by J. A. Kalis
Again, nothing but deep silence surrounded her. Silence and darkness.
A wave of excitement rose in her chest, making her heart pound wildly. Excitement that she could no longer control. The muscle clamping her jaw relaxed and she smiled.
She’d done it. She managed to get free.
A sudden adrenaline rush propelled her forward.
She made it to the wall. Careful not to trip and fall, she skirted along it, running her hands over the cold, rough stone surface. She headed towards the spot where, she assumed, the exit from the chamber was. Taking small steps, she advanced slowly, finally entering the narrow tunnel.
From what she could remember, the passage stretched for many metres, snaking through the cave until it opened into the vast cavity filled with stalactites and stalagmites. She wondered how she would ever manage to cross such a dangerous place. It wouldn’t be easy to do so in complete darkness – impossible not to stumble over some of the rock formations rising from the floor. There seemed to be hundreds of them. What if she got lost in there, wandering for hours among those calcified forms? What if an icicle-like stalactite fell off the ceiling and pierced her body? These thoughts sent shivers down her spine. But she decided she shouldn’t dwell on them. Determined to regain her freedom, she focused on the task ahead. She had to cross that cave. There was no other way out of this horrible maze.
She continued walking, feeling her way through the darkness, keeping close to the rugged wall. There was only the wall and her own intuition to guide her.
She followed the bends of the tunnel until she came to a place where there were too many irregularities in the cave floor, too many potholes and boulders jutting from the ground. She had to move to the middle of the passage. There too, the bottom was uneven but less than alongside the wall. Afraid to trip, she slowed her pace. Hands outstretched in front of her, she advanced step by step. It wasn’t working. The progress she made was too slow. At this rate, it would take far too long to cross the cave. She needed some support, something to guide her. She’d only gone a few paces before she decided to cross the passage and reach the opposite wall. She was surprised to find that the tunnel was much broader than she’d imagined. Maybe she wasn’t in a tunnel anymore but in another chamber. Or maybe it only felt like that because she was taking very small steps.
The opposite wall was, for the most part, made of bulging, edgy rock, full of erosion holes. It was difficult to skirt along it, but she persisted. A few steps further and the underground corridor twisted and turned at a sharp angle.
Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, Carol almost lost all notion of passing time. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she’d shaken off the last ties from her body and began walking. Instinctively she felt the tunnel should end soon. Any moment now, she was going to reach that dangerous chamber full of stalactites and stalagmites.
Suddenly, her sharp ears picked up something unfamiliar in the distance. She froze. Startled, she listened, holding her breath. It was a sound she hadn’t heard before in this underground lair. The hollow sound of dripping water. No mistake about it. In the profound silence, the sound rang clear. Amplified, it reverberated in the empty space.
Carol resumed walking. With each step she took, the sound became louder. Her fingers detected a thin film of moisture on the weathered stone wall, as if water seeped through its pores. The air felt dank. The floor was getting more and more uneven.
All at once, a sharp pain shot through her ankle. She squirmed and an involuntary groan escaped her lips. Her left leg had hit against a boulder jutting out of the ground. It hurt like crazy.
She paused to gather her thoughts. Something was definitely wrong. She couldn’t recall hearing dripping water when she had been walking with Lucien. She couldn’t recall the floor of the passage being so jagged. According to her calculations, by now she should have already reached the vast chamber full of calcified rock formations.
It could only mean one thing. At some point the tunnel branched off and she must have entered the wrong passage without realizing. Instead of heading towards the exit, maybe she was progressing deeper and deeper into the underground cave.
Where was she? How far from the exit?
She had no idea. Disoriented, she wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
Her mind whirled, a sick feeling coiled in her stomach. It seemed her worst fears were becoming a reality. She was lost.
How would she ever find her way out of here?
She was trapped inside an endless maze of stone. With no possibility of escape.
Claustrophobia gripped her. Before long it gave way to a full-blown panic. Her breath quickened and became shallow. Her heart raced. Her head spun. A choking lump formed in her throat. A wave of nausea swept over her. She felt beads of cold sweat coat her forehead.
She had to get out of there, she had to, she had to …
Frantic, she lurched forward, feeling the cold, slightly moist rock with her trembling hands, as if she expected to find something there that would steer her in the right direction. Then she turned around and made a few brisk steps heading another way, into the empty darkness. Her legs felt shaky from the suppressed urge to run. She staggered and almost lost her footing, regaining her balance only at the last moment.
It was no good. She had to get a grip of herself and plan her next move. Being panicked only made things worse. First of all, she needed to gather her swirling thoughts. Shivering all over, she reached the wall and sank into a crouch, bracing her back against the rough stone, burying her face in her hands. She felt like a trapped animal.
It took a few minutes before she finally forced her breath to slow down and was able to think straight again.
What should she do now? Retrace her steps? Was it even possible, without any point of reference?
She truly doubted she would be able to find her way back to the chamber where she’d been held captive. Odds were high she would just walk in circles. Right now she was so confused she didn’t even know which direction she’d come from.
But she had to keep going. She had to find a way out of the cave.
She had to hurry up and reach the exit before all strength abandoned her.
She heaved herself up and edged the wall. Having made a few paces, she stopped. It seemed she had taken the wrong direction because the hollow sound of dripping water, instead of diminishing, intensified.
She turned briskly around. Her right foot tripped on a stone and she almost toppled forward. Her hands lost contact with the wall and for few terrifying seconds were groping blindly at the dark emptiness around her. Then, suddenly, they touched something solid, something that felt like a boulder, its surface even and slick with moisture. She was about to steady herself against it when her feet slipped on a wet patch. She fell face forward and landed hard on her hands and knees, the breath knocked out of her. Before she had time to fill her lungs with air, her sore body slid down some smooth, gently sloping stone formations.
Everything happened so fast, she didn’t even let out a scream of pain.
Next thing she knew, she was surrounded by water. Cold water.
Her numb body felt like a dead weight and was going down into the water. Deeper and deeper. And there was nobody to pull her up, to save her. A feeling of pure dread began to descend on her as she realized she was drowning. Fast. Sinking to the bottom. Any moment now, she would hit it.
She didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not like this.
Air. She needed air. Needed it right now. Without it, her head and lungs threatened to explode.
Determined to fight for her life right to the end, she thrashed her arms and kicked as hard as she could. In a frenzy, she drove herself back to the top. Once her head emerged above the surface of the water, she coughed and gasped for a few seconds, taking great gulps of air into her lungs while her arms kept flailing wildly about.
Then she started to swim. Fortunately, she was a good swimmer.
Which way shou
ld she go?
There was no telling. She’d lost all sense of direction. In the pitch-black surrounding her, it was impossible to see anything. She couldn’t even tell where she had lost her footing and fallen into the water.
She had to make a random choice and hope it was the right one.
Gathering all her strength, she thrust her body forward in long strokes. It must have been an underground lake that she found herself in. She had to reach one of its shores.
A few moments passed before she heard the gently swishing sound of water washing over a rock. Was she nearing a shore?
Her hands touched something smooth and solid. She circled the shape, feeling its wet, eroded surface. After a short inspection, she decided it must be some sort of a stone pillar rising out of the water. She swam further. With each stubborn thrust of her arms and legs, her body glided silently through the water.
A steep rocky wall rose in front of her. There was nothing to hold on to. It was impossible to climb out of the water there. She had to search further. She swam along the weathered and moist stone wall. Now and then she paused, treading water, exploring it.
Disappointment overwhelmed her. Her fingers detected no change. Everywhere they touched, they encountered nothing but the slick sheer rock face. She was losing strength. The chill of the water had seeped through her clothes into her body, making it difficult to find the strength to continue to swim. Her leg and arm muscles started to cramp. Her breath quickened, becoming shallow. Her panic threatened to resurge. She fought it back.
How long could she keep her head above the surface? Probably no longer than a few minutes. Yet, she refused to give up. She refused to die here.
Suddenly, her hands felt a change in the shape of the rock. First, they detected a small cavity, and then sloping stone slabs. Desperate to get out of the water as soon as possible, she groped at the slick surface feeling for a handhold, but found none.
She swam further, frantically scrabbling at the smooth and slippery shore, until her hands clumped around a small rock outcropping. Gathering the last ounce of her strength, she heaved her sore body up, little by little. Finally, she managed to lift herself out of the water. Minute after agonizing minute, she crept further over the rocks.
Eventually, the rocky shore flattened out, but was slick with moisture. Afraid of falling, she didn’t dare to stand up and walk. Carol crawled on her hands and knees, wishing to get as far as possible away from the edge of the lake.
After several tense minutes, she entered what felt like a narrow cavity just big enough to accommodate her body. Deciding she was a safe distance from the lake, she collapsed in a heap on the ground, dead tired, her heart pounding wildly in her chest from the exertion. Her teeth chattered, her body shivered uncontrollably. It seemed as if the cold water had sapped all the warmth from it. She wrapped her arms around herself in a desperate attempt to keep warm. It didn’t help. Water dripped off her, making a puddle around her curled up, shaking form.
A jumble of thoughts whirled in her mind. Frightening thoughts.
She was lost. Lost in an endless underground network of passages and chambers.
How would she ever find her way out?
Where was she?
Was she back on the shore from which she’d plunged into the water, or was she on the opposite side of the lake?
The terrible realization dawned on her that without light, she would never be able to find a way out of the cave. In the complete darkness, she would just keep walking in circles until, finally, she would die of hunger and exhaustion. A horrible death awaited her. An inevitable death.
She was scared.
She felt at a loss, not knowing what to do next. She didn’t dare to make another move, afraid she would only make things worse and progress even deeper into the cave.
Her body felt sore and was drained of energy. Her jumbled mind was incapable of any clear thought. First of all, she needed some rest. She needed to calm down and regain at least some of her lost strength.
She curled up even tighter. The sound of dripping water rang loud in the surrounding silence, lulling her into a daze. Before long, she felt her mind starting to drift.
CHAPTER 16
Patrick stirred and opened his eyes. He shivered, feeling cold and uncomfortable, his limbs tingling and numb from being bent too long in an awkward position. All through the night, the ground beneath him had been soaking up his body warmth so that now there seemed to be none left. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep the last of the heat from escaping.
He felt like he’d barely slept a wink all night. But he must have dozed off at one point, at least for a while, because he couldn’t remember the passage of time. As he stretched out his arms and rubbed his stiff shoulders and neck, the recent events flashed through his mind. Briefly, he relived the most terrifying moments of his driving in the storm and being pushed off the road by a bloodthirsty maniac bent on killing them. Then came the seemingly endless trudging through the creepy and hostile forest in search of a suitable shelter for the night, with only the moonlight to illuminate their way because, afraid to reveal their location, he hadn’t dared to use his torch. And finally they had run into a bit of luck stumbling upon a small open cavern in a limestone rock formation. Its small opening was so well hidden behind a cluster of trees that they had almost missed it. It was Mike who had spotted it first. Before entering the grotto, Patrick – careful as always – examined the semi-circular interior, shining his torch beam across its jagged walls. Relieved to discover that the natural cavity was empty and big enough to accommodate both of them, he had decided they should spend the rest of the night there.
Exhausted, both men had sat down on the ground, their backs against the rough stones, and tried to get some sleep. But strange surroundings and thousands of worries rushing through Patrick’s mind, kept sleep at bay. Nothing, on the other hand, seemed to bother Mike. Within minutes, his soft snores had mingled with the occasional sounds of the forest.
Now, feeling anything but rested and still slightly groggy, Patrick looked around.
The first pale light of dawn was seeping tentatively through the canopy of trees. Faint shafts of light entered the cavern through small cracks in the limestone, sending the dust particles swirling. Patrick checked his watch. It was five past six. Time to get up and set off. He turned his head and glanced at Mike’s body twisted at a strange angle, half-lying, half-sitting by his side. He was still fast asleep. Patrick gripped his arm and shook it lightly.
‘Get up, we should get going.’
No response. He shook harder. This time Mike stirred and his eyelids fluttered, then lifted. He sat up with a jolt. Alarmed, he looked blankly around for a second, before realizing where they were.
‘Did you hear something? Is he coming after us?’
‘Calm down. I haven’t heard anything suspicious. But it’s late, already five past six.’
‘Late? Five past six? You must be joking! Do you really expect me to be ready to walk? I feel drained of all energy. Can’t we stay here a bit longer?’
‘There’s no time to waste. What about Carol? We must find her before it’s too late. What if she’s in great danger, held captive? What if she needs our help right now? Each hour might count. Each minute. Remember, we have a long way to go. The next village may be kilometres away and the terrain is rugged and uneven. Be prepared for a tough walk. And don’t expect anybody to give us a lift. Come on, we must hit the road at once.’
‘I have a splitting headache and my hand hurts so much I can barely move my fingers. I’m thirsty. Why didn’t we bring any water?’
‘Stop whining, be a man.’ Patrick emerged into the woods.
As reluctant as he was, Mike followed him.
Mist was rising from the grass, hanging in irregular clumps around the trees. The air, full of the distinct heady blend of pine and wet earth, was fresh but not cold. Tiny beads of dew clinging to blades of grass and leaves glistened each time the timid rays of
early sunlight touched them.
With resolute strides, Patrick pushed his way through the underbrush. Mike lagged a few steps behind him. They walked in silence. The only sound that reached their ears was the merry chirping of birds.
‘There’s no reason to sulk.’ Patrick turned towards Mike.
‘I’m not. I’m just tired and my body hurts like hell.’
‘You got more sleep last night than I did.’
‘Maybe, but I don’t feel rested. Where are we going? What’s your plan? I hope you have one because I am lost, my mind is a blank.’
‘Isn’t it obvious? First we must reach the road, and then we can follow it. That way we should at some point come upon a village. If my calculations are correct, the village where Carol is supposed to be lies about fifteen kilometres away.’
‘Fifteen kilometres? On foot? You can’t be serious.’
Patrick didn’t react.
‘I see; you really mean it. You are serious. In our condition, wounded, without food or water. And how do you know which way to go? Are you sure it’s the right direction? Me, I don’t have a clue where we are, I feel totally disoriented.’
‘So what is your idea? Have you got a better one? What do you want to do? Sit and wait for someone to come here and save you? Trust me, it won’t happen. Besides, it’ll be easier to walk at this hour than later with the sun high up in the sky. And don’t forget the bloodthirsty maniac who pushed us off the road. He may come back to resume his search, or he might already be out there scouring the forest. What if he finds us? Aren’t you scared?’
After a few more steps, Patrick turned to him and said, ‘I was thinking about it last night, when I couldn’t sleep. What happened to us on the road wasn’t a random collision. It was a premeditated attack. That driver clearly wanted to make us crash, maybe even kill us. And I have my suspicions as to who this person is.’
‘Who? Why don’t you just tell me?’ It was clear from Mike’s tone that he wasn’t in the mood for guessing games. But then, before Patrick had time to answer, he added, ‘Wait a moment, I get it. You think it’s this guy … what’s-his-name, Lucien? I mean the one who killed Sandy.’
