Washed Up ≫ A.I

Chapter [16]

[Charlotte Kendall]

My bones were shivering against a hard surface and my cheeks were pressed to the rocks but I was forced to be still in my sleep. I couldn't shake awake, I was too cold to even open my eyes. I felt two hands rest on my shoulders; they shook me side to side twice then paused.

I could hear pounding rain echoing down the halls however the taste of water was fresh on my lips. Dirt and grass leaves also tickled into my wet mouth and yet nothing was helping me spring awake. My eyeballs swirled behind the curtain of my lids and my mouth moved but nothing verbal spoke.

"Charlotte, can you hear me?" I recognized Ashton right away, the weary accent in his light tone was some kind of suspicion.

His hands shook me from side to side again and I felt my lungs burst out from trapping in all the air. Suddenly, one gentle touch had me spring up from my captivating slumber. I breathed out through my mouth in a low gasp then sucked in sharply again before freezing to a natural wake.

"Hey babe, you alright?" His voice was shallow, whispering down behind my ear.

I crumbled aside by the tickle of his hot breath before rolling my eyes open completely. I faced sideways, glaring up into a dark and closed space. Ashton's sticky fingertips brushed tangled hair from the other side of my face, pulling it out gently and wrapping loose pieces behind my ear. I could barely see in the dark but the glow reflecting off of his tan skin was completely visible from beside me.

My eyelashes fluttered through the dark and adjusted to the sight of Ashton's camouflaged glow with mud stains and ash dust all across his face. He looked like a chimney sweeper from the Mary Poppins musical. The space around him was still spinning with chocolate swirls until a blue light flashed in the far right corner. Soon all my senses exploded into awareness and the sound of rain poured in the same direction as the light. I sat up onto my forearm and stared past Ashton's legs, watching the outside sky light up again shortly after the erupting shake of thunder.

"Shortly after I carried you under here you passed out," Ashton answered as I looked up with a confused look. "It lacks oxygen out there right now and surprisingly this cave smells fresh." He looked around the cave, nodding his head in the deeper directions of the cave before blinking back down at me with his famous half smile.

I couldn't even remember what had happened out there in the fire. The last thing that could pop up into my mind was falling off the slope with Denise tumbling down the opposite side.

Then I remembered the other two. I glanced around the tight space, listening to hollowing from one end and rain from the other. No silhouettes of Benson or Denise. It was just Ashton sitting here right now.

"Wh-" I coughed, clearing the frozen taste of covering ash from the smoke. "Where is Denise?" My voice was still hoarse, "And Benson?"

I looked up tightly, darting my stare directly at Ashton in the dark. He blinked twice down at me before wrapping his bottom lip under his teeth and huffing back out again. His lower lip flew out in exaggeration after he sucked in air and released it. He then grabbed the back of his head in a familiar occurrence that he has done several times before.

The longer he sat there, blatantly ignoring my question. When he just shook his head side to side quickly I almost threw up my nerves right there.

Oh God! I thought.

We managed to lose track of the others once again. Seriously Ashton and I cannot stay in a group it almost seems like. What if Denise was separated from Benson too, or worse!

"Charlotte I was lucky to find you after that fall. By the way, I am extremely sorry for ever shoving you. . . I don't remember losing the others behind the smoke but luckily I found you in time."