Camille O'Shea opened her eyes groggily. It was very early, but she didn't know how early. She could hear her cousin, little Danielle's, soft, angelic snores in the bed next to her.
Camille sat up quickly, yet quietly, not able to fall back asleep. Anticipation and anxiety knotted in her stomach. Today was a very important day. Her rite of passage.
She got out of bed quietly and slipped out into the tunnels.
She stretched her sore muscles out. She had tossed and turned all night, excited and nervous for today.
She knew these tunnels by heart; knew every twist and turn. She tip-toed past the other rooms, not wanting to wake anybody up, and started off into the familiar darkness of the caves.
She knew no one was awake yet, but she decided to wait in the kitchen.
When she reached the kitchen she knew someone was there. There was a blue lantern sitting on one of the counters. The small arc of light created by the lantern revealed no one. They must have been outside of the circle of light.
"Hello?" Camille called quietly.
She heard a loud thud and an almost imperceptible gasp.
"Jesus, Camille, you scared the hell out of me," came the breathless reply. She knew this voice well.
Squinting into the darkness, she tried to find him. "Dallin? What are you doing up?"
She heard him chuckle as he stepped into the light of the lantern. The familiar sight of her childhood friend made her smile. His shaggy, brown hair fell slightly into his shockingly blue eyes. He was already dressed for the day in a pair of well-fitted jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt. She could see all of his lean muscles beneath the fabric. Looking at him, she felt stupid as she stood there in her night clothes.
"I could ask you the same question," he said laughingly. "But our answers will probably be the same." He grinned at her, showing his perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth.
Yes, Dallin Howe was certainly attractive.
Camille couldn't help her answering smile. "Probably," she agreed. She should have been expecting company this morning. Today was Dallin's day, just as much as it was hers, and he had been known to lose sleep over less.
He pulled himself up onto the counter, just inside the light's edge, and patted the counter space next to him.
Giggling, she copied his movements and sat down by him.
He was still smiling. "Excited, O'Shea?" he asked.
"Of course," she answered quickly; too quickly. He looked at her questioningly, and she sighed. "Nervous, too," she admitted.
He reached up and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
With that simple gesture, words started pouring out of Camille's mouth, voicing her concerns and fears.
He listened attentively, waiting for her to finish. When she finally trailed off into silence he put his hand on her knee and she leaned her head on his shoulder. The embrace felt natural, something they had done since they were little kids.
Dallin Howe was her best friend.
They sat like that in companionable silence, losing track of time. They may have fallen asleep, because the next thing Camille knew, someone was clearing their throat and she could hear shuffling and murmuring.
Opening her eyes she saw that the kitchen had filled up considerable. There were already more than a dozen people sitting around, chatting easily.
Looking for the source of the throat-clearing, she made eye contact with Jared Howe, Dallin's father.
He was smirking at them, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Are you going to move sometime today? We need to make breakfast," he said tauntingly.
Camille blushed. She realized that almost everyone was looking at them expectantly. She hopped down off the counter, startling Dallin. He apparently had still been asleep, oblivious to the prying eyes all around them.
He slid off the counter after her, and walked over to sit with his mother, Melanie, and his little sister Sophie.
She glanced around the room. Her parents weren't here yet, but she saw her aunt and uncle, Sonny and Kyle, and Danielle. She decided to sit with them today.
She sat down by Danielle, and the excited four-year-old scrambled onto her lap.
Lily was just barely starting on breakfast, so they were going to have to wait a while. Thankfully Danielle distracted Camille from her anxiety. The little girl had enough energy to spare for the entire group of humans that lived in the caves. 'And Souls,' Camille corrected herself mentally, thinking of her mother and Sonny.
Thinking of her mother must have summoned her here, because suddenly she was there, sitting next to Camille, along with her father.
Camille could see the worry in her mother's eyes. She wasn't excited about today. Her father, Ian, wasn't either, but he hid it well.
"Good morning, Camille," he said softly. "How are you feeling?" Camille knew this wasn't a courtesy every morning question. He wanted to know how she felt about today.
"Nervous," she said quietly, "but excited."
He smiled softly and rubbed her shoulder. "You'll do fine," he said.
She smiled at him. His assurance made her feel better. The nerves started to ebb, and she could actually feel how excited she was.
On cue, Lily announced that breakfast was ready. Everyone started to get up, but Jared motioned for them to sit back down.
After Jeb died, leadership of the cave had passed to his next of kin, Melanie, and her husband Jared.
Jared smiled at everyone. "Today is a very special day," he said loudly, projecting his voice so that everyone could hear his every word.
He caught his son's eye and motioned him forward, repeating the process with Camille seconds later. Shakily she got to her feet to join Jared and Dallin at the front of the room. She deposited Danielle onto Sonny's lap and stepped forward.
Jared smiled at them both. "Today, Camille and Dallin are going on their first raid," he called proudly.
A lone cheer sounded from somewhere in the room and suddenly the whole room erupted in cheers and applause.
Camille looked down, embarrassed. When she looked up, she caught her parents' eyes. They both had their arms crossed over their chests, identical in their stances. It made Camille smile. They were so alike, yet so different. Her father was a huge man, well over six feet, while her mother was a tiny, fragile-looking thing.
Her smile turned grim. She knew her parents weren't exactly proud. They were anxious for her. Normally her mother, Wanda, or Sonny would go on the raids, since they made things so much easier. But years ago, when Carson, Doc and Sharon's son, was born, the majority of the caves had decided that they needed to teach the new children how to go on raids, because they knew that Sonny and Wanda wouldn't always be around, and it was dangerous to rely so much on two people.
The cheers died down and people got their food and started to eat.
Camille joined her family back at their table. Kyle looked at her and mockingly punched her shoulder.
"Looks like we're going on a little adventure today, eh Camille?" She laughed at her uncle. As she looked at him, more of her worry started to disappear. Kyle wouldn't let anything happen to her or Dallin.
Kyle and Jamie, Dallin's uncle, were going with them. It had also been a ruling that parents weren't allowed to accompany their own children on raids. The reason why brought Camille's worry back. Parents weren't allowed, because if they got into a situation where their choice was capture or death, the parents' love for the children would cloud their judgment, and that would put the entire group at risk.
Breakfast passed too quickly. Before she knew it Jamie was at her elbow with Dallin in tow. "Are you ready?" he asked.
Camille swallowed loudly. "Yes," she said in a whisper.
Kyle smiled and stood up. "Come on then!" he said excitedly.
She made eye contact with Dallin. It was time.