Camp Red Lake

Chapter 29. Fall

Croy and I swam through the clear water. Everything sparkled around us as we made our way through a small underground tunnel. When we reached the other side, we resurfaced in a smaller version of the previous cave. After Croy helped me out of the water, he made his way over to another rock that covered a hole. "Is that the way you like to bury your treasure?" I teased. He smirked at my comment as he stuck his hand inside, then made his way back to me.

"Close your eyes..." he instructed as he sat beside me. I obliged. A few seconds later, I felt as he placed something around my neck. "Okay, you can open them!" he enthused.

My eyes widened when I saw it. It was a necklace. A silver dagger with two dragons wrapped around the blade. A red gemstone in the center reflected the lights from the crystals.

"It-It's beautiful Croy!" I mused as I studied it. His face lit up.

"It was given to me by an old friend of mine. He gave his life for me..." he trailed off, a sad smile crossing his face. "I want you to take care of it for me. Consider it an early Christmas present!" he said with a smile. I wrapped my hand around the necklace, my heart drumming rapidly against my chest.

"I promise, I'll keep it safe!" He nodded then stood up and motioned for us to go back. After taking in a deep breath, I followed him back through the tunnels. After arriving on the other side, we switched clothes again. Croy wrung out his shirt, then put it back on.

"We should get going, it's gonna be curfew soon..." he trailed off before taking my hand, then leading the way. We climbed up the two inside ledges easily. Well, Croy climbed, then he would reach down and help me up. Once we made it to the outside ones, He went up first. Once he was on the second ledge, he reached his hand down for me to take. I reached out for him, when suddenly, a very subtle noise, made me freeze in place.

"W-what was that?" I asked in a small voice as I glanced around. Croy's eyes widened and his face turned pale when he realized what was happening. The ledge was crumbling beneath me.

"Grab onto my hand, hurry!" he urged as he stretched his arm as far as it would go. I tried jumping, but that only made the rock beneath me crumble faster. "Hazel!" Croy screamed as the last of the ledge broke off. I jumped with all my might and managed to grab a hold of his hand just in time. My heart pounded erratically against my chest. Croy began to pull me up, but another cracking sound made me glance down. The extra weight I was adding was making the ledge he knelt on crumble.

That was when the realization set in. "Croy, you're going to have to let me go..." I trailed off, sweat dripping down my face. If he didn't let go of me, we would both fall.

"Are you insane!? No way! I won't leave you!" he hissed as the ledge crumbled some more, he was beginning to slide off.

"Just let go!" I screamed, but he wouldn't budge. My eyes widened as the last piece of the ledge crumbled.

"CROOOY!!" I screamed in terror as we began plummeting backwards. Croy pressed his hands against his body in order to fall faster. When he reached me, he wrapped his arms around me mid-air. I buried my face in his chest as he turned his body backwards, so that his back was facing the lake. Hitting the water from that height, at that speed, was like hitting concrete. The impact knocked him out instantly. Water gushed up my nose and mouth.

"Ahh!" I gasped when I finally broke the surface. I glanced around and noticed that he was nowhere to be found. "Croy? Croy!?" I screamed when I noticed small bubbles coming from beside me. Without a moment of hesitation, I took in the deepest breath I could and dove under.

The water was dark and murky, it was hard to see. I took out my portable flashlight and turned it on. The light lasted for about three seconds, before it flickered off, damaged by the water. Those three seconds gave me what I needed. I managed to catch a glimpse of his unconscious form. I swam all the way down and wrapped my arm around his waist, before pulling us back up. I gasped loudly and coughed when we reached the surface. It took all my strength, but somehow, I managed to pull us towards the shore.

The cadets that were washing their clothes, rushed to our aid. They helped pull me and Croy out of the water. I coughed and sputtered once I reached the shore. My eyes stung from opening them underwater and my lungs burned from all the liquid I swallowed. I glanced over at Croy who was unresponsive, a few feet away.

I dragged myself to his side. His face was paper pale, and his lips were turning blue. Blood trickled down the side of his head. The two cadets that helped us, ran to get help. With the camp being so large, it would take them nearly five minutes to reach the infirmary and another five to come back. It would be too late by then. I began doing chest compressions, trying to remember every detail of the CPR lecture we received in health class. I placed my fingers beneath his chin and tilted his head slightly to open his air way. I pinched his nose as I did mouth to mouth. Once his chest had fallen, I began the compressions again.

"Come on!" I hissed with tears in my eyes as I repeated the steps. "You can't do this to me! You can't leave me here!" I growled as I did it a third time. Tears began pouring down my face as I blew air into his mouth one last time. "No!!" I screamed as my composure began to crumble. That was when his eyes shot open. He jolted upright and gagged as water gushed from his mouth. He gasped for air in between coughs.

"Croy!" I shouted as I threw myself on him and crushed him in the tightest embrace I had ever given. He wrapped his arm around me as I sobbed into his shoulder for an entire minute. Eventually, I pulled away, my eyes red and puffy from crying. "Don't you ever do that again!" I scolded him in-between sobs. A crowd had already gathered by the shore. Croy reached out his hand and wrapped it around the necklace he had given me. Before I could react, he pulled me back in and wrapped his arms around me.

I froze, I hadn't expected that but a second later, I reciprocated. I tangled my fingers in his damp hair as I crushed him to me, not caring about the kind of spectacle we were giving. I nuzzled my face into his neck. After a few seconds, he pulled away from me and rested his forehead against mine. "You saved my life, thank you." He whispered just as the nurses arrived. They took us both to the infirmary. I was perfectly fine, just a few scratches and bumps. Croy wasn't so lucky. He had a couple of cracked ribs and a serious concussion from hitting his head on a rock underwater. The doctor decided to keep him in the hospital overnight for observation, but I didn't move once from the visitor's chair.