Somehow I'd managed to fall asleep. At first I'd wanted to keep digging, but Longshot convinced me I needed to rest.
I didn't dream. I was glad. It probably would've been a nightmare.
By the time I woke up, Longshot was already back to moving rocks.
I yawned, stood up, and walked over. My ankle still hurt a bit, but it was a lot better.
"How long was I out?"
He jumped and turned around. Guess he didn't hear me get up. (I just got up a few minutes ago. I've just been moving the ones that don't look like they'll start a game of Jenga.)
I chuckled. "That's probably a good idea. Well, I'm here now, help me up."
I was trying to sound calm. Inside I was freaking out. We couldn't work for twenty-four hours straight, but going that long without food or water, and running out of air…
I shivered.
(You okay?) He already had his fingers laced together.
"Yeah, it's just… cold down here." I stepped on, he lifted me up. It took… about half an hour to finish up.
I looked down. "I'm done!"
He lowered me, looking like he was trying not to look relieved.
"You wanna take a break?"
He shook his head. (No. We have a long way to go.)
I looked at the still towering pile of rocks. "Ain't that the truth," I muttered.
I popped my neck. "Well, we better get started."
We clawed at the rock for hours. We'd managed to get… maybe ten feet in. That tunnel was a good quarter mile long.
We wouldn't make it in time. We'd starve, or dehydrate, or suffocate before we were even halfway there.
Longshot must've noticed the way my shoulders slumped, because, next thing I knew, his hand was on my shoulder.
(Are you okay?)
"Yeah, I'm fine." I didn't turn around.
(Bee, what's wrong?)
I bit my lip and turned. "We're not gonna make it, Longshot. It'd take us days to dig our way out of here. We've gone without food before, but what about water? And how long do you think our air's gonna last?"
(Bee, they had to have put in vents. People are down here for hours at a time, do you really think they'd just rely on what came in when someone opened the entrance? As for water, we've gone a couple days at a time without it. We can get through this.)
"I just…" I ducked my head, trying not to cry. Wasting water, wasting water. "If Jet was here, he'd make this almost seem like… fun. Like we weren't gonna die if we couldn't do it. He always brought a… a light with him. Without him, it's just… dark."
He lifted my chin so that I was looking in his eyes. (Smellerbee the Freedom Fighter. You're not giving up, are you? Next to Jet, you're the most determined person I've ever met. Even Jet couldn't annoy Sneers as much as you, let alone dodge every punch he threw at you after you stole his clothes when he was taking a bath."
He was right. "I'm not giving up. Even if we can't make it out, I wanna die trying."
(Good.) The pad of his thumb brushed a stripe of paint on my cheek. (You're a warrior, Bee. Don't forget that.)
I smiled. Just a little. "I won't," I whispered.
He smiled back, then turned around and got back to work.
A few more hours went by. I was a bit hungry, but it was the thirst that was bothering me. I could deal, but at the rate we were going… And I was getting pretty tired, too. We'd have to take a break soon.
On the up side, we'd gotten more efficient. It might've been the whole 'positive thinking' thing, but I dunno.
Still, we'd only gotten another… twenty feet in before I gave in to the exhaustion. Meaning twenty feet after the ten.
I turned to face him. "Longshot, I–" He wasn't there. I looked down. As always, he was two steps ahead of me.
I chuckled and sat down next to him.
"'Night, Longshot," I whispered before closing my eyes.