Dome

by Bryan Young

  Tye raised his eyebrows and scoffed, “I swear I’ve said a million times that I’m not anybody’s ‘leader.’ Second. Plan? Dude, YOU were the one to rush into the fight!”

  Dallas recoiled as if offended. Making unwavering eye contact, he shouted, “You say you’re not the leader but you’ve damn sure acted like one the whole time we’ve been here! As someone who’s directed our actions this entire fucking time, you should’ve stopped me! You should’ve come up with a plan! We ran into the fight blind! As a leader, you should’ve stopped that shit from happening! You should’ve slowed everyone down and made sure we weren’t doing things that’d get us killed. And guess what?” He paused, his lips formed a deep scowl. Standing up, he pointed to Kato. The rage in his eyes made them glow as the fire lit up his face, giving it a demonic hue. “As a result, he almost died! And you know what?” his voice lowered to a growl, “It would’ve been all your fault.”

  Tye remained silent. Carmelita spoke up, “God, would you shut up and stop blaming him for everything? Maybe Tye isn’t a good leader, fair point. But acting like this is all his fault is stupid and divisive! We all had responsibility fighting that giant and we survived and got the marker. That’s all that matters. Sure, it was tough, but you know what? It was a GIANT, Dallas. Who kills a giant with ease? These tasks are supposed to be difficult!”

  Dallas turned to face Carmelita and laughed sarcastically. “Oh, so now you’re showing passion, Carmelita? Where was that in the field? You’re probably more powerful than any of us and what the hell did you do? You played defense the entire fucking time! We were fighting for our lives and your ass didn’t do shit but stand there like a scared little girl waiting for her daddy to come save her!”

  Carmelita jumped up in a rage and before anybody could stop her, Dallas was ten feet in the air, struggling to breathe as she held a telekinetic vice grip on his neck. Ashley and Tye quickly rushed over to them in an attempt calm her down but she put a hand out, forcing them backwards, using the other to throw Dallas forcefully against the stone wall before letting him down and releasing her grip on his neck.

  She walked over to him, bent down, and coldly said, “Don’t you ever call me a ‘scared little girl’ again. Or I swear to God... Te voy a dejar sin cara.” She then turned to the rest of them. “I wasn’t gonna kill him.” She turned back to Dallas and looked down to see the fear in his eyes, “But I am tired of his shit.” She stormed off into the back of the cave, where she remained in silence for the rest of the night.

  Dallas slowly stood up, still clutching the newly formed bruises on his neck. Tye looked at him with concern and was about to say something but was met with a look of pure contempt, accusing him for Carmelita’s outburst.

  “I’m going to sleep,” Dallas said hoarsely. “If you need me. Don’t.” He found a corner and lay down with his backpack.

  With Dallas asleep, Kato flashed a nervous grin and slapped his knees. “Well. This night has been fun!” He then forced himself up and limped to his spot on the cave floor. “But! I think it’s time I got to bed because this is super awkward.”

  Ashley and Tye were left alone in silence. Ashley fumbled for words, trying to make small talk but Tye didn’t reply. Realizing that she wasn’t going to get through, she simply gave him a hug and disappeared into the dimly lit cave.

  Tye sat by himself, looking at the sleeping bodies near him. A colossal sense of guilt rushed over him. He clenched his fists and walked outside, unsure of where to go.

  The light blue night sky that dimly illuminated the vast expanse of the dome, Tye felt a certain peace. He walked towards the waterfall, a place he felt he could find some comfort.

  After a couple of hours of walking, he came upon the familiar site. He noticed that the gushing water was full of bioluminescent fish, lighting up the stream with a miraculous assortment of dancing greens, blues, and reds. He walked over to run his hands through the water, feeling compelled not only by its beauty but by its rejuvenating aura.

  He scooped up some of the cold water and drank it, feeling his entire body being instantly hydrated and energized, similar to how he had felt when he first entered the dome. He sought more of the refreshing liquid but paused when he noticed a giant stag walk up gracefully next to him to drink from the river. It stood nearly 10 feet tall with an eight-horned set of bioluminescent antlers that rested on its blue head and long neck, all the horns vibrantly glowing with different colors. It stood on six slim legs with pointed toes and made almost no sound as it moved its massive body through the brush.

  Tye watched in awe of the beast as it bent down and calmly drank. Silently, he stood up slowly and approached the stag. It opened one eye and looked in his direction as it drank but remained motionless, watchful and waiting. He reached out a hand and stroked its glossy black body. He ran his fingers along its neck and through the finest hairs he had ever felt.

  Satisfied with its late-night drink, the stag slowly raised its head and backed away from him. It then turned around and walked off silently into the forest, only turning around once to examine Tye. It vanished into the forest, leaving Tye amazed at the experience.

  He drew in a deep breath and walked down the river, not stopping till he reached the waterfall. He noticed a small mound to his right that overlooked the forest, the river, and the waterfall.

  He sat down on a large flat log and suddenly heard a rustling from behind him. His heart stopped. He had thought he was alone. Images of a nightmare beast or one of the humanoids from earlier raced through his mind. He quickly spun around and defensively, when Ashley popped out of the bushes, tripping over some branches that had caught her feet.

  “Ashley?” Tye exclaimed, dropping his guard immediately and sitting back down.

  “Hey!” she said, dusting off her pants. “Mind if I sit here?”

  Tye shrugged as he held up his head with his fist, as Ashley sat on the flat rock.

  She looked at him with concern. “I had a feeling you’d be here,” she said. “I saw you leave and just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine,” Tye lied. “Just wanted to get away from everyone for a bit. I always went on late-night walks back at home, so it’s nothing new.”

  Not fully believing him, she pressed. “Are you really fine? Tye, if there’s something bothering you, you can talk to me.”

  Tye sighed and continued staring ahead. “I dunno. I guess I just... The fact that Dallas was right. I’m no leader.”

  Ashley laughed, “Dallas was right? I don’t think ‘Dallas’ and ‘right’ ever belong in a sentence together. Tye, it’s like Carmelita said, we were fighting a giant. It’s not like any of us had experience doing that. You risked your life to fight that thing and you were great out there. That’s all we can ask.”

  “Yeah but it’s not enough,” Tye said, throwing his arms out, still refusing to make eye contact with her. “I need to be better. What if the next challenge is even tougher? What if someone actually does die after the promise I made to get us out of here? God, Kato almost lost his leg today. The thing almost incinerated you. And if Dallas’s skin hadn’t protected him, he’d be dead too. And it’s all my fault.”

  “God, you sound like me a couple years ago. It’s almost like looking into a mirror. I mean, without the blonde hair and blue eyes.”

  Tye scoffed, unable to hold back mumbled, “And also I’m a dark-skinned brotha as they say,” he joked. “But other than that? We’re basically twins.”

  “Oh, totally!” Ashley laughed. “Sometimes I get us confused.”

  Tye fought back a smile and shook his head. “So, what’d you mean by that?” he asked more seriously. “That I sound like you a couple years ago.”

  “Being down on myself. Thinking I was the root of everyone else’s problems. Never thinking I was good enough.”

  Tye raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “You? Ash, you’re smart, gorgeous, independent. You know how to live off the land and hunt for yourself. Plus, you can rock
a pink hoodie like nobody I’ve ever seen! What would you have to be down about?”

  She shrugged. “I dunno. Ask clinical depression that. I know that from the outside, it looks like I have the perfect life, but just like with love, looks aren’t everything. Especially when all the guys in your life, strangers or otherwise, only really care about you being an attractive blonde chick. And when that leads to abuse, you blame yourself. What could I have done differently? Did I do something to deserve this? Why is this happening to me? Is this my fault? You continue to blame yourself. The clothes you buy, the makeup you wear, the way you talk to people. Am I leading this guy on just by being nice to him? Is he going to do the same thing?”

  Tye’s eyes widened at what Ashley was implying had happened and asked a question he already knew the answer to. “Ash... Did something ha—”

  “Yeah, it did,” she replied before he could finish his question. “It did. And to this day, there’s a noticeable cigarette burn hole in my mind that’ll never quite disappear. It made a vulnerable 15-year-old suicidal. A girl that was still three whole years away from adulthood unsure of why she had her innocence taken away by someone she was confident she could trust.”

  Unable to find the proper words to comfort his friend, Tye remained silent for a few seconds, before softly muttering, “I’m sorry.” He turned towards her and quickly said, “Ash, seriously, if there’s anything I can do, anyone you need me to talk to, I...”

  Ashley shook her head, silencing him. “That’s the thing, Tye. I’ve learned how to cope and move past the trauma. I realized that for a while, my mind had been my own worst enemy. Blaming myself for the actions of another awful human being wasn’t getting me anywhere because it wasn’t my fault. My choice of clothing, how I talked, the makeup I wear, how I look—none of it is an invite to abuse. His actions are his alone. And though it’s not the case for a lot of women, I’m glad to say, he’s suffering for them.”

  Tye looked confused. “So, you’re telling me this to get me out of my own head?”

  “I’m telling you this because I found that not only did I have to learn to not fight myself, I also had to learn to reach out for help and admit that there was something wrong and that I needed others to become the best version of me. And I think the same applies to you. In a fight, there’s so many variables you can’t control. In being a leader or just a friend, there’s going to be times where things out of your control happen and you can’t blame yourself. But when there’s a problem you also have to be willing to reach out for help.”

  He looked ahead again, contemplating her words. “I think I get you.”

  Ashley continued, “Good. I’m not saying this to depress you or anything. Just to prove that even from the toughest trials, we can grow and learn. But when we get down on ourselves, that’s what kills us. I bounced back from it, Tye. You can too. The most important thing I didn’t share is that it’s also on your friends to make sure you’re doing okay and provide that support. And I’m gonna do that for you.”

  A smile formed on Tye’s face and he stuck his pinky out. “Promise to always be there for me and I’ll promise to always be there for you?”

  She returned a warm smile and intertwined her pinky with his. “I promise.”

  They embraced. She stood up and put her hands in her hoodie pockets. Motioning towards the cave with her head, she asked, “So, are you gonna come back or do you want to stay out here for a bit?”

  He shrugged and responded, “Nah. I think I’m gonna stay. I’ll be back soon. I think, for my own sake, I still want to be alone for a few hours.”

  “Okay...” she said. “Are you gonna be alright?”

  He nodded earnestly and said, “Yeah, actually. I think I’m gonna be great. This meant a lot to me. Thank you, Ash.”

  “Anytime, Tye. I’ll see you in the morning.” She turned around and flew back into the darkness.

  He looked out into the expanse of the dome again and heard a loud trumpet in the distance. As he strained his eyes to see what it was, he found that his mind was once again lost in the chaotic serenity of the night around him.

  Chapter 13: Hunted Become the Hunters—Kinda

  Kato rolled around on his spot on the cave floor, waking up with a sharp rock poking him in the back. Popping up immediately, he flung the offending stone to the other side of the cave, stretched, and yawned, squinting at the light around him. He propped himself up the best he could with the cast wrapped around his leg and was about to walk outside when he smelled something cooking over the fire.

  Tye was hanging about fifteen fresh fish over the flames. He hobbled over and was greeted with a smile and a “Good morning!”

  “Hey, man. What do we have going on here?” Kato asked.

  “I’m just getting breakfast started for everyone. I figured it’d be a nice thing to do.”

  Kato sat down and responded, “Really? Weird. I kinda expected everyone to hate each other after yesterday, but if I’m getting free breakfast, I can’t really complain.”

  Ashley and Carmelita were the next to wake up. They walked over to the flames and joined the boys who were in the middle of a discussion about their favorite superheroes.

  “All I’m saying is that Goku would whoop Superman’s a— Oh. Hey, ladies,” Kato gave them a flirty smile and wink that led to eye rolls and sighs as they sat down.

  “When’d you learn to fish, Tye?” Carmelita asked.

  “Honestly? Never.” He threw kindling into the flame. “At first, I borrowed Ash’s traps to catch some fish but I literally had no idea how to use the fish trap. But then I realized I have super powers, so I just caught em quickly one by one with my hands and put them into the trap.”

  “Wow, Tye. How outdoorsy of you,” Ashley joked “But why’d you feel the need to cook all this for us?”

  “I dunno,” he replied. “Just felt like it would be nice. Kato, you want to be the first to taste-test?”

  “Hand me a plate, dude!” Kato replied with enthusiasm.

  Tye reached for one of the flat stones they were using as plates and removed three fish from the large skewer. Unable to reach, Kato stood up to grab the plate but tripped over his own feet, nearly falling into the fire before catching himself by flinging his injured leg forward and breaking the splint in the process.

  Ashley, Carmelita, and Tye sat astounded at Kato’s quick reflexes despite his supposedly injured limb. Kato stared back at them and then looked down at his leg, a wide smile spreading on his face. He let out an elated yell and started running around at high speed in and out of the cave.

  “Woo! I’m back and I just did fifteen miles in five seconds! It’s great to have working legs!” he screamed before disappearing and bouncing back in again.

  Carmelita was the most shocked of the group. “Wait, okay. Kato, I’m really happy for you and I’ma let you finish, but your bone was absolutely destroyed literally less than 12 hours ago. How are you doing any of this?”

  Kato shrugged and leaned against the wall. “Who knows? I’m not a doctor or anything. But, if I’m being honest, as soon I woke up with that clay cast off my leg, I literally felt no pain. It didn’t feel like my leg was broken...”

  Ashley suggested that Carmelita check his leg. She obliged and walked over, placing her hand on his forehead and confirming that he was indeed completely healed.

  Tye raised an eyebrow. He picked up the sharpened rock Ashley had used to cut into the alien boar and walked over to Kato, asking him to stick his hand out. Unsure of why but trusting Tye, he put out his palm. Tye quickly made a small, shallow wound with the rock.

  Kato recoiled in pain, prompting both Ashley and Carmelita to yell “What are you doing?!” at Tye’s apparent bloodlust.

  “No, wait!” he yelled back. “I have a theory... Kato, hold your hand out.”

  The four of them watched in amazement as Kato’s wound healed nearly instantly, not leaving so much as a scar to signal where he had been cut.

  Kato flipped out
and did five more laps out of pure elation. “I can heal almost as fast as I can run?!” he screamed. “Tye! You crazy son of a beautiful lady! There was a method to the madness! I see you!”

  “No problem, man,” Tye said, smiling. “This actually works for what I wanna do today.”

  From the back of the cave, Dallas made his entrance yawning and asking what all the commotion was about.

  “Expanding our powers, apparently,” Carmelita commented.

  Dallas’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Who got a new power?”

  “Kato,” Ashley responded. “Apparently our buddy has a pretty strong healing factor.”

  “Nice. Good for you, bro.” He looked over to the food cooking and nodded in approval. He took one directly off the skewer and ate it from his hand like a fish stick. “So,” he said with his mouth full of fish. “Should we train for tomorrow or? If the last trial was any indication, I’d say that we’re not super prepared for what the aliens or.... whatever have in store for us.”

  “Actually,” Tye said. “I think we should spend the day getting to know each other. And to do that, I’ve thought of a little activity.”

  Carmelita shrugged and said, “Well, we’re not doing anything else today. What’d you have in mind?”

  Dallas interjected, “We’re still listening to Tye after the last two major mishaps?”

  “It’s not about listening to me,” Tye said calmly but sternly, defending himself. “I just think we should take the opportunity to do a team-building exercise. It’ll allow us to get to know each other and if we’re not doing anything else, it can’t hurt, right?”

  The teens exchanged shrugs and glances of acceptance. A mischievous smile grew on Tye’s face, stretching from ear to ear and prompting the others to feel uneasy and nervous.

  “A couple days ago,” Tye began, “Dallas and I ran into these giant alien elephants, right? I mean, these things were huge. They had to be the size of African bulls with big flat tusks! Not only that, these things were powerful! They were smashing through the brush and trees with ease. And that’s not even the most interesting thing. I went on a bit of a night hike yesterday, right? And while I was hearing noises of all the animals, a loud trumpet stood out. So, I look down to see what it was and I spot one that was easily twice the size what Dallas and I saw. So I was thinking... what if we hunted it?”