Finding Eden (17 page)

I wiped sweat from my forehead and said, “I hope this
Eden
isn’t as humid as this tunnel.”

“
It shouldn’t be.” His voice sounded loud in the close confines.

The tunnel began to decrease in size, the ceilings and ground threatening to meet. We were soon on all fours, crawling. The craggy cave floor bit into my knees and shins, making me wince with every movement I made.

“
How much longer until we can stand again?” I complained, letting out a curse when my knee fell onto a sharp rock.

“
I think I see something up ahead.”

The humidity was already starting to pass and the temperature was decreasing. I thought that that could only be good news. I could hear both of our flashlights click against the ground with every movement of our hands. Gabriel stood up finally; I inched forward and did the same.

“
Okay, let me test this out,” he said with an apprehensive tone.

“
What do you mean?” I said as I looked around him. There was a single strip of land acting as a bridge from where we were to another entrance. I audibly gulped, feeling like a cartoon character. “You have to be kidding me.” There were metal rods, two on each side, acting as the natural bridge’s railing. “Well, the railing reassures me a bit.”

“
Not me. There have been earthquakes since they were put in.” He wrapped one hand around the right metal pole and placed his left around the other.

“
Oh, crap,” I muttered. I couldn’t believe I hadn't thought of that. My nerves were jumping out of my skin. “Please be careful.” I put my hand against his lower back, not wanting us to separate.

He didn’t say anything as he put one foot onto the strip, barely placing a little bit of weight on it. He let out a breath, sucked in another, and placed his other foot onto it, then stood there for a minute. My teeth were clenched so hard my jaw began to ache. My hands were bound into fists so tightly that my fingernails dug into my palms, creating indentations. Gabriel took one more step, then another.

“
I think it’s okay,” he confirmed. After another step, he was halfway there. “Just don’t come over until I get to the other side.”

I felt like saying
duh
, but I kept my mouth shut. I moved closer to the earthen bridge and looked over the sides. I gulped again. I couldn’t see where the fall ended and that was never a good thing. I shined my flashlight down and still couldn’t see the bottom. “Oh.” I choked. I was never afraid of heights, but I
was
afraid of falls and that would be a fall to rival all others. I imagined it ended at the center of the Earth—an ocean of magma and ravenous flames. “Oh,” I said again. I looked at my hands and I couldn’t quite steady them. I was shaking more than I ever had—more than the minutes before my SATs or my first job interview.

I didn’t realize Gabriel had made it across until he said I could come on over. I just looked at him with wide eyes and shaking hands. He frowned. “You looked down, didn’t you?”

I nodded.

“
Well,” he continued. “You’re going to have to man up. I can’t come back and help you across. That would be too much weight.” He was silent for a second and then he pulled out his pack, digging in it until he found what he was looking for: his rope. He tossed it across the earthen bridge and said, “Tie it around yourself—if the bridge breaks, you won’t fall—too far.” He winked.

I grimaced as I wrapped the rope around my waist and between my thighs, over and over, until I thought I was good, and secured it tightly with several knots. I gave Gabriel the thumbs up and he answered back with a smile. I aimed my flashlight forward and watched the light wash over the ground before me.

“
Now just take it one step at a time. I’ve got the other end of the rope, so you’ll be just fine.”

On my first step, I felt the ground shudder below me. I heard debris flake off the bottom of the bridge and fall against the rock walls of the abyss. The sound echoed and seemed to go on forever.

“
You didn’t say this thing was unstable!” I squeaked.

“
Uh, yeah. It wasn’t. You should probably hurry.” I felt the rope tense up. Gabriel tightened his grip around it and that scared the crap out of me. He trusted this about as much as I did—and boy, did I have some trust issues.

I took a deep breath, held it, took another step, and then another. More rock and dirt broke away from the bridge and fell. The sound was foreboding, promising a death I didn’t want to ever experience. In my mind’s eye, I saw molten rocks floating through a lake of fire.

“
Hurry,” Gabriel warned.

I felt the ground shudder below me once again, but this time it didn’t stop. A little out of character, I said, “Fuck it!” and ran the rest of the way until I fell into Gabriel’s arms. Dirt and gravel crashed against the chasm walls until everything was silent. The strip of ground between the exit and entrance was motionless and everything seemed the same as when we’d first arrived.

Gabriel pulled me into his body until we were almost one. His heart pounded against his ribcage. He cupped the back of my head, digging his fingertips into my hair and resting his cheek against my forehead. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days, Kid.” He murmured.

My arms hung limp at my side. I wasn’t quite sure how to use them. Even though we should have continued on, just for a minute, I let myself enjoy that moment. I finally gained some control over my lungs. “Sorry,” I said.

Gabriel grabbed my chin and examined my face thoroughly, as if he was trying to make sure I was still in one piece. I noticed his eyes lingered a little bit longer on my lips than what was needed. He turned away and we headed deeper into the cave.

The cave system was a series of turns that began to bring us deeper and deeper underneath the surface. After a while, we were back on our knees and I felt the rocks dig into my bare flesh. I hissed at the stinging sensation each movement created. Gabriel had a pair of jeans on that probably saved his knees and shins from what I was unfortunately experiencing.

“
This is fun,” Gabriel mentioned. “For an adrenaline junkie, that is.” He added.

“
And for someone who has jeans on,” I growled.

He laughed.
“Poor baby.” And then he paused. “We’ll fix you up when this expedition is finally over.”

“
I can’t wait.” I sighed and then bumped my head into Gabriel’s butt. I hadn’t realized he had stopped. “Oh, lovely.” I rubbed my face.

“
Whoa, Blondie! I’m not ready for that kind of commitment yet,” he snickered.

I blew hair from my eyes. “Why’d you stop and is
that
water I hear?” It sounded like someone was taking a shower ahead of me. I could smell the fresh scent of water being sprayed into the air.

He hesitated then said, “I’m not sure you want to know and yes it is.”

My heart kick started again and I felt a strong urge to turn back. But then I’d have to cross that weak bridge, not to mention that it was already daylight.

“
Is it another bridge?” I asked.

“
No.”

Well, that’s positive
, I thought. “What about a deep, dark, never-ending pit?”

“
Not exactly.”

I grabbed his shirt and tugged on it. “What do you mean not exactly?”

I went to lean over his shoulder to have a look and he pushed me back. “Oh, no you don’t.” Before I could protest he asked, “Do you trust me?”

I said, “Yes,” without a moment’s hesitation, but I still felt a chill run up my spine.

“
Good.” Gabriel maneuvered his body, so he was sitting on his butt. “Now wrap your legs around my waist and your arms around my chest.”

“
I’m not ready for that kind of commitment, Gabriel.”

“
Just do it, Kid.”

It was true that I trusted him, but this whole thing seemed eerie. It reminded me of when I went to the water park with my best friend and we huddled together before taking off down the steep slope. And suddenly I knew what was about to happen—the running water, the hanging onto the back of Gabriel, and the
not exactly
a deep, dark pit.

“
You have got to be kidding me!” I tightened my hold on Gabriel and leaned my cheek against his back. I laced my fingers together.

“
This could be fun.” Gabriel scooted forward; so did I. “As long as we don’t drop off into the pit of hell!” And with that last, horrible comment, we pushed off the edge and landed in a tubular tunnel with rushing water. It was smooth as porcelain thanks to the continuous flow of water and it pushed us along quickly. We turned every which way, dropping once or twice, and I knew I’d have a bruise on my butt to show for it. Even though I was scared beyond words at what would be found when the water tunnel ended, I couldn’t help but enjoy the current situation: I was surrounded by cool water. It felt better than Heaven against my bare skin, washing away the dirt and grime collected on it over the last five years. I purposely loosened my grip on Gabriel and dipped my head back into the rushing water, letting my hair soak through. Words couldn’t even express how amazing I felt at that moment. Who would have thought that my first bath in almost five years would be in a nature-made water slide?

I lifted my head back up to find Gabriel looking back at me with a knowing smile. The adrenaline junkie had been excited the moment he saw the water pipeline carved into the rock. He let out a yell that bounced off the walls and surrounded me. I followed suit, screaming at the top of my lungs.

We both laughed and I squeezed Gabriel tighter. His hands rested on my thighs and he gave me a squeeze back. “Having fun?”

“
You know it,” I said. “Do you see the—”

“
I see light up ahead!” He yelled through the noise of the rushing water. “Don’t let go of me!”

“
Well,” I yelled. “At least I’ll be sparkly clean before I die.” And with that we were flying through the air. I saw everything perfectly and my heart did a flip in my chest.

The only word that could come to my mind was
Eden
. It was everything I had hoped: green, lush, and filled with water, so much water. I wanted to cry and I thought I was about to until we dropped into a pool of water that happened to be the most perfect temperature.

Once we resurfaced, Gabriel grabbed me in his arms, flattened his hands on my face, and looked into my eyes. He was breathing harshly; beads of water trailed down his face, like tiny tear drops. My breathing matched his and we had a sort of wordless conversation that went like this: Oh. My.
God.

I laughed and he laughed as he pulled me into a hug that I wished would last forever. When we finally pulled away from each other, I let out another laugh and I got my first look at Gabriel. His t-shirt was stuck to him like a second skin. It outlined every muscle so perfectly that I wanted to just trace them with my fingers. His jeans were low on his hips and his boxers appeared from underneath the lip of his pants. It was the first moment I really wanted to just pounce on him and claim him as my own. I was high off of him, or the adrenaline, or just life.
Maybe
, I thought to myself,
there was something in the water
. It took all I had to not attack him right then in the most carnal sense of the word.

Instead, Gabriel was the one who took me by surprise when he lifted me up to his eye level and pressed his lips against my forehead. He pulled away about five hours too soon. I giggled. I hadn’t giggled in forever. Even Gabriel had a surprised look on his face. He just put me down and shook his head. He wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me towards him.

“
You’re too cute sometimes.”

I beamed. He called me cute. When I had purposely undressed behind him, I got nothing.
Giggle and he gives me a compliment
, I thought dryly. I shook my head.

“
It comes natural,” I shrugged as I examined our surroundings. I was in a small pool that the water tunnel had emptied out into. My eyes followed the flow of the water to a bigger pool that formed into a…

“
Waterfall!?” I yelled over the noisy water. “Don’t tell me we’re supposed to jump down this thing? What if there are pointy rocks down there?” I nibbled on my bottom lip.

“
You know that drives me crazy, right?” Gabriel eyed me curiously.

“
What does?” I tilted my head to the side.

He smiled and shook his head. “Forget it. Let’s see if there is a different way down.”

I got as close to the edge as possible. Hundreds of feet below me was a huge, glassy pond where the water fall emptied itself. I looked further and it seemed to turn into a small lake. Streams like veins twisted and turned through the dense forest of trees and brush. There was so much green, so much blue. A bird flew in front of me before dive bombing back into the thick tree tops.