16 SIREN

Dennise spewed out all the river water that just got into her stomach as soon as they reached the river bank. She knew it was a crazy idea to let go of Leira to save Zara because she may not want to consider that. What she just did was risky... She also was not that well and was tipsy. Maybe she is just trusting herself too much without realizing that overconfidence can possibly put her in danger.

However, she doesn't even have a bit of regret for doing that. She saved Zara and even though it turned out the other way around. After the late effect of the liquor, which made her dizzy that exact moment and weakened her body. Then, being with Zara fighting for their life, she felt like it was a blessing in disguise.

She looks at Zara differently now because she knew how Zara tried her best to save them both. She tried her best to swim, and even Dennise knew by her awkward movement that Zara hadn't been swimming, if she had, probably very long ago.

The girls took time to rest on the river bank after that breathtaking situation that they just had successfully overcome. Not to mention a life and death situation.

Dennise sat on the grass in an elevated position while her arms behind him supported her body, let her head hang on the back to rest, and closed her eyes.

"Ahem.. ahem.." Zara puffed to get Dennise's attention. She was aware that Dennise was not feeling too well after that happened, and she was too.

Dennise slowly opened her eyes to look over Zara, who was now moving to sit beside her.

"Uhm, how are you feeling?" Zara started.

"Better, thanks for trying your best. Do you know? I almost gave up there. I didn't expect that my body was that weak. Maybe because of the alcohol, that's making me dizzy," Dennise chuckled at the end of her sentence.

Zara stared at her intently, Dennise's chuckles made her feel lighter. 'She's not mad at me,' she thought. She sat beside Dennise to ask for an apology for their near-death and say thank you, but instead, it was her who said it first. 'Dennise is not a smug girl, and she was actually sweet,' Zara pondered again.

"Oh, I was, like… surprised. I came here actually to say sorry for causing that trouble. But then, you were like, thanking me instead. I don't know if I deserved that." Zara curled herself a bit with abashment. Then she realized that she was blessed actually to meet Dennise and got a chance to be her friend. She was even aware that Dennise was an influential person who had been trending on social media and was also a model. But more than that, she was embarrassed about how she had treated her inside the car.

"Oh girl, of course, you deserve that. You saved my life." Dennise put her hand over Zara, letting her feel how grateful she was to her.

"Because you were saving my life too…." Zara's voice cracked, the emotion she felt that moment, and the time she remembered her father came back again." I was just like, so… scared... I don't want someone else to die to save me."

Dennise was surprised by what she heard. There's something very deep behind Zara's fieriness. Some part of her was filled with emotion, and that emotion giving Dennise an instant connection with Zara. She felt like she was a sister that she never had.

"Hey, girls, I think we should get going. The others are already on their way to the road. Should we not go with them?" Leira stood up, brushing the dirt from her butt.

"Can we stay a little bit more? My hands were still numbing, holding those big roots," Yden begged, blowing air on her reddened palms.

"What? Did you get some cuts on your hand?" Ella asked worriedly.

"Not sure, it's dark, but don't worry, it's not that painful, though," Yden smiled.

A few seconds later, everyone was feeling fine, and the girls stood up and continued the quest. Looking from where they are, they can clearly see the other group of girls who are walking ahead of them, running.

"Wait, stop!" Leira abruptly pulled Dennise and Zara, who was walking ahead of her.

"What happened?" Dennise asked, flabbergasted.

"Hide!" Leira exclaimed, but she controlled her voice. She made sure that only the five of them heard her.

Ella, without saying a word, followed Leira's gaze. She was looking over the other girls who were running away, more like escaping something or someone.

Not long, they heard the sound of a siren from where they were standing.

"What the heck, it's a police car," Ella said anxiously. Her voice was shaking slightly.

All of them move back and cover themselves behind the bushes. They knew so well that being naked in public places was an offense and that they could be sued for public disturbance even if no one was around.

Besides, how can they even be sure that no one was around when they are still yet to walk towards the road.

"This can't happen. I don't want to be in the news tomorrow morning being caught by the police for public disturbance. My brother and my followers will kill me. This is crazy! What should we do?" Dennise went hysterical, thinking over the possible worst thing that might happen to her.

"But the MI's are only giving us, like, thirty minutes? What if they will leave us if we can't come back there on time? What about our clothes? What if they will bring them too?" Zara had started to breathe heavily. She was gasping for air the moment she stopped talking.

"Dios Mio...I think she was having a panic attack," Yden commented, and Ella abruptly ran over Zara.

"Zara, listen to me… follow my breathing, okay?" Ella brushed her hands on Zara's back while she led her to breathe steadily. " Inhale… exhale.. inhale.." While helping Zara do the breathing exercise, she can't help but shed tears as the memories of his brother came back.