I led the way into the tunnel. Finding a rusted sword I could hold in both hands. My savior and victim followed behind me, stumbling occasionally. If I turned to check on her, hoping to aid her walking as she stumbled into the tunnel wall, she simply stared forward with a grim determination. Not even fully seeing me, she pressed forward with a clear goal, and I could only venture forward to try and protect her in her task.
As minutes passed, the woman’s stumbling began to straighten, almost like her strength returned in such a short time, but she still held close to the tunnel wall. The darkness of the passage didn’t seem to affect her, the both of us unburdened by the dark as we progressed further into the dark. After those minutes, the path branched into two new passages. The woman pushed her back to the tunnel wall and looked between the new passages, unsure where to go. Despite her strength apparently slowly returning, she slumped to the ground to rest as she glared at the open tunnels.
I made myself useful, she didn’t want me to dote on her, her sternness had made that clear. But It seemed like my vision in the tunnel was more clear than hers. I could see as if it were only dim night after I had adjusted to the dark, my savior still occasionally stumbled or squinted in the dark like she could see but struggled to do so. So with my vision I was able to spot something; tracks in the dirt leading into both passages. The ground up until this point had mostly been ragged and nondescript, but as I saw the two separated paths it became clear to me. The rugged nature of the tunnel so far was a sign of a heavy body being dragged, and this body was taken down the right pathway. Down the left the ruggedness turned away and towards the right, but what looked like one or two sets of feet continued in that direction. I approached the woman, gesturing towards the right tunnel, “Your friend is that way, I think.” I said, hoping she understood.
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The woman stared at me, squinting her eyes like it would help her see me. I could tell, even from a look, that she was running on fumes. What strength I thought had returned must’ve been a fluke of determination. What I saw before me couldn’t survive a fight against those monsters, regardless of how much she wanted revenge. I wondered what to do, above all I wanted to keep her safe, but at least one of her kind was taken down here. I felt myself wanting to help her, it might’ve been some form of guilt but I wanted to help regardless.
The woman began to stand, obviously wanting to move forward, but I knew she would be useless in a fight. I grabbed her wounded arm, and she looked down at my hand surprised. Unsure if she could understand, or if she would even listen if she could, I begged her, “Please go back up… I will try to find your friend.” She stared at my bare skull, probably incapable of seeing much of my dark bones in the barely dim tunnel. She tore her arm away from my grasp, staring down the tunnel. I couldn’t guess what she was thinking, she continued to look hard down the two pathways.
After a few moments, the woman looked at her arm, wincing in response to just seeing the gruesome scarring. She looked at me again, like she was sizing up my chances. The silent tension filled the space between us, I begged again, “Please. I will get them. Go back.”
She seemed to give way to some tension in her, “Imn… Imn tiri-i e’tenri. Help. Help, not you…” she said, pointing down the pathway I had shown her.
The woman, to my surprise, began stumbling back up the passage. Her sword occasionally clanged against the dirt, making small clicks and ticks as it scraped pebbles. I was amazed that my words reached her, and even more so that she dropped her determination to press on. Yet with her blessing, and bound by my own promise, I had to press on in her stead. I wasn’t sure what I could do against those monsters, or if I could really save her friend, but some part of me knew I had to succeed.