Beyond The Bridge [ONC 2023] // Longlisted

Chapter Twenty

"When we get out of here, I'm going to kiss the grass. My feet are killing me from walking over all these rocks and I don't just mean that because of my ankle," Levi says.

"I think my blisters have blisters."

"What a disgusting visual, Gracie." He laughs, the sound echoing around the chamber and disappearing up the tunnel that we would have to venture into.

"I'm going to light the candle and look around," I say, standing up. "There might be some water in here or something."

"Just be careful, Gracie. No more impaling your hand."

I stick my tongue out at him, knowing he cannot see me with the candle not lit. He passes me the candleholder and the third and final candle we have in our possession, the last remaining light source. With a match, I light the new candle and blink my eyes to adjust to the glowing light that fills the chamber.

Levi remains sitting on the floor as I step away from him, keeping my eyes on the ground to watch out for any uneven parts or jagged rocks sticking up. My footsteps echo across the chamber as I search along the walls that surround us, starting from the left side and slowly moving around the large circle. There's no sound of dripping or running water.

The flame flickers as I approach the tunnel we will need to follow next. I don't venture into it and instead just hold the candle towards it, noting how the sloping walls are almost exclusively made from the rock, as is the ground. A ripple of hope goes through me. Perhaps we had been following the right path the whole time and escape could really be in our grasp.

I continue on, noting how some of the rocks appear damp and slick in the glow of the candlelight. There is no water dripping from above, which begs the question, why are the rocks wet? My feet slip a little on the stones, but I manage to stay upright as I cross them and approach the far right wall of the chamber, the wall closest to the slick rocks. The walls are also slightly damp and the water appears to be running directly down the wall rather than dripping.

With the candle in front of me, I creep forward, spotting a large rock jutting out of the wall with a small hole in the centre of it. Candlelight reflects off the water within. The water that runs from the walls falls silently, but works to keep the pool full and I know we have found a decent supply of water.

"Levi, come here. I've found something."

"I'm coming."

Across the chamber, I hear Levi struggle to get to his feet without the help of me or the wall. His bad leg drags along the floor and I feel bad for making him move before we have to leave the chamber, especially if his leg is bothering him that much.

"Is that a pool of water?" Levi asks, his voice in my right ear.

"The water is running down the wall and into the rock. We must be below a section of the stream, but it means we can drink and refill the water as many times as we need."

"We can wash your hand wounds, too. Clear the blood off."

"My hand can wait. We need to drink some more water first."

"I cannot argue with that."

He reaches into the satchel and pulls out the inkpot, which is no longer hidden under the packages of food that used to fill up the satchel. I watch as he unscrews the lid and hands it to me, gesturing to me to drink the last remaining water, although it's nothing more than a few drops.

We go back and forth filling up the inkpot and drinking the cold liquid that is free of the same mud taste that we had been drinking before. The water is the most refreshing thing I have ever drunk and I welcome each mouthful and each refill, no matter how small the inkpot might be. By the time we stop, my stomach gurgles at the amount of water I've drunk, but my mouth is no longer dry. The water has done nothing to help my headache.

Once we finish drinking, Levi fills the inkpot once more and takes my hand. He holds it over the stones and removes the piece of shirt that acts as a bandage, although it is now stuck to my skin from the blood. I wince as he begins to pour the water over my hand and lightly clear the blood away with the scrap of fabric. The blood reveals a hole about the size of a farthing in the palm of my hand. It's no longer bleeding, but it still hurts.

"It could be worse, Gracie," Levi says. "At least it's clean now and not bleeding. That's a good sign. Perhaps we should leave it rather than cover it up again. If it starts bleeding, I can always sacrifice another piece of my shirt."

"How noble of you."

"You should know by now that I am the noblest person in all the land. In fact, I'm sure they shall have a statue of me somewhere."

"Will they now?"

"Yes."

Levi drops my hand and steps behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on the top of my head. My heartbeat speeds up in my chest, the butterflies begin to take flight once again. As much as I want to pull away, I cannot bring myself to do it because I know that this might be the last opportunity we have to be this close to one another. I sigh and settle myself into his arms.

We stay like that for a little while longer, neither one of us wanting to let the other go. I'm more than certain that Levi feels the same way I do about how the situation is likely to go once we emerge from the cave and return to our old lives. How can we possibly return to the lives we have once lived after everything that has happened?

No one else will understand the fear of falling through that hole, of walking through the tunnels and running to escape the collapsing tunnel. Levi is the only other person who will ever understand what that feels like.

The ground sways under my feet but rights itself in a matter of seconds. I say nothing and instead untangle myself from Levi's grip.

"We should refill the inkpot and get moving. It could be a long walk back to the cave."

"The final stretch, here we come."

I smile a little. White lights once again dance in front of my eyes. We just have a little walk ahead of us. That's it.

~~~

First Published - March 16th, 2023