My Shattered Soul

Chapter 5

Unknown, TN; August Unknown, 2017, Early Evening

Alex felt like they'd been walking for hours. Occasionally talking but mostly just listening to the echoes of the cavern. Her legs were sore and her lungs burned as she struggled to match Emma's pace. It looked as if Sophie was having almost as much trouble as she was.

Emma's strides weren't long, but she moved quickly.

They'd traveled through several different tunnels; turning back more times than they could count to retrace their steps. They'd almost completely run out of yarn and were all starting to get tired.

Alex cast a quick glance at Sophie, noticing that ze were using zir phone. She thought for a minute, realizing that she had seen zir on zir phone before as well. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I've been making a map of our path," ze answered, holding up zir phone for Alex to see.

"Aren't you worried about your phone dying?" Alex replied.

"No, not really. I had it charging in the car and I didn't turn it on until we got to the cave. This phone's got a whole day's worth of battery power on a bad day, I'm not even a quarter of the way through it. We're good." ze answered with a smile.

Alex nodded her head, thankful ze'd had the forethought to prepare for this expedition. She was about to say as much when she heard a loud crash echoing from a nearby chamber.

The teens shared a look and slowly walked towards the source of the sound.

They came to a cave opening, revealing a large chamber with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. In the center of the room was a small pool of crystal clear water; in front of the pool sat a girl with a wild mess of dreadlocks similar in color to Officer Blair's hair, sitting underneath a series of dim old lanterns hanging along a rope from the cave ceiling.

There was a toppled pile of rocks beside her and it looked like she'd been the one to knock them down. The girl was swearing quietly as she rubbed a pale bluish-white hand against a tear in her slick forest green leggings. There was blood dripping from the cut she was trying to clean.

"Of fucking course." She growled, a sharp bite in her tone. "Ugh, stupid lights!" she snarled. It looked like she was wearing armor in varying shades of green with brown accents.

Emma was the only one of them who still had a lantern with her; seeing the girl in front of them, she quickly turned hers off, blanketing the trio in total darkness.

Under cover of darkness, they watched the girl carefully as she struggled to stand up. Her thick brown boots slipped on the wet cavern floor.

A drop of water landed on the top of Alexs head and she looked up in a vain attempt to see its source. She leaned against the wall, trying to ground herself in an area she simply couldn't see, but the wall was slick with water and cold to the touch.

"You think that's her?" Sophie whispered from beside her.

"I think so," Alex replied.

They were startled by the sudden sound of their radio going off. Captain Harris voice echoed in the darkness, calling out for a status report. The trio was so shocked by the loud noise breaking through the silence, that they almost didn't notice the girl had turned to face them. Her eyes shone bright red in the yellow lights of the lanterns above her.

Suddenly she moved, and Alex lost her in the darkness.

Alex heard Emma cry out. There was a clattering sound as she could only assume Emma's lantern fell to the floor. When she reached out a hand to where she thought the other girl would be standing, she grasped at empty air.