Adretheon

My feet were sore. After walking so far it eventually takes a toll on a person. By my calculations we had been inside the cave for only three hours. Three hours of freezing cold air and jagged pathways. Still no sign of Marcus and John, or even an ending to the frozen hell. No sign of anything, just darkness. After so long the darkness begins to play tricks on your mind. You see things, hear things, feel things. Yet there is nothing there. Just the black.

“I need to stop.”

The voice came from behind. It was Sarah.

“It's too cold, I can't move any more. This darkness, I...I just can't.”

She couldn't stand the darkness. She never could since I've known her. Always slept in well lit areas, and barely traveled by night. I didn't blame her, women in this time have it the hardest. Having to deal with men with no rules. Men with no morals. Sarah had gone through a lot. She was strong, but jaded from abuse.

I reach out to comfort here, but she jumped back when my hand finally found her arm.

“It's gunna be alright. Sarah, we'll get through it. It shouldn't be to much longer.”

“I can't...”

I lit one our four matches. There was terror on her face. Her eyes red from crying. I hadn't realized that she had been.

“Look, we're gunna get through this. I need you to be strong. Come on Sarah you can do this. You can make it through. We're here to help.”

The match didn't last long before it went out. I grunted in pain as the flame touched my hand. I sat in front of Sarah for a few moments and tried to find something new to say. Some way to help her move.

In the distance there was a low rumble. I heard pebbles shifting from the vibration. I stood up, and gripped to handle of my gun harder. I turned towards the darkness in the direction of the others.

“What was that? Sounded like an explosion.”

I heard the faint sound of gun shots, but in the cave they could have been miles away.

Sarah stood. I heard her moving towards where the sound came from.

“I guess we're going.”

We again walked in the darkness. We didn't know how far we had to walk before we'd run into whatever made the sound, or if we'd even see it. What could have cause an explosion, if that was even what it was.

I kept my gun in my hand. Loaded and ready for anything that could jump out. I wasn't about to let anything get me again.
“Hold up.”

I had stepped on something on the ground. It was round and small, it felt like a tube. I bent down and picked it up.

“Grab the matches outta my pack. I can't see this.”

Sarah opened my pack and pulled the matches out. She pulled off a match and struck it on the strip, but nothing happened. She tried again, but the match wouldn't light.

“It's not working. It won't light. We only have two more, what do you want me to do?”

I grabbed the match and stuck it in my pocket.

“Well keep it just in case. Light another.”

Sarah started to light another match. I pulled the object up to my face and smelled it.

“It smells like a flare. Feels used. Did Marcus have flares with him?”

“I don't know. He could have. Why wouldn't he tell us though?”

There was a low grunting sound. I dropped the flare and grabbed my gun. I heard Sarah trying to light another Match

“Shit, I dropped the matches.”

“...sarah...”

“Marcus? Marcus that you man?”

Sarah started looking for the matches on the ground as I made my way towards the voice. As I got closer I heard a faint sound. For a moment it got completely silent, and I could hear the noise. It was a slight hissing sound. It almost sounded like running water. Then I figured it out. The used flare. The sound of the explosion. Gas. Some how gas was leaking into the cave.

In the darkness Sarah picked up the matches and broke one off. She started to strike it as she said,

“Found them!”

“Sarah! No!”