Erica searched as far as her limited sight allowed, imagining every possible exit there could be. She had already run out of oil to fuel her torch, and now all she could do was press against the wall, using it as her guide.
She knew it would take Zilian more than three days to get help if he could even find any, the best thing she could do to help herself was to find another way out. Even if they had stayed behind to dig her out, it would still have been in vain for they would certainly have died shortly after. Her only true hope was to find a another way out on her side; the plan was to find a niche or a crack big enough that would lead into another cave.
She had read books about what happens when quakes occur around mountains, and in them she learned that sometimes new caves and caverns are formed. Even about how sections could get disconnected from each other, whereas new sections formed fresh connections. She knew the chances were slim, but they were better than just sitting around and waiting for death.
Her resources were limited, only having in stock a bit of food and less than a quarter full in her canteen. She rationed her food for the day, intent on lasting for at least two days if she could not find water sooner. She tried not to think too much about how limited she was between food, water and sight. She was trying to think positive and keep on moving, the last thing she wanted to do was give in to panic which she was very close to doing.
We have to meet up with Ferry, we can not show up last. She repeated to herself, as she felt her way through by touch.
Suddenly she felt a dip in the wall, and after patting around some she found a fracture in the wall, possibly opened up during the quake. Pressing herself into the shaft, she felt a definite breeze coming from the other side.
"Woohoo!" She shouted into the hole, letting a little victorious cry out.
She stepped back and before entering, strapped her bag tightly around her shoulders as she squeezed her way into the tight hole. She could not help but feel a little claustrophobic being in here, the hole was barely wide enough for her to get through. Her arms scraped against the sharp rock wall as she pushed deeper inside, making it hard to breath as the walls closed in tighter. Well past the point of no return, the walls pressed on too tightly for her to be able to move back. She shifted her bag in front of her to open more space between her and the wall, until she got stuck in the rock.
Oh no. She could not move forward, trying to squirm to see if she can wedge any further but to no success.
"Help!" She cried out, "Anyone there? Help!" No one replied to her cries for help, which was to no surprise for Erica. Panic grew as she squirmed more violently, cutting deep gashes on her knees and arms.
Attempting to regain control of herself, she reassuringly spoke alone, "Ok, calm down. Think Eri, what can I do? Can't go back, can't go forward like this and no one here to help. There is surely a way out."
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Thinking calmly now, trying to decide which one of the two ways she should go. Her reasoning was that if she went back there may not be another way out,forcing her to come back here anyways, whereas if she moved forward she could get stuck and become unable to get out even if help did come.
After considering all odds, she chose to move ahead since she would end up here either way. She angled her body sideways, managing to open up a bit of space. She used her arms to pull herself forwards, but after several meters it closed in again. She wedged her body through, trying to slide in between the tight rock. Her worst fear starting meeting up with reality again, she was stuck again - and as far as she can tell, there is no escape from this pitch black hole. She held her breath and took a final gut sucking gulp, the best she could do now was one final more lunge. With a final lunge she moved forward and felt the opening to this shaft, her bag plopped onto the ground as she tugged out of the hole.
She gasped and coughed as she took deep breathes, hope filling her spirit again with the recent turn of events. For a moment she had feared that that hole was going to be her grave. Suddenly she noticed that she had a slight awareness of her surroundings, a dim light coming from high up through a crack on the wall. She smiled upon seeing the rays, happy to see the warm sunlight again.
Unfortunately, the light was up high on the wall, some fifty feet away. There was no way she could climb up and out of the hole. On the other hand, she could now see a different tunnel. It was not like the fracture she crawled through, this was an actual big and wide tunnel.
"Only one way to go now." She observed.
She organized herself then went to traverse through this new tunnel, finding her way using the light behind as well a similar glow further ahead. Even though she doubted it led anywhere outside as it declined, it at least comforted her to see a source of light. Then she entered a new cavern that gave her a better view of her surroundings, a wide hole overhead providing much more light than the previous one. In the round spotlight at ground level was some stone debris, branches and twigs littered all about. On the opposite side, there was another tunnel further declining. Suddenly, the room darkened. She peered up to find the sun was setting and clouds spread in the dusk sky.
"Guess it is time to set camp for the night." She smiled gleefully. She was not going to sleep in the cold, the cavern was wide and considerably flat making it perfect to set a fire.
She gathered up the wood and piled them on a side, then built a small stone ring in the center. She gathered twigs in the ring making sure she cleaned the dirt off of them, followed with the thicker branches on the top. She grabbed a couple of specific stones, one that was hard and long that had wedge on the inside of it and another of the smoother variety. She struck the stones once, sending sparks flying across but unable start a fire. Striking again, this time she succeeded as the sparks landed on the dry twigs. Within moments, the fire was burning bright.
She smiled at her success; all that time reading books had paid off. Settling herself near the fire, she wrapped her arms around her legs. Staring into the warmth of the fire and feeling its heat bouncing on her skin, she wondered how Zilian and Sarri were doing. If she were to guess, he was probably fussing over Sarri's endless talking. She did not enjoy hearing her talking all the time, but she would not get easily irritated like Zilian did.
She sighed at the prospect of how worried he was about her, just like how she was worried about them. She loosened her bag, placing it down as a cushion. Gazing at the now clear night, a sky full of beautiful and awe striking stars was revealed. She enjoyed gazing at them for a while, until clouds covered the sky again. Now feeling relaxed after having an exciting day, she knew she would figure out what to do to get out of this pit tomorrow.