Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 22

Thank you, everyone for putting up with the chapter spam as I edited. :) I've officially entered the contest I told y'all about last chapter. I decided to post a chapter early to celebrate! The song for this chapter is "Falling Inside The Black" by Skillet. On with the story!

*Waglington's POV*

Run. Have to keep running. If I can just make it to Martha's house, I might survive this, I thought as I raced across the desiccated ground. The thirsty earth had dried out quickly after yesterday's rain. If anything the cracks in the ground looked larger than they had before the storm.

I was free. Thaumsworth and Rhubarb had managed to pry open one of the narrow basement windows for me to escape through. Flower warned me not to get distracted and risk losing myself with no one around to snap me out of it. They'd all wished me luck, and then I had left. I had stayed away from the volcano that had swallowed the day care, though cutting across the steaming slopes would have been the quickest way to Martha's house. The threat of toxic fumes and possible eruptions was more than enough to make me go around. My sense of urgency had carried me within sight of Tucker's dojo. As I drew closer, I discovered he had his repulsion field active by running into it and being teleported back five feet. I couldn't enter his courtyard which also meant I couldn't go around the deep chasm that had stretched past the dojo walls. I would have to climb down and back out on the other side.

I did not like the idea of navigating on narrow ledges above the lava I had seen at the bottom of the crevice earlier this week, but it was that or the volcano. When I looked over the edge to find a good way down, I could not see any of the molten material I'd expected; instead the chasm opened into black nothingness. My fur stood on end as I realized the crack had widened and stretched all the way down into the void. This world was literally falling apart. I'm not the only one whose time is running short, I thought ironically. I wonder if the others have seen this yet?

I gulped as I started cautiously inching my way down into the bottomless chasm. I could see a place narrow enough I should be able to jump across to the other side, but it was only a few feet above the void. Any misstep would be my last. So I proceeded with the slim hope of reaching my goddess in one piece.

At least there weren't any monsters around during the daytime; skeletons and spiders would have made this infinitely worse. I could be grateful for small things. There hadn't been any earthquakes today either... yet. I froze. Oh, please let there not be any earthquakes while I'm down here. I looked up at the cliff above me, now worried about falling debris. The quicker I get out of here the better, I decided and hurried further down the canyon. I was almost to the small platform I would be jumping from when a section of rock I stepped on gave out. I may have screamed slightly as I dug my claws into the rock and scrambled back from the rockslide I'd started, heart pounding rapidly. The rush of loose rock and dirt tumbled down into the void and disappeared from sight.

After calming my nerves, I carefully tested the rock along the edge to see where I could safely jump from. I still had to make it to that platform if I hoped to jump across the chasm. This side looked safe enough. I could only hope the other side was as stable. I backed up and took a deep breath before rushing the gap and jumping. I reached the narrow outcropping with ease, and only a few pebbles slid off into the abyss. I continued down to the wider shelf and paused again to work up the nerve to jump across the much wider space. It was a little wider than the jumps I'd made last night in the jungle, and I didn't have as much space for a running start.

I'd already started sprinting as fast as I could for the edge when it occurred to me I had not tested the rock's stability. I heard a sharp crack when I was two paces from the edge. Panic and adrenaline spiked through me. The shelf started to slide as I reached the brink and pushed off as hard as I could. I extended all of my claws and hit the edge of the opposing cliff with only my front legs on the horizontal surface. My back legs caught the vertical rock face and barely found purchase. I quickly scrambled up the rest of the way when I felt cold seeping into my tail as it dangled below me into the void.