Caveship

3 || The Cave

With a groan, Nicholas slowly awakens, his entire body sore and complaining to him. He opens his eyes, though there's no difference between what he sees with his eyes closed and when they're open. He can feel a strange mixture of wet, freezing cold stone underneath him, and warmer flesh next to him. He's afraid to move, so for a while, he doesn't. Gradually growing more courageous, Nicholas starts to pull himself together, feeling around for the flashlight he once had.

He can hear someone cough in the dark. Soon, he begins to cough too, the result of so much dust particulate in the air.

The immediate area lights up a dull blue as a cellphone turns on, Ava's face obvious first in the glow, dirtied and bloodied. Behind her is Sarah, who is also covered in dirt, the phone's lighting making it look like they're covered in ash.

It is quiet. Only the occasional distant clack of stone falling from somewhere high echoes through the area. Out of the darkness, another face pops into existence, coming closer toward the glow. It's Sophia. Her forehead seems to have taken an impact from somewhere as it is somewhat bloody. She crawls over toward Sarah and Darius, who are untangling themselves from one another. "Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah," Nicholas says, taking the time to dust himself off. "I think so. Is anyone hurt?"

"I'm fine." Darius chimes in with a hoarse sounding voice, having inhaled dirt. "Sophia, you okay?"

"Yeah," she answers back. "Nothing too serious. I'm good."

"Me too," Sarah speaks up, though considering the quiet of their surroundings, one could hear a pin drop. She digs through her pocket to produce her own cellphone, adding more light to the pool.

"We're probably under miles of rock," Nicholas says. Like the others, he removes his cellphone, but quickly discovers his is broken. "Damn." He pockets it, clearly upset that he can't have his own source of light. "Turn on the lights on your phones. Let's try to see where we are."

The other four do as they're told, and four separate beams of light shine in various directions. The cave has since opened wide, much taller and wider than before. But the darkness swallows the light after a certain distance, making it impossible to see beyond the immediate area.

Focusing back on where they came from, Nicholas stands and carefully makes his way over to what was once the entrance. It has been sealed by massive amounts of rubble. He takes a moment to try to dig, but his rough movements only serve to agitate him.

Ava crawls up to Sarah, who is looking at her phone to see if it has any service. "Hey, do you think someone could've seen us go in here and told someone, maybe they're sending a rescue?" She says, visibly shaken; the once narcissistic girl more humble due to their situation. Sarah turns her gaze toward her, unsure of what to say.

"Let's try and look for a way out," Darius suggests, turning the beam of his cellphone toward the darkness awaiting them deeper within the cave. The others focus their beams in front of, or around them, giving them an idea of what the cave is like.

"You sure?" says Nicholas. "Maybe we're better off just staying here."

"I'm freezing, and covered in dirt," Ava complains, shuddering. "If I knew I was going to be trapped in some god forsaken mountain I'd have brought a sweater." She lifts her hands up to rub her arms.

Sarah looks at the wall next to her with her light illuminating it. She can feel it slightly vibrating when she places her hand on it. "This place is not stable."

"I don't think staying put is a good idea. If we can find another exit, we don't have to be stuck here, waiting for people to find us," replies Darius, who is already making his way into the dark. "It could take them days to even figure out that we're missing. Do we want to take our chances?"