The Tidal Cave

     Another minute passed, she tried again to push and pull herself free, but the result was the same, the rock stayed where it was. Clara leaned back on the floor, her stamina waning. She bemoaned that even though she could beat both her brothers in a playful spar with her wits and surprising strength for an Acara, she knew that there was no way she could lift the large slab. Despite the hopelessness of her situation, she kept fighting to break free, not one to give up so easily, even to the end. Her lungs started to convulse; she couldn’t hold her breath any longer. She closed her eyes as she exhaled, sending a stream of bubbles into the abyss.

     She shuddered, something slid across her leg. Her eyes bolted open, she lifted herself up to see Wiluite beside her, driving a rusty old cutlass through the thin space between her leg and the rock. He placed both hands on top of the hilt, heaving the sword upwards. Clara reached out, the tips of her fingers latched under the rock, lifting with all her might. It budged! She felt the pressure leaving her leg as the slab slightly winched. The cutlass, wedged under the stone, cracked under the weight, bubbles streamed out of Wiluite’s mouth as he strained every muscle in his arms. Clara tugged and writhed her leg, the rock shifted, and she broke loose. As soon as her leg was free, Wiluite swam over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She reciprocated; flinging her arm around his shoulder, hugging him briefly, much to his surprise, before they ascended, kicking their legs, rising to the surface.

     Their ascent came to an abrupt halt as the light radiating from Clara’s necklace revealed the cave ceiling above them, the exit nowhere to be seen. Wiluite reacted with alarm, his hands clasped along the face of the ceiling. Both of them had lost a lot of air and their lungs were starting to ache, there were no pockets or breaks to the surface anywhere, nor could they see several feet ahead or behind. All they could do was take a wild guess and pick a direction, hoping whichever one they picked led to the exit. The clock was ticking, one wrong move and…

     Wiluite shook the thought away, he swam with Clara in tow, looking for a way out, there was nothing but more rock and the darkness beyond, a blank nothingness that stretched on forever. Suddenly, he felt a smack to his forehead, bubbles once again emitted from his mouth as he let out a pained groan. He ran into a stalactite. Clara tugged his arm, she tried to tell him something, only for her words to be drowned out by bubbles. She gestured to the dripstone and took the lead. They swerved from one jagged stalactite to the next, until soon enough they saw it, a shaft of light beaming down from above.

     They moved underneath the crevice and swam up. The water had risen into the tunnel. As they rose, the sparkling light of the outside world grew brighter the closer they came. They breached the surface of the water; precious air finally filled their lungs again. The tide had only reached halfway up the tunnel and that’s as far as it was going. All they had to do now was climb the rest of the way. Clara latched onto a handhold and scaled the wall. As Wiluite moved to follow her, he paused. From the corner of his eye he saw a glint that he knew all too well, he snatched up his knapsack from the ledge, just barely submerged under the floodwater and sheathed the cracked cutlass securely into the tear. Halfway up her climb, Clara looked over her shoulder for Wiluite. She saw him scaling the wall, pack around his shoulders, trailing a little behind. He gave her a thumbs up with a grin on his face. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the pack again, letting out an annoyed sigh. If she weren’t busy climbing, she would have clasped a hand to her forehead too.

     The pair climbed up the wall, being cautious as to where they stepped, moving from handhold to foothold. Wiluite struggled to keep up the pace with his friend, who was at least three hands and footholds ahead of him. His arms and spine ached, his shoulders sore, the weight of all that treasure on his back not only slowed him down, but threatened to send him falling over, back down into the abyss again. And this time, he knew there would be no return. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed into a steely glare.

     “Wiley? Are you okay back there?” Clara called.

     “I’m good! Though, it’d be a heck of a lot easier without this!” Wiluite swerved the pack around his waist, reaching into the tear, tossing out a golden goblet.

     “And this…” He threw a couple bars of gold into the abyss.

     “And especially these!” He drew out a pair of diamonds, each as large as his head, tossing them over his shoulders.

     As the diamonds fell into the depths, his hands clamped to the wall, the pack much lighter to the relief of his back and shoulders, his pace quickened significantly. Clara stared down at him, a look of surprise and ease etched her face.

     They continued their ascent, almost neck and neck beside each other, from ledge to ledge, hand over hand, one foot above the other, the exit coming ever closer. They were almost there, just a couple more feet. Wiluite gritted his teeth, his arms and legs grew tired, straining as he clambered over each rock. As he was halfway over yet another ledge, he faltered, his limbs betrayed his will, sliding down the rock wall. Clara was in the same state, she felt her strength wane, pain seared through her injured leg with every step. She slumped on top of the next ledge she climbed on. She looked down at Wiluite, her own exhaustion mirrored in his face. He hung off the edge of the rock by the tips of his fingers, legs swinging in the air. He raised his head, staring at the end of the tunnel leading outside, back to civilization, the light almost blinding him. A weak gasp left his throat as he felt his fingers slide on the wet rock. He tried to lift himself up, but his arms and body were too heavy, his muscles burned with even the slightest movement. He looked over his shoulder, staring down into the watery abyss below, the shadows seemed to rise and fall, almost as if the vast emptiness was calling to him.

     He closed his eyes as his fingers slipped, his grip finally gave, and he fell into darkness.

     In an instant something clawed at his wrists. His eyes bolted open, his head jerked back to see Clara leaning over the ledge, a stern look in her eyes.

     “Not today, Wiley.”

     With one strong heave, she pulled him up, wrapping her arm around her companion. Together, they climbed with what little strength they had left. Clara quickened her pace, supporting Wiluite the entire time, who barely had the energy to lift his arm. The light shined brighter than ever, the sounds of birds chirping and the gentle swaying of trees and leaves in the wind rang in their ears. At their backs the shadows crawled up the tunnel, consuming everything in its path, coming closer and closer the higher they climbed.

     Clara gripped the very top of the cliff. As she lifted herself up, she gnashed her teeth, her arm burned like never before, screaming at her to stop. She gasped, sliding back down, a foothold stopping her from falling into the chasm, she felt a sudden tightening in her arm. She had pulled a muscle, the pain nearly unbearable. Her body went limp.

     Wiluite, in a panic, grabbed hold of a nearby rock. He stared at Clara, her breathing was rapid and shallow. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She blinked. Briefly, they locked eyes. He gave her a nod; a look of determination shaped his face. The stare alone said it all. They both turned their gaze back to the window to the outside world, lifting themselves up, supporting each other, ignoring the protests of their arms and legs. First their forearms, then their elbows, then they were up to their knees and finally, their feet placed firmly on the cliff’s edge.

     With one final wrench, they lunged, gusts of cool wind breezed past their faces, the pungent smell of dampness gave way to the fresh scent of trees and wet grass. The pair stumbled to their knees, trying to catch their breath, taking in the clean spring air, waves of heat warmed their soaked fur. Clara collapsed, grasping at stalks of grass, relieved to be out of the dark, damp cave. She turned to her side, Wiluite lay close to her, panting heavily, face down, practically kissing the ground.

     “Never…thought…I’d miss…grass so much.” He uttered between breaths.

     Clara just stared at him. She turned her head, staring into the blades of grass in front of her, Yeah, never thought I would either.

     After a short while they recovered enough of their strength to stand up. They took in their surroundings; they were in a large pine forest, woodlands as far as the eye could see, right outside the outcrop leading to the entrance to the cave they had just escaped from. To their relief, the storm had died down, leaving behind an overcast that would soon give way to perfectly clear skies. The sun returned at last, peeking through a break in the clouds, the sunlight briefly burned their sensitive eyes. Clara turned to Wiluite, who adjusted his soggy, torn knapsack over his shoulder, the few treasures within clinked and shuffled. He stared back at her, awaiting her lead.

     They followed the rocky hill. It stretched on for quite a while, but neither of them was keeping track of time, only taking in the sounds of birds chirping, trees swaying in the breeze and droplets trickling down on the grass. Clara closed her eyes for a moment, letting the ambience of the forest fill her ears. She and her friend had only been trapped in the cave for a couple hours, but it felt much longer. She welcomed the sounds as if they were each a long-lost friend. Wiluite in turn, took in the sun’s warmth on his sopping wet fur, slowly drying him up. Soon enough, they reached the pond where the whole adventure began. It had practically swelled into a lake, the entrance to the cave was flooded, a rushing river poured down the tunnels. There really was no climbing back out the way they came after all.

     As they approached, they noticed three figures in the distance beside the waterfall, faint voices echoing in the air, the words difficult to decipher over the roaring cascade. A blue Wocky held back a red Zafara while a blue Yurble stood beside them. When they came closer, their voices became clearer:

     “We can’t just stand here and do nothing! Clara and Wiley are both trapped down there, they could be drowning right now for all we know!” The red Zafara exclaimed.

     “Arthur, don’t! You’ll get dragged down the river and end up trapped yourself, or worse!” Zemia said.

     “Then there’s got to be another way in! Parlebb, can you check around the hill, maybe there’s another tunnel we can go through?”

     “On it.” The Yurble nodded.

     “You guys looking for someone?” A familiar voice echoed.

     The trio turned in the direction of the voice, a Kyrii and an Acara emerged from the woodland, Wiluite waved at them, a wide grin on his face. Clara was beside him, walking with a limp.

     Clara didn’t have time to respond as she was all of a sudden tackled, sending her sprawling to the ground.

     “Clara! Oh, thank Fyora you’re okay!” Arthur exclaimed, hugging her in a tight embrace. Clara hugged him back, “we were so worried! When Zemia showed up and told us what happened, we came rushing through the rainstorm as fast as we could!”

     He stood up, helping his sister to her feet, “Hey, are you alright? You’re limping! What happened?”

     “I had a boulder fall on my leg,” she said. Arthur gasped, Parlebb’s eyes widened just a little, “don’t worry, I’m alright. It wasn’t heavy enough to cause any real damage or anything. I’m just a little shaken up and…pretty tired.”

     “And she almost drowned too, until I swooped in and saved her.” Wiluite interjected.

     Arthur hugged her more tightly than ever. Clara felt a tingling course through her, she shivered as the pain subsided not just in her leg but also in her whole body.

     “Better?”

     “Much better," she said, “thanks, Arthur.”

     “You look pretty roughed up too.” Zemia told Wiluite.

     “Went through a little bit of a bumpy ride as the water came rushing in,” he rolled his shoulders, barely hiding his wincing as the soreness in his muscles flared up, “no big deal though, just a few scratches and bruises, I’ve been through worse.”

     “Sure you have.”

     “And speaking of,” Arthur walked over to Wiluite and placed a hand on his shoulder. The Kyrii sighed as his bruises faded away, “I’m glad you’re okay too, Wiley.”

     “Hey, like I told Clara, takes a lot more than a few bumps on some rocks to take me down.” He said with a smug grin on his face. Zemia scoffed.

     “How’d you guys escape?” Parlebb asked.

     “There was another exit ‘round back, this tunnel led straight back outside. Was one heck of a climb though, we had to wait for the room to flood before we could even reach the way out from the roof of the cave. And as you can see, we made it out just fine.”

     “So, what happened down there anyway?” Arthur inquired.

     Wiluite turned to him, “Wow, do we have a story to tell! Clara, if you wouldn’t mind starting off?”

     They took turns telling Arthur, Parlebb and Zemia about their adventure, all of whom listened intently.

     “Wow, you guys actually found pirate treasure?” Arthur’s eyes widened; his ears perked.

     “We sure did! And speaking of…”

     Wiluite threw his pack off his shoulders, turning it upside down. The cracked cutlass, a couple gold and silver goblets, some gems and other trinkets and a stream of dubloons and Neopoints all spilt into a small pile on the ground. Arthur leaned over, eyes wide with wonder, Zemia shrugged, Parlebb showed no change in his nonchalance.

     “Neat!” Arthur kneeled beside the treasure, picking up several trinkets, taking a closer look.

     “There was a whole lot more, but my pack got torn and a lot of the treasure fell out. Not really a big loss though, carrying all that was way too heavy, and I wouldn’t have managed the climb out the tunnel if I tried to hoard all that stuff up the cliff, could’ve lost both the treasure and our lives if I did.”

     “I bet there was. Guess you’re right though, some sacrifices had to be made. Anyway, what are you planning to do with all this?”

     “Save for the Neopoints and dubloons, I was thinking I’d sell it all, but I should ask, anything here take your fancy? Zemia, would you like some—?”

     “No, I’m good. Besides, I don’t want a pirate’s ghost haunting me in my sleep for the rest of my life.” Zemia said.

     Wiluite just stared back at her, eyebrows raised. “Oh…okay. Parlebb?”

     Parlebb just shook his head.

     “Arthur?”

     “Nah. It’s your find anyway.”

     Wiluite fixed his gaze on Clara, he was about to ask her the same question, but she walked up to the treasure and took a few gems, a ruby, sapphire and an amethyst, then stepped away.

     “Okay then. It’s all settled, off to the marketplace!” He scooped up all the treasure off the ground back into his knapsack. All except the cutlass, which he sheathed in his belt. He took one look at the sky, the sun was close to setting, it was getting dark, “And after that, I think we could all use some rest after this little escapade.”

     The others all nodded in agreement. With that, the kids set out on their way back through the forest. As they walked through the paved trails, Clara approached Wiluite.

     “Hey, Wiley?”

     “Yeah, Clara?”

     “Thank you.”

     He blinked, “Oh, you’re welcome! Wait, for what?”

     “For saving my life back there.”

     “Oh…yeah, don’t mention it, thanks for saving mine too. And don’t worry, I promise I won’t be taking you to any dark, scary caves from now on.”

     Clara smiled, “It’s not that, but thanks. I appreciate it, Wiley.”

     “Well, well, Wiley. I’ve gotta say I’m impressed.”

     Wiluite perked at the voice, he looked to his left, Zemia walked beside him. He immediately noticed her gaze, there was no hiding the sincere pride he saw in her expression.

     “Zemia, did…did you just say you were…impressed?” He said, genuine surprise in his voice.

     “You know what you heard, you little Lenny,” Zemia quipped, “just thought I’d let you know, you did great looking after Clara back there. I’ll admit, I was worried more about you than I was with her.”

     Wiluite raised an eyebrow, “You really mean that?”

          “Yeah, it looks like you can hold your own out there after all without me having to hold your hand all the time.”

     Wiluite had never been more silent in his life. Guess she really does mean it. And here I was thinking she hated my guts. You’re not so bad after all, Zemia.

     At long last, the forest gave way to spacious meadows that revealed the land of Neopia Central, the specks of light from buildings in the distance lit up the rolling hills. When they reached a crossroad, Wiluite and Zemia went to the marketplace while Clara and her brothers continued on their way together to the plaza.

     Late in the evening, the siblings met with their friends after Wiluite had gone to the marketplace with his newfound treasure. Turns out after a combination of auctioning and selling it at his local shop, the treasure turned out to be worth no more than 100,000 Neopoints. While he noted that it wasn’t all that much money in today’s economy, it didn’t bother him. After all, not only was it better than nothing, but he had also decided to keep the pirate’s cutlass as a souvenir once he had it repaired and restored, a fine addition to his arsenal that he intended to bring along for many more adventures to come.

     It was dark as night by the time they arrived at their neighbourhood and the friends went their separate ways. Clara let out a sigh of relief when she stepped through the front door and the familiar scent of home greeted her, the aura of moonlight shining through the windows, the warmth radiating from the fireplace and of course, the company of her family around her. Once they had dinner, Clara went to her room, collapsing on her bed, exhausted.

     Silence filled the air. Clear skies adorned the outside world, moonlight bathed the room in a beautiful, gleaming deep blue glow, shadows danced in the windows and on the wall. As she lay in bed, she couldn’t help but think about the entire adventure; the initial delve into the cave with her friends, the moment she got dragged down into the depths, the discovery of the long-gone pirate and his hidden treasure, the moment Wiluite saved her from drowning and their daring escape as the cave flooded.

     “What a day this was.” She muttered as she closed her eyes, giving in to the quiet atmosphere of the room. She couldn’t be happier to be back home.

     Right before she fell asleep, a peculiar thought crossed her mind, I wonder what other adventures await me and my family tomorrow? Or the day after? Or…the next several days to come? Ah, well, guess only time will tell.

     The End.