainy paste. I see this figure, which based on the spikes, seem to be a Creeper. The Creeper is standing up, next to a normal human. They are only connected by a clumsy arrow. I furrow my brows, trying to decipher what it could mean. 

Maybe that humans turn into Creepers?

It makes sense, but why is the arrow going the other direction? Shouldn't it be going from human to Creeper? I shift to the second part of the drawing; a syringe by the looks of it. It has some strange marking, a symbol of sorts. I don't recognize it, so it must not be very common. I take a large step back, frowning. None of this makes any sense. 

"Lizzy?" I jump and see Oliver, concerned. "You good?"

"Yeah." I force a smile. He doesn't look convinced, but nods anyways.

"We're collecting some firewood. Want to come?"

"Why not?" I follow him, sparing one last glance at the strange markings. 

It's nothing, my mind soothes. 

Repeating that to myself, I follow Oliver out of the cave.