AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Eleven
Ice and Loss
My body jerked awake, coughing from the grit and dirt caking my tongue.
My mind jolted out of restless sleep and into a worse reality.
I couldn’t see in front of me or beside me. Everything was black; not a speck of light radiated into the darkness.
I tried to rub at my eyes, but hard plastic kept my arms in place. My wrists were again bound behind my back. My entire body shook in panic, or perhaps it was because the air was ice-cold. It was brutally frigid compared to the desert heat. Sweat still saturated my clothes. I pulled my legs toward me into a ball.
My feet were bare. My hiking boots and socks had obviously been stripped away. Sharp rocks sliced into my feet. I scraped my knees tighter to my chest.
Why would someone take my shoes?
I ground the dirt between my teeth and spit onto the ground. How could I have done so many things wrong that led to this moment?
Maneuvering into a ball was the only position that took some weight off my feet. No other position would be possible besides standing hunched over because the cave was so damn small.
I reached my feet out in front of me.
They made contact with a damp wall less than three feet in front of my face. Rough, moist stones brushed my shoulders. I blindly pressed into each side of the rocks to the left and right of me.
My back rested against the wall behind me.
This freaking hole was no larger than three by three feet, with gravel rocks lining the floor. It hurt. Everything hurt. I’d never feared small spaces, but trapped in this hole, I now hinged on the precipice of a claustrophobia.
My eyelashes burned from the sand. I rubbed my eyes carefully, trying to get my tears to drain some of the dirt away.
I hurt, everywhere. From my head to my soul, I ached.
One minute, I was looking at Logan, and the next I was face down in the rocky ground.
Logan.I couldn’t save him. I used all the light inside me, and it wasn’t enough. He died trying to save me. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The light, my light, what did I do wrong?
Cold chills racked down my body. My entire body started vibrating. I tightened my grip around my knees, resting my chin on top of them.
Short wheezes left my chest, followed by even more ragged inhales.
I can’t breathe.
Why am I here, who would this, who are these men, why am I in a hole, why can’t I breathe anymore?
Two more wheezes.
Three more gasps.
Stop panicking!
Logan’s dead. I killed that creature, but Logan is dead. What is the purpose of the light if he is dead? Where are my freaking shoes, can I have some water or a blanket? Logan is dead. My light is gone. It vanished with Logan, and now I am truly alone.
My teeth chattered—clicking together, nipping cuts into the side of my tongue. I started rocking back and forth. My torso bent slightly forward, and then slowly back.
Stop freaking out.
Breathe slower. Inhale one, two, three. Exhale one, two, three.
I just needed to breathe slower. Inhale one, two, three, four. Exhale one, two, three, four.
