55. Olivia #4
I shiver in the cool air of the cave. The remnants of my time locked in the basement come to mind. The door shutting. My father’s taunting words. My mother swearing she’d bring me something to eat, but never did. My little sister crying as she sat outside the door, begging Dad to let me out.
But it never worked.
I was in the cold, dark basement for days on end, weakening further until he let me out with a frown, throwing crackers at me and telling me he had a surprise for me. That’s the day I learned that bars had been installed on the outside of my windows, so I couldn’t escape.
But I did eventually, thanks to JJ.
And I’ll escape this never-ending darkness, too. One step at a damn time. One breath at a time. Until I’m free from the shadows haunting me at every turn and find the light at the end of the cave system.
With that in mind, I carefully break through the zip ties on my wrists with the help of the rocks and throw them on the ground.
Fucking Mack. Can’t keep me down. Using my phone’s flashlight, I mentally recount the steps, hills, and falls Mack took me through.
Well, as close as I can. I make a few wrong turns into dead ends and have to find my way back again.
As I’m heading down a long section of the cave and then uphill, the air shifts around me.
It becomes fresher and less musty, and finally, a wisp of wind whips past my face.
Finally, I’m near the end. I’m close to fresh air and maybe more people.
Maybe this isn’t a bust after all. A smile spreads across my lips as a light ahead grows brighter, indicating I’m getting closer and closer to what I’ve been waiting for.
The outside world.
Yet, no sounds of life reach my ears. I wonder if they’re on the other side of the cave near the Coliseum instead of near the mausoleum part, and how much more I have to get through to find the group.
Whatever, I’ll find them.
As I pass a small chamber, a sense of nostalgia hits me square in the chest, and I stop in my tracks.
Somehow, they’ve decorated the space with fairy lights, softly illuminating the cavern with white lights.
Shadows dance in the corners of the room, but the small lights bring my attention to the thick rock wall I recognize from when we were kids.
Stepping forward on shaky knees, I enter the space with my eyes locked on the four sets of initials carved into the side of the wall.
“They’re still there,” I murmur, stepping up to the carvings with my heart in my throat and heavy emotions dancing behind my eyes. Sharp, forgotten images spear through my mind, bringing the times of my past to the forefront of my mind.
“You think we could carve our initials into the walls? Like, claim it as ours?” Mack excitedly asks, bouncing on his toes like a kid on Christmas morning. His flashlight whips all around, taking in the small space we’ve been sitting in for the past hour.
“You can try,” JJ snorts. “Might be hard.” He gently knocks on the rock wall with his brows raised.
“Fuck it, I’ll try,” Mack retorts, dragging out a pocket knife.
That familiar grin rests on his lips as he leans in and runs the sharp blade against the rock.
His face instantly lights up as he carves a large, jagged “O” into the rock walls.
“And you didn’t think it could be done,” he snorts in JJ’s direction as he continues to carve my initials into the rock and then his own.
“There,” he says, handing the knife to JJ.
“Our mark has been left on this place. It tells everyone else that this is our shit and they need to leave.”
I run my fingers over the initials still on the wall.
We really did leave our mark.
My brows furrow as my phone rings in my hand, and I shut my flashlight off before answering.
“You’re calling?” I ask into the phone, and I continue to stare at the initials and run my fingers over the edges.
“No, hello, how are you doing, Carter?” he scoffs immediately. “But, yeah, Agent fucking Princess. I decided to grace you with my voice. Besides, this is fucking important enough to warrant a call,” Carter huffs into the phone, his voice filled with frustration. Or maybe that’s his usual MO.
“How wonderful to hear you,” I quip, rolling my eyes.
“I can hang the fuck up and go back to my life…” He trails off.
“You’re too bored to hang up on me,” I chuckle, feeling a lightness in my chest.
“Fuck off,” he growls. “But maybe.”
“So, what made you decide to call me so early in the morning?” I hum, check the time, and note it’s about 5:00 a.m.
Damn, I’ve been gone for hours by myself. Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess.
“Well, I thought you might like to hear the details about this USB drive your fucking ex gave you, or nah?” he asks.
“I’m listening…” I say with my heart in my throat.
“That’s what I fucking thought,” he says as loud music begins to play somewhere in the distance, and Mack’s loud voice rings out through the cave system, drowning out everything else, but I’m too enthralled by the words Carter speaks to give them any sort of attention.