Recalling the haunted house tours of her youth, Carolina applied the same tactics, making her way through the cave as quickly as she could, avoiding hugging any of the walls and keeping her head down to avoid eye contact with anyone or anything she might encounter. She prayed that the man hadn't already found them first--and that he wasn't aware of her presence either. She slowed her pace when she heard some voices a few feet away.
"So what's the deal with you and Carolina?" Cameron asked.
"What do you mean, 'what's the deal'?" Tim replied.
"Everyone in school thinks you're like, a thing. It's weird for a dude and a girl to be that tight if they're not boning," Carolina winced as she listened to Cameron speak.
"Gross, dude, no way," Tim explained. "We've been best friends for years, that's all."
"She's kind of a loser, though," Cameron continued. "Why would you stick with her unless you were... you know... getting something out of it."
"Hell no," Tim made a gagging sound. "Never in a million years. But you're right, she is kind of a loser. I guess she's just been around so long I found it hard to get rid of her. Like a leech, you know?"
Carolina held back tears as the two boys laughed. She turned and moved quickly back towards the entrance. She'd keep moving and keep going until she was far from the cave. She didn't care if Cameron was their ride, she'd make her way into town and take the bus home if she had to, she just knew she had to get far away from there.
"HOLY SHIT!!!"
Instinctively, Carolina turned around at the sound of Tim in distress. Tim and Cameron came running toward the entrance of the cave with the haggard man on their heels.
"Tim! I'm right here, just keep running!" Carolina screamed from just outside the entrance, extending her hand toward him as if she was rescuing him up from a ditch. Tim reached for her just before tripping over his shoelaces and hitting the ground.
Cameron and the man halted in their tracks. Looking down at Tim, the two of them laughed hysterically.
"What the--?" Tim said, coughing up dirt.
"Oh my God that was the best thing EVER," Cameron said between laughs. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty. He handed it to the man and shook his hand.
"This was the best prank I've EVER pulled," Cameron slapped the man on the back. "Get the hell out of here, man, you did your job well." On his command, the man skipped away, waving to Carolina as he past her.
"What the Hell just happened?" Tim asked as he rose to his feet and dusted off his chest.
"Oh, that's Dune. He hangs out outside the 7-11 in Orange. Dude's burned out of his mind but he'll do pretty much anything for a couple of bucks. You should have seen the look on your face--holy shit, did you piss your pants?"
Carolina could sense Tim's anger and embarrassment. She wanted to tell Cameron off on his behalf when Tim laughed.
"Ok, you got me good, dude, I'll admit that," Tim said.
"Hey, at least you were brave enough to even go in," Cameron replied, shooting a look at Carolina.
Carolina turned her backs on them and walked around the large rock she had perched herself upon before.
"Want to get some beers? That 7-11 never cards," Cameron asked.
"Hell yeah!" Tim replied as the two of them heard the creaking sound coming from outside the cave.
"Carolina?" Tim asked.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Cameron yelped as the two lunged forward, but it was to no avail.
Carolina had already used enough momentum to shove the rock right in front of the entrance, blocking them inside. It landed with a heavy thud that kicked up a cloud of dust. The way she positioned it, the only way to move it was from the outside. The side facing the entrance of the cave was much too heavy for one, or even two people to move.
"MOVE THIS DAMN THING YOU PSYCHO," she could hear Cameron's muffled screams but she kept walking.
She was pretty sure she could hear Tim crying, too. But it didn't matter.
She had a bus to catch.
