In My True Element

Chapter 18

A couple of hours later we come across another hole in the ground. This one isn't nearly as steep and deep as the one at the entrance but its rough edges still look quite menacing. We look down and see the bottom that is separated from us by a mere twenty feet and many rocks of various sizes.

Ilana tightens her backpack straps and gets ready to descend.

"Hey, are you crazy? What are you doing?" I'm so surprised that I break the silence, which I swore I wouldn't do.

"Going down – what does it look like?" She starts tapping her small foot.

"What about safety, ropes,-" Her exasperated sigh stops my tirade.

"Look, these rocks are big enough for us to jump from one to another. All this safety business will only slow us down."

"Do you have a death wish or something? You do remember that even if we age slower than others, we can still die just as easily?"

She twists the gentle line of her lips into a cynical smile and turns her back to me. "You stay here and do whatever you want, I'm going down."

Before I can stop her she jumps down and lands on top of the first rock. From there she progresses downward, jumping from one rock to another. My fists are balled up at my sides, and I wish I could give her a good thrashing. Honest to God, she's acting like a spoiled child.

Just when I think that the worst and the steepest part is behind her and she has almost made it to the bottom, I watch in horror as she slips and flies down head first. She falls at least ten feet down, hitting a couple of rocks on the way.

My legs start moving before my mind completely understands what has just happened. I dash down, afraid of thinking, afraid of getting there only to find her dead. I know I need to stop, to take all the precautions in order not to end up unconscious next to her but all I keep saying is no-no-no while my legs keep carrying me down to the bottom of their own volition. After a couple of minutes, which seem to drag forever, I'm kneeling next to Ilana, feeling her neck, hoping to find the pulse.

It's there. It's quite strong.

My body feels like it's made of cotton, and I have no strength to support myself. Dropping my head to my chest, I take a few deep breaths, trying to regain at least some semblance of control and clarity of mind when I notice her helmet that's lying a few inches away from her body. The straps must have come loose and she lost it while falling down.

With shaking hands I touch Ilana's head to check for injuries and sticky, warm blood covers my fingers. She hit the back of her head when she landed here.

The first aid kit was on the list when we were packing for this little expedition, but I don't really remember seeing it. Please, let it be here. I whisper while ransacking Ilana's backpack, looking for the box. Finally my shaking fingers locate its hard surface, and I quickly pull it out. I get my water, turn Ilana's head sideways and clean the wound as best as I can in the given conditions. Her thick hair makes it difficult to see how big the gash is, but it doesn't seem to bleed too much. After drying her hair with one of my shirts, I apply a clean dressing to the injury and hold it there tightly. It's difficult to work in this dark and dirty environment, especially when Ilana is completely unresponsive, but eventually I manage to bandage her head and put it down, confident that she won't get any infection in her wound.

Then I carefully touch her legs and arms to make sure that no bones are broken. So far it seems that the only serious injury is the one to her head.