Emma

Chapter Three

A/N: This chapter includes a bit of action as well as a surprise near the end. If you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to vote and comment! :)

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The eighteen-year-old traveller awoke to a source of light. At first, she assumed it was the sunlight somehow making its way through a crack in the stone, but in actual fact a lantern had been placed next to her. When Emma rolled over on her side to examine the glowing object and pick it up, she was very confused. She assumed that it was the same thing that had refilled her water bottle previously, and hoping it would have done the same thing again she picked up her flask. It was just the same as it was the few hours before – almost half full. Nevertheless, Emma took a sip and stood up, picking up the lantern as she did so. Her once clean auburn hair was now greasy and limp, but it was not long enough to be tied back.

Heaving the bag over her shoulder, she began walking and exited the tunnel she was currently in. As she entered the crossroad, the monotonous and half-asleep look on her face changed to one of slight surprise. The man who had been previously chasing her appeared to have fallen asleep. Carefully, Emma took a few steps forward towards him and held the lantern close, but not close enough as to wake him. The glow revealed what the snake bite on his arm had morphed into overnight, and again the sight was not one that Emma wanted to see. From what the light exposed, she could tell that it had definitely become infected. The girl glanced at his chest for a moment with a curious expression on her face, before pressing her ear to it.

The thing that shocked her was that he wasn’t breathing. The venom had obviously killed him in his sleep. For a daring move, Emma flashed the light in his face. No response – not even a twitch. “That could have been me…” she mumbled to herself, sitting down while she grasped that fact. It reminded her of her own wound, and for the first time since awakening she registered the verity that the pain had completely gone. Shining the light towards it, Emma was happy to see that it was no longer open; a scab had formed over the graze and it was beginning to heal. Perhaps the medicine had worked, and it wasn’t a risk after all.

Suddenly she remembered about the items that were possibly still strewn about. After fully restoring her hunger and thirst, she rose and took what she thought to be the right direction.

The light was a huge benefit to her, and without it she would not be able to see where she was going or what she would be stumbling upon. So she was thankful when she realised that she had come across the wrong tunnel – but perhaps for the better. A bag was at the end of the walkway, with what looked to be a first aid kit peeking out of its opening. She smiled to herself as she contemplated taking it. What were the chances of unusually finding a necessity in the middle of a cave? She had been given extra water before, but she had already worked out the cause of that. What was the catch to this?

For once, the time spent on decisions assisted her well. Without even moving, Emma watched in awe and amazement as the floor in front of her opened up to reveal a dark pit, full of huge snakes and tiny scorpions. “Wow…” she breathed as she took a small step backwards, afraid of falling in even though she was nowhere near the edge. She had then only realised that the bag containing the first aid kit had been swallowed up by the chasm as well. Her eyes swivelled to the container, before abruptly looking away, accompanied by a grimace.

From what Emma could see, a previous poor traveller had fallen to the trap, and now his countless stings and bites coated his body. It was difficult to tell whether his corpse had been half-eaten away or half-rotted away, though the girl was sure that he had been there for a while. She could not see his front half or his face, but she was sure that it would be much worse than what her eyes had already caught sight of.