My eyes flutter. I cough a little bit then open my eyes and look around me.
Where am I?
Someone's holding me; I can't see who. It is so dark, so humid, sweaty and sticky in here. It's horrible.
Then I remember. I'm underground! 6ft under! Thinking about it makes me want to scream, beat at the wood, try to break free…but I know I mustn't. The only way I'm going to survive this is if I don't panic and I use as little oxygen as possible.
I lie back on Larten's chest and try to breathe normally. Breathe 1, 2, 3, exhale 1, 2, 3. My heart is still racing but I can feel myself start to relax a bit more.
I want to wake Larten up. I'm scared. I don't like being the only one conscious down here. I can't even feel him breathing! What if he's dead? Will I die in here?
Oh God. I'm so frightened. I've got to calm down.
I tell myself this but I can still imagine Mr Crepsley dead beneath me. What if…?
"Larten," I whisper, shaking him slightly. "Larten. Please wake up." I feel him move a little bit. I think his eyes are open now but I am not sure. I really can't see a thing. Larten might be able to…I've never asked if vampires can see in the dark.
"What's wrong, Darren?" he asks in a sleepy voice. If I wasn't so frightened I would take a minute to make fun of that question. What could possibly be wrong!
"I…" What is wrong? Why did I wake him up again? "I'm just…scared. Being the only one conscious…I…"
"It's okay, Darren. You don't have to explain. I understand you are frightened but you've been in a coffin before. The night we faked your death. Why is this so different?"
"Well…I was only going to be down there a few days, I didn't need any blood in that time, and I was only semi conscious anyway so I wasn't really thinking straight. I wasn't scared because I was too…care-free. If you understand?"
"Yes, I understand. What are you frightened of now?"
"Running out of oxygen. Dying from lack of blood. Not being dug up in time." I stop, scaring myself thinking about it. Larten puts arms around me again and I feel him shake his head.
"Try not to worry, Darren. I trust Vancha. He will do everything he can to get us up in time."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, Darren. I'm sure." I know I sound like an inconsolable five year old child, but it's not as if I am worrying about nothing. I have a perfectly respectable reason to be scared shitless.
"There's not much to do down here," I say pathetically. If I could see in the dark I would have seen Larten raise an eyebrow.
"Really, Darren?" he says.
"I'm bored."
"Do you want to go to sleep again?"
"Not really. I dream about horrid things." Larten nodded.
"Alright. 'I spy' it is then," he says with a slight chuckle. "I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with c."
"Coffin."
"Dammit."
"Actually that's not totally fair, seeing as I can't see the coffin and you can."
"Hmm," he says.
"I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with d."
"Darkness."
"Dammit. That's the end of that game." Larten laughs. I laugh too. "You know what we really need in here? A TV! Now wouldn't that be great?"
"The dead don't really have much time to watch 'Coronation Street' Darren." Silence. Neither of us speak. I don't know what to say anyway.
"God, if only I had a torch and a book. That could kill a few hours," I say. Larten coughs.
"I have a torch," he says. "But I didn't want to use it unless you got really frightened in case it runs out of batteries. I have cards somewhere as well…" he says, rummaging around in his coat. I laugh at the absurdity.
Suddenly a light comes on. I squeak and cover my eyes as fast as I can. I feel like my iris is on fire.
"Don't worry. Your eyes just need to adapt to it for a second. You've been down here almost a day now." I nod and start to squint. "Want to play cards?" he asks. I laugh…
"Alright!" He starts to deal out cards, the two of us scrunched up against the sides to have room for the pack.
"Actually," he says, carrying on dealing. "I think we should play this in a month when you're acting like a drunken teenager. I could beat you every time!"
"You'll probably beat me anyway," I say. "I'm not a card player. But I am serious about not listening to anything I say when I'm like that. I am almost defiantly going to propose and beg you to sleep with me or something. Please please please don't listen to me!" He nods, but for a second I see him look up. Our eyes catch. He's smiling seriously…
I look away and forget we ever had that moment.
There! What do you think of my third chapter? Hope you liked it. Please read and review. Your reviews mean so much to me as all my previous-story fans know.
Thank you to SilverShiningStar who was my first reviewer on this story! Thanks. I'm so glad you liked it! I'm writing more for you!
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