Drawing Parallels

[ichixshiro14]

I'm fascinated with both pairs, but Alice is a really intriguing character and I like the cave and storm setting, so I'd say Matt and Alice

[everest]

I'm so sorry I haven’t updated in a while! It’s been a fun combination of being lazy and actually being busy. Forgive me? Hopefully this next part will make up for it.

And to the Gabriel and Brian fans: Sorry, none of them in this bit. They'll return soon, I swear.

Very, very small emitiphobia warning: brief mention of, well, you know. Nothing actually happens though. If it should in further installments, (though I don't have it planned as such just yet) I'll definitely warn you beforehand.

Part Five:

An ear splitting crack jolted the two of them from sleep. Matt opened his eyes with a groan. Was it already morning?

It wasn’t. Matt squinted at his watch: 3:19.

“What was that?” Alice said tiredly, propping herself up with her arms.

What was that? Thunder, maybe? Matt voiced the suggestion.

Alice looked uncertain, but her reply was cut off by another earth-shattering crack, this one louder and longer, echoing through the cave.

The two stared out of their shelter, listening intently. The sound of rushing water filled their ears, growing progressively louder. A puddle seemed to form at the cave’s entrance, and then began to flow in towards them. They stood quickly, sprinting out of the cave.

The blanket of night blocked their vision not allowing them the means to actually see what had happened, but Matt knew, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, what had just happened. “The dam…” He said slowly. “It collapsed.”

“Oh God.” Matt could have sworn he actually heard Alice whimper. “Flash flood.” She whispered.

A scraping noise came from behind them. Matt turned to see their bags being swept away by the water further into the cave. “Our packs!” He exclaimed. “I’ll be right back.”

“No!” Alice screamed at him. “No, Matt. Let it be, we need to go. Now.”

“But-“

“Come on!” Alice grabbed his arm, pulling him with her.

“My car!” He said frantically. “If we can just get across, maybe we could make it to-“

“No!” she cut him off. “The water is moving too fast. We can’t cross it; that’s suicide. Leave your car; we’ll worry about that later. Right now, let’s just focus on staying alive.”

Matt nodded, finally seeming to understand the situation entirely. “You’re right.”

“I know. Now, we need to get out of the way of the water, and to higher ground. Follow me.”

She led him to the base of a cliff. It rose like a malevolent enemy in front of them, taunting the two with its jutted out edges.

“Have you ever climbed it?” She asked him, sounding a little desperate.

“Once,” He told her. “It was a challenge. And in these conditions…”

“It won’t be easy.” Alice finished for him. The climb would be steep, with seldom footholds. She herself had never tried it before, but it was their best shot.

“We don’t need easy,” Matt said. “We just need to be able to do it.”

Alice looked at him for a moment in a strange way, than at the rapidly gathering water at her feet. She seemed to hesitate.

“This was your idea.” Matt reminded her.

“I know, but-“ She was cut off by him pulling her into a rough embrace.

“You can do it.” He spoke into her ear. “We can do it. Now, let’s go.”

Alice pulled in a deep breath, then grabbed on to the rock, pulling herself upward.

“I’m right behind you.” Matt called, as he climbed up after her.

It definitely wasn’t easy. Not at all. The rocks were slick with water, making every grab all the more dangerous. The darkness of night enveloped them, and though their pupils had long since dilated in response, there simply wasn’t enough light to properly see. It took all of Matt’s concentration to just keep climbing.

It seemed to drag on; no matter how far they climbed, they still weren’t at the top. It was beginning to exhaust the both of them. Matt worried for a while that they wouldn’t make it.

Then, finally, Alice reached the top. She pulled herself over, swallowing thickly, then exhaled with a shaky smile that Matt, though he couldn’t see it, could practically hear in her relieved breathing.

She had made it. Matt breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe, and in a moment, he would be as well. Just one more push…

His momentary lapse in conversation proved to be fatal. His foot slipped, and he was suddenly dangling by his arms- arms that were quickly losing purchase. He heard somebody scream… Alice? Himself? Matt could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he struggled to hold on.

Matt scratched at his hold as his right arm dropped, trying desperately to regain his grip. It proved to be futile, though, and only a second after that, his left arm slipped.

There was that scream again, and he was suddenly falling… his stomach met with something sharp, and it gouged into him, slicing through his skin irregularly all the way up to his shoulder, were finally, whatever it was, it ran out of body to cut.

Somehow, his fall stunted by the scraping, Matt finally managed to catch something on the cliff. Quickly finding more holds, Matt clung to them for dear life, feeling certain he was going to vomit. Pure shock mixed with blinding pain; his entire torso was burning, throbbing.

Matt chanced a look upwards.

He’d only fallen about ten feet; it seemed impossible. A miracle, even. The fall had felt so much longer… he had been so sure he was going to die.

Of course, death wasn’t entirely out of the question yet. Still panting, Matt felt his body fill with adrenaline. His fight or flight response took over, and suddenly he was climbing again, closing the distance quickly, and then pulling himself over the edge.

He only managed to stagger a few feet from the cliff, coughing violently, before Alice slammed into him, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.

Matt gasped as his pain intensified, and Alice pulled back in response.

Only then did she see the blood. It had bled through his shirt like ink, the already saturated fabric only helping to spread it throughout the shirt.

“Oh my God!” She gasped. “You’re…”

“I know I am.” He finished for her, voice coming out stronger that he felt. “Come on, we need to find shelter.”

“Don’t you need to stop the bleeding?” Her voice came out as a squeak.

“Yeah. I know what I’m doing. Doctor, remember?”

Alice hugged her arms around herself. “You told me you were only an intern.”

“Is now really the time for technicalities?” Matt’s voice was strained against the pain. He pulled off his shirt, wringing it out as best he could. Alice gasped once more at the sight of his wound. The welt was long and jagged, the edges taking on a zigzag effect. She couldn’t tell how deep it was; her view was obstructed by a large amount of crimson red-

“I hope you’re not the type who gets sick around blood.” Matt had intended it as a joke, but was also genuinely worried- she was looking quite pale.

When Alice didn’t respond, he kept taking. “My shirt isn’t big enough to use as a bandage over the whole area.” He swallowed against the pain. “Sorry to ask, but can I have yours? I’d say borrow, but I doubt you’ll want it back. I’ve already ruined it, anyway.” He nodded towards her.

Alice looked down. Sure enough, her shirt was covered in blood.

Matt’s blood.

Finally, she got it in her head to say something. “Yeah. Yes, of course.” Seeming to regain a bit of her sanity, even as she stripped down to a sports bra in front of him, she continued. “Of all the ways to get me to take my clothes off…”

Matt laughed weakly, then was suddenly coughing hard, wincing into his elbow at the pain. He couldn’t seem to catch a breath, and stumbled forward blindly. Finally, he managed a shuddering breath.

“Jesus Christ.” He muttered “Ow.”

Alice handed him her shirt sympathetically. Matt received it, apologizing in advance for what he was about to do. He ripped the shirt vertically into strips, laying them over his uninjured shoulder before bunching up his own shirt, and placing it over the length of the wound.

“Can you hold that in place?” He asked Alice.

“Yes, of course.” She told him.

“Are you sure? You never answered my question about being shy around blood. I can’t have you passing out on me.”

“I’m fine.” She said defiantly. “Blood doesn’t bother me. Near death experiences, however…”

“Understandable.” Matt said. He took her hands in his own, holding them a moment longer than necessary before placing them were he needed them over his rolled up shirt. Taking the strips of Alice’s shirt, he tied the makeshift bandage in place.

“Thank you.” He told her, suddenly drained as he ran through his last reserves of adrenaline.

“No problem… are you all right? You don’t look so good.”

“I’ve never been better.” Matt joked, though it came out sounding weak. “We should get going.”

This part was actually a lot of fun to write, and even though I'm still not entirely happy with it, I decided that I've kept you guys waiting long enough. I'll try and get the next bit up sooner rather than later.

[obsessed]

This was so intense girl! Can't wait to see what's up next.

[ichixshiro14]

Woah! That was crazy! I loved it! Thanks for updating

[Butch]

Really really good story. Love the update. Please continue.

[blush]

Yikes! I know it's just a story in a story, but that's intense and I'm anxious to find out what happens next! To answer your previous question, I think I prefer the Gabriel and Brian storyline so far. Couldn't tell you why though; I'm not sure myself. Like I said, can't wait to keep reading!

[sprinkles287]

I like both! But I'm a liiiittle bit partial to Matt. Yum