Chapter 16: Cave, Part 1

As we cleaned up the last bits of ice cream from the containers, I looked around and we were all covered with a chocolate and vanilla gooey mess. Scott took the containers outside, and we took turns washing up in the stream inside the cave. When it was my turn, Derek came with me. The water felt cool as I splashed it on my face.

"Some of the guys and I are going back," Derek said without warning.

I stared at him with a blank expression. "What are you talking about? You can't go back there. They're coming back tomorrow to make a concentration camp, headquarters, or whatever out of it."

"We're going tonight."

It was definite. After a few minutes, the shock settled in. "What are you talking about? We got a lot of stuff today! When we get low on supplies again, we can go raid another place then, but not tonight. We were really lucky that we didn't get caught!"

Derek took a deep breath, looking into the stream. Then, he raised his eyes and looked directly into mine. "There's a lot of stuff still back there and, like you said, tomorrow will be too late. There's no one there tonight, and we have to try and get as much as we can. Just stay here and try and find a place for this stuff, and I'll be back before you can miss me."

"That's not possible," I mumbled, as I looked back into the stream.

Derek must have heard, because he grinned.

I sighed in resignation. "Who's going?"

"Trevor, Scott, Eric … and Carlos said he's tired of staying here, so he's going, too." Derek splashed more water on his face. "Brolin's staying here with you all, just in case."

"If Jada's staying here, she's all we need."

Derek laughed. "True."

"Go ahead and take Brolin with you," I instructed, thinking about it. "We'll be fine here."

Derek looked down then nodded.

"Will you need to take Jada?" I asked, knowing she was the best weapon we had.

"No, but we're taking some knives with us," Derek replied. "It's the best we've got until we can swipe some guns or something."

I shuddered lightly. Derek saw and wrapped his arm around my shoulder protectively. It had become an automatic response with him. And for a moment, it was as if I couldn't remember a time when I hadn't known him. "Be careful," I said with pleading eyes.

"I will," Derek replied then leaned toward me. Heat rushed to the surface of my skin, setting me on fire, as his lips lightly touched mine. Fire rose within my heart with such intensity in that one light kiss, setting my skin ablaze. I leaned in and our lips moved together lightly, as the heat enveloped us both. I had never felt anything like this before. There was so much love and tenderness in those light kisses. And at that moment, I was home. Tears slid slowly down my cheeks as the realization set in. He leaned in and gave me one last, sweet kiss.

"Don't cry, Casey girl," Derek whispered, wiping a tear from my cheek. "I'll be back. I promise."

I nodded, for the lump in my throat swelled, making talking impossible. Derek wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me close. I placed my head lightly on his chest, hearing the beat of his heart.

"Hummmppp …" someone behind us cleared his throat then laughed. It was Trevor. "I hate to interrupt this love fest, but we have to go." A few people standing close noticed, laughing at the exchange.

Derek pushed him away jokingly then pulled away from me. Immediately, the cold rushed in, filling the void where so much warmth and fire had been a moment before. I already missed the heat of his touch. Derek pulled me close once more, ignoring everyone else in the cave. And for another moment, it was just the two of us; no one else mattered. As my chin rested on his shoulder, he whispered lightly in my ear, "Take care of yourself, Casey girl. I promise I'll be back soon." Then, he pulled back to look me directly in the eyes. "We're leaving some knives here with you, just in case."

My eyes grew wide, understanding. If it came right down to it, I still didn't know if I could do what his silent instructions were clearly telling me, but I nodded anyway.

"That's my girl," Derek whispered again, grinning.

The rest of the guys were standing by the cave entrance, ready to go. Brolin gave Lisa one last kiss.

"Let's go, man." Trevor was clearly agitated, ready to go. I had the feeling he would be happy to march right into the enemy, grinning the whole time. He was just too stupid or too brave to realize the danger. He was fearless. "Come on! I want to get back here and sleep." He yawned, right on cue.

Derek punched him on the shoulder as he passed, looking over his shoulder at me one last time before walking out the cave exit. A moment later, he was gone, and my heart already noticed his absence. The room already seemed colder without him there, without his warmth. I turned to Jada, who was already going through the backpacks; I suppose categorizing and organizing what we had.

I grabbed a flashlight out of one of the backpacks and flipped it on. Light immediately flooded the cave. "Let's go explore some of the caves and see what's here," I said, mainly to Jada.

"I'm tired," Brittany responded, already curling up on the floor with a backpack under her head.

"You can stay here if you want," Markesha said, looking at Brittany, and then she turned toward Jada and me. "But you two aren't leaving here without me."

By the time she finished, Brittany was already snoring lightly.

"Come on. She'll be okay here by herself for a few minutes," I said, motioning for Markesha to join us. The fire was going down, so I threw another branch on it to keep any stray, hungry animals from coming into the cave. Then a moment later, Jada led the way as Markesha, Lisa, and I followed her down the dark, narrow passage at the other end of the cave.