Healers' Call

A Heart to Heart

Valda blinked her eyes, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, letting them rest, before opening them again. But the same image confronted her.

Ahead was a pinprick of light. A small glimmer of hope that their time travelling through the tunnel was coming to an end. But even that small amount of light lifted her spirit.

"I think I can see the exit ahead."

Carrick and Mauve lifted their heads, straining their eyes to see what Valda had. They felt a moment of pure joy when they too, saw the light in the distance.

Sandwiched between them still, Tevin could barely lift his head to see the light for himself. Every time he looked up from his feet, he felt the tunnel walls closing in on him and instinctively shied away from doing so. But he couldn't resist trying to glimpse the outside world.

"Do you want to rest now or keep going?" Mauve looked between Tevin and the other two.

Tevin shook his head weakly. "Almost there. Just carry on. Have to get out." His ragged breathing breaking up every sentence.

Valda would have argued with him, given his green tinged skin and shaking legs, but his frantic eyes stopped her. It was clear he needed to get out of the tunnel before he passed out.

With new found strength, Tevin struggled forward with Carrick and Mauve still gripping his sides. The three stumbled along, their speed increasing as the light became larger and more noticeable.

Tevin breathed wildly, his whole being focused on that light. He knew Mauve was whispering things to him. Maybe messages of support? But he couldn't focus on her words. His brain couldn't understand anything other than getting out of the tunnel.

When the first wave of fresh air hit his face, he almost broke down in tears. It felt heavenly on his overheated skin. He blinked rapidly as they tumbled out of the tunnel, icy rain hitting his face and soaking through his hair.

Just for a moment he stood there, his head turned up to the sky letting the rain trickle down his face and wash away the sweat from his clammy skin. His legs shook so badly, they crumbled beneath him until he was on all fours, grasping at the rock.

"It's okay. I'm still here. We've got you." Mauve knelt beside him, cradling his head in her lap.

Carrick and Valda busied themselves with setting up camp. They shook out the tarp, that so far they'd been lucky enough not to have to use, and set it up over them. All three of them knew it would have been easier to camp in the tunnel's mouth, but there was no way they were going to convince Tevin to get any closer to his own personal hell.

The sun dipped in and out of the clouds as the rain continued to drizzle. It threw rainbows that graced across the sky, filling their world with colour. After the darkness of the cave, the light surrounding them was hard to look at, but they didn't turn away. They wanted to fill their memories with the colour, anything to bury thoughts of their journey through the tunnel.

Valda stacked the fire, whilst Carrick went to scout their surroundings. She snapped her fingers, igniting the fire easily. Though it had only been a few days since she'd discovered what she could do, she found magic surprisingly easy. As long as she focused on the word in her mind she no longer had to say it aloud. It was like she was made to wield it, which, given her less than useful sword skills, was a good thing.

They had filled their backpacks with food, courtesy of the giants so at least they didn't have to hunt for their dinner. It was almost like Kadtius had known how difficult they would find the tunnel and the thought made Valda shiver.