3. Katie
Katie
The dark cave I stumble upon is a blessing from the heat, giving my abused feet and sweat-slicked body a chance to sit and rest. I tentatively check it for wild animals, finding it clear, but I don’t dare take my boots off, just in case.
I don’t think I’d be able to bring myself to put them back on my aching feet if I did.
I tell myself I’ll only sit for a short while, just enough to catch my breath and cool down.
Mustiness from damp rocks and moss seeps from the cave, and I’m hopeful it means there’s water close by.
My thirst pushes me back onto my feet with a groan, and I venture further into the darkness of the cave, desperate for something cool on my tongue.
I’d almost lick the moisture right off the walls.
I trace my hands along the cool walls until I find a narrow opening tucked away at the back of the cave, anything beyond it obscured in darkness.
I bite at my lip, catching a tab of dried skin and pulling it off.
I’ll take a quick look, and if there’s no water, I’ll turn around and come straight back.
Not taking my hand off the wall, I shuffle forward in small increments, scared the floor will disappear from beneath me as if it’s a booby-trapped tunnel.
In the dark and silence, the sound of my pulse in my ears and my ragged breath is amplified.
Specks of phosphorescent blue appear along the ceiling, and it takes me a moment to realize they’re glow worms. The clusters grow the deeper I travel, until I can trace the outline of the tunnel walls.
The walls press in on me, and I decide to turn back around, disappointed at not having found the water source.
It takes me two painstakingly long minutes to realize that, at some point, I must’ve gotten turned around in the dark, and now I’m lost.
It’s okay. Don’t panic. It’s okay. Don’t panic.
I repeat it like a mantra, if only to keep my feet moving forward.
It takes me a lot longer to realize I’m being followed.
What I mistake for my heart thumping in my ears, thanks to the probable concussion and the spiking anxiety from being lost in the dark, is footsteps.
Heavy footsteps, given the way the ground thumps beneath me with each one.
A million racing thoughts spring to life, the loudest being: the lizard monsters have changed their mind and somehow tracked me inside the cave.
Fear comes thick and fast, and I dig my hand into my pocket to ground myself with the smooth shell of my pocketknife.
I have two options at my disposal. I can stay put and hope they don’t cross my path, or I can run and hope like hell I don’t cross theirs.
I run. What can I say? You can take the girl out of the streets, but you can’t take the streets out of the girl.
My boots pound against the dark, damp stone floor as I slide around twists and turns. Tunnel walls close in on me from all sides. Clusters of glow worms light my way. The dim light casts every ridge along the stone walls in ominous shadows, causing me to jump at every noise. I curse.
I bounce off the wall as I come around a corner too fast, using the momentum to push off and propel me forward, my boots slipping beneath me.
The footsteps that follow remain constant, steady.
They don’t increase in pace with my own, and somehow, that unnerves me more.
I suddenly feel like a mouse in a trap about to be pounced on by a fat house cat with all the time in the world; just patiently waiting for me to make a misstep or to round the wrong corner right into its waiting jaws.
I know I won’t be able to run forever. Fatigue nips at me already from the day’s walk.
The heat, thirst, hunger, and blisters have already done half of the stalkers’ job for them.
All they have to do is wait for me to get tired or for an injury to take me down.
An easy meal, handed to them on a silver platter.
I swat my bangs away from my forehead, sweat stinging my eyes as I squint into the darkness, expecting to see glowing eyes staring back at me.
I rest for a moment, bent over with my hands braced upon my knees as I attempt to take in more air.
I’m fading fast. It’s only a matter of time before they catch me, but I won’t go down without a fight. Never again.
The footsteps continue, becoming louder the closer they get to my position.
I flick the blade out, the silver steel catching the light from the glow worms. I can’t run anymore, but I don’t stop.
Instead, I keep a steady walking pace in what I hope is the direction away from my stalkers.
If not for the vibrations of their own footsteps, I would think I was now alone.
I take a left, then a right, turn around at a dead end, and take the left instead, slowly making my way further into the depths beneath the mountain.
The air gets warmer and wetter, moisture clinging to my skin and the walls in a light slick.
I stick my tongue out, hoping to wring out a single droplet of moisture from the air. Anything to slake my thirst.
The warmth begins to be too much, paired with my exhaustion.
I remove my denim jacket and discard it at my feet, looking back at it forlornly as I continue.
If I make it back this way, I’ll grab it on my way through, but deep down, I know I’ll probably never see it again.
A few more twists and turns, and a high ting sings out amidst the darkness.
I pause, holding my breath to hear it better.
Drip, drip, drip. Water. It must be.
The idea of a sip of water, even musty cave water, is enough to get me to pick up the pace, pausing every so often to listen to the dripping, making sure I’m still heading in the right direction.
I round a corner only for the tunnel to open into a large cavern.
The ceiling is littered with glow worms, casting the entire space in an eerie blue glow.
Warm air fogs around me while I scan the space for the single thing I’m looking for.
I quickly cross the cavern to the steady dripping of water from a stalactite that reaches toward the floor, directly above a hot spring. Jackpot.
I drop to my knees at the edge of the spring, the stone unforgiving beneath me, and dunk my entire head into the warm pool of water.
I let out a sigh of relief as I come up for air, my sopping bangs dripping water into my eyes.
It’s as equally satisfying as it is unsatisfying in that it’s warm, but it still feels nice to wash away the sweat and sand from my face.
I pool my hands in the water and bring them to my mouth, taking a big gulp, letting water run down my chin.
There are probably rules about drinking hot spring water, but I can’t bring myself to care.
A roar sounds off, much too close for my liking.
I brace myself, the stone slick with condensation beneath my fingers, until it suddenly trembles, jolting me from my reprieve.
Pebbles dance across the floor in a staccato beat, too quickly for the lazy pace of my hunters.
I feel the blood drain from my face; I’ve been in here for too long already.
Have they realized how close they are to their prey?
I hasten back to the entrance of the cavern and peer around the corner.
Shadows dance across the walls, yet one alone steadily draws longer the closer they get.
I don’t think I can create enough distance between us with them so close, at least not without them hearing.
I look back over my shoulder at the warm pool nestled on the floor of the cavern.
I’d have to time it right, but I think I have a plan.