Chapter Twenty Nine: ( Underground)

Chapter: 29 (underground)

          Our feet crunched uncomfortably against the dry rocky ground underneath. I had my flashlight aimed steadily on Jackson and Addison’s backs in front of me. Nicholas took up the rear keeping a look out for anything we might have missed. Any sign that mom and dad were here.

            As we walked, I mentally tried to remember which way we had gone. A steep turn to the right and then the ground beneath us seemed drop down gradually. I began to feel claustrophobic. I imagined myself miles underneath the earth with tons of dirt and rock suspended above my head. I gulped audibly and tugged on the neck of my shirt. Even through the thin material there was no breeze inside the tunnels. It was getting staunching hot as we made slow progress.

            We made a sharp turn to the left where the tunnel became noticeably narrower. There were only a few inches on each side of me between the wall and my shoulders. I was afraid that if we kept going we would soon become wedged together and unable to move at all.

            “There should be an opening just up ahead.” I heard Nicholas grunt from behind me. I felt his breath puff out and slide across the back of my neck and goose bumps jumped out on my body despite the heat.

            “But be careful.” He finished. “There is a-“ He was cut off by a loud yelp in front of me along with the sound of rocks slamming and bouncing off of each other.. I looked up to see the two beams of light in front of me disappear.

            I felt my stomach clench as I sprang forward to where Addison and Jackson had just been. Before I could register what had just happened I felt an iron like clamp on my arm that propelled be backwards.

            “Careful!” Nicholas growled at me before letting me go. “Look down.” He said as I rubbed my arm and then aimed my beam towards the ground at my feet. Solid ground, my ratty boots that were now covered in dirt and grime, I saw nothing out of the usual. I panned my flash light out further. Traveling slowly forwards down the slim tunnel. If I hadn’t of been paying attention I wouldn’t have seen the dark crumbling edges of a hole in the flooring.

            I quickly shuffled over to the dark hole with Nicholas close behind and got down on my hands and knees while aiming my flashlight down the shaft. I felt Nicholas leaning over me to see as well.

            “It’s about a twenty foot drop into water. They should be fine” Nicholas said matter of factly. “As long as the water hasn’t dried up since the last time I was here.”

            The light from my flashlight shined down the shaft, glimmered, and danced off of the dark water below. The knot in my stomach let go of a bit of its tension.

            “Jackson and Addison!” I shouted down towards them. “Are you okay?” I heard my voice echoing in the cavern below us. I hear no response for a long moment.

            “We’re okay!” I heard Jackson’s muffled voice drift back up to us. He sounded farther away then I had expected.

            “The water isn’t very deep but it is deep enough to not get hurt.” He shouted louder in our direction. I felt Nicholas’s body press closer against mine in order to stick his head closer the hole.

            “There should be a small island to your left. There is an exit shaft around there.” He shouted with one hand cupped against his mouth and the other on my shoulders to steady himself.

            “Stay right there! We will meet you down there!” He gave a quick shout before backing up away from my back. I sighed with relief. Having him so close made me feel even more like a tightened coil then I thought I could bear.

            “Madison,” He instructed from a few feet back from me. “I need you to lower yourself down into the opening.” He said as stepped back to give me space to move around.

            “You want me to do what?” I half gasped and half growled over my shoulder as I shot him a dirty look, the best I could through the cramped tunnel.

            “There is no other way down there.” He sighed and gave me a look that was supposed to look like an apology. The crooked grin that twisted at the corner of his lips ruined the effect.

            “Don’t you remember what happened when I last tried to dive into a body of water?” I spat at him. The grin fell from his face as I was sure he began to think back to my time inside the Guild’s infirmary. My body bruised and bandaged.

            “Yeah but that was off of a cliff.” He tried to reason with me. “This is just a simple drop down. There aren’t even any rocks.” His face looked pleading like a small puppy begging for his tummy to be rubbed. I sighed deeply before looking back at the opening in the compacted black earth below me. What was it about him that made me so eager to do as he wished? He had this magnetism about him and this innocent face that I wished didn’t have so much power over me, but what was I supposed to do just stand here and do nothing? The only way to get to my parents was by plunging twenty feet through the air and into the dark coiling water below.

             I shivered at the not so far away memory of my plunge into the sea. The raging water flipping me end over end, the rocks connecting with my body, the way the water flooded my lungs.

             I forced myself to swallow. My mouth had gone bone dry and I felt a little bit unsteady. I took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. I had never been particularly afraid of heights but after my last swan dive, I didn’t really feel all that enthusiastic about doing it a second time.

            I slowly lowered my body to the floor and hung my feet through the dark hole. The broken sharp edges of broken rocks bit into the back of my legs. I could smell the water below me and a cool breeze swirled around my ankles. I closed my eyes and relaxed. The air was thick and wet in the tunnel. My hair clung to the back of my neck in heavy clumps. The compacted earth I sat on even felt warm against my skin. The cool air that found its way through the hole felt magnificent. I could almost taste the sweet cold water.

            Maybe a swim wouldn’t be so bad after all?