Chapter 10 - Running Out Of Time

She was fine a few moments ago. Now she was dying; her face pale and her hand lay off the couch limply, her breathing was faint and painful.

Lapis grunted as the sharp pain in her side made itself known again, she hissed as she tightened the scarf. It was not the time for it to be bothering her this much, she had to do something… Anything.

She glanced at Pearl yet again…

Her jacket was lying over Pearls stomach, it was the best she could do without agitating the…

She shivered.

Lapis didn't know how Pearl could have managed to come so far with that stuck in her chest. Lapis's own wound didn't come close to the anguish that this… This stake could have caused her.

"Oh Pearl…" Lapis brushed some hair out of her eyes, the taller girl was still unconscious and it was longer than last time. She feared that it might even be the last time.

Lapis whimpered and purposely touched her wound, the sharp pain brought her back to reality.

'I can't be thinking like this. I need to do something… Anything.'

She left a kiss on Pearl's forehead and stood up painfully. There must have been something to save them in the house, anything to prevent them from dying to the poisonous gas that poured in from the cracks in the windows and front door.

Lapis looked at the notes again in confusion, she did not have a clue what the chemistry notes meant, 'Pearl could have figured it out.' she sighed.

What she did understand was the theories and observations in the notes. She deduced that there was some sort of 'vials' that the scientists created, something that they could throw into the late and prevent more toxic gas released in the future. But by the surroundings they didn't have enough time to throw it into the lake.

The girl in blue sighed, 'I wonder what happened to them…'

Lapis jumped when she heard a cough from behind her, she turned and seen Pearl shivering on the couch. Her chest was still bleeding, yet not as much as it would if she pulled the shard out. It made Lapis's heart break.

Still, she continued to search and finally found the safe in the corner, she slapped herself mentally of how obvious it was and how stupid she was for not noticing it. There was a heavy chain, yet rusted on the edges, that kept the safe from opening, inside she could see a box.

It must have been the vials.

It just had to be…

'How am I going to get it out of there?' Lapis hummed, there wasn't any lock on the chain so she had to break it some how. Experimentally, Lapis yanked on the more rusted side of the metal.

It clattered slightly but it was still solid.

She needed to break it another way.

Lapis stood up and looked round the room, there was a small seat in the corner of the desk, so she lifted it painfully and smashed it onto the chain.

Nothing.

She used some of the rock samples.

Nothing still.

She hit a tiny hammer she found on the table at the chain.

It still wouldn't break.

Lapis was almost out of options when she heard a familiar grumble and stomping approach. Outside she discovered the monster prowling and grunting, seemingly disinterested in her. But she knew and she knew that the monster knew that she knew it was baiting her to come out.

She childishly stuck her tongue out and flipped it two middle fingers. It didn't react…

But it felt good doing it.

Lapis tried looking around the monster, to it's right was a small degrading dock leading into the lake, it didn't have a boat attached to it and the ropes looked too old to use. Then she looked to it's left and discovered a small shack outside.

It was falling apart and several boards were falling off the thing but she still grinned at what she seen.

It was an axe, a rusty water-damaged axe lying lazily on it's side by the shack.

Then there was the monster…

"Well… Shit." Lapis cursed and glared longer at the fiend, it was taunting her. "Dick."

Lapis returned back to Pearl after having a staring contest with the monster for a little longer, sure it was scary and she will regret it later. But being inside the house made her immensely confident and it was starting to show.

Pearl's breathing was getting shallower, she was now barely conscious as her eyes fluttered and she groaned at times.

"Pearl?" She asked weakly, the taller girl made a sharp grunt. Lapis could see it was difficult for her to talk and blood continued to spill from her mouth, she didn't have anything to wipe it with however.

After considering her choices, Lapis bit her lip and looked down at Pearl again.

"I'm going to do something… Insanely stupid." The taller girl frowned slightly, her hand weakly raised and Lapis held it close to her cheek. "I'll be back… I swear…"

"La-pis…. D'… On't" Pearl tried making sounds, formulating words in her head and strategising her tongue to make the appropriate sounds.

"Shhh…" Lapis brushed her cheek softly kissing her forehead. "I'll be back…" She whispered into her ear and stood up.

She watched Pearl painfully wheeze and cough as she tried to move, to resist Lapis in every possible way.

"I'm sorry."

Lapis waited till the monster wasn't looking, it took several minutes until she judged it safe and she creeped out the house. She ran quietly up to the shack, keeping low to the ground and carefully controlling her breathing. The first thing she noticed when she got there was that it smelled terrible, curiosity overwhelmed her and she peeked inside and discovered several rotting corpses of scientists.

They had barricaded themselves inside the shack, their expressions filled with pain.

Some had visible injuries and peaceful expressions, they mustn't have known that they were even injured. Others were holding their throats… They suffocated in there as they hid.

Lapis gasped and grabbed the axe. It was not unnoticeable by the monster and it began to charge at her again, kicking up gravel with it's claws.
Lapis ignored her pain and shock and ran.

Using the axe she swiped at it, the monster in turn dodged out the way. Lapis grinned, it wasn't very smart at all…

The monster had moved away from the front door, leaving it wide open for Lapis to jump inside before she was grabbed.

She shut the door behind her with a loud 'slam!'

"La-pis…" She heard Pearl wheeze and she rushed over,

"I'm here! I'm okay, see? I'm fine…" Lapis took her hand and put it up to her cheek, she felt Pearl brush her thumb against it ever so weakly and she smiled slightly as a tear fell. "You need to stop worrying about me… Let me worry about you now…"

Lapis kissed Pearl's wrist and left her again, her breathing was slowing down even more… Lapis could also feel the gases effects on her. She breathed in and her throat would some times spasm and would clench up. It felt like she was being choked.

Quickly Lapis walked up to the safe and destroyed the chain in two well aimed swings, taking the box out just as quickly. Lapis opens it and discovers the colourless vials inside, each were numbered and labeled…

All she had to do now was throw them into the lake. After opening each glass container and delicately closing the box, Lapis prepared to walk up to the door when she heard heavy breathing and three sets of beady glowing eyes looking at her through the fog in the window.