Fear The Light

Down the river

Sweat beaded on my brow, my boots trudging through the thick brush. The river was almost as loud as the thunder above me. It hasn't rained yet, but I could smell it. I stared at the small cave across the river, heart hammering. I didn't want to get wet but there was no choice; I already wasted too much time following the river to find a shallower piece. Feeling thankful of when I had previously tightened my bag and anything else that may loosen. Deep breath. Cold shocked my system. The rocks like ice under my shoes as I pushed off. Swimming hard against the rising current, my fingers were cramping. The chill carving itself into my bones. A hard tug of an under-poll leaving me choking on water with each stroke. Fighting hard my hands clawed at the other side; it's frozen mud, numbing. Heaving myself onto the tough rocky mud bank I slumped to my left side hacking up dark water. Heavy drops hit my face. Thick clouds giving way to a heavy storm. My limbs shivered not wanting to move anymore. Pushing myself up to stand, I brushed away wet hair, and staggered to the cave. Entering the dark dry cave my teeth began to chatter. Dropping my bag, numb fingers fiddled with the zipper before I pulled out dry clothes; the lighters and dried blue moss I had come across along the way had fallen out. An idea sparked. Dropping the clothes I sprinted outside to a nearby dead tree ripping off several dry branches only to toss them into the cave and go back for more. My knees slammed to the stone as my breath came out hard, uneven, through my chattering teeth. I crawled further into the cave; two meters exactly. Placing the moss in a medium sized hole in the caves floor along with the smaller bits of branches, I tried for a few moments to light it. And then finally, flames. Soon with the more branchs and sticks the fire was roaring. By then my chattering wasn't nearly as bad. Standing I walked back to where my bag and dry clothes were picking them up. Cautiously I pulled off my wet clothing letting it slop to the ground beside me, the flames warmed my bare skin as lightening cracked outside. The clothes were big but warm nonetheless.

Carefully I began to pull items out of my bag to take inventory once again.

Total inventory count:
1 Small pillow
2 First Aid kits
2 Sleeping bags
2 compasses, 2 maps
2 small axes
8 peices of rope, 24 metal climbing clips
5 Water bottles including my hiking bottle
3 Stale Poptarts (strawberry flavored)
1 Tube of toothpaste with 1 toothbrush
1 hairbrush, 1 mirror
7 shirts
5 shorts
1 pair of sweat pants
2 sweaters
1 rain jacket
1 baseball cap.
2 Small packs of moist wipes
1 Three in one shampoo large size
1 medium sized towel
4 Beers, 2 cans of cola
20 protein bars
1 Bottle of eye drops
1 pack of condoms
2 flashlights including my keychain
2 tarps
8 knives
1 Box of matches, 1 lighter
1 flair gun
2 & a half Rolls of toilet paper
1 miniature cooking set with small frying pan

Inhale...exhale...inhale, and I was calm. While stuffing everything back into my big bag I left out one of the sweaters and one protein bar. My fingers clasped a long stick from the fire for my makeshift torch as I slowly stepped further into the cave. My loud crewing echoing down the caverns. I needed a safe place, a secure place to rest easy. Turning right down yet another tunle I stumbled into the belly of the cave its walls and ceiling at a great height, humongous stalagmites and stalactites glinting from the stormy light beaming in through holes in the ceiling.
I sprinted through, a best attempt to stay away from the trifles of flowing water, following deeper in. Until finally I came to a small tunle. The tunle was just half a foot taller than myself and just three feet wide. Pushing myself through I came out into a smaller space.