Crawling.

I'd been crawling on all fours for as long as I could remember. There was no light here. The only way to tell where I was was to paddle around on my fingers. We dug this pit together yet it felt so unfamiliar to me. Had I been sick for that long? I felt a terrible shudder ripple through as if the flu was flying through my insides, trying to find the perfect place to sit and attack.

There was phlegm in my throat yet I dared not spit. Kai was behind me. I didn't want him to think I was inconsiderate enough to spit where he meandered. He'd murder me.

Camaraderie.

Friendship.

Togetherness.

This sentiment we all felt ended with piss.

The entire tunnel silently screamed JACKSON.

He'd wet himself in the dank soil and now the place smelled rotten.

I resisted the urge to vomit. I was going to kill Jackson once we were out of here, I decided. I no longer cared about his lack of bladder control.

Phlegm forgotten, I focused my darkening thoughts on the perfect murder. No one cussed him out, I believe we were planning a collective murder. Most likely with Jennie distracting Suzy so the rest of us could rip Jackson to shreds.

My limbs were leadening. Was it the smell, the narrow space or the darkness? It was difficult to manoeuvre. The tunnel wasn't complex though. Shallow gasps.

My lack of fitness was beginning to show. To be out of breath this quickly, I suddenly imagined my grandma tutting or was it Kai doing that, behind me.

An insect squished between my fingers. Gingerly I pretended not to notice the slimy worm. There were bugs too. I didn't know every species but what I did know was that it wasn't just my fingers that grasped them. Something had gotten into my hospital gown. That something was picking at the scales on my back and sinking tiny teeth into my skin.

Keep going, don't think, screamed my brain. Keep crawling.

Sobs.

Not mine.

Was it Suzy or Jennie? Someone was quietly weeping. Was it the bugs?

Tears sat in my own eyelids. I hated creepy crawlies. What was I doing?

Keep crawling, don't think.

I was at war with myself, waging a mental battle.

Die maggots, die leeches, die you creepiers.

Stop it! Don't think about it. Have to get through the tunnel. If the other wimps can do it so can I!

When the light hit my eyes, I squinted, shying from the brightness. I was half holding my breath. That bulk of trapped air now rushed out making me splutter a nasty cough. I had my mouth covered but the others still looked at me like a disease. I took Jackson's hand as he pulled me out.

Suzy was comforting Jennie, who had a leech sitting on her ear. I didn't want to think about what was on me. I went over to the girls wondering if they could help me brush off the crawlies too while Jackson now helped Kai.

Freedom.

It didn't feel as great as I expected. I was still pretty sick. The fact that I had crawled was a miracle itself. Now with the adrenaline on hold, I felt all the aches my endeavour produced.

I needed to lie down. I needed a blanket. Chilly trembles chased over my body. I was now a playground for shivers.

"Hey, you don't look so good," Jennie told me. "Your eyes are really red. Have you been crying too?"

Imbecile.

I wanted to cough on her.

I sniffed, ran my sleeve under my leaky nose and dabbed at my eyes.

A jetting vomit tunneled up my throat. I threw up on my feet, splattering the girls dirty gowns.

"Ewww," they chorused.

The vomit had taken the last of my energy. My knees gave way. I sank into the puddle I'd puked.

That's when I noticed my fingernails. Riddled with dirt and grime, there was something odd about thes