In The Shadows of the Cavern of Death (Shadows of Death Book 1)

by Angelique Jones

  “Yes, sir, I understand.”

  “Well, what did the commander say?”

  “They still haven’t found the escape Contributors, we’re to begin a house-to-house search to make sure they aren’t hiding in one. They’re going to send out perimeter teams to all the cave walls to find this fissure and make sure that they don’t escape through there.”

  “Are you kidding? We’re to check all these houses? It’ll take weeks!”

  “Stop complaining, more teams are coming. Let’s move to the beginning of the block and work our way down in rows so we don’t miss any.”

  “Sounds best. Is there a reward for whoever catches them?”

  “Don’t worry, Paul, I’m sure we’ll be allowed to play with them before we kill them.” The soldier said, him and his friend laughing and making suggestions on how they were going to play with us as they moved away.

  Jumping up, we all moved quickly, gathering our things and leaving the house. Moving faster than before, we ran silently after Tristian, stopping and moving at his signal. We could hear voices approaching in the distance, we were so focused on them we didn’t notice the silent threat until we were standing in front of it. We had turned to take an alley, quickly moving through, and we didn’t hear the two soldiers that stepped in from the other side. I don’t know who was more shocked, them or us, but luckily we recovered first. Turning on our heels, we dashed back the way we came, their shouts and heavy steps following us.

  We ran. We ran until we thought our hearts would burst and kept going. The sound of more soldiers approaching gave us strength. In and out of allies we dashed as they got closer and closer. Soon they would have us and our deaths would not be quick or easy. It was by sheer luck that we found what we had been searching for. Forced down an alley where the houses butted the cavern wall, we were trapped. Making our way to the back, thinking that this was it, I took out my knife, ready to kill my sisters rather than let the soldiers have them. Luck or fate was on our side, as we reached the very back of the alley and saw it, the fissure. Relief and fear coursed through me as I pushed the girls forward and yelled at them to run. Turning sideways, they squeezed into the crack one after the other until I was the only one left. I could see the soldiers at the head of the alley waving to others, and not waiting to see what they were doing, I followed the others into the darkness.

  It was a tight squeeze for the first sixty to seventy feet as we pushed and pulled each other through. It widened up after that, enough so that we could move side by side. In the distance we could hear the voices of the soldiers. I didn’t think they were pursing yet, but it was only a matter of time, most likely they were waiting for equipment to follow us with. Taking time we didn’t have, we stopped long enough to strip off our outer layer of clothing, stuffing them in our bags. Our less baggy climbing clothes would make it easier and safer to move through the cavern.

  Silently and as quickly as we dared, we moved through the pitch blackness with only little lights to guide our way. Every step we took was dangerous at our speed, unable to check for cracks or chasms in the floor. Hours passed and still we heard no pursuers, but we didn’t lessen our pace, falling and tumbling on each other as we tripped over unseen rocks. The girls, unused to the physical strain, were unable to get back up after the last fall. Completely exhausted, they tried, but their legs were unable to hold them. Looking to Tristian, I saw the resignation in his eyes as he took out food and water and announced that “it was safe enough that we would rest here for a moment.”

  After seeing to the girls needs, I collapsed next to Tristian, leaning into his side. Closing my eyes, I allowed my head to fall back to the wall. It was only a matter of time before they came after us. Professional cave climbers that wouldn’t hide their light like we do, but allow it to shine bright, uncaring if we saw it. This would allow them to move much faster than us. Opening my eyes to our dim light, I looked to the girls, who valiantly held back their tears and I was proud of them. For all their mistakes, they hadn’t gave a word of complaint at our pace, never faltering till now.

  Moving my hand out slowly, I found what I was searching for and entwined my fingers with Tristian’s, leaning my head onto his shoulder. I heard the sound as I sat there in the silence––it was faint and in the distance, but it was there; our reprieve was over. Tristian tensed next to me, tightening his hand and letting me know he had heard it, too. I squeezed my eyes shut before I pulled my weary body up and went to the girls.

  Leaning down, I shook their shoulders. “We have to go,” I whispered. I watched as they weakly opened their eyes and nodded that they understood. With sadness I stood back as they helped each other struggle to their feet, not making a sound of complaint. Wanting to slow our pace, but knowing we couldn’t, I kept my words to myself as we moved forward.

  They had found us. We had been slowed down by climbing, deep chasms, and wrong turns so much that they had caught up with us easily. Now we worked our way through a tunnel that I knew was going to be our death. Every sound that we made caused bits of rock to rain down upon us. The whole place was a cave-in waiting to happen and we were trapped within. Moving as fast as we could only brought us to the end sooner, literally. Reaching a large opening at the end of the tunnel, we stood there staring at our doom. There was no way out, we were trapped. A large ledge stood prominently high into the air, and going forward, Tristian began to climb, moving studiedly up. Hurrying to reach the top so he could throw down a rope to pull the girls up with, he wasn’t quick enough. He had just finished pulling himself over the lip when the soldiers burst through. Turning to put myself in front of the girls, I was horrified to realize that they weren’t next to me but near the soldiers.

  Terrified, they tried to run to me, but it was too late. Their first step hadn’t landed before hands wrapped into their hair, pulling them back, throwing them to the ground. Their screams shook the cavern as they clawed desperately at their captors’ hands. I knew what was coming and I welcomed it––at least I knew that we would take our pursuers with us. At first dust rained down on us before small pebbles joined in. A rumbling began to sound as their screams of terror grew, a loud cracking sound our only warning before a large chuck of the ceiling came down near me, causing me to dive to the side or be crushed. In terror, the soldiers covered the girls’ mouths, pulling them back into the tunnel, trying to escape. In a desperate move, I got to my feet and raced after them, but I was too late. The last look I had of my sisters was of them being dragged backward, silently pleading with me to save them.

  I had almost reached them when the ceiling collapsed in front of our only exit, throwing me back with force. As I laid upon the ground, my last thought before the darkness took me was that I failed them and this tomb was my punishment for my failure.

  Chapter 8

  I woke with my head in Tristian’s lap. Opening my eyes hurt, but what hurt more was the pain that tore through my heart, leaving an empty hole that my sisters once existed in. Burying it deep, I slowly rose with his help, fighting back tears that begged for freedom. The silence after a cave-in is eerie, and the sound of our breathing echoed in the silent space. Looking around, I fought not to let my fear take me, but we were trapped. Rocks that we could never move were piled in front of the tunnel, keeping me from my sisters, most likely trapped on the other side. Had they died quickly, crushed by the rocks, or where they buried deep, slowly suffocating, waiting for me to save them?

  I couldn’t hold back the sob that broke my throat at the thought of them hurt, alone, afraid, needing me. Pulling me into his chest, Tristian didn’t try to quiet me or give me empty platitudes, but let me ride out my grief, absorbing it into him. When I was finally able to stop my body’s racking sobs and fight them back into whimpering gasps, I was exhausted. I hurt both physically and mentally as the pain of my fall began to fill my grief-stricken mind. Pressing firmly into Tristian, I wrapped myself around him, letting oblivion slowly claim me.

  I don’t know how long I slept,
time had no meaning in the darkness. Blinking slowly, I sat there stiffly, waiting for my eyes to adjust. For a moment I panicked, thinking I was trapped here alone, that I had imagined Tristian’s arms around me, until I realized his coat cushioned my head. Rising up slowly, the pain in my head still there, though fainter then before, I sat very still, listening for sound. It took a few moments, but finally found what I was looking for, there up on the ledge, a tiny sound broke the silence. Squinting my eyes, I saw a slight difference in the darkness, as if a tiny light was fighting to be seen.

  Reaching my hand out, I found what I searched for and pulled my bag toward me. Groping around, I found the light and took it out. It blinded me for a moment, but after my eyes adjusting I got out the water and food, using it sparingly. I don’t know why; it would just prolong our deaths. Putting back my meager supplies, the girls’ packs caught my eye, causing me to fight back my grief. Pushing it aside, I pulled my aching body to its feet, ignoring the pain, and made my way to the ledge. Seeing the rope that Tristian had dropped, I wrapped my grip firmly around it and slowly pulled myself up. Hand over hand, I concentrated on reaching the top, my light clenched firmly between my teeth. Reaching the lip, I was met by Tristian who pulled me over, helping me to my feet.

  Gripping my hand, he pulled me toward the wall, stopping a few feet away. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I’ll be fine. Nothing’s broken,” I replied, looking around to see what he saw. He wouldn’t have taken me to this spot if there wasn’t something. It took a few moments to see what he saw or more precisely feel what he felt––a breeze. Moving forward, I held out my hand, looking for the source, and there––that was it! It was coming from a crack in the wall, not big enough to enter, with the stones that filled it. They weren’t large like the ones that covered the entrance, but small enough to move if we were careful.

  “I going to go down and get the packs, I want you to slowly start shifting this section here,” Tristian said, before turning and leaving without another word.

  Focusing on the job he had given me, I didn’t hear him return and was startled when he got down next to me and started to work. We worked like this for days in silence, barely a word passing our lips, before we would fall exhaustedly asleep just to start again the next time we woke. It’s hard to tell how much time had passed before it was cleared––enough for us to move through time having no meaning in this place. The day after we cleared it enough that we could have moved through, he wouldn’t let us go, insisting that we rest first and collect our strength before going in because he didn’t know what we would find.

  As much as I wanted to rush in, I knew he was right. We ate much more than we had previously, wanting our strength before crawling into each other’s arms to share our body heat, the cold of the cave more bearable this way. When we woke, our bodies were stiff from the cold and the hardness of the ground, and taking a few moments for ourselves, we moved in different directions for privacy.

  During our quick breakfast, Tristian broke the silence. “We’ll tie the rope to us, hooking us together. This way if there is a problem the other will be able to help.”

  “Agreed,” I whispered, walking over to the edge and pulling the rope up. When I turned back, I saw that Tristian had already put our supplies away. Tying one end of the rope around me, he then tied the other end around his waist. Taking my pack from his hand––we had already emptied the girls’ packs into ours to make it easier to carry––we moved into our hole, pushing our bags in front of us to make it easier to move through the small opening.

  It was the right move. The farther we moved in, the tighter it became, making it hard to move, but it would have been impossible if the bags had been on our backs. Slowly and steadily we made our way forward, stopping every so often to widen the narrow space, the small movements causing our muscles to cramp. We were forced to sleep the first night in our little tunnel that seemed to have no end. Hour after hour we moved forward, turns and twists, up and down we went, until we final reached what I feared didn’t exist: an exit. An exit that would have been Tristian’s death if we hadn’t been attached by the rope. One minute we were going forward, the next I was being dragged forward as Tristian free-fell into the darkness. If the tunnel had been any wider, we would have both fallen to our deaths. The narrowness saved us as I was able to wedge myself in, stopping our forward motion.

  Gasping from the pain of the rope around my waist, I said, “Tristian are you OK?”

  When he whispered “yes” I almost cried in relief. “There’s a drop here, watch your step,” he said drily, causing me to giggle. “Hold on, I’m going to see how deep it is,” he ordered, making me wonder if he was losing it. Hold on? What else did he expect me to do? After a few moments of waiting, he said, “It’s not too deep, are you secure enough that I can swing to the wall?”

  Bracing my back and knees more firmly into the walls, I said, “I’m ready, go for it.”

  It took three swings for him to get a good grip. Each swing tore into my hands and body as I held him into the air.

  “Misty, you OK?”

  “Yeah, I’m good,” I hoarsely answered, unable to keep the pain from my voice.

  “I have a good hold, I want you to move slowly forward, keeping a tight hold on your pack. Mine fell to the ground, so it will be no help to us. We’re going to need the climbing equipment in yours, so whatever you do, don’t drop it. I’m on a small ledge, so if you fall I’ll be able to hold us, but do me a favor and try not to test the theory.”

  Sarcastic bastard. Rolling my eyes, I unwedged myself and inched forward, keeping a death grip on my bag. Reaching the edge, I put my light in my mouth and looked over. It was a sheer drop from here, no wonder he had gone flying––there was nothing to latch on to. Our exit jutted out and where I needed to be was about five feet under me. Wiggling my way back in, I got out a spike, hammer, and rope. Tying the rope to a clip and hooking it to the spike, I turned onto my back and went back to the edge, leaning out and hammering it into the solid rock before moving back and repacking my bag. Taking a deep breath, I went back onto my back and made my way out until I was in a sitting position with my legs in our tunnel and my upper body held by my grip on the rope that was hooked to the hoop on my harness.

  Swinging my bag around, I put it on my back to free up my hands, then, taking a deep breath, I pulled myself out until I was dangling in the nothingness before repelling myself down to Tristian. Having more than enough climbing gear for both of us, since I had one of the girls’, we easily made our way down to the cave’s floor. The cave had a damp smell to it and also another that I couldn’t place, an ammonia-type smell. Though weak, it was still powerful and grew more so the deeper we went in. Covering our noses and mouths with pieces of cloth to dampen the smell, we moved forward, the cave floor turning mushy. A strange sound echoed above us, and turning our light up, beady eyes stared back. I don’t know if it was the light or our presence that disturbed them, but suddenly the little monsters took flight, swooping around us. Grabbing my arm, Tristian dragged me to a shelf of jutted rocks that we were able to hide under. In awe, we watched the black mass swoop and turn, having never seen anything the likes of it before except in school. Yes, that’s where I knew these creatures from––they were supposed to be extinct, along with all other creatures. They were called bats, it was a night creature that hunted in the dark and once lived in caves. Amazed, I watched as they just disappeared down a small tunnel straight across from us.

  “Come on, let’s go before they come back,” Tristian said, trying to pull me back the way we came.

  Digging my heels in, I shook my head and pointed at the way the bats went. “No, we have to go that way, it’s the way out!” I excitedly said.

  “Are you crazy, if those things come back through, we’ll have no place to hide and besides, we don’t know where that leads to.”

  Ripping my arm from his grip, I ran for the tunnel. “No, I remember this from school. These an
imals are night creatures and hunt outdoor––they’d have an exit and that’s it!” Climbing into the tunnel, I looked behind me at the stubborn man. “I’ve trusted you. Now it’s your turn to trust me,” I declared before moving in, sure that he would follow.

  “You couldn’t find an exit that smelled better?” he complained from behind me.

  Smiling, I rushed forward, not wanting to be caught in here if the bats returned any more than he did. For all of my jumping in and saying that it was an exit, I was only guessing and I hoped I was right because those things freaked me out and I didn’t want to be trapped in this small space with them. After about fifteen minutes, I started to worry until I smelled something. Excited, I moved quicker, ignoring Tristian’s warnings to slow down. A pale light in the darkness loomed ahead of me. Reaching it, I put my hand down and came up with nothing. Off balance, my body fell forward, my chest hitting the ground as I stared at the abyss that I almost pitched myself into. Scrambling back until my hand were safely on a firm surface, my heart beating in fear, I almost broke down and cried thinking that again we had only found a dead end, until I looked up and saw something that I had never expected to see in my life, the sky. It was far up in the distance, but it was there. “Tristian,” I dazedly said, trying to form words.

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered urgently, scared by my voice. I could feel him gripping my leg, shaking it, trying to get me to speak but for a long moment. I couldn’t, unable to put my thoughts to words. “Damn you, answer me now!” Tristian demanded, yelling, uncaring of who heard him, too afraid of my silence to let it continue.