R.E.solve (Rain Experience Book 2)

by Thomas W. Everson

  I hear a faint scream. A woman’s.

  Hitting the sloped opening, my hands claw at dirt, but it only kicks it loose. I’m distracted by dirt falling into my eyes and mouth, and I lose sight of the man as he falls into the dark abyss. I spit and try not to fall, but it seems futile. I can’t get my hands in far enough to keep from following him. The ground gives way and my hand catches a sharp rock. It slices into my palm, but I grip on for my life.

  Unable to see through my dirty, watery eyes I am left hanging there. I feel blood trickling down my arm. My mind races and though I want to scream, the falling dirt threatens to choke me. The realization sets in.

  I have no hope of climbing out of this hole.

  My hand slips and the rock cuts deeper. Though I try hold on to the rock with sheer will, my body finally gives up. The muscles in my arm and hand release. I fall into the darkness below.

  After everything, this is how I die?

  My body meets the wall several times. I tumble, my arms and legs taking the brunt of the damage. The walls begin to close in on me and daylight begins to fade. I’m struck with an epiphany and my body reacts accordingly. Thrusting out both of my arms and putting my legs out I try to slow my decent. The wall and debris batter me, causing me to fail, but I’m not deterred. I try again and am able to dig my arms in up to the forearm and plant my feet on either side. Rocks and dirt gouging my skin, I slow.

  It takes a few minutes for everything to settle, but when it does I’m able to look up without catching a face full of foreign objects. Blood flows down my face from my nose, and it throbs. I’m only able to tilt my head up briefly or risk the blood flowing down my throat.

  Above, there’s only a sliver of light, and it illustrates just how far down I am. There is an opening several feet below me. From it I can see a faint glow which was previously invisible in what appears to be a cavern. I can hear water. A shimmer confirms that’s what’s below, but I can’t tell how far away or how deep it is.

  I don’t really have a choice. To wish to be rescued would be hoping for the impossible. No, rescue isn’t coming. I’m not climbing out either. Maybe if I go down I can find a way out. Caves usually have outlets somewhere, right?

  I got myself into this. I’m sure I can find a way out. But why do I have this overwhelming drive to help people which always puts me in trouble?

  That same drive pulls on my heartstrings when I hear distraught cries. I shimmy down and reach the opening. My feet hit solid rock and a chunk breaks off. It falls through and I hear the plunking noise of it hitting the water.

  If it’s not deep enough, no matter how I fall I’m going to break something. Hands, legs, tailbone. I can’t stay here though.

  I prepare to drop. Pulling my arms out of the dirt, I support myself with my legs, and crouch. With my arms against the side once more, I stick my legs through. My sword becomes stuck and trying to wiggle it free nearly causes me to lose my grip. I grasp the stone tightly, regaining my composure before slowly lowering myself into the cavern.

  With my arms fully extended, I dangle above what I hope is deep waters. I let go and drop. Freefalling feet first I wait for the impact and when it comes, water breaks my fall. I’m fully submerged and I paddle my arms to pull myself up to the surface.

  Gasping, I look around and see the cavern walls sporadically lined with crystals, glowing a light pink-purple hue. Something bumps me in the water and I startle. Flailing, I push whatever it is away. When there’s distance I see it’s a body lifelessly floating, and there are dozens more.

  There is solid ground a few yards away and I swim over to it. Climbing up reveals an open area with more bodies, and items, strewn about. Screaming and wailing ring out from a couple locations up ahead. An animalistic growling can be heard amongst the other noises. In a heightened sense of awareness, I catch a glimpse of a large muscular creature dragging off what appears to be one of the people from above. A massive tail whips through the air and my hand immediately reaches for my sword.

  What is that?!

  The focus on my injuries recedes. Both my heart and body leap in fear. I’m on my feet and closing in on a nearby wall. Blade drawn, I keep it close to my body as I follow the monster. Several more distinct growls echo through the cavern and from passages my eyes can barely make out. I hear bones snap and a shattering sound. My stomach sours.

  A cry for help sounds from a nearby tunnel branching from the cave and a man comes barreling out. Deep thudding against the ground tells me the creature isn’t far behind him. The man turns toward me, screaming and waving his arms. The monster lunges out and skids sideways to a stop. I can see it better, and it’s more terrifying than the silhouette I saw a moment ago.

  The creature appears to be a humanoid, bipedal lizard which I liken to an alligator. Its snout is long and its jaw opens wide, letting out a guttural growl, then a hiss. The scales and bony spikes protruding from its arms and legs shimmer in the dim lighting provided by the crystals. Its massive spiked tail flails back and forth and it appears to be readying to swing around and kill the fleeing man.

  Not giving it a chance to attack, I break into a run past the frightened native. Using my sword as a lance, I barrel headlong into it. The sword’s edge flays the beast from its belly up with little effort. It screeches in pain and attempts to skewer me with its long claws, but I am too close for it to get a good swipe. It struggles against me and I retract the blade. I expect it to try again, but instead it collapses to its knees, screeching. Its deep yellow eyes squint at me and it whimpers.

  Though it’s a beast, I feel bad letting it suffer. I swiftly behead it and wipe my sword off on my torn, ragged pants. I kneel down for a better look. Its hands and feet are webbed, and it has a muscular and skeletal structure much like humans, but much larger. I am perplexed.

  What could this be? I may not have my memory back, but I certainly don’t feel anything familiar about this creature. Is it some mutation?

  Another scream resonates against the walls, this time feminine. It reminds me of the man whom I saved, but looking behind me, he’s gone. I focus and the scream comes again. I’m swift to track it, coming from a corridor up ahead, off to the right. I make my way deeper, hoping to intercept them before the tribal is killed. There’s a patter of feet followed by a growl. Turning a corner, I step light to keep myself hidden.

  It’s there, readying to pounce. With my sword ready, I jump and dig it into the creature’s spine. It wails and attempts to reach behind and grab me, but I hang on tight to the hilt. It hisses and tries to back into the jagged crystals embedded in the wall. Dropping to the ground, I duck out of the way and it only succeeds in pushing my blade in farther.

  A few more moments in agony and it drops to its front. I pull my sword from its back and sever its spine at the neck with a few hacks. After cleaning my blade again, I sheathe it.

  Collapsed nearby and crying, a girl threatens to draw more of the lizard creatures to us. I kneel and try to gain her attention, but when I reach to touch her she moves away and inhales sharply. She opens her mouth to scream and I grab her face. Muffled, she kicks and screams while I pull us over to the crystals to show her I’m not one of them.

  When the light hits her face, I recognize her as the one the chief tried to sacrifice. I’m baffled she survived the fall.

  “Fate has apparently smiled on you, that I would save you a second time,” I whisper.

  She sees who I am and stifles her sobs with a few hiccups. My grip relaxes and I pull my hand from her mouth. I put my finger to my lips and stroke one of her pigtails to soothe her, in the hope that she understands. Her sobs are now sniffles and I’m able to listen to our surroundings.

  Another noise catches my ear. I wave for her to follow, but when she just stares at me I grab her hand and pull her back toward the larger cavern. More dirt and rocks collapse from the ceiling of the cave, raining down into the water as if someone else had fallen into the chasm above.

  “Rain?!” Eve’s voice ec
hoes through the cavern. “Tell me you’re alive and I didn’t jump in here for no reason!”

  “Barely!” I yell back, wiping the blood from my nose on my sleeve, and my hand on my pants.

  “Urgh! Good. I was going to be really pissed off with you if you’d died! Where are you? I can only see a glow from here.”

  I hear growling but it’s faint. Still I look over my shoulder every few moments just to make sure they’re not creeping up on me.

  “There’s a huge underground cavern here, and it looks like there’s a network of tunnels,” I tell her.

  “I’m stuck here in the dirt.”

  “Why did you come down here?” I ask.

  “I couldn’t let you have all the fun now could I?” she playfully replies.

  “Did you find enough rope to reach down here?”

  “I wish. This was a one way trip, but I couldn’t leave you alone down here.”

  “I’m not quite alone. There are tribal people and something else.”

  “How do I get down there?”

  “Just wiggle your way down to the opening until you hit solid rock and then jump through. There’s water below which will break your fall.”

  The growling intensifies, growing closer. I know I’m making far too much sound and more ‘lizard-men’ are undoubtedly honing in on me.

  “How far is it?”

  “Just hurry up and drop!”

  What follows is a scream and then a splash as Eve plummets and enters the water. Before she can surface and make it to solid ground scratching and thudding alerts me they’ve found us. Growling and hissing fills the cavern. I spin on my heels and brandish my sword, thrusting the tribal girl behind me. Several of the lizards approach and I know I’m going to need Eve’s help.

  “Gross! Are these dead bodies?” Eve yells.

  “Climb out and help me!” I yell.

  “What are those?!” Eve shrieks.

  Moving in a pack, there is no opportunity to go one on one with them. They close fast and I let a shockwave loose into them. They anticipate its impact and brace. My shockwave is ineffective against the creatures, only pushing them back a few inches. They resume and I hear Eve splash out of the water.

  “See if you can find one of the spears!” I yell.

  “Where?”

  “Anywhere!”

  “I don’t see any!”

  I point to the crystals on the wall. “See if you can dislodge one to use as a weapon!”

  The lizard-men have begun a new charge. My shockwaves have been an integral part of my success in battle previously. Being unable to use them leaves me feeling helpless. I ready my sword and go on the offensive. I run headlong at them.

  “Keep low! You might avoid some blows!” Eve advises while kicking at the wall.

  When we meet I drop to my knees and slide across the smooth ground. They reach for me. I jump to the balls of my feet and swing the sword in a wide arc. Some fingers are lost and the blade catches one in the chest, dragging as I turn. They spread out but show no sign of retreating.

  Eve lets loose a battle cry and she leaps onto the back of one to jam a pointed crystal into the lizard-man’s neck. It reels about and attempts to buck her, crying in pain. The others are momentarily distracted and it gives me an opening.

  I focus on the one farthest away from the group and rush it. It sees me and tries to filet me with its long claws when I near. Ducking, I run my sword up and through. Its knees buckle, and it falls forward. I withdraw and bring the sword down on its skull.

  Before I can turn to kill another I’m tackled by two at once. They pin me to the ground. Claws and teeth tear into my arms, legs and shoulder. Snarling in my face they both attempt to tear my head from my neck, but I fight and put my legs between them and me.

  Their weight is too much!

  I shove with as much force as I can, lifting them enough to angle my sword upward. My legs give and I roll while one falls on the blade. The other reaches its long snout in to rip my face up, but Eve clubs it from the side. In brutal fashion, she hammers it until the skull is concave, and my face is spattered with its blood. Lifeless, the two lizard-men are still pinning me.

  I wiggle against the ground while Eve pulls on them, but she disappears from view and her battle cries vibrate the air in the cavern. A body falls lifeless while I free myself. Two more close in. Eve grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet with ease. Establishing a foothold, I use a shockwave to spread them apart.

  With my sword inaccessible, I improvise. As the left lizard-man nears me I dive through its legs, past its tail. I leap to my feet and I jump on its tail, scaling the beast like a mountain. It swings about trying to throw me, but I hold fast until the shaking subsides, and continue up. I reach its head and place both hands on its face, unleashing a powerful shockwave into its eyes. It screams and reaches up. Grabbing me by my head its claws tear into my cheeks and I’m thrown across the cavern. It stumbles around, blinded, and Eve takes the opportunity to dispatch it.

  When the air clears there are more than half a dozen lizard-men dead or dying around us. Eve crushes one’s skull to finish it off. I struggle to flip the creature my sword is stuck into but I can’t. My arms don’t have the strength. Eve assists by putting her whole body into rolling it, and I’m able to wiggle my sword out. Pulling it free I wipe it on my shirt, but just as I clean it, blood from my face drips onto it. Blood oozes down my face over the already caked layer from my nose. My arms and legs blare with pain. Coming down from the adrenaline rush, I begin to feel cold and weak.

  Eve grunts. There’s a heavy, sickening squish sound every time she lands a blow on a lifeless corpse. I shuffle toward her and reach for her hand but I don’t make it. My legs give and I collapse to my knees. She looks at me with rage in her eyes, the same I had seen when we fought each other. But it subsides and her muscles relax. Letting go of her crystal it clinks to the ground and she jogs to me.

  “You’re hurt.” She kneels and touches my cheek with concern.

  “I…feel like I’m dying.” I wince at her touch.

  Soft, rapid steps pad toward us. The little tribal girl jumps from the shadows and clings to my torso, bawling. With what little energy I have left I try to console her by putting my arm around her. Instead I end up resting my weight on the child.

  “How did this girl survive the fall?” Eve is stunned.

  “Maybe she had a straight shot into the water. Others survived too.”

  “I came down here so you wouldn’t die alone. I guess now the three of us will die down here.” She pokes me in a playful manner, but her tone is serious.

  “I am optimistic we can find a way out.”

  “I think it looks bleak.” Eve smirks and the glow from the crystals makes her look more devious than normal. “Since I’m the one who came after you, you should just give in to me. We could even have some alone time if she wasn’t here.”

  Shaking my head in disbelief I become dizzy. Blood drips onto the girl and I try unsuccessfully to clean it off. The pain returns to the front of my mind and my hand reaches for the wound on my cheek. My palm is coated with a fresh layer of blood. I feel sick.

  “We should get you cleaned up,” Eve suggests.

  “I can’t stop the bleeding.”

  “We have to wash it off in the water,” she suggests.

  “I don’t trust that water. If it isn’t already tainted, those dead bodies will do it.”

  The tribal girl sees I am in pain and attempts to comfort me by touching the wounds. Shaking my head I try to push her away, but she insists and forces her hands near my face. Eve protests, trying to take her away, but the tribal girl scolds her harshly in her language. Eve becomes oddly silent. The girl begins chanting with her eyes closed and I’m startled when her hands glow green.

  My eyes shift back and forth nervously but I calm down when the pain begins to subside. Her hands close on my face and when they touch it tingles. She moves to my arms and legs, one at a time. When she’s done, t
he wounds have closed and the pain has all but gone. She opens her eyes and smiles at me, looking for approval. It takes me a second to break my shock and return the smile.

  “Well, that is certainly handy and amazing,” I blurt.

  “Should have just let it heal on its own,” Eve responds with a snarky tone. “You’d have looked more rugged with some scars across your face.”

  “I might have died from blood loss.” I push her over and she lands on her tailbone. She grins.

  The little girl turns to Eve to heal her also, but Eve swats her away. The girl doesn’t fight her.

  The dizziness has passed, but my energy is still sapped. A survey of the cavern reveals that we are no longer in immediate danger. We are still stuck in an underground world with water which might kill us, no food, and giant lizard-men. I sigh.

  “We’re in a pretty bad situation here. We’re dead if we don’t find a way out.” I stand and move to the edge of the underground lake.

  “You’re right,” Eve says optimistically while wrapping her arms around my chest from behind. “But we’re together.”

  I push her hands off and turn around. “This isn’t the time. Even if we find food and water, when the month ends the house will still try and draw us back in. We’re going to be crushed against the roof of this cave.”

  “All the more reason to finally be intimate.” She steps closer, inching her face closer to mine.

  “Eve,” I whisper.

  “Yes, my love?” She closes her eyes as if expecting me to kiss her.

  I lean in close. “No,” I whisper again.

  Moving to the nearest wall, I kick at a long, thin crystal until it dislodges. Using it as a torch, I survey the area again. The dead lizard-men are haunting under the light. Beyond them, I note at least four exits.

  Eve huffs behind me. Over my shoulder, I see the look of disappointment on her face that I’ve left her there. I smirk. She scowls and crosses her arms.