To quickly recap: Friends Eve and Sara were rock climbing and stumbled across a large cave with primitive drawings on its walls. A rock slide traps them inside. Having little choice, they go deeper into the cave, hoping to find another exit. The cave system seems to be a mixture of natural and man-made and the further into it they go, the stranger Eve starts acting. Just as Sara thinks they’re getting close to a way out, Eve shoves her off of a ledge into a chasm. Now they must each find their way.
Sara waited until she’d filled all three bottles before drinking again. As thirsty as she was, she didn’t want to make herself sick. The water was cold and fresh, and if there were bits of dirt or leaf matter in it, she couldn’t have cared less.
Tucking the other bottles back into her pack, she discovered an apple tucked in the bottom.
“Sweet! How did I miss this?”
She hobbled over to the rock fall and sat down with a sigh. The apple was a little bruised and battered, but no fruit had ever tasted so good. Lantern at her feet, she nibbled slowly, making the apple last as long as possible. She ate the entire thing, including the core.
When she was finished, Sara moved so she could better see her injured leg and poured the rest of the water from the bottle she was holding over the scape. It was too late to stop the infection, but maybe it would keep it from getting worse.
Now that she’d quenched her first and had something to eat, she should probably rest for a bit. It was the smart thing to do, she told herself.
She shone the light around – the ground was pretty much unvaryingly rocky, although right beside the rock fall it was slightly more uniform. With a sigh she slid down from her rock and curled up on the ground. She laid the staff beside her and used her rolled up pack as a pillow. The last thing she did was turn her light off to save the battery, hugging it to her like a teddy bear.
Sara woke with a start. It took her a moment to orient herself. She had no idea whether she’d been asleep for minutes or hours. Her feet were cold. Why were her feet cold? And there was a sound like running water.
She was still clutching the lantern and turned it on now, bringing the intensity of the light up slowly. “What the heck?”
Quickly, she pulled her feet up. Her soaking wet feet. Scrambling to her feet she turned the light all the way up.
“Uh, oh. This can’t be good.”
While she’d been sleeping the trickle of water at the bottom of the riverbed had swelled until it was a steady stream.
“Where is this coming from?” she wondered. And more importantly, where was it going?
Something must have opened up when the earth shook. Now she had a choice – follow the water to see where it was going, or go back and trace it to its source in hopes it was coming from the outside.
Whatever she decided, she’d better do it quickly as she realized the water was steadily rising.
Sara backed up to the rock fall. Whichever way she went, it wouldn’t be safe staying down here in the riverbed.
“Damn it!”
With no real idea of how long they’d been in here or how far she’d come, she didn’t see that she had much of a choice. She’d follow the water. If she had any kind of luck it was flowing out of a fissure in the rock.
Looking up towards the top of the rockfall, she was relieved to see that the ledge continued in the direction she wanted to take. Now all she had to do was get up there.
Though her leg was still painful, it supported her weight. The climb wasn’t as bad as she feared, nor was it as high. She was halfway up before remembering her walking stick. She glanced down but didn’t see it, not that she would have gone back down for it, she’d just have to leave it behind. The wall of the chasm could provide support if she needed it.
She reached the top and was happy to see the ledge was wider than the ones she’d used previously. Putting the gap the rockfall left behind her, she started off in the same direction as the water.
The ledge was smooth and even, a little too smooth and even to her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if these ledges were natural, or if someone had made them. Other parts of the cave system seemed to be man made as well, which meant people had used these caves at one time. Which meant there had to be another way out. If she hadn’t been so tired and hungry, the very thought of a way out would have put a spring in her step.
At least she had a source of water, she thought, glancing over the edge of the ledge. The water had risen enough that she could see it, and she stopped in her tracks as a new thought occurred to her. It was rising pretty quickly. There were still several feet to go before it reached the ledge, but what happened if it kept rising?
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Missed an installment? Catch up here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine
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