Leave doubts inВ the shadows
Bury them into oblivion.В»
We can simultaneously explore two dark grottoes and as many light ones as we like, in this case we are moving towards the light…
«But as soon as the third dark tunnel appears at the same time – this is the wrong path, which must be buried in oblivion. We only have two flashlights! You are a genius, Lavina!» Alex jumps to his feet despite his tiredness.
Everyone livens up noticeably, unexpectedly receiving aВ clue, at least something resembling aВ hope toВ get out ofВ our common grave.
«So far we’ve been going relatively well and, judging by the narrowing of the walls and the lowering of the ceiling height, in the right direction. We’ve never met three dark passages at the same time. Until then,» Planck says excitedly.
«We shouldn’t have come here. The right path is the very narrow hole that we so carefully tried to avoid,» Joleo sums up.
«No! No! No! This isn’t true! What if this grotto is the final destination?!» Yu looks around pleading. «Why can’t we wait for the tide and just float up like the corks? Planck, how will the water behave when it arrives at the grotto?»
For aВ while, Planck ponders her proposal:
«I’m afraid it’s impossible to predict. I don’t have enough information about our location for that. It all depends on the geographic latitude. The water can come slowly enough that we just get tired of staying on its surface and drown before we can reach the top of the cave. But if the tide passes quickly, then, on the contrary, under the pressure of water we can be knocked down, taken into a whirlpool, hit against the rocks… But the main danger is that this grotto can not completely flood, but only to a certain level. Then the chances of getting out are zero. It remains to wait for low tide and stay on the water until that time… And we still don’t take into account the relief on the surface…»
«If this is really a way out,» Martha interrupts him calmly, «then the organizers plan to kill at least one person today,» after a pause, she adds, «I can’t swim at all».
Martha is right. The organizers ofВ the game must know about this. The question about the ability toВ swim was clearly present inВ the questionnaire.
«Be that as it may, we must return. I don’t want to become fish food. Whoever wishes can stay here and hope for a miracle. And I went to hope for a miracle where I can still do something».
With that, Runner turns and walks without hesitation into the tunnel we just came from. Planck, Martha and Alex followВ him.
BeBe stands near the wall, hiding her face in her palms. Joleo approaches the woman and whispers something softly in her ear. I can’t make out the words, but gradually BeBe lifts her face and despair is replaced by some new expression, similar to hope. Finally, she breaks into a faint smile. Joleo carefully takes the woman by the hand and gently leads her behind him, like a frightened child. This is how they join the rest. This gesture touches me deeply. Joleo, so absent-minded and plain at first glance, became a real savior for BeBe in her moments of deep despair. He found the strength for two. I am imbued with indescribable respect for this player. Some people in stressful situations tend to panic, while others, like Joleo, are able to reveal themselves from a new side – full of nobility and human dignity.
My attention turns toВ Angel and Blonda. The guy sits detached on the floor ofВ the cave, Blonda kneels inВ front ofВ him and holds his hand.
«Angel, baby, you have to move. (Baby?!) Please come with us», she begs him, “’cause staying here means death. Please don’t leave me alone!»
She either shakes him byВ the shoulders: В«get up, IВ said, do you hear?В», then tearfully asks: В«please, follow me.В» Angel seems toВ be inВ aВ daze and only occasionally shakes his head.
I really don’t understand anything about human relationships. Blonda, self-confident, sharp tongue beauty, in love with, albeit outwardly attractive, but weak man? It looks like Runner is tormented by the same thoughts. He returns from the tunnel and sharply addresses Blonda:
«Leave the baby here, it’s his choice».
«I’m not going anywhere without him,» she snaps.
«If you don’t go by yourself, I’ll carry you by force,» Runner seethes with indignation and jealousy overwhelming him.
«I’m not going anywhere without him, you understand, you son of a bitch?» she repeats with undisguised contempt.
Runner takes a deep breath and, grabbing Angel by the hand, drags him along, thereby pulling the guy out of a deep trance. It seems that Angel is moving forward by inertia…
Me, Leeloo and Yu close this strange procession ofВ people who are fighting not only for their own lives, but also for the lives ofВ those who have become close toВ them.
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: two hours zero-zero minutes.В»
That’s who all human feelings are definitely alien to.
***
Despite all efforts, our team is progressing unacceptably slowly. Fatigue, thirst and despair do their job. When we finally stand inВ front ofВ aВ cramped manhole, which looks like copied from aВ real horror movie, aВ voice announces:
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: one hour and thirty minutes.В»
This grotto is not much different from the previous ones – convex rocky walls, sounds of drops and inhospitable piercing cold. And yet there is a difference: it ends with the release to freedom. Or a way to nowhere.
It seems toВ me, that the sound ofВ water is heard inВ the distance. Fear runs cold inВ my veins.
«I’ll go ahead,» Runner commands. He is sweating a lot and can hardly keep on his feet. His hands are trembling. «As soon as I get to whatever it is, I’ll immediately give a signal. You are all waiting here, got it?»
В«No time for that,В» Joleo objects sharply. В«We follow you right afterВ».
«What if the hole gets too narrow? I won’t be able to go back and we’ll all be stuck in this damn tomb!»
В«Nooo!В» Yu falls into uncontrollable sobs again. IВ try toВ put my arms around her shoulders, but she struggles.
«In this case», Alex intervenes, «we are still drowned. So what’s the difference where?»
Runner just waves it off and climbs into the tunnel without further protest. Alex, BeBe, Joleo, Planck and Martha follow him at two minutes intervals.
Surprisingly, Angel, without any persuasion, climbs after Blonda. The emotional shake-up obviously did him good.
Only me, Leeloo and Yu remain in the grotto. Yu is sitting on the floor, huddled into a ball and muttering, without ceasing, under her breath «no… no… no.»
«Yu», I try to sound soft, but convincing, «you can’t give up now, one step away from being released. After having come all this nightmarish journey!»
«You don’t understand,» she raises her face, wet with tears, «This isn’t just fear, but a disease that I cannot overcome. Breathing is out of rhythm, and the brain refuses to work. Terror paralyzes the entire body. I am like a fly in a sticky web – any movement only tightens the threads of fear, blocking the access of oxygen and common sense».
«It’s poetic, Yu, but let me tell you that staying here means certain death».
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: one hour, zero-zero minutes.В»
Now not any doubt remains: we hear the sound ofВ water, which gradually fills the grottoes, and is getting closer and closer toВ us.
«Don’t leave me,» Yu grabs my hand in panic, «You promised. You remember?»
«I won’t. But don’t leave me either», I frantically try to imagine what Alex would say in this situation, «don’t let me down! I don’t want to drown here… because of you, Yu!»
For some reason, from my lips it sounds like an awkward accusation, and not at all as aВ stimulus toВ active action. The art ofВ persuasion, apparently, is not my strong point.
Leeloo softly touches my hand and whispers:
В«Tell her that she is not alone, that you are also afraid. Tell her the truthВ».
The girl nods toВ me encouragingly and finally disappears into the tunnel.
«Yu, listen,» I say carefully, «I’ve never been so scared in my life. If it weren’t for all of you, I wouldn’t budge, I swear! Instead, I would sit and obediently await my fate. Only thanks to your strength of mind, I find the courage to move on. I just want you to know that».
Yu looks at me inВ surprise:
В«IВ thought you were one ofВ the few who managed toВ maintain composure. IВ admired your courage. Today you are aВ hero, just like Runner, Alex and Joleo.В»
«No! I’m weak. Help me survive this final stretch of the road».
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: fifty minutes.В»
Now the metallic echo counts down every ten minutes.
IВ hold out my hand toВ her. Yu takes it, gets up, squeezes her eyes shut and dives into aВ narrow hole. IВ have no choice but toВ follow her. At the same time, only one thought is spinning inВ my head about what aВ big mistake IВ am making. She has only toВ start panic, and we will be forever stuck inВ this hole. IВ had toВ go first!
The tunnel seems incredibly long, it becomes more and more difficult toВ crawl: the walls narrow and, judging byВ the sensations, we are moving upward. Behind, the sound ofВ approaching water is heard more and more clearly. Almost all the time IВ cheer Yu up, try toВ find the right words, and this is no less exhaustingly than the movement through the tunnel.
At some point, the walls become so narrow that you have to lie on your stomach. It is no longer possible to crawl on all fours. And then what I most feared happens: Yu begins to choke. To all my attempts, from soft persuasion and reasonable arguments to rude curses and threats, she doesn’t react at all. Instead, the girl repeats all the time like a mantra: «I can no longer, I can no longer, I can no longer.»
I myself am close to a panic attack. Judging by the splash and roar of the water, it is no further than three or four grottoes from here. Voices can be heard up ahead screaming our names. The echo is quite booming, which means that we haven’t yet approached the final goal and have to crawl at least a few tens of meters. We urgently need to come up with something, otherwise we will drown. Oh, if only I didn’t give Yu a promise not to leave her alone, if only I climbed first, if only I didn’t fill out this form on the website…
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: forty minutes.В»
В«Quiet, quiet, shhВ» IВ soothe myself inВ my thoughts. And then an idea comes toВ my mind, completely absurd and inappropriate, but there is no choice left. IВ remember my dear mother and how she used toВ help me inВ moments ofВ fear, anxiety or just sadness. Just one fairy tale.
«Yu, listen! I’ll tell you a story. You close your eyes and crawl forward. Don’t think about anything, just listen tp me!» Without waiting for an answer, I begin:
«Once upon a time there was a brave Bunny. He wasn’t afraid of anyone, not at all. He even kicked a Bear once. The Bear rubbed the bruised place, twisted at his temple and said «some kind of nutcase», then turned around and left. Maybe he didn’t want to mess with an crazy Bunny, or he turned out to be an overly kind and non-conflict bear. The Bunny was very brave. And extremely ill-mannered. Once he ran up to the Wolf and said indifferently: «Do you know what I like most for dinner? Wolf Steak! Medium rare».
В«Go toВ the doctor, psycho!В» the Wolf snapped, but just inВ case he went into the forest.
В«Nonsense,В» Yu grumbles, but moves from her place and slowly creeps forward on belly.
«I absolutelly agree with you! The Wolf should punish the Bunny for such bad manners! But you see, the Wolf decided that since the impudent behaves like this, he may have connections in an authoritative circle of predators! Well, a simple Bunny cannot say something like this to a wolf without having someone behind him. What if it’s Hippopotamus himself?! (I remember the tactics of my mother: for all my attempts to stop the fairy tale, continue to be offended, sad or angry, she invented new stories about the brave, ill-mannered, stupid, smart, etc. Bunny, depending on the situation. The main secret is to tell like nothing happened).
«The Bunny, elated with success, once met a wild Boar, who wanted to eat the Bunny»…
«Boars don’t eat Bunnies,» Yu interrupts angrily, but this anger is feigned. Well, if only she did not concentrate on the narrow tunnel!
«You’re right, they don’t eat. But they really want to try»…
IВ continue toВ talk some nonsense about the brave Bunny and his exploits, when at the end ofВ the tunnel such aВ long-awaited light appears. Now the screams ofВ other players are clearly audible, the clearest ofВ all is the alarmed voice ofВ Alex:
В«Lavina! Lavina, damn you, where are you?!В»
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: thirty minutesВ»
The main thing is not to think about anything! Continue to crawl and in no case be silent…
«Once the Bunny met the Fox. «I’ll eat you,» she said. «No, you won’t,» the Bunny replied insolently. You see, he was also very cocky. «The Bear, the Wolf and the wild Bear are my close friends and told me in all details about your intimate relations with them (in my mother’s version, these were always more harmless options like «stealing food», but in this place I already, as a rule, laugh and am fooling around with her). The Fox blushed all over with shame. And yet she ate the Bunny. But the redness has not completely disappeared, since then Fox has been walking red».
At this moment, someone’s hands grab Yu by the shoulders and pull first her, and then me, out of the hated manhole.
В«What aВ stupid fairy taleВ», says Yu, smiling weakly.
«You are welcome», I smile in response, «by the way, it’s called «Why the Fox is red.»
Barely catching my breath, IВ look around and see the worried faces ofВ the participants. The cause for alarm is obvious: we are inВ aВ dead-end light grotto. Its walls are significantly lower than the previous ones, but still smooth, without aВ single ledge. Angel and Blonda are palpating them, while the others are sitting inВ the center and discussing something violently. We join this company at aВ merciless voice:
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: twenty minutes.В»
«We have no choice… will try to rise to the surface as the grotto is flooded, like corks… If we made a mistake… we will pay dearly for it», Planck offers, breathing heavily. One can see how difficult our expedition was for him. From time to time, the elderly man pauses to clear his throat and catch his breath, «be prepared for the fact that the water level may be insufficient to get out of here… The walls in the grotto are no more than 10 meters high. But even if there is only one meter left to the brim, we are lost. Besides, no one knows the landscape on the surface»…
В«We are inВ the right place!В» Angel rejoices, В«Look what IВ found!В» he holds out his open palm, on which lies aВ stone, exactly the same as we found inВ the dugout with food yesterday. Only with aВ 1/2В fraction carved onВ it.
В«Great job Angel!В» Alex grabs aВ stone and shoves it inВ his bosom, В«Now there is no doubt that these things will be useful toВ us inВ the finaleВ».
В«And you decided that this stone will be more comfortable with you?В» Runner asks hostilely.
В«Guys, no time toВ quarrelВ», BeBe interrupts him angrily В«look!В»
We watch inВ horror as water pours out inВ aВ thin stream from the manhole from which we have just come.
«The narrow tunnel will create a pressure as soon as the water accumulates in sufficient volume in the grotto, where this very tunnel begins», Planck announces, «We’d better move to the opposite wall and get ready».
В«And what about Martha?В» BeBe exclaims with horror.
Our eyes turn toВ her. Martha sits calmly on the floor, and only her pale face betrays her inner state. There is aВ painful silence.
В«Until the flooding ofВ the cave system remains: ten minutes.В»
В«We all go toВ the back wall and hold on until the water reaches the neck. After that, we sail calmly, slowly, waiting for the water level toВ rise. Save your energy! Martha, listen carefully! Me, Joleo and Runner will take turns keeping you afloat. Most importantly, you must relax and inВ no case resist, no matter how scary and uncomfortable it may be. Clear?В» Alex commands an orderly tone.
«If you start to panic, I’ll have to let you go,» Runner threatens. Alex gives him a warning look.
В«Martha, this could mean death for both the drowning man and the rescuer. We are already too exhausted, running along the grottoesВ».
Martha just nods, unable toВ utter aВ word.
«I’ll take care about Martha myself,» Angel’s gentle voice sounds.
The players all, as one, turn their heads inВ surprise inВ his direction. Confused, the guy continues:
«I’m a professional swimmer and as a swimming instructor I had to take a course on rescuing drowning people. Besides, unlike you, I still feel a little bit of energy in me».
В«Because you sat on your ass inВ safety while we were trying toВ find our way out!В»
