Depthless: Under The Library

Chapter Eighteen// Stella

Stella's POV

I know what I'm doing. I will get myself down there, save Niko, and hopefully Skye, or die trying to be a heroine. No big deal.

Sweat soaking my clothes from sheer exertion, I grasp firmly onto the rope, my life's temporary anchor. With steady movements, I lower myself down, bit by bit, only hoping the rope won't snag on my weight. The last time I checked, I'd almost fallen while doing this. Almost. But I can't let David know, or Niko can't be rescued.

Breathing heavily, I shout up, "Shine a torch down here, please! I need to see where he is!" I tug on the rope, dread settling over me, coating me, suffocatingly so. I tug again, my heart a jackhammer in my chest. There it goes. Snap! A horrible sound, as the rope threatens to break. I feel the thin pieces snap, and soon, the whole rope would be torn in half.

My heart sinking, I call out, fear rippling through my voice: "Can you toss some more ropes down? I think this one won't hold any longer."

I try to steady my breathing About ten feet above, I hear bustling as the people gathered proceeded to carry out my commands. A hollow voice echoed down the chasm: "Catch it!" The next thing I knew, a light is switched on and focused onto me. I crane my neck upwards, "I'm ready!"

A slithering sound was heard, and I feel another rope sliding down the opening. I fumble with my rope, extend a hand, and in one swift movement, I caught the other. "Okay, now tie it to something!" I order.

I have to look away. The light is blinding as to look at. Instead, I play with the ropes, trying my weight against both ropes. When I finally feel the second rope secured, I continue shinning down, groping the rope with my hands, finding footholds on the rocky walls to stabilize myself. Grunting, I look over my shoulder and a wave of terror washes over me. I know you aren't supposed to look down, when you climb down, but I had to.

"Niko! Where are you?" I screech.

"I'm here." I hear him groan, about a few feet diagonally below me. Slowly, I inch my way across. "Here, catch this other rope!" Without waiting for his response, I threw the second rope, praying that he'll catch it, and not let it slip downwards, into... I shudder once more. Never before, had I went on such a treacherous rescue mission. So much for my vow to never go near this place. Now I'm actually climbing down it, through a makeshift rope, relying on nothing else but helpful footholds.

As I neared the place where Niko is, I can hear him make small moaning noises, and my heart just flips over. Is he badly injured? Could he manage to climb up the rope? I bite my lip and push the haunting questions out of my mind. Right now, the important thing is to reach him safely. I can't afford to lose concentration and plunge headfirst into who knows what deadly horrors await down below.

In seconds, my blouse is completely soaked through. The dampness and the darkness of the cave is unnerving enough for me to call it quits, but determination to save Niko plus the adrenaline from my sudden physical exertion eggs me on, and I scurry down as carefully as I could manage, escaping with as few scrapes and bruises as I could manage. Jagged rocks and out-jutting pieces of the rocky walls leave scratches on my bare arms. I feel my jeans tear a little (on the knee, thankfully) but still I continue. On and on, I lower myself, grasping onto the ropes, watching where I place my footing...

Climbing really takes one's full concentration. Relax your grip on the rope, kick your legs off the walls... you might lose hold altogether.

"Are you alright down there?" A hollow, barely recognizable voice floats downwards. It's David, his voice weird and amplified by the echoes.

"Yeah... I'm almost there." I grunt. The light plays over me, and I'm glad to be able to see my footing. Without the light... I'm pretty sure I'd have impaled myself in a sharp rock or knocked myself out.

I glance down once more, groping with walls while still holding onto the rope. This time, I'm rewarded with Niko's pale, sweaty face staring stricken up at me. Relief flooded throughout my veins. He's alright! Little birds of giddying happiness chirp in my head, and I tell them to get lost. I still have a few more steps downward to reach him safely, and I need all the concentration I could muster up.

Sucking in my breath. I survey the situation. Niko's struggling to stand on his feet, but I could tell just that simple action is as exerting as climbing is for me. Maybe more, in whatever condition he's in. He's standing on a rough, narrow ledge made of rocks. The space is too cramped, and even Nikolay has to press his body tightly against the walls to prevent from falling over. A glance upwards shows where he caught his clothes on a thin branch. A piece of dark green cloth flutters weakly on the branch. My heart drops.

"What happened? Are you injured?" I call out, worry causing my hands to tremble as I lower myself down a few more feet, find secure footholds in the rocks and suspend myself, my hands never letting go of the ropes.

"Bruised myself while falling from up there. Cut my head a little as well." He groans. My stomach lurches at the sight of his bloodied head. Scrapes lined his face and arms like battle scars, jagged and pronounced. As for his head wound...

"Toss down a piece of cloth! Quick!" I shriek upwards. In a few seconds, a scarf flutters downward. Hastily I catch it, ball it into a crumpled wad with one hand, and somehow, get it down to Niko. "Press it onto your wound! You need to keep the pressure!" I instruct him. "Staunch the blood flow a little!"

Under the torchlight, I see his stagger a little on his narrow ledge, cursing as the blood kept spurting out from the open wound on his head.

"Niko... I'm coming down, okay?" I tell him, absolutely unready for what I'm preparing to do. "Just... just shift back a little, don't lose hold of the walls, don't remove the scarf!" I order.

Injured grunts from below told me that Niko had obliged, somewhat painfully, and made space for me to land.

"Great." I mutter, my heart twisted into a ball. Now's the time for a little acrobatic act. Gathering up my courage, I count silently to three.

One... Don't think about missing...

Two... Don't fall...

Th---

"Stella!" From above, a hysterical voice howls out. Startled, I momentarily lose what little courage I had, my concentration thrown off balance. At the back of my mind, I'm vaguely aware that I'd reached the count of three, and I should jump.

Blindly, I let go of one rope, dangle off the other with one hand, a leg hovering off the air. My eyes are bleary as I try to focus on hitting the bulls-eye without a scrape. Come on, Stella, just make the jump! I'm so close...

Closing my eyes, I breathe in, as sweat slid down my forehead and into my mouth, leaving a miserable, salty taste.

"Stella, look out!" David screams.

Stunned, I feel my grip on the one rope loosen considerably, as I try to grasp my mind around David's warning. Small pebbles shift and roll down the sloping walls. My heartbeat quickened into an unsteady drilling as I feel myself sliding downwards, legs flailing helplessly through the void as I plunge steadily down.

The wind whipped my hair into a frenzied tangle. My breaths became uneven with each wild gulp I tried to take. My eyes widen in absolute horror as I realize, that, in mere seconds, I might either crash onto the hard ledge or miss terribly...