Beyond The Bridge [ONC 2023] // Longlisted

Chapter Fifteen

We meander on our way through the tunnels not long after. Levi's jacket helps to keep me warm against the freezing air in the tunnel, but I know that he must now be suffering from the cold as I was. He doesn't say anything and just continues through the tunnel with his hand resting on the wall to help guide us in the flickering candlelight.

This new tunnel doesn't move in a straight line the way the other one did and we turn several corners, seemingly moving deeper into the underground maze we have found ourselves trapped in. The ground beneath our feet is uneven with rocks and stones jutting out at all angles and Levi's hand catches on the walls embedded in the walls. I take it as a good sign.

The more rocks that appear, the more convinced I am that we're moving in the direction we need to be in to make it back to surface level. There is no guarantee that we're right, but the rocks on the ground are similar to the ones we had climbed over at the mouth of the cave. We have to be getting closer to the end. We just have to be.

Levi stumbles over the rocks, righting himself quickly and shooting me a sheepish smile in the glowing light. We don't feel the need to talk too much as we walk, the two of us feeling comfortable in the silence of the tunnels. I spend the time trying to listen for another drip, another sign of water running from the ceiling. If we don't find another source of water soon, neither of us is going to make it very far.

Even with the small sip of water, I had taken before we continued through the tunnel, my mouth and lips are still dry. I know that Levi must be in a worse position than me as he hasn't had anything to drink since we left the chamber and that feels like it was an entirety ago. I think back to the glass bottle Mother had given me with ginger beer for the journey to the village. The bottle had fallen from the basket and shattered when we fell.

Levi stops suddenly, the palm of his hand resting on the wall of the tunnel.

"What's wrong?" I ask, thinking it has something to do with his leg.

"I don't know. Something feels odd. Put your hand on the wall and tell if you can feel it shaking or if it's just me."

I frown but do as he asks, unlacing my hand from his and placing the palm of my hand against the wall of the tunnel. Small stones and sand dislodge under my palm and fall to the ground in a light shower and a small plume of dust. At first, I don't feel anything. The wall remains still under my fingertips and I wonder if it's Levi's body reacting to his lack of water rather than anything happening in the tunnel, but then I feel it.

My fingers tremble against the wall, and I know that I am not responsible for the movement. The entire wall seems to shake beneath the palm of my hand, growing stronger with each passing second. Levi pulls my hand from the wall and interlaces our fingers once more.

"We need to move quickly. I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it."

"The tunnel cannot be collapsing. There's no reason for it to," I say. "Nothing suggests it will."

"Do you want to take the risk?"

"Can you move any faster than a walk with your leg?"

"We're about to find out."

Levi tugs my hand and the two of us speed down the tunnel and hope to emerge into another chamber. The movement of the walls grows stronger. Before long, it feels as though the ground is also shaking beneath us as small trails of dirt and sand fall from above. Even with his hurt leg, Levi is able to move at quite a pace, stumbling over the rocks that cover the floor.

We follow the twists and turns of the tunnel, the shaking ground making it harder to stand upright. The dull ache at the back of my head gets worse the faster we move and the slight ringing in my ears returns. I feel Levi squeeze my hand in reassurance, but with the tunnel, and potentially our route of escape, collapsing around us, it doesn't have the desired effect.

A loud rumbling sound echoes off the walls of the tunnel as more sand and rocks fall onto my shoulders. The small pebbles transform into large rocks that we have to duck and dodge in the dark. With all the movement, the candle goes out.

Levi stumbles forward and tugs me with him. The wall, which we had been keeping close to, vanishes and I know we have emerged into yet another chamber with different routes to take. With the candle out, we don't know which tunnel to take that will take us forward, so Levi pulls me towards the wall of the chamber.

The rumbling behind us grows louder.

"Come here." Levi presses me against the wall of the chamber, bringing his arms around me and shielding me from the falling debris.

"What about you?" I say, my voice muffled by the wall and Levi's shirt.

"I'm fine. We'll stay here until it stops. I'd rather be in an open chamber than a confined tunnel."

"We might get stuck."

"We won't. We'll be fine, I promise."

He presses his chin onto the top of my head as the rumbling sound fills the chamber and the floor shakes under our feet. This time, I know it's not just me, as Levi's grip on my body tightens a little more. I squeeze my eyes shut as the sound of rocks hitting the ground echoes through the small chamber.

Levi and I stand in the darkness listening to the tunnel we had just emerged from coming down. A cloud of choking dust fills the air. The rumbling grows louder, and the floor shakes more violently as dust runs down the ceiling and onto both of us huddled against the wall of the chamber.

Then, silence.

~~~

First Published - March 13th, 2023