Page 48 of Alien Healer's Touch

The passage widened suddenly, opening into a vast underground cavern. My enhanced vision barely perceived its boundaries. Water rushed in from multiple tunnels, the level steadily rising.

"There." Kavan pointed across the expanse. Structures rose from the cavern floor - not natural formations but constructed ruins. Angular buildings of unfamiliar design, partially collapsed but unmistakably artificial.

"A Nyxari outpost?" I asked, already moving toward the ruins. Water now covered the lower third of the cavern, with more pouring in by the second.

"Research station, perhaps. The symbols suggest a place of learning."

We raced across the uneven cavern floor, leaping from rock to rock as water claimed more territory. The ruins drew closer, tantalizingly elevated from the flood.

Then we hit the obstacle. Between us and the ruins gaped a massive chasm - at least fifteen meters across, with sheer rock faces descending into darkness. The remnants of a stone bridge jutted a few meters from either side, the center long since collapsed.

"No way across," I said, assessing the gap. My medical training calculated the drop - over forty meters, unsurvivable.

Kavan studied the chasm walls. "Look there. Handholds. Carved intentionally." I followed his gaze. Small indentations marked the rock face in a horizontal line, continuing around the chasm perimeter.

"A maintenance path?" I suggested.

"For guardians who couldn't fly, yes." Kavan moved to the edge, testing the first handhold. "Secure enough for my weight."

"And mine?"

"We'll discover that." He offered his hand. "I'll go first."

The crossing became a nightmare exercise in upper body strength. Each handhold required stretching to my limit, fingers cramping as I supported my weight. Kavan moved ahead with greater ease, his tall frame allowing faster progress.

"Don't look down," he advised. "Focus on the next hold."

Halfway across, disaster struck. The handhold beneath my right hand crumbled at my touch. For one sickening moment, I hung by one hand, legs swinging over the abyss.

"Kavan!" My voice emerged as a strangled gasp.

In an instant, something strong and flexible wrapped around my waist - his tail, extending to its full length. It tightened, supporting my weight as my fingers slipped.

"Grab the next hold," he instructed, voice taut with effort. I swung my free hand up, found purchase, and pulled myself back against the wall. "Thank you," I panted, heart hammering against my ribs.

"We continue." His tail unwound slowly, ensuring I had stable footing.

The final section presented a gap too wide for handholds. A meter-wide ledge waited on the far side, leading to the ruins, but required a leap across open space.

"I can't make that jump," I admitted after calculating the distance against my capabilities.

"Not alone," Kavan agreed. "Together, however..." He positioned himself on the final handhold. "Your weight distribution combined with mine. I push off, pulling you along. My tail provides counterbalance."

The physics seemed dubious, but the water below had risen to just meters beneath us. If we fell now, the impact might not kill us - but the cold and current might.

"On three?" I asked.

"One movement," he corrected. "Feel my timing through the contact." His tail wrapped around my waist again.Our eyes met, and something passed between us- trust, or perhaps resignation to our shared fate.

Kavan tensed, muscles coiling. I mimicked his posture. Then he pushed off, pulling me through the air beside him. For one endless moment, we hung suspended over darkness.

We hit the ledge hard, rolling to absorb impact. Pain flared in my shoulder, but all limbs remained functional. We'd made it.

"Medical assessment?" Kavan helped me to my feet.

"Bruised, not broken." I rotated my shoulder, wincing. "You?"

"Functional." He led the way up the ledge toward the ruins.

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