After bypassing the large pit, Levi and Susan continued onwards into the new tunnel, which was much like the previous one. Exactly like it, really. It was the same height, width, and was populated by the same nothing the previous one was, although after their harrowing flight that wasn’t exactly a fair characterization anymore, Levi reflected. This one didn’t appear to have any boulder traps though. They had thoroughly checked the beginning of the tunnel. Levi doubted the dungeon would reuse the same trap two times in a row, but maybe because he thought it wouldn’t that was exactly why it would. It was still best to be on guard.

After a few tense minutes Susan started up a conversation.

“So, it seems you were familiar with that trap?”

Levi nodded. “Yeah, it’s a classic really. Maybe the most iconic trap of all time.”

“Mhmm. So based on that, are there any other iconic traps we are likely to encounter?”

“Well the dungeon could throw anything at us, really, but there are a few classic archetypes we should maybe watch out for. Like pit traps, arrow traps, tripwire, pressure plates, and spike traps to name a few.”

“And since you are so knowledgeable about the traps, I presume you know a way around them?”

“Uh, not exactly,” Levi said. “I was kind of thinking your skill would alert us? I mean, normally when people are exploring a dungeon they have a rogue or scout to search for traps. I don’t think me trying to do a spot check for traps would really do much. And we don’t even know how the boulder trap was activated. It could have been a pressure plate, timer, or even magic. Anything really.”

Susan let out a long sigh.

“So you have knowledge, but not practical experience? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like normal people on earth ever had to learn to run from boulders and avoid mines. Why don’t you try and tell me what I should be on the lookout for, then? It might help if I knew what I should be aware of. I would rather not be caught by surprise a second time.”

Happy to be given leave to discuss his love of traps, Levi dove right in, giving in depth explanations on each trap type and how they were commonly activated and avoided. Susan was glad to be learning the information, as a lot of it did seem potentially useful, but it made her realize how much Levi had been holding back. She had underestimated his interest and breadth of knowledge. She had expected to learn the basics of how to avoid traps, not their glorious history in dungeons and video games.

“…And that’s why you also need to watch the ceiling. Something falling from above you can be just as dangerous and what is below your feet. Especially if there is both a trap on the floor and the ceiling.”

Levi paused to take a breath, reflecting back on the past fifteen minutes. He realized he might have overloaded Susan with a bit too much information. Yes, it was good to be comprehensive, but he probably should have stuck to the basics, not gone off about camera angles affecting the triggering of traps. That information wasn’t all that useful in real life.

“Well, that should be a good primer I guess,” Levi said, wrapping it up lamely. He really needed to figure out how to stop talking about stuff he was interested in. Susan hadn’t complained yet, but then again, she had hardly been able to get a word in edgewise.

“Yes, I think I got it now,” Susan said dryly. While some of what Levi had been saying certainly seemed interesting, she didn’t really have the background to engage him on the topic. She had no clue what a spelunky was, or why she should avoid killing the shopkeeper. Unless she wanted the shotgun. Can’t forget about that.

At this point they had been walking down the new tunnel for quite a ways. After the near-death debacle the last tunnel presented, they were both on guard in this new one. Susan in particular, now knowing what to look for, was trying to keep her skill focused on any potential traps located in the area. Because of this focus and increased knowledge, she was well prepared when she felt a twinge from the skill towards the tunnel behind her, alerting her to potential danger.

“We need to move,” she said. “I just felt something from behind us.”

Levi followed along as Susan sped up along the tunnel.

“Any clue what it is?” he asked.

“No. Just that there’s something dangerous behind us. Your guess is as good as mine. My skill only gives me a rough feeling, not any fancy notifications or anything. Keep going forward and I’ll let you know if I feel anything more specific.”

“Gotcha.”

Focusing back on the tunnel ahead of him, Levi sharpened his focus. Yes, it was great Susan had such a useful skill, as without it they would likely be dead, but that was no excuse to slack off himself. If he wanted to be able to survive on his own, he needed to focus. He couldn’t always rely on Susan. If there was danger ahead, he wanted to find it himself.

They forged ahead, moving quickly forwards before a “go faster” from Susan urged them onward at a greater pace, the both of them now in a flat-out sprint. The reason for Susan’s warning showed itself shorty, as Levi started hearing a faint twanging sound from behind them. The noise increased in tempo, building to a crescendo, soon including the clink of arrowheads against stone. Or that’s what Levi imagined it was. If the dungeon was being on theme, arrows shooting from the walls made sense as a good follow up to a boulder trap.

As they ran, Levi let out a ‘yes!’ in his head as his concentration payed off. As he moved his flashlight over the tunnel in front of him he could see a giant hole in the floor ahead, similar to the previous tunnel. This dungeon wasn’t so hard after all, Levi thought to himself. You just had to figure out the patterns. The two of them neared the hole ahead and Levi prepared to pull the same maneuver as last time: hiding in the dip next to the hole as arrow would likely shoot out above them. But while the dungeon did have patterns, those patterns were not as simple as Levi suspected.

“Wait!”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Immediately after Susan’s shout Levi slowed down. He had been already slowing his sprint in preparation to duck for cover, but maybe there was something else at play here. He trusted Susan’s judgement. He had learned that much. But before he could fully slow down and ask Susan what the problem was, the air was knocked out of him as she tackled him to the ground.

Levi wasn’t alone in thinking this tunnel would be similar to the last. Susan also thought the same thing. But as they neared the pit at the end of the tunnel, her skill informed her something was wrong. But she had been so focused on what was behind her that by the time she realized her skill was also predicting danger in front it was too late. In a desperate bid to keep them safe, Susan tackled Levi just as arrows shot out from the walls in front of them, which would have surely skewered them both had it not been for her timely action. As it was, Susan successfully protected Levi from the arrows as the cost of taking some herself. The force of her tackle then caused them to slide over the lip in front of them, avoiding the brunt of the arrows firing overhead. But instead of their fall being stopped on a ledge like in the previous tunnel, the two of them entered free fall, plunging downwards into the darkness.

Even if Susan’s skill could give her an increased perception of danger, it didn’t tell her exactly what that danger was, or the best way to avoid it. And even if it did, the dungeon had effectively checkmated them. Both Susan and Levi had been operating under an assumption that the second tunnel was similar to the first; they just needed to get to the ledge next to the hole and avoid the trap. In such a dangerous situation, such assumptions could be fatal. Unlike the first tunnel where you could crouch on the ledge next to the hole to avoid the boulder, the second tunnel was different. You had to outrun the arrows behind you, but, instead of the safe area being a ledge next to the hole in the floor, the safe area was actually the area just in front of the hole, but only after a second group of arrows had finished firing. The trick was to stop ten or so meters in front of the hole while arrows fired in the space in front of you, and then after the arrows finished firing, move forward to occupy that space before the arrows being fired across the tunnel behind you caught up.

With perfect information such a trap would be trivial to avoid. But operating under their own assumptions and Susan’s imperfect skill, Susan and Levi failed to avoid it. It took a few short seconds of free fall for Levi to realize this. There was no ledge for them to land on and they were now plummeting hundreds, perhaps thousands, of meters down.

Twisting in midair, Levi swung his flashlight wildly, trying to figure out what lay below. The shaft they were falling down opened up into a cavern, mostly filled with a rushing underground river, and Levi, spying what looked like a riverbank he could clamber onto on the left side, desperately tried to keep his bearing and sense of direction. Seconds later he plunged down into the river, his backpack dragging him down. Struggling to unbuckle it, Levi finally got the straps off and surfaced, gasping for breath.

But while Levi was able to keep his wits about him, Susan was in much worse shape. In tackling Levi and pushing them over the edge she had taken five arrows, one in her leg, one in her arm, and three in her torso. The shock of the pain combined with the fall caused her to briefly black out.

It was luck that Levi’s flashlight, which was waterproof and floated, illuminated enough of the river that he spotted Susan, noticed she wasn’t conscious, was able to swim over to her, and then could fight the current to get them to the left bank and onto dry land. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he pulled Susan onto dry land and collapsed, his body just barely clear of the rushing water.

Levi tried to slow his breathing. As his flashlight floated off down the river the lack of light helped center him. The darkness somehow made it easier to ignore his surrounding and pretend everything was okay. Expect it wasn’t. He just lay like that, his thoughts paralyzed, as he tried to come to grips with the situation. What even was the situation? He didn’t know, and his tired brain couldn’t process what had just happened. It was all too much. It took a small cough from Susan as she hacked up water to rouse Levi from his vegetable-like state.

He rolled over on his side and hauled himself into a sitting position, scooting closer towards Susan, straining his eyes in the gloom to see if she was okay. She continued coughing, at least letting him know she was alive. Levi strained to focus his mind. He really should have checked on her sooner instead of lying there. What if she had been is desperate need of CPR or something?

“Susan? Hey, Susan? Can you hear me?”

Levi crawled closer and rolled her onto her side as she coughed up more water.

“Are you alright? Can you hear me? What happened up there?”

More coughing was the only response Levi got, and as his eyes finally adjusted to the low light of the cavern they were in, he noticed the arrows sticking out of her. He could see she had one in her arm and two stuck in her side. While one of the ones in her side looked like it hadn’t penetrated that far, the other was deep, only half of the shaft visible. That couldn’t have been a good sign.

“Susan? Hey, do I take these arrows out? Shit, that looks bad. Hey, Susan, can you hear me?”

Susan continued to cough out water as Levi moved himself around to support her as she lay on her side. He was pretty sure you were supposed to leave someone on their side if they had water in their lungs. He really hoped she didn’t need CPR. All he knew about it was it involved mouth to mouth, and maybe pressing on their chest to make them breath. He had a small first aid kit in his backpack, but that was now likely at the bottom of the river. Even just having a flashlight would have been okay, as when moving around her Levi noticed another arrow in her leg. Without better light he couldn’t tell what the wounds actually looked like or how much they were bleeding.

Levi sat there, holding Susan as she continued to cough and wheeze. This whole thing was a shitshow. Why had he even wanted to come in here anyway? He was level one for crying out loud. Level fucking one. He felt his concentration slip as his mind drifted to topics he would rather avoid. Thoughts of how nice it was to actually have someone to talk to. He had often chatted with Jeff and Thomas and the others at his job, but that was all fake, superficial. That was his job. He HAD to talk to them.

But there was no reason for Susan to talk to him. She could have walked away. Hell, he could have walked away. Except, he didn’t think he could have. It was so much easier to avoid people when you were always surrounded by them. As far as he knew, Susan could be the only other person in a thousand kilometers. Hell, the whole continent, the whole world even. Yes, that was unlikely, but that niggling thought kept Levi hyper-focused on the only other human he knew for sure existed. It was different being alone by choice than by circumstance.

“C’mon, Susan, talk to me. You’re going to be alright. Definitely. I’m sure there must be something I can do to help. You can’t leave me.”

‘You can’t leave me too’ was what Levi really wanted to say. The first person he really started to connect with in over two years and now she was lying in his lap, with who knows how many breaths left.

First it had been his mom. Levi barely remembered her. He was only three years old when she was deported. When he was older and wanted to know what happened his dad refused to talk about it. Then it was his dad. His dad, the literal superman. How could someone like that die? One week he had been everything, dad, mom, best friend, breadwinner, he did it all. The next he was lying in a hospital bed, half his body paralyzed from some dumb tumor. Then it was Chelsey. She had stayed with him through those three months when his dad lay there, wasting away. When she told him she didn’t love him anymore, Levi said never again. They always left in the end.

Now he sat here with someone he barely even knew. Someone he had no reason to care about. They were strangers, come together by circumstance. No, Levi couldn’t fool himself. They were strangers, but there might be something to all that talk about a bond created through the perils of life and death. Levi cared, and that scared him. He didn’t want to lose anyone else. Not again.