PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

LXV. When Would They Finally Be Free?

Chapter Sixty Five:  When Would They Finally Be Free?

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"Look, there! That could totally be our way out!" Eva cheered as she ran up to a crevice in the ravine, blocked by rocks. "Well, maybe. Maybe if we could just..." she trailed off, searching for the best possible hole to climb through. "Kenji, come up here and gimme a boost."

When he didn't move or make a noise, Eva looked down at him to see him lost in thought.

"Kenji? Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah. Yessss... sss... sss... sss..."

"Pretty Boy," she tried. Kenji zoned in on Eva.

"C-coming."

He walked closer, using a rock to stabilize himself as he took Eva's outreached hand. But the rock gave and tumbled outwards as he fell back, taking Eva with him. She landed on his chest, wincing in pain.

"I'm so sorry!" he quickly shouted, hands going to her forearms.

Eva gave a crooked smile, smiling down at her boyfriend. She leaned in quickly, pecking his lips. "You're fine," she acknowledged as she picked herself up. She glanced at the large gaping hole in the wall that Kenji had created. "Knight in shining armor, much?"

"Only for you," he grinned, taking her outreached hand.

"Are you implying I'm a damsel in distress, in need of saving?"

"Only when swimming's involved," he joked.

Eva scoffed, grinning. "Let's get going before the others kill us for being gone for so long."

Once on the other side, Kenji slung his arm over Eva's shoulders, guiding her in the direction he considered to be leading them to safety— according to his gut, anyhow. Eva smiled the entire way, her hand upreached to hold his. They stopped half way, where they found a small pond surrounded by tumbleweeds and berries, to quench their thirst.

"Oh my god, you have no idea how thirsty I was," she laughed.

Eva cupped handfuls of water to wet her arms, which were dusty and roasting under the sun. The cool water felt nice on her skin, much to her joy. She smiled as she worked, dabbing water over her clothes, too, until she looked up at Kenji, who was watching her intently. He tilted his head, giving her a look she couldn't read.

"Come on," he eventually said. "We should find the others, before they decide to kill us."

Eva stood and took his hand, which he was wiggling his fingers at her for. She brought his knuckles to her lips, kissing them softly.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"I know," he said. "But keep telling me. It just makes me love you more." He pecked her forehead, the two following the path to freedom, when suddenly they heard voices.

Following the voices, they noticed Ben and Darius next to a wall of rock, with the others standing a few feet away, not yet noticing them.

"It's all my fault," Ben said as he slid down the rocky wall, burying his face in his hands.

Darius walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. Um, at least..." But he trailed off, unsure what to say.

Eva didn't blame him. They were once again stranded, but this time without any real hope of escaping. They're essentially on a seemingly deserted desert island (save for the water pipes), and their friends haven't looked far enough to the right to see Kenji and Eva standing there. So, they must be feeling pretty useless not knowing how to find them. Good thing Eva and Kenji did all the hard work.