The Tidal Cave

     "We're gonna drown!" Wiluite shouted, his eyes wide and panicked, “what do we do?!”

     Through squinted eyes Clara could see the exit above, right in the middle of the chamber, but there was no swimming to it with the merciless current. She looked around frantically, scanning for something, anything, to grab onto. There was nothing. Except for the very wall she was up against. Though the wall was too smooth to climb, she could crawl her way across. It wouldn’t be easy with the rising tide, but there wasn’t much choice in the matter. The water was now up to their chest; the cave floor, rocks and stalagmites completely submerged under the opaque, murky water. She glanced at her friend, who struggled to keep his head above the water as the waves lapped at him.

     “Wiley!" Clara called back, “hold on to the wall and crawl! Follow my lead!”

     “Huh? Uh…okay!”

     They hugged the wall, dragging themselves along as the waves pummeled them. Clara’s arms started to ache, with the force of the current working against her, each inch she moved exerted her strength more and more. A wave crashed over her head, she sputtered and coughed out globs of water. She quickened her pace, clinging to nearby stalactites for support. Her friend had a much more difficult time, the weight of his pack slowed his movement to a crawl and the force of the raging river pushed him against the wall, the added pressure of the heavy contents of his knapsack practically crushing his spine.

     "We're almost there!" Clara shouted, "just a little further!”

     Every few minutes, the water surged, the current becoming more turbulent. Time was running out, fast. Their ticket out of here was just within their reach. Clara grabbed one of the stalactites surrounding the gap and swam under the fissure. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the blinding shafts of light beaming through. When her eyes adjusted, she saw their escape route; the passage led straight to the outside world, light rain drizzled down into the cave. In the distance she could see the sky, the sun could barely be seen behind the overcast, almost directly aligned with the crevice, shining down what little light that could penetrate the blanket of clouds into the cave below. Several ledges protruded from the sides of the tunnel serving as handholds, an easy climb. She looked back for Wiluite, only to see him trailing behind. He was barely halfway to her. He struggled as he inched forward, heaving himself across the wall.

     Clara waded over to him, grabbing his arm, “Here, take my hand! Let’s go!”

     She dragged him along, stalactites and other nearby handholds guided her as she fought against the current. She struggled to stay afloat, even with Wiluite sharing the burden, carrying the pack filled to the brim with all the pirate’s treasure was like lugging a large boulder. The chamber was now almost completely flooded, the water up to their necks by the time they reached the crevice.

     “Hurry Wiley, up this way!”

     “Good riddance,” Wiluite said, “we’re almost home free! And with all this tr—!”

     He stopped in his tracks when the sudden fur-raising sound of tearing fabric ringed from behind. He twisted his neck, looking over his shoulder. To his horror, his pack had caught on a stalactite, tearing a hole through the bag. He gasped as coins and gems spilt out, disappearing beneath the waves.

     “No! No, no, no, no, no!” He cried out. He swung the pack around his waist, bracing the tear with his hand.

     “Wiley, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

     “No! My pack just tore! The treasure’s leaking out!”

     “Let it!” Clara commanded.

     “What? No! I'm not leaving without my—our—treasure!”

     “Don’t be ridiculous! You know there’s no way we can take all the treasure with us! It’s too heavy! We’ll just get dragged down under all that weight unless we lose some of it!”

     “This treasure is our fortune! We’ve gone too far to lose it all now!”

     “It’s not worth it if it means throwing your life away!”

     Wiluite paid her no attention, he continued to drag himself across the water, arms wrapped around his over-encumbered pack, barely keeping afloat, moving at a Slorg’s pace.

     “Wiley, the cave’s flooded! We don’t have much time, we have to get out of here!”

     “I won’t leave it!”

     “For Fyora’s sake, listen to me!”

     “I’ve already told you, no! I’m not giving up on it this easily—Argh!”

     One of the straps got caught under another stalactite, the tug ripping the pack out of his hands. Wiluite gasped as he watched it sink. He made a move to dive down after it, but Clara snatched him by his arms.

     “Wiley, stop! Leave it behind!”

     “NO! NOT AFTER I’VE COME ALL THIS WAY! I’M NOT LEAVING THIS PLACE EMPTY-HANDED!”

     Clara winced, she bit her lip as she felt a hard jab to her side. Wiluite wriggled out of her grip, ducking under the water.

     “YOU IDIOT!”

     She dived in after him, kicking her legs as hard as she could. The water was an inky black, darkness circled around her. Her body went numb from the cold. She could barely see Wiluite a few feet down, straining his arms and kicking his legs more violently than ever as he lifted his pack, fighting to reach the surface in time. Treasure spilt out of the tear, several more coins, trinkets and dubloons as well as a silver goblet vanished into the depths, relieving some of the weight, but it was still too heavy and impeded his ascent. She swam towards him, arms wrapped around his waist, she kicked, propelling them both upwards. Within moments they burst through the water.

     “Wiley, are you crazy?! You could’ve drowned just now!”

     “Well, I didn’t! And like I said, either this treasure comes with us, or nothing!”

     “I swear, your stubbornness is going to get us both killed!”

     Wiluite latched onto the ledge and pulled himself up. Clara followed close behind, supporting him as he climbed with his heavy pack in tow. They moved quickly, clambering from ledge to ledge, outpacing the flood beneath them. Already the pair of adventurers could sense the surface world; the fresh smell of grass and pine trees suffused their lungs, the sunlight brought waves of warmth to their soaked fur, hope rushed back to the front of their minds, their rescue was finally in their sights, within their grasp.

     “OH, CRUD!” Wiluite screamed.

     His foot slipped. Clara gasped, calling out his name. He found himself staring down into the rushing river below, its surface sparkled in the sunlight. His heart skipped a beat, chills ran down his spine as hope shifted to terror and panic. There he was, free-falling back into the deep, dark cave. His body revolved, he now stared into the tunnel leading out, escape far beyond his reach. For a brief moment he saw Clara, terrified, reaching out in vain, powerless to help her friend. In that instant he could see the sun, the light vanished behind a passing dark cloud. In seconds the tunnel went dim. His body turned again, all he could see now was darkness, the wind rushing past him as he fell. Down, down, down…

     THUD!

     He yelped, the wind knocked out of him as if he got punched square in the ribs. He raised his head, confusion briefly clouding the Kyrii’s mind before he pieced it together.

     “Oh my Fyora! Wiley, are you okay?!” Clara’s voice echoed from above.

     He looked up, lifting himself off the ledge that saved his life, “I…I’m alright!” He called back in between coughs. Clara exhaled a sigh of relief.

     Suddenly, he gasped when he realized his back, along with being a little sore, was much lighter than normal. His hands clasped all around, his shirt all that he could feel.

     “Oh no, not again!”

     He turned to see his knapsack just a few feet away from him, dangling precariously on a ledge across the gap. In a panic, he went down on all fours and extended his arm, the pack just out of reach. He crawled over, bracing one arm on the edge while reaching out to the torn pack with the other, his upper body hanging in the space over the flooded abyss below.

     Meanwhile, up above, Clara looked down from atop a ledge. With the sunlight gone, the end of the tunnel and the cave beyond were now shrouded in complete darkness. She could not see the rising water below, but she could hear the slosh and roar of the waves, she knew it was catching up, quickly. She couldn’t see Wiluite either. Despite hearing the reassurance in his voice a moment ago, she knew he didn’t sound so good. She made her descent to check on her friend. She watched where she placed her feet, carefully, slowly and gently, jumping down from ledge to ledge.

     Suddenly, there was a loud crack, the unmistakable noise of stone grinding against stone. Clara’s heart jumped to her throat, she twisted her neck around, the rock she was holding onto had come loose. It broke off the wall, its weight dragging her down with it. In an instant she lost her footing, falling over backwards, tumbling off the ledge, a terrified gasp all she could muster. The wind rushed past her fur, she flailed her arms, trying in vain to latch onto anything, but there was nothing, she was falling through the very centre of the tunnel, everything beyond her reach.

     Wiluite lifted his head, sensing something coming down at him from above, closing in fast. He jumped back as Clara whisked past, nearly crashing into him, falling so fast she was just a blur.

     “Clara?!”

     He leaned over the ledge just in time to see her vanish into the darkness below. For a moment, there was silence, then a loud, distant splash echoed from the shadows.

     “Clara, are you okay?!”

     There was no response, only the sound of the waves beneath. He froze in place, staring down into the abyss. The silence worried him, but then he put himself at ease, Don’t panic, she’s okay! It was just a short fall, wouldn’t hurt anyone. And she’s an excellent swimmer! She’ll come back up any second now!

     He waited, listening intently, expecting her to surface any moment. Perhaps he would hear a splash followed by her gasping for air and soon enough she’d emerge from the shadows, climbing back up. Seconds passed. Nothing, there was no sign of her. He kept waiting, confident that she would pull through. Still nothing. At that moment, his heart sank, fear crept back to the very front of his soul. She should have come back up by now. Why hasn’t she surfaced? Something’s wrong…

     He made a motion to dive off, but he froze when his eyes met with his pack, which dangled dangerously on the ledge ahead. He trembled; the treasure was right there a few feet away in front of him. If it tipped even a slight bit to either side, it could fall off and plummet into the waters below, this time losing it for good. All that effort, which he risked his very life for, would be all for nothing in one wrong move. But this wasn’t about the treasure, was it? He looked down to the darkness below.

     Clara wasn’t coming back up, what if something truly happened to her and she needed help? But would it be worth losing the treasure that he fought so hard to keep? In that very instant, his eyes met with a peculiar sight. He fixed his gaze towards his pack, the glint of treasure shining in the dark through the tear. He realized what had caught his eye; ruby, emerald and sapphire gleamed, stark against the shadows. He crawled towards the treasure, bracing himself on the ledge, reaching out, the lure impossible to resist.

     To be continued…