Conversations in the Dark

Jacob and Cassandra: Confessions Part One

The cave-in wasn't something we had expected when we started this mission two days ago. It was supposed to be easy, which is why we all felt it was okay that Eve had stayed behind with the flu. In fact we were in the middle of a conversation about where we should go for drinks and dinner after we stopped off at the Annex, which is where we'd been headed when the quake hit. And now we'd been separated. Well, that's not completely true, I myself am somewhat stuck with my leg trapped (and most likely broken) under God knows how many rocks. In between the dark and dust I can just make out Cassandra lying unconscious just out of my reach. Jones on the other hand is either on the other side of this ton of rubble or buried somewhere beneath it. Personally, I'm hoping for on the other side rather than underneath; though I will deny it in an instant if anyone ever asks.

"Cassandra! Cassie!" I yelled, knowing my voice was leaden with worry and pain. "Cassie, I need you to wake up, please," I stammered out. I tried to calm my emotions knowing panic was not going to help in this situation. However, it wasn't helping that she remained as still as ever. Somehow I kept the tears at bay, I'm still not sure how.

"Stone, can you hear me?" Jones's voice was faint, but at least it meant he was okay.

"Yeah Jones," I called out through the wall of rock. "Cassie's over here too, but she's not movin' and I can't reach her. My left leg is pinned. Are you okay?"

"I'm a little banged up, but yeah, I'm okay." Of course he is. I swear he has got to be the luckiest guy I've ever met. "Do you think Cassandra's okay?" I could hear the wobble in his voice when he asked about her, which pulled at my already wrought emotions.

"I think she's breathing, but she's just far enough out of my reach it's hard to tell." Somehow I got out without any tremble in my voice.

"You do realize you're the one with the know how to get us out of this mess, right?" I swear I can hear him smirking as he points out the irony of our current situation.

"It did not escape my notice, Jones," I growled. "Do you think you could get out and find some help now?" I demanded through clenched teeth.

"Sure, Mate. I'll be back as quick as I can."

And with that I was basically alone. I tried wiping some of the dirt and grime off my face, but I'm sure all I did was make it worse. I couldn't keep myself from turning my head in Cassie's direction. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't… If I don't ever get the chance to say everything and anything I've been too stubborn to tell her.

Other than being unconscious (at least that's what I'm prayin' she is anyway), she looks all right. Considering the state we're in and that she's covered in a layer of dust she looks ethereal. Now look at me waxing poetic in dire situations, I must be delirious. What the hell is wrong with me? I pressed my palms against my eyes in an effort to find some kind of perspective.

I know that I need to be figuring out how to get myself out from underneath this pile of rocks, so I can make sure Cassie is going to be okay, but I can't seem to get myself moving. I make myself sit up best I can to survey the situation at hand. Thankfully it doesn't look as bad as it feels. There are only a couple rocks pinning my leg down and none of them are near enough the wall that I need to worry about bringing down more on top of myself if I move these.

It doesn't take me long to free myself from the rocks, but in moving them the pain in my leg flares to almost unbearable. I make myself breathe through the pain because I know I need to get over to Cassie. It takes me longer than I want to drag myself over to where she's still lying.

Pushing her hair away from her face I finally let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when I see her breathing. All I can do in the moment is thank God over and over. There's a bruise taking up most of her cheek; I look her over the best I can and don't find any other injuries. I can't seem to stop myself from ghosting my fingers across the dark bruise on her face before brushing them through her hair.

"Cass, I need you to wake up now," I said, still playing with her hair. I waited for what seemed like hours, but am sure was only moments, but she still didn't respond.

"How did we end up in this mess Cassie? How is it that Jones always seems to worm his way out of trouble while you and I find ourselves in the middle of it?" I don't know why I'm talking when I know she's not going to answer, but I feel better filling the silence.

"You know when we get out of here Baird is going go crazy. It's not like she could have changed the outcome of a cave-in, but you know it's going to rankle her that she wasn't with us all the same. I can't even imagine what Jenkins will think about all of this. I know he acts like he wants us to fail, but I think we're growin' on him. I have no idea what I'm even going on about right now."

"I really wish you would wake up Darlin', it's not good for me to be talking to myself like this. If you were sitting here talking with me this situation wouldn't seem so difficult. I don't know how you do it, but you brighten even the darkest of moments. Course if you were awake you'd probably be cornering me again about my trust issues and everything that goes with them. And I'd probably start spouting off more lies to keep you from gettin' too close to the truth of the matter." I stopped running my fingers through her hair, looking down at her still form wishing she would wake up and push me into another uncomfortable conversation.

"See the truth is I need you like I need my next breath. I'd like to think I hide it well, but I'm sure there are moments when I don't. The problem is you broke my heart when you betrayed us to the Serpent Brotherhood. I barely knew you and I was already half in love with you. You were the first person I was really honest with about who I really am, so it hurt in ways I didn't even know were possible. And yet, even after all the heartbreak I couldn't help but find myself by your side every chance I got. I've never known anyone quite like you Cassie, and I know I want that unique spirit of yours in my life. I like the person I am when I'm with you. You're like a line of poetry that I want to read over and over. You make my life so much brighter and I know I can't go back to livin' in a world that you're not in."

"What am I doing?" I asked myself aloud, dropping my head into my hands then raking them through my hair.

I don't know how long I sat there trying to clear my head after my strange admission to Cassie's unconscious self. I do know I'm not sure I'll be able to say it all again when she finally wakes up. In fact I'm almost positive I'll keep going on as if I never said anything at all. At the same time, I'll know that I've said the words, and can I really go back to how things were after a confession like that?

"Jake?" Her soft voice broke me away from my inner thoughts.

"Cassie? Oh, God, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice," I confessed, wishing I could gather her up in my arms. She must have been thinking the same since the next thing I knew her arms were around my neck.

"How long was I out?" she asked against my neck, her voice muffled.

"Not exactly sure. Longer than I really liked."

She pulled away from me, looking me in the eye. I felt like she was searching for something, what I'm not sure.

"I'm surprised you haven't gotten us out of this mess already."

"Hard to do with a broken leg. Which is why we're waiting on Jones to rescue us." Once she understands what I've just said she starts looking me over for other injuries all while mumbling something under her breath.

"What happened?" she asked, finally satisfied that I wasn't any more hurt than I had let on.

"Leg was pinned under some on the rocks. I got myself unburied so I could make sure you were okay. You were just far enough away from me that I couldn't tell if you were breathing or not. You've got a nasty bruise on your cheek, but you seem okay otherwise. " I explained. She was watching me with that look in her eye, the one she gets when she's working out an equation that's been bothering her for a while.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" she asked, her blue eyes focused on mine, looking for the lie that was about to spill from my lips.

"What else is there to say?" I deflected.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure there's something you're not saying." Her gaze was intense. I decided I no longer want her to be awake and cornering me if she's going to become her own version of a lie detector.

"Hey, you guys still alive over there?" Jones called out, saving me from lying further.