The touch from Diane nudging me by the shoulders softly woke me from my dream. I knew she wanted me to wake up quietly as she clutched my shoulder. I listened as my senses searched the darkness surrounding us, and I could barely hear breathing off in the distance.

 

"Do you hear it!" Diane whispered in a low, almost non-existent voice.

 

She moved her hand down my shoulder to my arm, finally to my hand, taking it in her own. Her wounds must have healed enough for her to move. She dragged me up while she stood up, backing away from the noise. We moved as slowly as possible towards the wall. I was careful as I didn't want to make any more noise than I could help. 

 

Diane stopped squeezing my hand when she found the closest wall to us. She pulled me close, raising my hand to the wall, allowing me to feel her feelings. The surface of the wall was damp and slippery. 'We're deep inside a cave system, but not deep enough. I can't feel any airflow,' I thought, trying not to breathe too hard.

 

"We have to go deeper, Kristen. I can hear it looking for us. I can smell it in the air. It's one of those creatures. We can't go that way," Diane whispered as she could.

 

"We might get lost. How are we going to navigate in the dark?" I questioned, matching the level of her voice.

 

"We have to use our ears and noses. I don't know how it's possible; I can hear and smell better than I ever could before. It's how I found the wall and knew something was looking for us. One of those creatures likely hauled us here after they were critically injured. They want us alive for a reason," Diane explained as she held my other hand, leading us deeper into the cave. I used my free hand to feel across the wall as she was.

 

We walked at a steady pace, making sure we were careful not to move too fast. I was astonished that I could hear further down the passage we had taken than I would have thought. I could also smell the dampness of the moisture from the walls. The smell was musty and earthy dirt type mixed with the scent of mold. I could also smell the pungent stank of the creature pursuing us from behind.

 

"How far down do you think we have to go?" I quietly asked.

 

"As far as we need to. Maybe there is another entrance we can find. Most caves have several entrances. If we find one of those, we can escape the one looking for us," Diane replied as she squeezed my hand.

 

"What if we come to a point where it's too narrow for me to get through? I can't walk without my exoskeleton," I responded.

 

"Then we will find another way out! Or we'll just have to leave it behind," Diane replied firmly.

 

We didn't talk anymore for an extended period as we walked through darkness. After a while, Diane stopped, and she squeezed my hand as she did so I would know what was going on.

 

"I've run out of wall. I don't know what's ahead of us. It could just be the passage splits in two or there is a drop off. Let's back up and find some pebbles or rocks we can throw ahead of us. If they hit the ground as soon as we throw them then it's safe to keep going and find another wall to guide us. If not, then we can't go this way," Diane explained as she squeezed my hand again for me to back up.

 

"There wasn't an opening in the wall on the side we have been following though," I replied.

"We have to cross over to the other side. Maybe that side has an opening somewhere back the way we came. Let's see if we can move forward first," Diane added.

 

"Yeah, I would hate walking over a sheer drop not knowing how deep it was, but I don't want to run into those creatures pursuing us," I responded.

 

"Me either. Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Diane said as she kneeled towards the ground, taking my hand with her. 

 

"We can collect a few, so we don't have to do this every time we have to stop. I am going to let go of your hand. Don't worry, I am not going anywhere. I am going to make a bag from my clothing to keep the rocks in," Diane reassured me as she let go of my hand.

 

"We could also use our shirts tied together as rope. I think we might need both of our hands, eventually. We can still hold hands, but the makeshift rope can be like a safety net for us," I explained as I felt with both hands across the moist, wet ground for rocks or pebbles to use.

 

"Good idea. Means we are more versatile and can move a little faster. We could use our free hand to check and see if we are going down a narrow path. If we had a lighter or something we could make a makeshift torch," Diane added as she sighed after her last sentence.

 

I found two good-sized rocks and several pebbles I collected into a pile before I took my shirt off. I could hear Diane tearing her shirt to make the bag for the stones and rocks. 'I can tie the bag to my exoskeleton; the bag would weigh her torn pants down,' I thought. This would be difficult with my exoskeleton. I did the best I could by tearing what I could off, then pulling the rest of the pieces off my body. We were both still wearing our swimsuits from the other day, so we wouldn't be without clothing.

 

Placing my torn shirt next to the pile of rocks and pebbles, I waited for Diane to finish what she was doing. Her shirt made a moist, wet sound as she removed her shirt. I knew she had finished with the task when her hand touched mine.

 

"Give me your rocks and pebbles. Then I will give the bag to you," Diane whispered.

 

"Here," I replied as I scooted my pile close enough to her until I felt her hands touching mine.

 

She took what I had given her and put them into the bag. When she finished, she pushed the bag into my hands.

"Give me what's left of your shirt and I will make the rope," Diane asked as I took the bag.

 

I pushed the torn pieces of my shirt until her hands touched, and she took the pieces from me. I listened for several moments as I heard damp cloth torn into long strips, followed by her tying them together. When she finished, I could hear her moving closer to me until her breath was on my face.

 

"Take this end and tie it around your waist. I already tied my end," Diane started feeling for my hands.

 

Taking the rope, I tied it to my exoskeleton near my waist to give us more slack in case we needed it. It made the space between us longer than if I had tied a rope around my waist. Once I was sure it was secure, I pulled on the rope to signal I was ready to stand.

 

"Okay, let's go!" Diane stated with confidence. We both stood together as we put our hands on the wall, retracing our path.

 

"Give me some rocks, please!" Diane asked as she pulled on the rope.

 

I reached into my bag and pulled out three rocks. I traced my free hand across the rope until our hands touched. I held her hand until I placed the rocks in her hands.

 

"Now let's see if we can move forward or not," Diane stated as she threw one rock in front of us.

 

We listened carefully as the sounds of a heavy thud echoed seconds after Diane threw the rock.

 

"Solid ground!" I whispered behind Diane.

 

"Not yet. It could be a ledge, and there could be a drop-off. I am going to throw a rock further this time. If it hits a wall, we know we are safe," Diane explained.

 

We listened again as she made a humph sound. A few seconds later, we heard a hard thump on the wall. It was another passageway through which we determined it was safe to progress this way.

 

"Let's cross over to the other side!" Diane stated.

 

She tugged on the rope, and I followed until my hand touched hers. We clenched each other's hands as she began leading us to the other side of the passageway, which had to be only six to eight feet wide. Once we reached the other side, we continued like we had done on the previous wall. We continued for only an hour before Diane squeezed my hand tightly as she stopped. I still felt the wall where I was, and then my heart sank as I realized why she had stopped so abruptly.

 

I could feel a chilly breeze rushing towards us, but not only that, I could smell and hear water up ahead. It had to have been only fifty feet from us. I realized I felt wetness on the wall instead of dirt and moisture.

 

"The passageway is about to drop. If we go any further, we might slip and fall right into an underground river," Diane explained.

 

"I almost didn't notice until you stopped me. The noises behind us are troubling. I don't think those monsters followed us this way. We should back up and find another way around," I replied.

 

"Yeah," Diane responded. 

 

Diane backed, suppressing her body against mine. She maneuvered her body around me so she could retake the lead. We backtracked down the path we had taken the last few hours. 'Did we pass the previous path? It seems like we passed it already. It meant we were initially in a T-shaped passageway and had taken a left turn. Where was this path going to take us now? I hope it leads out of this darkness!' I thought to myself as we moved forward.

 

After a while, I could feel the ground angle down but at a steady pace.

 

"We're going deeper now!" I stated.

 

"I know, but this is the only path," Diane replied.

 

"We could check the other wall," I questioned.

 

"We could, but it might reveal nothing either. Besides, if we are going deeper, then we should see where this leads before trying the other wall," Diane explained as she squeezed my hand.

 

'Diane was right. We needed to map out every passage before changing directions. If this path leads to a dead end, we could return to the other side to find another path. If it didn't end, we could find a way out. We might have to go deeper, which I didn't like. I wish we had something to light the way?' I thought as we moved deeper and deeper into the darkness.

 

Several hours passed, our path took a sharp turn, and we followed the wall to another open area. Diane tugged on the rope, and I reached into the bag. I brought out another three rocks. I followed the rope with my hand until I met hers, giving her the rocks. I listened as I heard her throw the first rock a few feet into the darkness.

 

Seconds passed with me hearing nothing, "One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven.... Eight ... Nine... Ten," I counted until I heard a soft thump.

 

"Shit, it's a drop-off and it's deep. We can't go this way either!" I stated.

 

"Let me try throwing a different way. I will throw one to my right," Diane replied.

 

She made a humph as she threw another rock to her right. I counted again. "One... Two... Three.. Four... Five... Six... Seven.... Eight ... Nine... Ten," I gasped deeply as I heard the same soft thump.

 

We had walked into a large carven, and there was no wall to the opposite side of us. We had unknowingly worked into a dangerous situation because we were being so quiet not to make much noise.

 

"We have to go back, Diane!" I said in a worried voice.

"Your right. I don't feel any air through here. This must be the end of this part of the cave. I don't want to find out what's down there," Diane replied.

 

We turned around only to stop in our tracks. Back the way we came in the distance were two burning yellowish eyes. We both froze immediately as we knew we couldn't return the way we came. The creature that had been stalking us had found us.

 

"We're trapped!" I yelped.

 

"We have to jump or we are dead," Diane yelled, pulling my hand with her as we ran over the edge of the ledge we were on.