The Rapture

TWENTY-NINE

PEARL

"I think you should stop and rest."

The echo of François's voice resonated throughout the cave, bouncing off glittering ice pillars and dark rock. The cave would have looked like a gorgeous, private winter wonderland if I hadn't been experiencing an anxiety attack.

Instead, it resembled a dark, icy prison.

With a huff, I came to a halt on the fifteen-minute-long trail I had been going back and forth on, glaring daggers at her. I wasn't sure why I was mad at her; I was simply too tense, too agitated, and couldn't sit still.

I was about to... snap.

It had been like this for the past four days: me stressing out while Shadrach and François chatted incessantly in scientific jargon, which made my head throb with a killer headache. They had stuff to do. I didn't. I was only left with my thoughts.

Lucky me.

Tomorrow, the earth was due to be destroyed. How could they sit around and talk about technology with that fact, especially since we were on the planet that was about to be destroyed?

Did the council change their minds yet? Was it still safe to be here? Shadrach wasn't giving me much, just the occasional grunt and nod, or shake of his head, whenever I tossed a question his way.

Thankfully, I wasn't cold thanks to the new bracelet. Walking here was easy. The bracelet created an invisible bubble that melted the snow as I trudged through it, even though it went knee-high. My clothes got wet from the journey, but I was still warm.

The wind howled outside, echoing in our dark, rocky hole. Shadrach was dead set on not letting me know where we were. It could have been Antarctica, it could have been northern Russia for all I knew.

I did not know how long the bracelet's effect would last. But we didn't need it to last for much longer. Soon, this would all be over, and we would come out alive.

Hopefully.

Shadrach had placed glowing orbs around the cave, illuminating the area so we didn't stumble over rocks and slip on ice. Sleeping bags and backpacks containing personal items, food, and water were arranged in the center of the well-lit area.

Shadrach never slept. Instead, he stood guard at the entrance, safe from my constant nagging. He said that if something grave were to happen, he'd let me know.

I wasn't sure if it was the nervousness or the boredom that was getting to me. Maybe both. But my eye wouldn't stop twitching, and my mind was so all over the place that I had forgotten François asked me a question.

"I can't stop and rest," I snapped, hugging myself. "I can't sleep. I can't think. I've been forcing myself to eat so Shadrach doesn't boot me back to Lare."

My stomach twisted, pain shooting down to my legs. My dreams as of late were nightmares comprising an alien council I'd never even seen before, their profiles hidden in shadows, nothing but their fingers visible as they pointed at me in accusation.

François sat on a trunk full of supplies, one leg daintily crossed over the other. She brushed the dirt off of her left boot and gave me a withering look. At her feet were hundreds of papers with all kinds of smart people doodles I couldn't understand.

She looked like she was about to retort, but stopped when I put my hands on my knees. A sharp stab of anxiety stabbed into my stomach, then soon after, my chest. Keep it together. You have to keep it together.