LONG ROAD AHEAD

12

The sun was shining, but the ground was still wet and muddy. Craven and Phoenix trudged through the sludge, trying to cover as much ground as they could in one day. It was not as easy as they had hoped. They faced walls of rock and slippery cliffs. In some places, the side of the mountain was too steep to scale, forcing them to turn around and backtrack to find another way.

            The climb was hard with only one good shoulder, but Craven worked through the pain. The trek through the mountains was arduous. Many of the old roads and trails had been long washed out or blocked by a landslide. They travelled for hours before Craven needed to rest. His shoulder was aching. They sat down on a cluster of boulders to eat and drink. They were exhausted from the difficult climb.

            Craven took the cap off his canteen and tipped it up, trying to quench his mighty thirst. There was little left, and he drained the canteen dry. The other three he carried were also dry. Craven tied it back onto his belt and ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I’m out of water,” he announced, watching Phoenix tip her own way up, trying to get every last drop.

            She sighed and lowered the canteen. “So am I,” they needed to find some fresh water soon, or they would die of thirst. Craven took the book from the folds of his cape and began to study the maps. There did not look like there were any water sources nearby. Phoenix glanced up the mountain they had been climbing. “Do you think we can get over this thing? It just goes on forever.”

            “I don’t know,” he answered, starting to doubt their abilities. They had been travelling for well over a week and found themselves as lost as lost could be. Understanding the map was not easy. All the mountains looked the same to him. “Maybe there’s a way through the mountain.”

            “A cave?”

            “It’s possible. He got through these mountains somehow. If we are finding it difficult, I’m sure he did too. There has got to be something we are missing,” he said, turning the book to get a different perspective of the map.

            Phoenix stood up and walked over to him. She peered at the map over his shoulder. “What about this?” She asked, pointing to something that looked like a path through the mountain valley. “Why have not we found this road yet?”

            “It’s possible that we did, but a landslide buried it. We have no idea how long ago he made this map. It’s possible that things have changed since then,” Craven explained. He stood up and placed the book in his cloak. “We should keep moving,” he suggested, “it’s going to be dark soon.”

            Phoenix led the way, finding sturdy footholds as they made their way up the mountain once more, her cloak swaying with each steady, careful step. Craven followed close behind her. His mind was focused on the night before. Even now, he could not help but crave her. Had they not been in a hurry, he would have liked a few quiet days alone with her in that cabin. She had not mentioned what happened between them, but she was far less closed off this morning than she had been the previous time.

            They climbed for what felt like hours and reached a plateau. There was an opening in the side of the mountain, and the sun was beginning to set. “We should use this cave as a shelter for the night,” Phoenix suggested.

            Craven followed Phoenix into the cave. Inside, the ground began to slope downwards into the darkness. Phoenix ran her hand over the grooves and stripes on the sides of the walls. Neither of them had seen anything like it before. It was dark, so Craven went outside and broke some dead branches off the grey dead trees. He built a small fire in the middle of the cave mouth. “I think we should talk about last night,” he said, finding his courage. They had been focused on the climb all day, but now they had time to talk. They needed to deal with what was happening between them. They could not just keep ignoring it and pretending nothing was happening.

            “What do you think this is?” She asked, taking a close look at the stripes in the rock.

Craven sighed. “Did you not just hear me?”

“Yes, I heard you,” she said, turning to face him. “There is nothing to talk about.”

“I think there is plenty to talk about.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I see, so we just continue as we are, and pretend like this s****l tension between us doesn’t exist?” Craven stood up. “When we kiss, you are hot and passionate, and when it is over, you pull away from me. You become cold and distant. Like you regret having been with me.”

Phonix went quiet. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to behave. I have never been in a situation where I enjoyed being with a man. It feels so good to be with you. I guess I’m just scared that it’s too good to be true. I am constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Craven walked over to Phoenix and rubbed her biceps with his hands. “I would never hurt you, Phoenix. Not physically and not emotionally. I need you to believe me. I need you to trust me.”

Phoenix stared up into his eyes. “I do. I’m here. This is me trusting you.” He did not believe that Phoenix trusted him, no fully at least. Maybe there had just been to much hurt and too much anger in her past for Phoenix to ever fully trust anyone. Maybe stollen moments was all he could ever hope for. “Now, will you look at the wall of this cave?”     

            Craven sighed. He waled back outside and found a large branch. Bringing it to the fire, he lit the branch and carried it over to the cave wall so he could get a better look in the light. Phoenix was right; there was something strange about the grooves in the rock. They were deeply cut into the rock, and the material was an almost metallic colour. He had never seen anything like it.

“Well, what is it?” She asked impatiently.

“I don’t know,” he admitted holding the lit branch closer to illuminate the side of the rock wall. He ran his fingers over the grooves. “I have never seen anything like this.”

            “Do you think an animal did this?”

            “No, I don’t think any animal could do this,” he said, holding the lit branch closer. “Look how deep it is in spots. Whatever it is, I’m certain it is a natural occurrence,” suddenly, a spark from the flame landed on the wall, and the grooves and lines caught fire. The flame rushed along the wall and down into the cave, causing a huge explosion. Craven and Phoenix hit the ground as a rushing fireball came their way and blasted out of the cave, and the whole place shook and collapsed in on itself. Startled, Craven had dropped the branch. He rolled over onto his back and looked up.

            Craven heard Phoenix scream, and when he looked over, he noticed her cloak had caught fire. She was struggling to get it off and rolling around on the ground. Craven leapt to his feet in a panic and pulled his cloak off. Swinging the heavy wool fabric, Crave beat Phoenix with his cloak trying to put the fire out. He kicked the dirt at her, and as the flames began to die, he dropped to his knees, his cloak draped over her as he patted her down, putting the last of the fire out.

            Phoenix lay in the dirt, breathing hard and staring up at him. Craven pulled his now singed cloak off her and pushed the shreds of burnt remains of her cloak aside. Taking Phoenix by the arms, Craven helped her get up, his hands searching her body to assess the damage done. She was surprisingly fine. Her cloak had suffered most of the damage, and their quick action had saved Phoenix from further harm.

            Craven held her close, his arms protectively wrapped around her. His heart had almost stopped, and fear had taken hold, worried that Phoenix was in grave danger. “Are you alright?” He asked with concern.

            “Yes, just a little shaken,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at the grooves in the rock wall. “Let’s not do that again,” she suggested.

            “That is probably a good idea,” he agreed. Craven looked back at the mouth of the cave. It had been completely sealed with rock and boulders. The fire had been nearly extinguished. Releasing Phoenix, Craven walked over to the rubble and tried to clear it. Everything was heavy and wedged in tightly. There was no moving it. He growled with frustration and sat down on one of the immovable rocks. “It would seem that we are trapped in here,” he announced. “I can’t move this.”

            Concern was clear on Phoenix’s face. They were out of water and trapped behind a ton of rubble. She looked back down into the darkness of the cave’s belly. “I guess our only option is to go in and hope it comes out the other side.”

            “This cave could very likely go nowhere,” he argued.

            “Well, we can’t get out the way we came in, and if we sit here, we are going to die. So, unless you have a better idea, I say we see where this goes,” she said firmly.

            She had a point they had no other choice. Craven picked up some shreds of her ruined cloak and wrapped it around the end of the thick branch, fashioning himself a crude torch. He was sure as long as he kept it away from the walls, they would be fine. He held it in the dwindling flame of the dying fire and lit it. Holding it up, he wrapped his tattered cloak around Phoenix to keep her warm. “Alright, let’s see where this goes.”

            Phoenix took the point, and they walked with slow, carefully placed steps. They were unsure about the integrity of the cave, and they did not want any more surprises. The cave sloped downward, and they wandered farther and farther down into the mountain. The deeper they went, the wider the cave became, opening into a huge cavern above their heads were jagged rocks and hundreds of small, winged critters.

            Phoenix pointed up, her voice low and shaky. “Dear lord, what the hell are those?” She whispered.

            Crave was not sure, but they looked familiar. He had seen these things somewhere before. He stopped Phoenix and removed the book from his cloak. They both groaned when they saw that the book had been singed badly in the fire. Craven opened the book, praying that the maps were still readable. For the most part, they were. They had gotten really lucky. He flipped the pages to the many sketches of animals and plants. It only took a few minutes, and then he spotted it, an image that looked just like the creatures above them. “I knew I had seen these things before. They are in the book.”

            “What are they?” She asked nervously.

            He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, but they look like a winged rat to me,” he said, pointing to the picture.

            “Are they dangerous?”

            “I can’t say. I can’t read, remember?” He closed the book and tucked it away safely in the satchel he was carrying. “I think it would be best if we tried not to disturb them,” he whispered.

            They began to walk through the cavern, their boots splashing in some foul-smelling white glop. Phoenix held her nose. The smell was enough to make a person sick. “Gross, what is this?”

            “I don’t think I want to know,” he said, trying not to lose his lunch. They trudged through the cavern and followed the winding slope down. The path soon became narrow along the walls overlooking a huge canyon that went so deep they saw nothing but black. They could not be sure just how far down it went, or what was at the bottom, but neither of them wanted to find out. With great care, they shimmied along the narrow ledge. Craven kept his arm outstretched in front of him to keep the flame away from the rock wall.

            The stones beneath his boots slipped, and Craven caught himself before he fell, his heart was pounding hard. The sound of the rocks bouncing against the others as it fell echoed through the cavern. They both held their breath and looked up. The huge flock of flying rats above them began to squeal and shriek. Their wings spread, and then they swooped down, swarming Phoenix and Craven.

            Phoenix screeched with fear. Her arms flailed to swat the beasts away as they bit her over and over. Her sudden thrashing causing her to lose her balance, and Craven watched in horror as Phoenix fell from the ledge. “Phoenix!” He screamed, reaching out to catch her, but he missed. Craven leaned over too far in his attempt to catch Phoenix, and he too fell off the ledge.

            They fell fast, each screaming as they plummeted into the darkness below. Dread and panic gripped them. Once they hit the rocks below, they would surely die on impact, but to their luck, there were no rocks below. They plunged into an icy river creating a huge splash.

            Craven held his breath and swam back up to the surface. Breaking through, he gasped for air and did his best to tread water. He shook his head, getting the wet hair out of his face and looked around for Phoenix. He could not see her anywhere. “Phoenix!” He called for her, hoping for a reply and getting none.

            Crave took a deep breath and dove back underwater to look for her. It was difficult to see anything. It was far too dark. He surfaced and took a deep breath and then went under once more. He refused to stop until he found her. Craven spotted Phoenix. The cloak she wore was wet and wrapped around her. She struggled to free herself so she could swim up to the surface, but the cloak had her arms and legs contained. Craven swam over to her and helped to free her, removing the heavy fabric altogether. Once she was free, they both headed for the surface.

            Breaking through the surface, Phoenix gasped greedily for air as she tried to tread water. Brushing her wet hair out of her face, she looked around frantically. Craven was amazed they had survived the fall, but now they had no torch, and things were dark. He looked around at the sides of the rock walls. There was no way they could climb all the way back up. “What are we going to do now?” Phoenix asked breathlessly.

            They were far too deep for this water to have gathered from the rain. “This water has to be coming in from somewhere,” he said. “Which means if it can get in, we should be able to get out,” the logic was sound.

            “Oh, that is a great idea,” she scoffed, “and how do we find where it is coming in from? There is no current. The water is still.”

            No current meant the water was not passing through the cavern. It was pooling. The entrance must be underwater. “We will have to dive,” he suggested. “It must be underwater.”

            “You are crazy,” she snapped. “Look at all this water. It could be anywhere.”

            He was sure the way out had to be around there somewhere. Craven took a deep breath and dived once more. He held his breath and swam around, trying to find some hole or passage, but all he found was rocks and more water. Craven came up for air and then dove again to continue his search. He came up for air five times and dove again, convinced he could find a way out. He finally spotted a passage deep under the water. It had to be the way out.

            Craven returned to the surface to collect Phoenix. “I found a passage. It has to be how the water is coming in.”

            “A passage? You have no idea how long that passage may be or if it leads anywhere. We could get trapped under the water and drown,” she protested.

            “We are trapped either way. I don’t know about you, but I can’t tread water forever. I say we take our chances,” he snapped back at her. Phoenix glared at him but knew he was right. They had no choice but to risk it. She nodded in agreement. “Ok, take a deep breath. You are going to need it and follow me.”

            They both took a deep breath filling their lungs with air, and then they dove under the water. Crave swam down deep under the dark water to where he had found the passage. He looked behind him to be sure Phoenix was with him, and then he entered the passage. It was small and narrow, but they found their way through the tight quarters. The passage was dark and seemed to go on forever.

            Craven was starting to think he had it wrong. There was no way out, and he could not hold his breath much longer. Craven felt Phoenix grab his leg. He looked back and could barely make her out in the darkness, but she was pointing. Craven looked toward where she was pointing and saw a flicker of light. His hope was renewed. Light meant an exit. They swam toward the light and found a narrow hole in the wall of the rock. There was light on the other side, but the hole was too small to swim through.

            Phoenix looked at him with fear in her eyes. They had to get through, or they would drown. Craven placed his back against the rock wall to brace himself and began to kick as hard as he could, trying to break away the surrounding rock of the small hole. It was hard, but after a few powerful kicks, the rock wall gave way, and the hole became bigger, just large enough for Phoenix to swim through to the other side.

            Craven tried to follow, but his shoulders would not fit. He was still too large to fit through. Finding it harder to breathe, he braced himself once more and kicked, but nothing budged. He could not get through, and he had no more breath. The world slowed, and he was going to blackout soon. Phoenix looked concerned, and then she turned and swam up, leaving him behind. A moment later, she returned and swam back through the hole. Phoenix swam up to Craven and clamped her mouth over his breathing into his mouth, supplying him with the much-needed air he needed to stave off death.

            Oxygen returning to his brain, Craven held his breath once more and began to kick with all his might forcing the hole wider. Phoenix swam through once more, and Craven tried to follow, getting stuck again but only for a moment before he made it through. Free, Craven and Phoenix swam up toward the light and burst through the surface. He gasped for breath and looked around.

            The cave wrapped around, but there was definitely light coming in. They had found a way out. They swam over to the edge and pulled themselves out of the water. They took a moment to rest on solid ground, panting heavily, each thankful to be out of the water. Phoenix looked toward the light. “Well, you were right. That did get us out.”

            “You were right, too,” he smiled, “if we had not explored the cave, we would have never found it.”

            “Then it is a good thing we have each other,” she smiled. “On the bright side, at least we got a bath.”

Craven laughed. “Come on, let’s get out of this cave,” they both dragged their waterlogged bodies on to their feet, both freezing from the cold water. Shivering and exhausted, they trudged toward the light and found their exit. Stepping out into the light of sunrise, they saw the valley below filled with small lakes. The cave’s water source.

            They walked down to the closest lake, and Phoenix dipped her hand into the water, bringing it up into her mouth to taste it. “It’s fresh water. A little dirty, but there must be something feeding it,” Phoenix said, coming to her feet.

            They walked for a while around the edge of the lakes. There was a small waterfall coming out of a hole in the side of the mountain. Fresh running water. Excited to have finally found drinkable water, they both held their canteens under the falls filling each and tying it back to their belts. Craven looked around and smiled at what he saw. He pointed ahead of them at the clear road winding through the valley. “Look, we found the path.”