My eyes fluttered open. I propped myself on my elbows, my head throbbing. I blinked in an attempt to clear the drowsy feeling that was overwhelming my body.

The fall hadn't knocked me out. I had definitely dealt with worse beatings. No, I had allowed myself to fall asleep when the pounding in my head had become too unbearable to deal with. I had allowed myself to slip into unconsciousness before I could even check if Aster and Tilly were okay.

Aster and Tilly were recollecting themselves next to me. Aster rubbed his eyes as Tilly sat up, stretching her sore muscles. I placed my palms on the floor and pulled my body off of the ground. My hand brushed against an object. Aster's glasses.

Curious, I slid them to the bridge of my nose. My eyes were immediately enclosed by the numbers and calculations that were swarming the side of the lenses. On the top was the time: seven forty-three. Not only was the time listed, but so was the altitude, weather, temperature, and many other numbers. I plucked them off of my nose before I could get a headache.

I staggered backward as my eyes locked with Aster's, my nose centimeters from his face. My cheeks felt hot. I had been so entranced by the glasses that I hadn't noticed him approaching me.

"Thanks for finding them," Aster said. He stretched out his arm, his palm facing the sky. I didn't hesitate to place the glasses in his empty hand.

Aster slid them on his nose, ran his fingers through his hair, and then walked over to Tilly. I stood up straight so that I could follow Aster.

Right as I was straightening my knees, though, my head knocked against the ceiling above us. Dirt showered the floor like rain. I wiped the specks of it off of my head and spat out the few that had entered my mouth.

It was only then that I realized what had just happened: a hole had just mystically grown from the ground, and now we were in what appeared to be an underground tunnel. The ceiling was so low that Tilly could barely stand straight. A crack of light reassured me that there was a way out. We would just have to walk there.

There was a question that I knew would've bothered me if I didn't ask right then. "How did you guys know to jump in?"

Aster shrugged. "Tilly thought of it first," he admitted. "She saw the trail under us and figured that it was the right way to go. I didn't know what to do, so I followed."

"Great job, Tilly." I couldn't help but grin. Tilly had definitely grown up a little. She wasn't afraid to chip in ideas and even stood taller. Her eyes were no longer filled with fear but with experience and determination.

She didn't spend her nights crying anymore. She used them, instead, to sleep and take watches. The pride that swelled in my chest couldn't have been put into any more words besides the fact that I couldn't believe how much in so little time she had ripened and aged.

We took no more time to sit around. We were all back to walking on the trail in minutes. With only wounds and heads to check, there wasn't anything else that we had needed to wait around for. And no one hesitated to walk once we were all determined to be good enough to continue.

It had taken an hour to reach the opening of the cave. None of us had talked at that time. We all had given up on trying to get to know each other. Everything that we already knew had been enough to satisfy everyone.

Besides, there weren't really any golden opportunities for starting up a conversation. Even if there were, we had all grown a bad habit of ending discussions quickly. We knew each other enough to be comfortable listening to the whispers of the air.

My hand grew sweaty in Aster's. His fingers only clutched tighter to mine, though. My heart somersaulted. Something in the back of my mind was still confused about how I could have possibly met someone like Aster in the worst place on earth. Had anyone else fallen in love during the Pestilention? Did they die hand in hand? Was there still time to do the same, or was it possible that we were finally far enough that death wasn't an option anymore?

Aster swung his arms around me, pulling me tightly to his chest. The sudden movement caused me to loosen my grip on Tilly. I pulled her next to me, though, and hugged her shoulder to me tightly. My eyes widened. What was going on? What happened? All I could see was his shoulder. I tried to ask, but the words caught in my throat. It was only when he released me that my voice found itself.

"God, Aster, what was that for?" I breathed. He didn't reply. Instead, Aster spun me around. My eyes widened. Trees draped over us, protecting us from the sky. I would have even felt reassured by it if there wasn't a large boulder hanging from them by a thick rope, swaying lightly with the wind. If Aster hadn't pulled me back, it would have smacked my head off of my neck.

"Be careful," Aster muttered into my ear, enunciating every consonant. Gulping, I took a careful step forward. The stone nearly grazed my head as I ducked under it. My heart leaped into my throat and suffocated my lungs with fear. It would only be a matter of time before the rope weakened and collapsed.

And it did. We were hardly three steps away from it when it crashed to the floor, digging itself into the earth. The snapped rope swayed above it. Chills crawled up my spine.

"Stay between us, Tilly," I ordered. I was in the front and Aster trailed in the back. I would make sure that nothing came flying at us. Aster would risk taking the final blow if needed.

The leaves above us rustled. That's the only warning I needed to jump back. Tilly and Aster followed. The rope swung side to side, inches away from my face. It then swung in circles. By the time it would have hit us, we were all down on our stomachs.

I dug my nose into the dirt, breathing heavily. I could feel the weight of the rock above my head. I army crawled backward. Tilly and Aster followed my motions. When we were out of the way, we all stood up.

"Should we crawl?" Aster asked. I shook my head.

"They expected that." I pointed at the stone, which was only a few feet from the ground. If we were crawling, it probably would have knocked our skull into our spines. Aster nodded, and we continued walking. There were a few more times when the rocks sprung on us. Some swayed side to side, in circles, or just fell. We managed to dodge all of them, though. It wasn't difficult to detect them after the third one. Their weight made it easy to hear when they were coming. We were down and ducking before the rocks even came to us.

Aster laughed and whooped after we took a few steps from the final boulder. "We're unstoppable!" he laughed. "We're going to win for sure!"

Aster said this right as another rock began to swing at us. I grabbed his shoulders, wrenching him to the floor. Aster only grinned, brushing his lips against mine. I smiled back. His happiness was contagious.

I couldn't find any doubt in Aster's words. Even when we both got up and continued walking. We were too far to doubt. If we had survived being crushed, falling, burning, drowning, and getting bitten to death, then how could there be anything else to stop us? Aster had to be right.

Or maybe it wasn't too late to be caught by surprise.

Hello, everyone! How is everyone feeling? I'm feeling great, for there are only so many chapters left of this story. You might not realize it, but the end is closer than you think! Don't forget to vote, comment, and share this story with your friends. Make sure to vote for this story with your friend's head (should be interesting to explain to them what's happening) and stay awesome.

This song is called Run by Daughter. This is kinda a song to listen to after the chapter. Just to enjoy.