"Kim? Kim?!" A voice said as I woke with a start. My eyes landed on Tommy who was holding me in his arms. I let out a shriek, shoving him away. Scrambling, I crawled over to the corner of his kitchen by the fridge. My breathing came out in hard breaths, my lungs feeling like they couldn't fill as I panted. Looking down, I saw no blood on my clothes. Lifting my shirt, I saw there was no stab wound of any kind. There was no pain there but there was a slight throbbing at the back of my head. "Kim, what is going on?"
"What happened?" I whispered.
"You came down here in like a trance. I tried to get you to wake up, but you wouldn't. Then you started screaming and collapsed. Is your head okay? I think you bumped it on the counter when you fell." I rubbed the back of my head, feeling a little bump forming.
"I had this dream...you...you were under Rita's spell. You had the dagger and you stabbed me with it." I felt tears brim in my eyes as I pulled my knees into my chest. "What was that? I wasn't asleep. I was just standing in the hall upstairs and something came over me. It was like I was in another world."
"Hey." He said softly, moving towards me. "Once we get the dino gems, we can have Alpha run a scan to see what happened. We haven't really slept much, and everything has been kinda crazy. That can have some damage on a person. Everything is okay. I'm not under her spell and the dagger was destroyed almost two decades ago. I would never do anything to hurt you."
"I know. I know It was just so real." I thought back to the dream, trying my best to remember everything about it. That voice sounded so familiar. I knew who it was, but I couldn't recall who it belonged to. It sent chills down my spine though even as I thought of it.
"Are you going to be okay to go with me for this? You can stay here, and I'll get them." He suggested, helping me to my feet. I shook my head.
"I'm fine. The sooner we get all this done, the sooner I will feel better about the whole thing."
"Alright." Bending down, he grabbed the back pack and tossed it over his shoulder. Grabbing my hand, he led me out to his jeep. He opened the door for me before running over to his side. I felt a headache coming on, no doubt from my bump on the noggin. I ignored it though as Tommy started the engine and pulled out of his drive.
The drive to the caves was mostly quiet. I saw him glance over at me every couple of minutes, a hint of concern in his features. I didn't say anything though, knowing I would be just as concerned if it had been him. When he pulled into the parking area of the cave system, I saw that it was much different in the day light than it had been last night. From the parking area, I could see a vast amount of forest surrounding the area. Tall pine trees and other types of forestry seemed to stretch for miles around us. In the distance, I could hear the sound of the ocean. The salt was in the area here, making it cooler than usual. The stone steps that went from the parking lot down to the caves seemed steeper now, the opening of the chasm waiting at the base. Climbing out, I made sure to grab one of the flashlights from yesterday when we ventured into the Command Center. Tommy grabbed his bag and a large flashlight. It was black with a handle, a round button the top of it. Shutting the door, he made sure to lock the jeep. I gave him a questioning look as he walked towards me.
"My luck, her brand of Putties will show up. I already had to use my insurance to fix it twice after battles. I'm not chancing it now." He explained. I nodded.
"Gotcha." Together, we started down the stone steps towards the cave. The opening was about the size of a door way, equally tall as it was wide. Tommy and I turned our flashlights on as we neared it.
"Last time I was down here, I was looking for the other dino gems." He called over his shoulder as we entered. Even though the sun was extremely bright outside, it did nothing to affect the darkness of the cave. It was almost pitch black, our beams of light illuminating sections as we walked. The air was colder in here as well, a chilly dampness surrounding us. Thankfully, there was a beaten path in the cave from the amount of people venturing through here. I could see teenagers coming here for some one on one time. It was far enough and private enough to not be bothered. I'd pay anything to have those thoughts be the only thing on my mind again.
"How are we supposed to know where they are?" I asked, following Tommy as he made a right turn. The sound of water dripping echoed off the walls of the cave, making it seem louder and everywhere.
"That's what this is for." Pulling his bag off, he unzipped the front pocket of it and pulled out what looked like a calculator. "This is an energy reader. It's similar to what Trini had in her helmet before. It can pick up on energy readings and signs of life. The gems will give off just enough power for us to pick up on them I hope." He turned the little device on, the screen lighting up green as he did. It beeped loudly, a black dot appearing to the right of the screen. A line traveled in a circular motion on the screen, almost like a radar detector. Another dot appeared next to the first one. "There they are. We still have a little way to go."
"Okay." We walked through the cave, doing our best to not trip over anything on the ground. Now and then, beer cans and bottles appeared, showing signs of previous teenager activities.
"So, you don't want to talk about last night at all?" Tommy asked, casting me a glance over his shoulder.
"What do you want me to say, Tommy? Everything is super up in the air with Rita and Zedd's kid here and us having our powers back. There is nothing more in this world that I want than to be with you but there's so much to work out before that can happen." I replied, pointing my flashlight away from him. I didn't want to see his face when I said that.
"I understand that, but we already spent so much time apart. I don't want to waste another minute."
"I know. I feel the same way. I just think that focusing on that right now isn't the best idea. If we end up going back into battle, I don't want us to be a liability to each other and our friends. It happened all the time when we were kids. So much more is on the line now. One mistake and we could be the reason JC doesn't have a mother or father any more. Or that Billy's wife isn't going to see her husband anymore. Or that Zack won't get to be that Broadway star. When it comes to us fighting bad guys, you tend to protect me first and then focus on being a leader."
"What do you expect, Kim? It was bad enough that our friends were out there fighting. The fact my girlfriend was getting attacked, kidnapped and used as a target on almost aa daily basis wasn't the easiest thing to deal with. Of course, I worried about you first. Who wouldn't?"
"That's what I'm saying, Tommy. I shouldn't come before anyone else. This job is serious, and I don't want to be a distraction for you. When we defeat Rosita, we can work on getting back together. It's all I've wanted to do since I broke up with you." Tommy stopped walking suddenly, turning to face the wall.
"The dino gems are here somewhere. Look for a break in the wall somewhere." I nodded, pointing my light towards the rock wall. It was mostly smooth, some jagged parts sticking out. Tommy set his flashlight down so it was pointing up, allowing him to use both hands to search. "You do want to be together again, then?"
"Of course I do." I replied, feeling the wall for anything. "I think waiting is just the best idea. I also think we shouldn't tell anyone until this is over. I don't want anything to be weird in the group because of it."
"Well, I don't think it would be weird. I think everyone would be happy for us."
"I do too. I just don't want them all to think we were doing something scandalous while we were here getting the gems."
"We did, though." He replied, grinning over at me. I rolled my eyes, trying not to smile. I failed.
"You're such an ass sometimes." I replied. Bending over, I ran my hands over the rock. My hand caught on a hole. I shone the light into the golf ball size hole between the slate. A glint of pink reflected. "I found it!" I exclaimed. Tommy ran over to where I stood, peeking into the hole. He nodded, setting the backpack and the radar on the ground by our feet. He pulled a hammer and chisel from the bag.
"I'm going to break up the big pieces until we can get to it." He said before getting to work. The noise echoed off the walls of the cave each time he hit the chisel with the hammer. Flakes or chunks of rock fell each time, building a pile by his feet. Bringing my wrist up towards my face, I hit the button on the side of the communicator.
"Alpha, it's Kim. Tommy and I found the dino gems." I said into the speaker. A weird staticky noise came out when I released the button. "Alpha?" I said, trying again. I could hear Alpha but couldn't make sense of any of the words.
"The cave is probably too deep for the signal. We can call them when we get the gems out." Tommy said, breaking a rather large chunk off the wall. I could see more of the pink dino gem and the green one was now sticking out slightly next to it. Both were rather beautiful and seemed to glow in the darkness. I bent to get a closer look when movement on the screen of the radar caught my eye. Picking it up, I saw that twelve little dots were on the left side of the screen. They were all grouped together and moving quickly towards the middle of the screen.
"Uh, Tommy? I think we have company." I said, holding the radar out. He glanced at it quick, swearing under his breath.
"I suppose those aren't bats." He muttered. "Here." He handed me the tools. "Keep working until the gems are out. I'll fight them off until then. Go as quickly as possible though. There's only one reason why they here." I nodded, taking the tools. He brushed by me, heading to the opening of the cavern we were in. Swinging the hammer, I broke off more of the rock. The pink dino gem was almost out and the green one was still half covered. In the distance, the familiar sound of Putties echoed.
"Talking about sticking with the originals." I said, Tommy taking a fighting stance. The putties busted into the cavern, their beady black eyes narrowing when they saw us. The man shaped clay figures ran full speed towards Tommy. He swung, taking the legs of two of them out at once. It was a flurry of fists and feet as he fought them, their noises drowning out those of the hammer each time I hit the metal chisel. The pink dino gem finally fell loose. I scooped it up with my hand and shoved it in my pocket. I swung as fast as I could, trying to wiggle the green gem out.
"Anytime would be nice, Kim!" Tommy called out, swinging a putty over his head. The twelve of them all seemed to be focused on Tommy more than me. Not one of them tried to attack me.
"Almost there! Keep them distracted!" I replied. He took a kick to the ribs, sending him skidding back a few feet towards me.
"Distracted? Are you joking?" He asked, leaping back towards them. I grabbed hold of the green dino gem and tried pulling on it. It moved a little, trying it's best to stay put. Tossing the chisel, I began hitting the gem with the hammer itself. The hammer hit the gem, sending it bouncing off the side of the hole. I tried to catch it but it flew passed my fingers and towards the group fighting with Tommy. The gleam of it caught one of the puttie's eyes. He turned to grab it.
"I don't think so, creep." I said, running towards him. He grabbed it off the ground, but I kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. The gem went flying out of his hand and through the air. The putty fell, disappearing as his chest plate broke apart. The green stone hit the wall on the far-right side of the cavern, dropping to the cave floor. Another putty grabbed it, making what I assumed was an excited cry as he waved it at his clay friends. There was a large rock between him and I that I used to my advantage. Running, I held my hands out and flipped over the boulder. My feet landed perfectly on the ground in front of him. He looked at me surprised as I punched him in the plate on his chest. He dropped the gem as his body parts began to crumble apart. I grabbed the gem and ran over to the rest of our stuff. Quickly, I shoved the gems into the back pack and pulled it onto my back. "Tommy! Let's get out of here!" I called. The number of putties was shrinking now, Tommy killing a good number of them. He nodded, glancing over his shoulder at me. Jumping, he kicked two of them at once as they came running towards him. The two disintegrated when he made contact, leaving three putties. The three looked at each other before running the other direction.
"You okay?" Tommy asked, trying to catch his breath. I nodded, handing him his flashlight.
"Yeah. I guess it is just like riding a bike. Forgot what it was like to kill one of those things."
"It's something I wish I could forget. We should get out of here before they come back." He responded. I nodded, handing him his flashlight. Turning, we headed out of the cave.