by Thomas Rath
Tam turned away, her tears still coming as she squeaked out indignantly, “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” he asked, looking up and awkwardly placing his hand on her shoulder.
Tam twitched at his touch but didn’t move away. She hesitated for a moment and then turned around to face him. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and then, without warning, she blurted out, “I’m scared, all right?”
Dor opened his mouth to respond but she ran right over him.
“Is that what you’ve wanted to hear? Well, there you have it. I’m scared to die and I’m afraid that Thane’s dead already and we’ll never see him again.” She paused as more tears began to pour off her cheeks. “And now I’m crying in front of you like some silly little girl and you’ll probably make some stupid joke to make me feel even worse.”
Dor was stunned. Where did all of this suddenly come from? He stood there with his hand still on her shoulder not sure what to do next. Why are girls so complicated? he thought. One minute she kicks me and is ready to take my head off and the next she’s bawling.
He took his hand from her shoulder and rubbed his forehead as if that would make him think more easily. He was about to say something that would have probably just made things worse when a high-pitched noise drew away his attention. Brushing the hair from his ear he cocked his head and listened. There was silence and then the noise came again. Tam watched incredulously as Dor suddenly grabbed the unlit torches from her arm and started laying them on the ground behind them.
“What are you doing?” she asked wiping her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to stop the tears.
Dor didn’t answer but instead ripped the torch from hand and lit the pile of torches at his feet. They caught fire almost instantly creating a large ball of flame that filled the corridor and sent choking smoke billowing into their faces.
Tam screamed. “Are you crazy?”
Dor ignored her comment and just grabbed her hand pulling her after him. “Come on!” he yelled. “Run!” He turned and started down the corridor running as fast as he could, Tam in tow stumbling along behind him. She wasn’t sure what had gotten into him but his actions were enough to send a chill up her spine. As she tried to recover and match his stride, a strange sound touched her sensitive ears. It was like a long, continuous scream and it was coming up behind them.
Dor suddenly stopped causing her to bump into his side. A low grunt escaped his lips and she knew that she’d hurt him. She muttered an apology but Dor ignored her. They were standing at an intersection of hallways and he was trying to decide which way to go.
“What was that noise?” she asked her face flushed by the sudden exertions.
“Which way?” was all he said. She stared for a moment and then pointed to where she could feel the hot air. Without another word, Dor was off and she found herself once again playing catch up. She assumed that the noise she had heard moments before was the cause of Dor’s concern but it seemed to have ceased. Tam slowed momentarily and listened, trying to pick up any sign of the high-pitched sound. Nothing. Whatever it was must have turned off or been stopped by the fire. She was about to call out to Dor when, as if spurred on by her sudden relief, the scream picked up again—this time much closer. She didn’t wait to find out what it was. It had spooked Dor enough to send him running and she wasn’t about to argue. Putting her head down, she raced forward quickly catching up.
Almost instantly, they were faced with another intersection. This time Tam didn’t stop to ask questions but instead pointed out the way and followed Dor as he ran like a crazy man down the hall. The noise kept getting louder and louder and Tam knew that it wouldn’t be long before they were overtaken by…what could it be? She knew trolls didn’t make that sound. It was too high pitched. It almost sounded like a chorus of things rather than just one voice. It was nothing she had ever heard before. But it was after them. She could almost feel the eyes on her now. They were being hunted.
All at once the hall dropped away into a long stairway that plummeted down well beyond the dim light offered by their torch. Dor stumbled but quickly regained control by jumping down past the first five or six steps. Tam followed suit and the two raced down as fast as their legs would carry them. The screeching noise continued to increase and was now at a level that was almost deafening.
Death’s breathing at my back again, Dor thought, feverishly searching for a way to escape. Could this finally be the one? As he finished his last thought the torch suddenly snuffed out taking with it their hopes for survival. Tam let out a faint yelp. “That’s it,” Dor mumbled, suddenly resigned to his fate.
“What’s this?” Tam exclaimed. “I have night vision.”
Dor’s eyes adjusted just as she finished her sentence. “There must be a light source.” Just then he spotted it. Ahead of them on the right side of the wall he caught sight of a faint glow.
They both raced towards it stumbling over each other in hopes that they had found their escape. Within moments they came upon the source of their renewed hope. A roughly cut hole had been dug right into the side of the wall as if it had been an afterthought. A very faint amount of light emanated out of it, as did a large amount of hot air.
Dor wasted no time. “Climb up inside and then pull me up!”
“I don’t think I can,” Tam whimpered, her face drained of color.
“Do it!” Dor yelled, “or we both die!”
Tam threw her belongings into the hole and then reached up just barely able to catch the lower ledge. Dor got behind her and pushed with his good arm as she pulled hard, struggling to get in. Dor chanced a quick glance up the stairs and almost dropped her. His breath caught in his throat. Hundreds of small, glowing eyes sped towards them in a frenzy of hunger and death.
“Hurry up!”
With one great heave, Tam was finally able to pull herself through the hole and then quickly turned and caught hold of Dor’s outstretched hand. She jerked hard trying to pull him up but he kept slipping through her fingers. Sweat was trailing down her arm now making her hand too slick to hold on. She tried again, this time digging her nails into his flesh as he slipped back down. Dor looked back at the mass of bodies pouring down the stairs like a horrible wave of destruction, their screeching just barely louder than his pounding heart.
“Use a blanket,” he shouted, their predators now almost on top of him. Tam reached behind her and grabbed a blanket and tossed an end down. He caught hold and scrambled up the wall, his feet trying to catch a toe hold. Tam pulled frantically pressing her heels into the stone floor as if trying to bury her legs in the bedrock. Dor slipped again and was just starting to drop when his toe caught a tiny bump in the near flawless wall. It was enough. He lifted just as the first body of hunger driven rats boiled up below him. They massed in a gyrating ball of fur and teeth lurching upward as they climbed furiously over each other in an attempt to reach their escaping prey.
Tam screamed at the sight realizing how close they had come to being eaten alive and very nearly released her hold on Dor.
“Hey!” Dor yelled.
Tam stared at him wide-eyed as he dangled below her like a piece of live bait. She gave another quick heave, using all her strength that remained. Dor pushed with his foot, still planted firmly on the bump, and their combined efforts catapulted him through the hole, right on top of Tam. As he landed, his right shoulder smashed against the floor with a sickening thud. The pain would have been unbearable had he not blacked out, the exhaustion and pain of the moment too much for his weakening body.
Tam edged herself out from under Dor’s motionless body and took one last, hurried look at the stairs below. The rats were in a fury clawing over each other in an attempt to reach the hole above and the warm flesh that still called to them. Their razor sharp teeth gnashed up at her making Tam’s stomach lurch at the thought of what would have happened had Dor not found the opening in the wall. Their bones would have been left picked clean in only a matter of minutes. She retreated back aw
ay from the hole. It was all too much. She had to get away from there.
Laying Dor gently on one of the blankets, she made a makeshift litter and started dragging him deeper into the passageway. It was slow going. Dor was much heavier than she had realized and the ceiling was so low that she had to stoop. The light, although dim at first, was beginning to increase along with the tremendous amount of heat that seemed to swell with every step. She stopped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. The temperature was quickly becoming unbearable. She removed her leggins and then moved back to Dor and pulled his off as well. The sweat was coming now in great beads that covered her body in a glowing sheen.
“Out of the cook pot and into the flames,” she sighed sitting down to rest for a moment suddenly feeling very tired. Dor stirred. She kicked his leg gently. “Wake up,” she sighed. “It’s your turn to carry me.”
Dor let out a moan and then slowly opened his eyes. The pain he was dealing with was evident on his face and Tam felt a little guilty for her comment. “Where are we?”
“Well, we’re alive,” she said opening her water pouch and taking a swig. “For now anyway,” she added wiping her lip and then passed the pouch to Dor.
Dor sat up slowly, cringing as he did so. His throat was dry and burning and the water, although warm, felt good as it trickled down. He stared at Tam for a moment thinking how pretty she looked with her hair matted against her face that way while sweat flowed down her face and dripped from her chin. He found himself admiring the curve of her mouth and the color of her lips.
“What are you staring at,” she said flatly, jerking Dor away from his thoughts. “Are you sick?”
His face flushed. “Uh no,” he said thinking he must be for staring at her like he was. “I was just thinking,” he stumbled on, “that I should thank you for saving my life...again.”
Tam caught her breath for a moment. What was this? He was actually thanking her. Dor, the great scout and hunter was thanking her for saving his life. Something suddenly happened that had never happened before in her life; she was at a loss for words. He must be delirious from the pain and the heat, she thought wiping the sweat from her eyes.
I can’t believe I was looking at her like that, Dor’s mind raced as they both sat silently staring at each other. I must be delirious from the pain and this heat.
The silence dragged on for a long moment until Tam saved them both by finding her tongue again. “You’re welcome,” she blurted.
“What?” Dor asked hoping the red in his face would be passed off as coming from the heat.
“You’re welcome,” she repeated stumbling over her words, “for saving your life.”
“Oh yes,” Dor said closing the water bag and handing it back. “I owe you, again.”
Tam said nothing. She just stared at him, the water bag hanging loosely in her hand.
Dor suddenly spoke, his voice all business again. “Now, instead of just sitting here melting, I guess we better find out where this leads.”
Tam nodded slowly, unsure of what had just happened. Dor brushed past her peering down the tunnel and retaking the lead position. Grabbing the blanket he left for her, Tam turned and fell in behind him. Must have been the heat, she thought coming back to a full sense of their situation.
It didn’t take long for them to discover the reason for the light they now had and the almost suffocating heat that seemed to intensify with every step. The passageway ended at a gigantic, circular cavern that shot straight up into darkness above and dropped below into a turbulent sea of molten lava. The heat was deathly, plastering them both in the sweat that was draining their bodies of life giving fluid.
“We have to get out of here fast,” Dor said wiping the sting from his eyes.
“How?” Tam asked feeling a sense of despair that was slowly taking over her mind. “We can’t go back the way we came.”
Dor looked down but immediately realized that there was no way they could survive getting any closer to the lava; the heat was just too intense. Scanning the cavern above, he could see that the sides of it were rough cut rock unlike the corridor walls they had recently left. His finger pointed up. “We have to go up. We’re in the belly of the mountain. There must be an opening above us.”
Tam’s eyes followed his finger to the darkness far above and then dropped back to Dor’s shoulder that hung uselessly at his side. “But you only have use of one arm,” she blurted. “You can’t climb like that.” She suddenly felt the tears welling up again. After all they had been through, after escaping the troll, the snowstorm, the cave and the rats they were going to die there anyway.
Dor sat for a moment trying to think. She was right, he couldn’t climb with one arm but he knew that to stay where they were was certain death. They couldn’t go back. Even now the sound of the screeching rats had not diminished, still reaching their sensitive ears. There was no telling how long they might wait for their prey to reemerge.
Dor suddenly stood and took away Tam’s belongings.
She looked at him in surprise. “What are you doing?” she asked as he grabbed the blankets out of her hands.
“I can’t climb out of here, you’re right about that. But you can.”
She stared at him for a moment before she finally realized what he was saying. “Oh no, Dor,” she said yanking back the blankets. “We didn’t come all this way for you to suddenly give up and play the hero. I won’t do it.”
“You have to Tam,” he urged tugging back on the blankets. “There’s no way I can climb out of here with this arm. And I won’t let you sit here and die just because I can’t make it out when you can.”
It was all too much for her. All this time, she had been able to press back into the deepest parts of her mind the idea that they might not make it out alive. Now it was reality, but only for Dor and the thought killed her inside.
“I can’t,” she suddenly sobbed, her tears mingling freely with her sweat. “I don’t want to leave you here to die. You’re the only friend I have left.”
Dor looked at her tenderly, remembering all of the times he had teased her and made her feel bad. Now it was all coming back to haunt him. What a fool I’ve been, he thought. He reached out and touched her hand. She held tightly to it. “Listen to me, Tam,” he said, his voice soft and gentle. “You have to go...”
“No!” she screamed throwing her other arm around his neck.
Dor twitched from the pain but brushed it aside not wanting her to let go. “Listen to me Tam,” he said softly into her ear, “Thane may still be alive and need your help. If we both stay here he won’t have a chance at all. You’ve got to go and help Thane.”
Tam was bawling hysterically. What was she supposed to do? She didn’t want to be left alone and she certainly didn’t want another of her friends to die. How could this be happening?
“Tam,” he pressed, “if you go there’s a chance we can both make it out alive. You have to get out and bring back help for me. It’s the only way.”
Tam settled down a bit as she pondered what Dor had just said. Maybe he was right. Maybe Thane was still alive. If she found him then they could come back and get Dor. If she stayed there they would both die for no reason and she would never know. There was no choice. She slowly pulled herself away and looked down not wanting to see Dor’s face. She knew that if she saw his eyes she would not be able to do what she had to.
Dor could sense the resolve in her and smiled weakly. There was more to this girl than he had ever realized. “Good,” he said. “Now, you take the water, it may be a longer climb than you think.”
Tam just nodded and stood numbly as Dor made her put her leggins on and tied the blanket, with the food and water, around her waste. He rambled on about the cold above and the need for warm clothing while Tam tried desperately to steel her mind and body for what she was about to do. She pushed the thought away that she was leaving Dor behind and tried to replace it with the idea that she was going to get help. She tried to think how good it would feel
to have saved his life three times now but she knew deep inside that she would never again be able to feel pride for something that should just come naturally.
She suddenly realized that Dor had stopped talking and that she was ready. It was up to her now. She paused only briefly, and then, without so much as a good-bye, Tam stepped to the edge of the passage and reached up feeling for a handhold above. She felt Dor lift her foot to help her up but pushed any thoughts of him from her mind, concentrating instead, on the rock wall and the long climb.
Dor sat for a moment watching her slowly ascend. “Good-bye, Tam,” he whispered and then slowly retreated back down the passageway trying to put as much distance between himself and the heat as he could.
It seemed like only minutes until he was back at the entrance where not long before he had sidestepped another of death’s attempts to take him. The rats had quieted a bit but went into another deafening frenzy when Dor looked over the side as if daring them to try and reach him. He sat with his leg hanging over the edge as a constant taunt and thought of Tam. He knew she had what it would take to get to the top and out of this grave that had swallowed them, but he also knew there was no way she would be able to get back in time to save his life.
“It looks like you’ve finally got me,” he said out loud with a snicker.
Tam continued climbing, slowly feeling weaker with every change of handholds. She wanted to look down and see Dor climbing below her but knew she would be disappointed and probably freeze up in the process. She also knew that one small break in concentration, one tiny slip, and she would plummet to her own fiery death. She had to live. She had to get out alive. Without her, Dor didn’t have a chance. She thought it strange that she thought only of Dor and not of Thane. She guessed she was finally accepting the fact that Thane was lost to them forever. He would always be in her heart where he had always been but she knew she would never see him alive again. The thought made her want to start crying but she forced it away with great effort and then chided herself. “I’ve got to concentrate on what I’m doing.”
