Minutes. Hours. I’m not really sure.
I’m lost in a daze, my limbs falling numb.
Then another pang hits me in the stomach, stirring a moan from deep within.
Gods, it hurts!
Every part of me aches, breathing new life into the fire inside me.
A scream lodges in my throat, my hand covering my mouth. Then I bite down on my palm in an attempt to hold it all in. I’ve experienced agony before. I know how to silence myself. But Gods, this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
I roll off the rock, then flail as my body is submerged in chilly water. A gurgling sound bubbles around my ears, my arms moving wildly while my hands search for something to grab on to.
Rock, I think, my nails digging into the surface as I try to pull myself up. Then my knees scrape against more jagged edges under the water, drawing blood. But I don’t care, I kneel on the rough surface, my head above water and my arms on the stone I just rolled off of.
Or I assume this is where I fell from.
I blink, some of the surrounding area appearing around me. There’s more light now. Not that I should need it; my night vision is usually really good. But there are streams of sunlight coming from far above, illuminating the cave around me.
It’s… it’s a little oasis.
There are waterfalls trickling in along the walls, splashing into the lagoon I’m now kneeling in.
My insides clench again, but not as violently as before, the water seeming to provide a temporary reprieve.
I shuffle a little to sit on my feet, the water hitting just above my breasts. It’s not deep, at least not where I am.
I suspect it might be a similar depth all throughout this underground utopia, but I don’t feel comfortable enough to explore. Who knows when that agonizing sensation will hit me again? And if it is deeper elsewhere, I may drown.
Swimming isn’t a talent I ever mastered.
Moving again, I sit down and tuck my knees to my chest, then rest my chin on top. The water covers me from the neck down, providing me with even more relief.
Slowly, I start to feel more like me. More focused. More… aware.
Where’s Enrique?I wonder, glancing up at the daylight streaming in again. It’s definitely been hours since he left. And I haven’t heard anything other than the roaring in my head for a while.
Now, all I hear is the trickle of water.
It’s soothing, but not as soothing as Enrique’s purr.
“I’ll be back for you,”he said.
When?I want to ask now.And where did you go?
I swallow.
What if he doesn’t come back?
I can go a long time without food and water. But… but I’ll have to venture out eventually.If I can even find a way out, I think, frowning as I scan the walls again.
I don’t see an obvious exit.
Am I trapped in here?The hairs along my nape stand on end, my mind recalling the explosion I heard after Enrique promised to return for me. I can’t remember what followed, the only sounds ones driven by my agony.
What if he sealed this cave somehow?
What if the rocks fell by accident?
