Welcome To Crete

Welcome To Crete

Chapter One

Just when Adam had finally got a smile out of Fay and there'd even been a few moments of, dare he believe it, warmth between them, something in her had snapped and they were back to square one again. Well in truth, being back to square one at that moment in time would have been preferable, if back to square one had meant that they'd never entered the cave in the first place. Okay so maybe he shouldn't have teased her in there. But then maybe, once in there, she shouldn't have gone all cold on him again, turned on her heel and headed back to the exit without him! She was supposed to be his guide after all.

He stood, contemplating the dark abyss in front of him. It was what bridged the gap between the relative reassurance of the light at the back of the cave, which was streaming in through an opening in the wall of rock, and the exit. There was no escaping the fact: he would have to navigate himself through the darkness alone if he were to ever get out of there. The belly of the cave loomed ominously before him.      He sighed; he wasn't exactly over the moon about the thought of stumbling back alone. What a nuisance. Perhaps he should give up on the idea of employing Fay after all, no matter how well she had been recommended to him... or how much he just itched to make her lose her cool. That thought went some way to healing his injured pride but he knew he'd keep her on in the end; she was too much of a temptation for him. The truth was that he had enjoyed teasing her intensely and, well ... it wasn't just that... the more time he spent with her, the more intrigued he became...., not to mention the moment just before she had backed away from him and disappeared from sight.

Taking a deep breath, he finally ducked to account for the lower ceiling which he knew was ahead and edged forward into the darkness. He had to disagree with Fay's parting comment at that point, for it was just as difficult getting back out of the cave as it had been entering it: or worse now that they hadn't got the support of each other's steadying hands. It was then that it dawned on him just how precarious that section of the cave was and he began to wonder how she had coped on her own. It must have been the earlier blow to her head that had prompted her to disappear without him because no one in their right mind would want to face this eerie darkness on their own! Without doubt it had been an irresponsible move, no matter what tension had been between them, and he hoped to God that she had managed on her own without further incident.  The ground under his feet was extremely uneven and as he moved forward his feet were constantly slipping and twisting on the grooves in the weathered rock.

What was that? Bats?

He could make out nothing. Had Fay reached the exit yet? How much further? He pressed on, his eyes straining to find light. It was only moments later when the sudden sound of a scream shattered the silence. Adam froze. It wasn't just a scream; it was the sound of utter terror. Panic prompted him to move then and in his urgency to reach light he gave up trying to inch forward and got down on his hands and knees, ignoring the way that the rocks bruised his legs as he scrambled out of the cave.

"Fay!" he bellowed, struggling to focus his eyes as the brilliant sunlight hit them. With his vision finally returned, and his heart thundering, he frantically scanned the mountainside for evidence of her.

"Fay!" he called again. "Where are you?" Still there was silence. He ran a little further down the mountain path but she was nowhere to be seen.

Oh hell! What had happened?

A multitude of unthinkable explanations as to what might have happened to her flooded his mind then and he felt suddenly nauseous. Faced with her ambiguous absence he had no choice but to assume the worst and, anxiously holding his breath, he went to the wooden barrier at the edge of the mountain. He peered over. She hadn't fallen! He let out a sigh of relief and with it another anguished shout.