THE CAVES Pt 3

Instructions

TW: Purple feels the pains (+ trauma) A few days passed. There was still no information from the surface, so everyone who was down in the caves had to stay in the caves. Sebastian ended up finding an underground lake while exploring, and took a few swims to stretch his tail. Both of his arms were healing up nicely, but still needed further treatment, according to the Doctor. He spent a lot of time with Chance, and met a few others who had also fallen down. The cafeteria had more people in it each day. Everyone seemed to have gotten used to the fact that they’d have to be friends as long as they were down here. But Sebastian couldn’t stop thinking about Purple. It was a common thing at this point to hear her crying out at any random point in the day. It reminded him of his days back at Urbanshade- he didn’t even want to think about it. But he understood Purple’s pain. So one day, on his way back from the lake, he stopped in front of her room. He still had a towel in his hand from drying off his hair, and folded it on the ground next to the curtain. He hesitated for a moment before gently pushing away the fabric. The light from the lamp was a low, soft, pink glow, bright enough for him to see, but dim enough to make it seem darker in this room than anywhere else. A few trays of medical supplies sat against the wall. A TV was mounted in the corner of the room. And on the mattress, laying on her side, staring up at Sebastian with wide eyes, was Purple. She had bandages wrapped around her arms, and some kind of brace that clasped around her waist and up her back. She was wearing a loose pink shirt underneath the brace, and her legs were covered by a flower-patterned blanket. She was trembling, breathing heavily. “It’s okay,” Sebastian said. “I’m not here to do anything. I’m just…” He glanced at an empty spot on the floor next to her bed. He carefully came over and sat down, curling his tail up beside him. His fins rested on the bed over Purple’s blanket. Neither of them said anything. Purple continued to look him up and down. But just as her expression seemed to soften, she suddenly flinched back, pulling her arms in close to herself. Her breathing quickened, and she closed her eyes tightly. She groaned a few times before crying out in pain again, just as Sebastian had heard her do before. The memories from years ago came rushing back to Sebastian with the scream. It was even worse in person. He found his hand moving to rest on top of hers. She took it and held it tightly, then cried out again. Sebastian knew what it felt like- she couldn’t breathe. Even if it hurt, he had to help her in some way. He knew talking to her wouldn’t help at all. Communication wouldn’t work in this situation. But maybe he could try setting an example. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall, and began taking deep breaths. He gently drew a circle into his tail with one of his bandaged arms. He heard Purple calming down ever so slightly next to him. A few seconds passed. Sebastian felt himself calming down, as well. He didn’t realize he needed this just as much as she did. About five minutes later, he felt he was finally ready to talk. “I take it no one’s tried to calm you down before…?” he asked, quietly. “...No,” Purple responded. “...Thank you…” “You need it,” Sebastian said. “I’m just here to give you what you deserve.” Purple let out a small, shaky sigh. “How’d you end up down here?” Sebastian asked, trying to distract Purple from any pain she might be feeling. “I… I was pretty close to the explosion when it first happened… I think I was a floor below? And the roof fell down on top of me… Then the floor fell a few seconds later… So I fell fifty feet, and… landed on my back, and… …The debris landed on top of me…” Purple seemed to be getting more and more upset as she told her story.