We all nodded in agreement. We began walking though the shelter of the woods, journeying to who knew where.
As we walked, I was amazed that Trevor was beginning to work with us, sounding almost human. I knew it probably wouldn't last, but it was good for the group. My feet started to hurt as we walked through the trees, but I said nothing. Occasionally we had to stop because the cheerleaders were tired and insisted that they couldn't go on. Jada rolled her eyes. But we stopped anyway when they complained too much, using them as an unofficial guide to rest.
We weren't walking long when we found a stream with clear, ice blue water. It appeared to be hidden away in the forest, forgotten by man. I bent down to touch it and it felt nice and cool. Thirsty, we all fell to our knees beside the stream, bent down, and used our hands to scoop up the life-giving liquid and lift it to our parched mouths. The water tasted fresh and cool as it rushed down my burning throat. Water never tasted so good.
"Don't drink too much," Brolin announced. I looked around and everyone was gulping down the water like it was the last drink on earth, and no one listened. "I'm serious. If you drink it too fast, you'll get sick."
"And how do you know that?" the blonde cheerleader asked as she ran the back of her arm across her dripping mouth.
"I learned it in Boy Scouts when I was a kid," Brolin replied, frowning. "I'm serious, don't drink too much or you'll get sick. Take a drink, then rest. Then, when you feel up to it, take another drink. Drink a little at a time."
"He's right," Derek backed him up. "I read it somewhere, too. He's right."
Everyone backed away from the stream as Brolin suggested and rested, except for the two cheerleaders and Scott. Brolin just shook his head. Everyone waited for a few minutes, resting, then drank some more.
"I wish we had a canteen," I said, looking around for anything that would hold water.
"I know," Derek agreed then a half smile lit his lips. "Wishful thinking."
Something occurred to me as we waited to drink more water. "You know what? There might be a cave somewhere around this stream. This water feels much too cold to be coming from above the ground."
Derek knew I was right. "Let's walk up stream and see what we can find."
I nodded in agreement, taking one last drink of the cool, refreshing water.
"Listen up," Derek got everyone's attention. "You all wait here and rest for a minute. Casey and I are going to walk upstream to see if we can find some shelter, maybe a cave."
"Yeah, I know," Brolin interjected. "This water's too cold to be coming from above ground. It has to be coming from underground, like an underwater stream."
"That's what we're thinking," Derek agreed. "We'll be right back."
"I'm coming with you," Brolin countered.
"Okay," Derek agreed. "Everyone else stay here. We'll be back in a few minutes."
Jada didn't look happy, but agreed to stay back and sat down by the stream, but her eyes darted around, watching. No one else argued, settling in, happy to rest.
Derek, Brolin, and I tracked the stream for a good several yards, walking through underbrush, and ducking our heads under low-lying limbs when necessary. Little brown squirrels scurried away as we walked, but, luckily, we didn't see any snakes. They were probably hiding, just as scared of us as we were of them. The forest was truly beautiful, though, seemingly untouched by man as we walked deeper into it. Trees of all species lived in harmony—oaks, maples, cedar—too bad man couldn't learn the same lesson. Any other time, I would have enjoyed walking through the woods, but under the circumstances, I paid little attention.
We walked about fifty yards up a slight hill when the stream suddenly disappeared behind some rocks. And there it was.
"That's it!" I yelled to Derek, rejoicing. "Help me with these rocks."
Together, Brolin, Derek, and I moved what rocks and brush we could, revealing a cave behind the overgrown brush. "I can't believe this!" Derek shouted, ready to whoop for joy. The three of us continued pulling down vines—ignoring the scratches they made on our hands and arms—until the cave was exposed. "That's enough. Don't pull down too much because we want it to stay hidden."
I nodded in agreement. "Let's go inside and see how big it is." I hoped beyond all hope that it would be big enough for all of us, and that some wild den of animals hadn't already made it their home.
"Here, let me go first," Derek said, chivalrous.
I rolled my eyes, but stepped aside. Brolin waited for me then followed. As we stepped inside, we actually stepped into what seemed like a large room. The stream was on the right side, coming from a small corridor. It looked like it was a cave system, but we couldn't be certain until we had some light to explore it with. But the main room of the cave was big enough for us all. There was enough light streaming in, at least for now. But we could build a fire by the entrance at night to keep the wild animals from coming in and to have more light. The smoke would be hidden against the night sky and wouldn't give us away, and no one would see the light from outside the cave. There was a slight cool breeze coming from inside the cave, blowing out, so the smoke would go out of the cave and not asphyxiate us in our sleep.
"We have to go back and tell the others," I said, unable to hide my sudden enthusiasm.
"Let's go," Derek replied as a smile lit his lips, clearly excited, as well.
And at that moment, we all knew we would have shelter, at least for the night.
Aksara