The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 8.3

Scotty felt his feet scrape bottom and tried to stand. He'd fallen into a deep pocket of water, so he hadn't broken his neck, but the strong current had swept him along so quickly that it had been all he could do to keep his head above water. It had lessened a little here, but it was still too strong to stand against. Then, with a bone-jarring thud, he was flung up against a large rock. His frozen fingers tried, and failed, to get a grip, but the current pinned him firmly against the rock, and he was able to relax and breathe for a moment.

"That does it," he panted. "No more water rides for me!"

He wondered how far he'd come. In the darkness it was impossible to tell, but from the speed he'd been moving he thought it might be quite a distance indeed. He hoped he hadn't gone past Aurora somewhere, but this was the first opportunity she would have had to pull herself out of the water, so he probably hadn't.

"Aurora?" he called. His voice echoed distantly over to the left, startling him. The tunnel, at times barely wide enough for him to fit through, had obviously widened quite a bit. Luckily it had been carved out when the water level was higher than at present, or he would have drowned.

There was no reply, but Scotty noticed with surprise that he could see. There was some kind of light source off to the left, where the echo had come from. He looked around and realized that the tunnel curved sharply to the right, which explained why he'd washed up against the rock, which was jutting out from the wall near the mouth of the cavern. He waited a moment, sucking on his fingers to restore some warmth to them, then began pulling himself out of the water. The air felt good, almost warm, and he paused to savor it, hoping the feeling would come back in his legs soon. He rubbed at them, hoping to hurry the process along before trying to cross the slick, uneven stones that lay between him and the lit cavern.

As his calves started to burn, he thought he heard something, a sigh or a groan perhaps. Scotty went to work on his feet, shaking out his fingers, which were thawing quite painfully. He hoped his body could stand a little more rough treatment before going into shock and was thankful for the rough survival training he'd had.

A piercing shriek made him jump, and he nearly slid into the water again. "Aurora!" he shouted in panic, scrambling to a precarious balance on his feet. He judged the jump to the next boulder and made it, jumping, sliding, and sometimes splashing his way to the water's edge and pulling himself up into the cavern mouth, adrenaline pushing his body to work past its limits.

The cavern floor was sandy, and Scotty staggered across it, heading toward the light source, which surprised him by emanating from a hole in the ground. Silhouetted in front of it was Aurora's still form, sprawled on the ground. She was pale and unconscious, hardly breathing, but her face was working, as if she were having a bad dream.

"Aurora," Scotty breathed, collapsing beside her. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it hard. "Aurora. Wake up. It's me, Scotty." When that brought no response, he shook her arm as hard as he could, feeling his adrenaline surge ebb, leaving exhaustion in its wake. "Aurora! Come on," he pleaded.

With a sharp little cry, Aurora shuddered violently, and her eyes flew open. "S-Scotty!" she managed to whisper.

"What's happening?" he demanded.

"The creature—this is it—it's feeding off me." She shuddered again.

"I've got to get you out of here," Scotty said. He ordered his body to stand up, but it didn't obey.

"No," Aurora said, surprising him. "Not yet. We aren't finished. But—but don't leave me. Stay here and hold my hand. So I don't lose myself. Rest, and hold onto me. Don't let me go."