ꕤblue waterꕤ

Chapter 10 - Pathetic dorks are the Hottest, Aren't They, Doggy?

The interior of the cave was almost unnatural, a blue hue coated every inch of the place, and the air around looked like it was shimmering. Ripley and Lauren had been walking for a while now, chatting between themselves as they looked for their friends. They had assumed they'd hear them eventually, especially with how silent it was. You could hear drops of water falling down from the stalagmites hanging above, but that was about it.

There were small pools of crystal clear water strewn about the place, it was so reflective that Lauren almost fell in a few of them. “Man, where could they be?? I didn't think this place was THAT big!” Ripley said, kicking a small pebble. They have been looking for a little while now, and they didn't bring a map, either. They thought they'd be fine without one! Last time they do something like that.

Lauren stood still, glancing around the tunnel they were in before spotting a small crevice. “Have we checked there, yet?” He asked, pointing to the small opening. Ripley looked over to where he was pointing out, shaking her head. “No, actually, I didn't even see that before!” Ripley, without another word, ran over to the crevice. Taking a peek inside before running through, as Lauren scrambled to chase after her. “Wow, this place is way bigger than I thought.” The crevice led into a much larger cavern, even larger than the caverns outside the crevice.

“Oh, wait, I think I know this part! It's the 'extra midnight' section of the cave, I think I saw it on the sign with the map thing before we went in,” Lauren said. They stood around, taking in the gorgeous deep blue cavern. Ripley turned to Lauren, grabbing a hold of his hand tightly. “Well, we should probably stop sightseeing,” She said, pulling him towards a large tunnel. It led to another cavern, this one was smaller, though still bigger than your average living room.

They spotted Heron and Jessica almost instantly after exiting the tunnel, which they were quite happy to see! They had been searching for around 25 minutes now, and their soles were getting tired. Jessica was sitting down on a large rock, and Heron was pacing around as they were talking about something. Though, they were too far away to tell what it was. “Hi, guys!!” Ripley happily shouted, even if they didn't hear that, which they did; the echo of her voice bounced throughout the walls, directing their attention over to the tunnel entrance.

Ripley dragged herself, and Lauren, over to the rock. Sighing in relief, as they really didn't want to walk anymore. It was getting tiring. “Oh, hey. What're you two doing here?” Jessica said, still clearly upset from what transpired a bit ago. “We came to make sure you guys were okay, and stuff,” Lauren said, noticing the distinct lack of Vincent and his eternal resting bitch face. “Aw, that's cute! We're fine, enough, though!” Heron glanced at Lauren, before pointing to yet another tunnel. “He's over in another part of the cave right there, though thankfully it's a dead end so he can't GO anywhere else…”

Lauren cheerfully nodded at that, starting to walk towards said tunnel. “Cool, thanks!! I'm going to go talk to him,” Lauren said, seemingly unafraid of a man who's been so adamant about hating his guts. The others, unlike Lauren, were concerned about his safety. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't think that's a good idea, Red!!” Heron said, hastily zipping in front of Lauren. Damn Vampire super speed. “Yeah, I mean, It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize he has the biggest problem with you,” Ripley added in, shrugging.

Lauren frowned, surprisingly pushing Heron off to the side. “Yeah, and so I should fix that problem if it's with me!” He said, still keeping that positive outlook. The others still weren't too convinced, though they also didn't want to stop him. “Are you not worried he's going to hurt you?” Jessica spoke up. Lauren thought about that question for a few moments, before shrugging. “Emotionally, maybe? But he's never psychically hurt me before, I don't see why that'd change now!” Lauren continued on, turning to face them as he got to the next tunnel. “I'll be fine, trust me! And also be right back,”