Be Home Before Sunset

IV: In Cold Darkness

Shivering uncontrollably, Krissy sat alone in the darkness. Time was lost to her, the passage of the day continued beyond her grasp. The evening would be drawing nearer, sunset lingered on her mind.

She glanced up for the hundredth time, searching for the faint orange light from Eric's torch, but all she could see was the oppressive darkness, neither near nor far, but absolute.

She couldn't wait for Eric. She didn't know how long he'd be, where he'd gone, or if he'd even come back. If the sun was setting, he could no longer help her, he couldn't risk his life for her.

Krissy would need to swim across the pool to get to the wall, and try to climb up the rock face using only her hands to feel for holds. But she had already lost her bearings; she didn't remember which direction she'd been facing once she'd settled down in the dark.

There was still a putrid odour in the air, old, faint, but distinct. The smell of something decaying. She wasn't sure which way she was facing, but she knew she didn't want to go towards it.

Concentrating, swinging her face from side to side, she sampled the air, inhaling lightly through her nose. For all her efforts, she couldn't tell where the smell was coming from. Resigned to having to choose a direction without guidance, she cautiously lifted herself onto her feet, her palms still resting on the ground.

Edging forward, she tested the floor, searching for the edge of the pool. She slid her hand forward, slowly, feeling every edge of the rocky surface. When she stretched too far, she drew her first leg forward and settled her foot next her hand, then brought the next leg up with same caution. Again she stretched out ahead, tapping the floor, hoping for it to hit water, but instead finding nothing but more rock.

Losing confidence in her decision, she pushed forward another pace, sliding her hand, feeling its way as it went. She hit something small that scraped along the floor – a stone, smooth, small enough to close her fingers around. It was nearly a perfect sphere, worn by ages in the water, likely carried by the underground river.

She carefully placed the pebble back down as she continued searching for the pool with her fingers. She shuffled forward, opting to put her weight on her knees, and stretched out as far as she could, still failing to find the water's edge. As she shifted her weight, she heard a click from beside her knee, followed by another. A moment later, the pebble began clattering away, bouncing down an incline in front of her. She waited without moving, listening as the sound echoed in a tight space, rolling down the tunnel, and eventually stopping with a strangely muted thud as it reached the bottom.

She froze as she heard the crunching of loose stones under shifting weight. She let out a faint whimper, her eyes welling up, her muscles refusing to move. Two distinct crunches on the pebbles were followed by the clattering of settling stones. Silence returned. Still unmoving, she strained her ears, unsure if she was detecting the faint echo of soft feet falling on solid ground, or if she was just hearing her heartbeat throbbing in her ears. A snort resounded up the tunnel, and her lungs failed as she gasped a panicked breath.

She turned and leapt away, still on all fours, bounded in the opposite direction and crashed into the pool of water. She swam in a frenzy to reach the rock face, clapping a hand onto the wall as she reached it. In little time, her fingers found their first grips, and she yanked herself up from the water, her hands darting around rapidly in search of the next handhold, pain having lost its power to adrenaline.

She heard another snort from behind and below, and redoubled her efforts to ascend. Tears ran rampant down her cheeks, and her sobs echoed through the chamber. Whatever it was, it already knew she was there, remaining silent could no longer save her.

Suddenly, the sheer rock gave way to a ledge, and she pulled herself onto the flat ridge. She listened for her pursuer, and could still hear the snorting below, the soft splashing at the edge of the pool. It hadn't crossed the water, it hadn't climbed up the rock face. But it was still following her, and it might know another a way up.

The chamber was just as dark as it was below, and she still couldn't see anything at all. The air was fresher though, free of the odours of decay, but still thick and musty. Her hands burnt as the pain from the climb sank in, hot blood seeping through numerous gashes. With nothing else to protect them, she slid off her shoes to use her socks as gloves. Retying her laces was far less easy as her fingers rebelled, many completely refusing to cooperate.

Determined to continue, she sat still and held her breath, hoping she could hear something to give her a sense of direction. The chirping of birds in the woods perhaps, or Eric calling her name. But all she could hear was the snorting from below, fading away as it moved back down the tunnel.

She closed her eyes to help her concentrate – not that it made a difference. She clenched her hands to her chest and inhaled deeply, held her breath for a long moment, and exhaled slowly through pursed lips, quivering as the fading sobs broke free.

With the snorting gone, all she could hear was the trickling of water, droplets falling all around. And a faint whistling. The wind! If she could hear it, she could follow it. She tried her best to relax, allowing her ears to hone in on the source of the wind's music as it rushed past the cave's entrance.

Certain she had identified the right direction, she crawled along as quickly as she could, but each step was a hazard, and she slipped more than once. Her pained hands held tight to everything they could.

Soon the walls closed in around her. She could feel the rock above and beside her as she edged her way through the tunnel leading to the first chamber. It wasn't long before she detected the faintest glow of light. Her heart began to race as excitement and relief poured in. Still following the walls with her hands, she rounded a bend that brought her into the chamber.

The dim light was barely enough to see, but it was a massive improvement. At the far end of the cave she could see the glow from the tunnel leading out into the woods. Rocky outcrops and dark holes filled the chamber, but it looked different without the flicker of torch flame. Everything was completely still.

Another wave of fear crashed through her as she strained her eyes in search of movement, blinking and stretching her eyelids wide. With every step she was certain another shadow moved just at the edge of her vision, but she couldn't quite catch them. She tripped and fell, overconfident on the rough surface, and began crawling, rushing towards the glowing entrance to the final tunnel.

Her hands were frozen from the cold stone, aching from the strain of gripping with all her strength. She pushed on, more determined, so close. Soon she came across something that looked familiar: the first rock formation she had noticed when they had arrived. Four fingers, jutting into the air. She raised her body up on her knees, searching for the best path to the exit, and leaned on the nearest finger. It was warm. And it moved.

A bolt of icy shock raced through her body, and the last of her restraint vanished. She leapt up and sprinted towards the light, stumbling but staying upright. She reached the tunnel and stormed through, splashing through the water, and bursting out of the cave, tripping over the lip at the entrance, and collapsing into the shallow stream below.

She stumbled to get up, falling onto her back and pushing away from the cave, her arms underneath her as she fought to get away. Her eyes were burning from the bright light, and she struggled to see what was happening at the cave entrance, to see if she was being followed.

Sinking back to the ground, she shielded her eyes with her hand, searching for movement. The water trickled from the cave entrance, but nothing followed it. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, to the white flowers surrounding the cave. She could hear the wind rustling through the trees again. A wave of relief flooded through her as she stood up.

She searched the canopy to try to locate the sun, to get her bearings. There was a deep orange glow peeking through the branches, covering much of the sky over in one direction – the western horizon. It was sunset.