Page 76 of Kingdom of Rot & Ruin
Son of a fucking bitch.
My breaths were loud in my ears, and I struggled to keep them calm and measured. If the air was limited, I would need to use it wisely.
Well, at least my choice was made; I had to go forward.
My hands and feet scrambled, taking stock of my surroundings since I could no longer see shit. In a way, it was a blessing; I could forget about the oppressive claustrophobia because I couldn’t see the rock walls pressing in on me.
I pushed hard with my legs to propel myself forward. Too hard, because my upper body shot out into open air with no rock around it, and I fell down. My head hit first, the fall happening so fast I couldn’t get my arms up in time. I slipped into a crevice head first, getting wedged tightly by my shoulders and hanging upside down.
This was it. This was how I died.
Blood rushed to my head as my legs kicked ineffectually in the air, my arms pinned at my side. It was times like this that I hated being so intelligent, because I was brutally aware of not only how I would die, but how long it would take. If I couldn’t jiggle myself free somehow, the weight of my body would continue to push me down into the hole, compressing my lungs and my heart. Without my rituals, it would likely take only two days to die. Since I had done a few to make myself ‘heartier,’ it could take a week until I succumbed.
Unless there was a bigger chamber below me.
It was a huge risk. Did I try to squeeze myself forward and hope there was a bigger chamber below me, or would I make myself more stuck and unable to back out?
Don’t panic. Don’t panic.This was the perfect time to panic!
No choice. I had to push myself further down, and pray there was a larger opening below me and I’d be able to turn my body around and go back out the way I came.
If I got out of here, I’d never go into another cave alone again. I’d take Shava. Hell, I’d take the damn dragon if I needed to.
The dragon could get me out.
Right. No matter what happened here, there were options.
My body protested as I wiggled down, pushing off the side of a rock wall I could reach with my left leg. The pressure increased all over my upper body and shoulders. My ribs protested. My lungs protested. The rock walls pressed in on me, even though I knew that was ridiculous and rock didn’t move inward. My panicked mind was simply playing tricks on me. I had to calm down and take back control.
It was difficult because now I was firmly wedged in the tight crevice, unable to move, and only able to take shallow little breaths.
No going back now.
Ignoring the pain and protests of my body, I kept pushing with my legs. Blood pounded in my ears, every heartbeat magnified as my head throbbed.
Just a little further …
My body protested each fraction of space I gained, compressing my organs tighter and tighter. As I continued, I thanked myself for completing the strengthening rituals I’d done. Without them I might have already passed out, or forced to stop due to the demands on my body.
Unbelievably, I kept pushing. The pain wasn’t pleasant, but I wasn’t dead or dying. Yet.
One. More. Push.
I couldn’t breathe. My chest was too compressed. I was far enough wedged into the rocks that my leg could barely push off from the rock wall. I had a final choice: commit to pushing through the wedge and get one last final push with my legs, or turn back. Either the final push would push me through the whole way or I’d be trapped. And hopefully, Shava and Zariah would figure out a way to rescue me.
A sliver of horror went through me at the very thought of having to be rescued.
Right, one final push.
I took a moment to gather myself, and allow my heart rate the chance to calm down. The darkness felt more oppressive than the rock shoved up against my internal organs, with the trickling sound of water the only thing audible around me. If I stayed in my head too long, it felt like the cave walls were closing inward on me.
Ok, that was enough ‘rest.’ I cocked my leg back and prepared for one last, final push.
Here we go.
My leg cocked and bent.
“Zephyr!”
