Take Note : It's All Different

32. Almost

Hiding the weapons in the little space remaining to hide things in encouraged a little bit of a game. I took daggers out placed them back in. All different orders. One on top of the other. Two here. One here awkwardly. It was too awkward so I had to move it. It was mind boggling just how hard this was.

I was doing it so that I wouldn't threaten the creature. The twinkling of my fingers was enough to make it cower. The poor creature. Dipping my feet back in the water I felt the cold sensation once again. I had been out so long that my prune fingers had almost started to disappear.

Almost.

I pushed my hair off my face and placed in on my back. It was all knotted and not so fun when I would get to it. I felt the tiniest prick as I readjusted my pants around my waist. One of the daggers in my hidden pockets at pricked my skin. It stung a little so I submerged it. The water helped it but it was only tiny. I adjusted my pants once more ensuring the dagger didn't brush my skin of dig deeper.

Dipping my head under the water to refresh my dried face my hair went everywhere. I had it stuck in my eyelashes and covering my view. There was not enough I could do to keep it out of my face sadly. I pushed it into my jacket and hoped that the collar might contain it. Even just for a while.

Submerging again to look below me I noticed a significant thing missing. The creature. Without it I would not be able to find my way back. I searched and turned and twisted. I swam to the tunnel and back into the air pocket. It was gone. I don't remember it leaving nor do I remember it staying. I had spent so much time here it must have gotten bored.

I felt a tugging at my foot. Then again. And again. I looked down and saw a different creature. I looked at the tunnel and there was an entire swarm of them surging in my direction. I took a final gasp of air before majority ruled my actions. They pulled me feet first through the tunnel. Face up towards the top I could only hope we were going in the right direction.

I had to trust them as not doubt them. Something told me they could sense doubt and fear. As they lead me outside the tunnel I hit my head against the tunnel itself. I had an instant pain right across my forehead. We were going up. That much I knew.

The lack of the original guide haunted me slightly but I found myself doubting. The grip of the creatures increased. There was at least five creatures on each of my legs. All positioned before the knee.

One particular creature lingered around the area where the dagger had pierced my skin. Another appeared and stayed close to my head. I lifted a hand to my head and felt the line or blood. There was a distinct cut. I brought my fingertips to viewing point and there was definitely more blood than anticipated.

I had disturbed the blood on my forehead and the creature swam in its tra. Tilting my head back I saw the peloton. The group following was getting bigger. I was sure that there was not that many moments ago.

As we continued to surge upwards at a constant speed of fast I looked down or back multiple times. Each time the group looked larger. Each time they slowly seemed to be getting closer. Ever so slightly they didn't appear as small anymore. I knew there were all the same size so distance was somewhat easy to distinguish. And it was obvious they were gaining. Too obvious. Frightening.

Almost.

My head was throbbing and the pain was immense. The water hasn't stopped the blood anything. I moved my hand and covered the scar but one hand didn't reach the whole way across. With both hands clutching my head I had no way t stabilise myself when we entered another tunnel.

The creatures took the first half of my body and left the top half to just follow. My rib age copped quite a few knocks to various corners. It was then that I fired in the pitch black that we were back in the maze of tunnels. From a release of pressure that I didn't know was there I knew we hadn't changed general direction. We were no longer going up or diagonally up. We were going horizontally. Thankfully.