THEN I FOUND YOU [mcd]

chapter sixteen

I have successfully convinced Garroth to bring a ladder to the hole this time. I don't want to be lowered down by a rope, and I am not strong enough to catch him. I may cushion his fall, but I'll be crushed. As for getting back up, I don't know how we'd get back up with a rope. The rope isn't long enough to tie against a tree.

Garroth slowly lowers the ladder into the hole, careful, so it doesn't fall backwards. He looks at me, hinting that I should go down first. Garroth holds onto the top of the ladder as I bring myself around to place my feet on the first step. I lift my head up to look up at him, and we lock eyes. We remain this way for seconds until he nods his head and I lower myself to the ground. It's then I hold the ladder in place for him to climb down.

"It's darker than before," I state, feeling the coolness of the enclosed area hit my bare skin. The sun is setting up ahead, and Garroth and I have kept this a secret from the others. However, I did tell Dante about our exploration in case we are not seen tomorrow. "Do you have our supplies in your bag?"

I watch as Garroth digs down into the bag and brings out two torches for lighting. They're quickly lit, and we're left with the decision on whether to go left or right first. We decide on moving in the left direction, and it grows colder the further we travel. I'm thankful that I had gone with the choice of wearing pants for this adventure.

"Did Nekoette wander around at all when she was down here?"

I flash my light towards the walls. The ground is cracked stone, and the walls don't look much better. This walkway must have been important, or else it wouldn't be here. "No, she was scared shitless. She sat there after we came to the conclusion that I couldn't get her out alone. It was strange to see her in such a way, but it was understandable nonetheless."

We continue to walk forward. My light flashes against the wall once more to reveal faded colors. I stop and cause Garroth to stumble. He was more concerned about having a consistent light to walk with rather than my flickering one. He stops and looks down at me, confused. I don't dare look in his direction and instead up at the wall. I slowly feel his gaze shift from me to the wall.

My feet walk backwards while my hand is held out. It's a painting of some sort, maybe a mural. I look at Garroth to see if what I see is truly there, and his eyes are just as amazed as mine were. What I see in front of me isn't a figment of my imagination.

"What does this mean?" I question out loud, my voice sounding like I'm in disbelief. If Emmalyn and Kenmur were here, they would know more than we ever could. "Stay here. I want to see if there's more further along."

Garroth slowly nods his head as he steps side to side to better see different angles. I quickly jog down the long hallway, seeing more paintings the further I go down. One, two, three more until I nearly fall down. "Garroth!" I shout, steadying myself to see I'm in a room. There was a step leading up to this room I hadn't seen. "Come here! It's a room. It's like the walls are telling a story."

My words echo and bounce through the pathway back to Garroth. Slowly, but surely, he makes his way towards me. At least, in my mind, it feels like he's slow. He didn't run here like I did.

I can see his light in the entryway from the corner of my eye. I'm already exploring the large room myself. He walks over to me to keep with our buddy system and brings his light towards mine. "We need to bring Emmalyn and Kenmur here. Maybe even Aphmau."

My head snaps in Garroth's direction. "We don't know what this place is, Garroth. I want to understand it more before bringing so many people. Emmalyn and Kenmur would be the best ones to bring. They were a great help last time something like this was found."

It's selfish of me to want to prevent Aphmau from coming down. I understand that she's Irene, but Garroth and I were the ones who explored deeper in here. Nekoette found it under horrible circumstances. It's all because I don't want her to be around Garroth. And maybe, a little piece of me is afraid that credit, or the attention, will be given to her instead.

I'm not one to seek attention from others. I don't drive on validation from other people, either. But with my sudden annoyance with Aphmau, I don't want the credit for something I helped find go to her. I don't want to keep feeling like I'm in her shadow or second to her.

"Then it's settled. We'll bring Emmalyn and Kenmur here. We could do it tomorrow while it's all still fresh in our brain." He stops talking for a moment to think. Garroth slowly looks around. "It's growing late. Do you want to check out the other side or head back?"

I take a final look at the room we're in before turning on my heel. "I think it's best we start for the camp. If there are things on this side, there's bound to be more on the other. Emmalyn and Kenmur will be with us. It'll be easier to split up and explore."