There was nothing but darkness and silence surrounding her. Shade was face down on the fine, sandy dirt floor. Sparks twinkled in her vision as she moved, causing her to slow down and breath through the wave of dizziness. She must have hit her head when she landed. Moving her arms under her body, she pushed herself into a sitting position, or what felt like it because the darkness seemed to cancel out her sense of direction. This did not help her stomach. She lurched the last bits of her afternoon snack into the black dirt around her.
Yuck! Shade spit onto the ground, trying to expel the remnants of the nasty taste in her mouth. Breathing in deeply, she sat up again, balancing herself with her hands in the dirt. Bending over to let some more blood rush to her throbbing head, she let her senses normalize. I think need a doctor or something. As the moments passed, the pounding lessened, and her stomach settled. She was able to sit straight and fished through all her pockets for the light stone. Finding it in the back pocket of her jeans, she wrapped her hand around it, willing it to life.
The soft glow grew with every breath she took. Her fear subsided just a bit when the light brightened and showed more strength. Holding it in the center of her palm and stretching her fingers straight, it lit the room like a small lantern. The light was dim, but she could see that the room was rounded and made out of stone. Dirt, rocks, and debris littered the floor of the underground cave. She studied the smooth walls all around her, not seeing any exits or cracks in the stone. The ceiling where she was sure she’d come from was sealed and just as smooth as the walls.
What the…? How the hell do I get out of here? How the hell did I get in?
Shade once again scanned the room to no avail. It was like being inside a very hard bubble. She placed the stone in front of her in the dirt, thinking Please, just keep glowing. She prayed as she watched the warm yellow light, her only solace in the dark. She smiled, proud that she’d managed to do some sort of magic. She attempted to stand up and take a better look around, but the floating stars in her vision caused her to kneel back and wait out the dizziness.
After a few moments, Shade felt well enough to stand and was glad she didn’t hit her head on the ceiling. Walking along the side of the walls, she felt along the stone, finding it rougher and grainier than the boulders aboveground. The bumps scraped against her already wounded and sore hands. After inspecting every inch of the surface, she was sure there was no way out. Spinning around with her heart pounding in her chest, she felt claustrophobic and frustrated. All kicking the stone wall and punching it with her hands gained her was more pain. Her hands were burning as her closed fists irritated her excoriated palms. Shade slumped to the floor, leaning against the cold rock. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back. Her sighs echoed in the cool, still air. She could smell the dampness and mold intermingled within it.
The time ticked by, and she didn’t know how long she rocked herself, but it was long enough for her quiet tears to dry up, staining her dirty cheeks. Even her hands stopped throbbing. She pulled off her pack and dug through it for some water, hoping that afterward, she might be able to think more clearly. Her ravenous chewing on a small snack filled the emptiness for a moment or two. She wished her spirit guides were still near and giving her much-needed advice. It made her wonder why the attack caused her to expel them along with Darren. Rubbing her arms, the chilling air ran down her entire body. Pulling out Dylan’s warm blanket, she wrapped it around her until just her eyes were visible from within its folds. The warmth provided by the coverage was instant, and her eyes were drooping with drowsiness, heavy with sleep.
Feeling the solitude pressing on her, Shade breathed in the faint scent of Dylan’s skin on the blanket. She sighed and watched her light stone glow softly in the dark. What now? She pulled out her sleeping bag from her tent and laid it on the soft dirt. Setting her pillow down, the exhaustion overwhelmed her body, and her bones ached from the events of the day. She hadn’t realized how tired she’d become after being chased through the forest. Wrapping the blanket around once more, she drifted to sleep, hoping to find someone, even in her dreams.