Under The Stars. It's Infinite [Reki x Langa]

Chapter Eleven | Thank You Miss

Harsh sobs came from my throat as I swung Langa around my shoulders and whisked him into my arms, embracing him as you would your mother after not seeing her for many years. "R-Reki! What are you-?"

"I was so worried..." My legs finally collapsed under me, and I hugged my face against Langas' chest while he collected himself on the floor beneath us. I had never wanted to hear someone's voice more in my life than now. If I had hugged him any harder, than I would have been constricting him like a snake on its' prey. "Reki... What's going on?" I glanced up at Langa, who was smiling softly to me, but his eyes looked distressed as to why I was crying against him. I was so tired, and Langa was so confused, but I wanted to be selfish. I wanted to stay like that for just a moment more. "Sorry. I'll explain..." I sat up and cleared my throat. "The rollercoaster fell, if you remember that." I let my eyes fall back on the dark path I had come from. The pit that would surely eat us if we went back, "So, I started carrying you to where I thought the exit would be, you were unconscious." Langa listened, wiggling his nose when he heard that he was out cold. "So... do you know how to get out?"

"No."

Langa pressed his hand on his knee for a moment, then started to stand up. "Grnh-" He put weight on his left foot lightly and winced in pain. "Are you okay?" I immediately wrapped my arm behind Langas' back so that he could use me for support. "Yeah, I'm fine. It only hurts a little." He wobbled on his legs for a second, and I saw pain throb through his body. "I'll carry you again. It was fine before so-"

"N-No... you don't have to do that. This is good enough." Langa shot an awkward smile to me and I pressed my tongue to the inside of my cheek. I had dealt with carrying him for this long, and if Langa was hurt, then I couldn't have him walking around.

In a swift movement, I threw my body under Langas' and lifted him up onto my back. Which was a lot easier when he was awake. "Ah- Reki!" Langa wrapped his arms across my chest, hugging me close to him. "You can't walk on that foot. I'll carry you." I started walking, my arms holding my friend up behind me. There was a moment of silence from Langa, then he tightened his grip around me and let out a trembling sigh. "Fine..." He whispered the words in my ear, and I felt my face flush red.

Silence grew between us, but it was reassuring knowing that Langa was alright. I could hear his heartbeat against my back, drumming intensely. I couldn't wait to get us out of this place now, I was ready to go to sleep, and continue our week in Osaka. Langa commented on how strong I was, and I mentioned that he was heavier because of all the muscle he carried on him. "Oh- what happened to your jumper?" He asked the question, and I felt cold air swim against my shoulders. "Uhm- you're wearing my jacket and jumper." I swallowed hard, leaving room for silence in the dark, "Oh..." I could feel heat coming from Langa as I held him securely. "W-Well your body was cold and I thought you were gonna die or something so I-"

"Thank you Reki." Langa tucked his face into my shoulder, and I felt a zap of electricity run through me. "N-No problem..." I kept walking; Langas' breath tickled my neck as I did. Another cool breeze hit my face this time, and I had an epiphany. "Langa... that air... has been getting stronger, right?" I double stepped and faltered in my walking, before calming down and continuing my regular pace that I had before. "I think so, why?"

"That means... we're close to an opening of some kind..." My heart skipped a beat, and I found myself speeding up, this time hearing faint noises as we walked. My legs were starting to ache. How long had it been since we had heard other voices? Surely hours had passed. Maybe even a day or so. How long had it been since the sunlight kissed our skin and welcomed us into the outdoors that gave us life.

The closer we got, the louder the voices were, and then finally, there was light. It was small, but it existed. Voices layered along the other side of the rockslide that could have led to the outdoors. I wanted to break through the rocks myself, but I was not a superhero. I wasn't some super strong guy with the ability to do such a thing. I was only, Reki.

"-still dangerous."

"What, should we block it off?"

A pit developed in my stomach; I wasn't sure what Langa was thinking but he had been mumbling the whole time in my ear. I was too lightheaded to think about anything other than getting out of here, and in a fit of fear, pain, and fatigue, I took in a deep breath.

"HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

My voice rang through the tunnel, only bouncing off the walls for a short moment before it disappeared completely. I wanted them to hear us. I needed them to hear us.

"Holy shit! Hey, is there someone there!?"

"Yeah!" I felt my eyes well up with tears, the feeling that we would actually get out of here. I was being honest with myself right now. I was really scared. The fear of the dark, not getting out, and losing Langa hit me all at once, and I almost wanted to drown in sobs right then and there. "Hold on kids! We'll get you outta there!" The other voice shouted down to us, and I laid Langa down, who was still talking. It was only now that I had calmed my brain enough to hear what he was saying. "Sorry, you might need to repeat that whole thing."

"It's alright. I was mumbling to myself. Are you okay?" Langa stared at me intensely, his beady little eyes direct with mine. They were mumbling too, but it was easier to hear what they were saying compared to Langa himself. We are getting out of here. It's all I heard them scream to me. It was comforting, and I adored it.

It could have been hours until the exit we had come to was finally clear for us to leave in. We were escorted out into the sun and greeted with a list of emergency workers. Team members from the festival were there too, and our home room teacher as well. We were both immediately taken in by paramedics, and they conducted little tests on us to make sure we were alright. I could hear Langa in the ambulance next to me, being told something about his ankle.

"It should be fine in two to three days. Please rest until then though." The lady treating him had a similar accent, and I wondered if she was also from Canada. "Merci mademoiselle." "Thank you Miss." He responded in what I could assume was a separate language, one that I couldn't understand. I don't think I really cared in that moment though, considering he was alright. "C'est incroyable que ça n'ait pas empiré en marchant." "It's amazing that it didn't get worse while walking." She said something back to him, and I was convinced that they were similar in nationality. Crazy that things worked like that.

"My friend carried me. Je l'aime vraiment bien." "My friend carried me. I really like him." Langa switched languages, and I went back to concentrating on what the paramedic in front of me was saying. It sounded like I was fine, other than a slight concussion. So I needed to relax for the next few days to make sure it didn't get worse. "C'est une très bonne personne alors." "He's a very good person then." After that, Langa was free to wobble over to me, and shot me a quick smile.

"Reki." He waited for the paramedic to let me go before walking with me over to a nearby bench. We were waiting to head back with our teacher, but he was talking to someone else right now. That gave us time. "Uhm- thank you for carrying me. You're amazing." Langa shuffled on his seat, and I felt my ears start to burn. "Aha- It's fine dude. You'd do the same for me." I scratched the back of my head and let the silence sink in with the sunlight on us. "After this, let's get go to sleep."

"Absolutely."