"Where are taking me, anyway?"

"You'll see."

x~x~x~x

I wanted to close my eyes and sleep forever but now wasn't the time. "You know, I hate it when people say that,"I said, oozing with sarcasm,"The suspense is just exciting."

He ignored me. "You're really heavy, you know." He smirked at me again. "Tell me, what did you eat while I was gone? A hundred pounds of junk food?"

I shot him a look that clearly said 'are you stupid?". "I just spent two weeks in a tunnel, and you tell me I must have gained a few pounds? What is wrong with you? Or maybe...", I added wryly,"the infamous Zachary Goode is growing weak. So, I was thinking, if carrying girls around is affecting your health, maybe you could let me down now, yes?"

"That's wierd. Only my mother is known to 'Zachary Goode' me." He playfully scrutinized my face. "Are you my mother?"

The playfulness left my voice. "You know I will never be like her."

He turned serious too."I know."

We didn't say anything for the rest of the walk. The awkward silence filled the air like thick syrup. Then I was distracted by the sound of waterfalls.

"Zach? Are we going to jump again?" We looked at each other, and I remembered the mission at Blackthorne, where I knew that she was Zach's mom.

He finally tore his gaze away."We're not jumping." he said."We're going behind it."

x~x~x~x

"Behind it?",I repeated. Let me tell you, the last time I went behind waterfalls wasn't such a good memory either.

"Yep."

I groaned. "Lovely."

He glanced at me worriedly. I got the feeling he knew about what I was just thinking about."It's safe, Cammie. That's why I went here."

Well. He said Cammie, not Gallagher Girl, so I had to assume he wasn't lying. "What about that lynx, though?"

"I hunt them. You know,"he said to my puzzled expression," for food."

"Yikes." I wrinkled my nose."How do they taste?"

"Different. Bear's the best when you wrap the meat around apples, then roast it."

I grinned at him."When you do that, let me know, okay? I want to be the judge of that."

He grinned back."Anytime, Gallagher Girl."

By this time, we reached a waterfall surrounded with sharp rocks. Zach held me tight and started jumping lightly on the flattened surfaces, towards one of the biggest rocks near the falls.

"Watch carefully." He traced the almost-invisible outline of a letter Z carved in the rock. A rectangular shape jutted out and formed a doorway big enough for a teenage boy to fit through.

"I hate tunnels." I muttered as he began climbing up, the sound of rock grating against itself echoing in my ears.

"It's not a tunnel, it's a cave," he said half-heartedly.

"Confined spaces are all the same to me."

He hesitated."Me too," he said,"That's why I spend most of my time outside."

The Cave was large enough to host two people. It was furnished almost like a hotel room, not counting the roaring fire that burned brightly in the center. Shelves were lined with comms units and whatnot and a laptop sat on the corner of the bed. Even the floor was covered in a tawny, furry carpet that looked like lion's hide.

"Not bad,"I said grudgingly."Where did you get this stuff?"

"I stole some of my mother's credit cards when I ran away."

He set me down on the bed before I could ask another question. The heat that came from the fire thawed my frozen limbs, and somehow, it made me bold enough to ask a question he probably wouldn't answer. "Zach, why did you run away from Blackthorne?"

He didn't answer me for a minute."I think you know the answer to that, Gallagher Girl."

I thought about that. "Actually, I don't."]

He stared at me incredously."Yeah, right. You didn't even suspect it's because of my mom? 'Cause it's kind of obvious. Maybe you really need a break."

"Well,"I stared back at him,"Maybe. But something tells me there's something more to it than just your mom being the director of the Circle."

He stood up, grabbed something from one of the shelves and tossed me a towel and a t-shirt."That shirt shrunk in the wash."He went back to the fire ."We'll talk later."

I stood up and my stomach grumbled. I tried to ignore it."You didn't say no,"I observed,"And exactly how 'later' is 'later'?"

"I didn't. Say no, I mean. And how about after you take a shower and eat something?"

Well, I am pretty hungry. "Do I smell that bad?"I pretended to be hurt.

He smirked and flipped his hair out of his eyes (which, in the firelight, made him look more like a combination of a Greek God and a really bad boy). I did my best not to swoon.

"No offense Cam, but you stink. Like old tunnels and dead animal."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Which way's the shower?"

He gestured to a rectangular doorway carved in the rock. "Take your time."

I picked the shirt(and towel). I breathed in the familiar, good way that Zach always smelled like.

"Thanks."

He looked up at me."For what?"

"For everything."

R&R!