Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 118-

Day: 183

Days Left: 5297

Lives Saved: 0

Corinna stirred awake. She massaged her head, attempting to soothe the pain. It was like her skull was rattling inside, ringing and splitting in her ears. Rubbing away the sand caught in her eyes, Corinna found herself in what looked like an underground tunnel. Stumbling, she stood upwards, her knees bruised and almost buckling.

She looked up and saw the cracks in the tunnel ceiling where a thin spout of sand sprayed down slowly creating a pile on the ground. The wisp swirled around in the lantern, cutting away at the darkness of the tunnel in an emerald glow. Corinna sighed in relief that Harmony had given the wisp to her. Without it, she would be lost in the darkness.

But how was she going to get out of here?

The ceiling was too high for her to reach. Digging herself back up was out of the question, not to mention dangerous. She could potentially cause it all to collapse and bury her. Corinna was relieved that there was a tunnel beneath. Clutching tightly onto her arms, the young woman imagined what it would be like to be buried alive, the sand filling up her lungs, unable to breathe...

Shaking her head, Corinna dismissed this thought and concentrated on the positive. She was not buried alive. She was not trapped in the dark. And she still had her weapon to defend herself. Finding her spear on the ground beside her, Corinna picked it up.

There was a whimper behind her.

Spinning around, Corinna pointed her spear, ready to attack but then lowered it slightly.

It was the imp that had stolen Harmony's notebook. It had also fallen down with her. Cowering against the tunnel wall, body tucked in small, the imp clutched tightly onto the notebook. When it noticed Corinna staring, it cried and flung the notebook at her then returned back to sniffling.

Corinna picked up the notebook that was now bent and slightly torn. After she shook off the sand, she put it away in her backpack. Everything in her bag seemed to be okay after the fall, though her sandwich was flattened but still edible.

She glanced back at the imp. She wanted to blame it, blame it for why she was trapped down here. It seemed that the imp was regretting trying to steal the notebook as it huddled its legs to its chest, snivelling. Corinna wanted to shout at it, yell at it, scream at it. But how would that help the situation? The imp wasn't the reason why the ground collapsed. Even if it didn't try to steal the notebook, Corinna would have walked that way regardless. She would have fallen down into the tunnel either way, but she would be alone instead.

Swallowing down her spite for the imp, Corinna knew that they would have a better chance of escaping if they worked together.

"Hey," Corinna called out to the imp, using her softest voice possible. "We need to find a way out of here."

The imp raised its head, then turned away.

Corinna sighed. "Look, I have a light source." She raised the lantern containing the wisp. "I'm going to try and find a way out. It's your choice if you want to come with or not. But if you don't, you'll just be in the dark. It'll be pitch-black down here."
The imp turned even further away, arms crossed, scowling. It reminded Corinna of how her second-cousin once removed, Amelia Earl, acted when she was having a tantrum.

Crouching and lowering her spear so that she seemed less of a threat, Corinna stepped closer to the imp. "Don't you want to be with your friends again? I know I want to be with my friends- my friend..." Corinna corrected herself. Of course, she remembered that there was only one person up there waiting for her. Harmony must have escaped a while ago. It was just Calixte left now. Was he looking for her? Did he even notice that she was gone? Or was he too distracted by Harmony leaving?

She was gone...

Harmony was gone...

Sucking in a deep breath, Corinna stood up again and clapped her hands together. "Come on! I'm going to find a way out! You're either in or not!" She motioned to the imp to follow, but it remained sitting, gazing down in defeat.

Her nose scrunching up, Corinna glanced at the tunnel then back to the imp, questioning whether to abandon it.

The ground trembled, and the whole tunnel shook. Sand fell down from the ceiling, covering Corinna and the imp's heads. It shook again, this time louder in a low rumble. Corinna slowly looked up. The cracks in the ceiling were spreading.

"We need to go now!" Corinna yelled, but the imp remained stationary. Groaning, Corinna grabbed the imp by the hand and dragged it out of the way.

The ceiling above ruptured, a cascade of sand and rock collapsed down. Carrying the imp in her arms, Corinna sprinted down the tunnel as the cracks in the ceiling travelled further along, the earth above breaking and splitting, the walls crumbling into itself. Corinna dared not look back, instead focused on the path before her, hoping that it wouldn't come to a dead end. Hearing the shattering of rocks and spilling of sand behind her, the young woman's heart thumped violently against her chest and rang through her ears. Her breath was staggered, each gasp painful like she was swallowing shards of glass.

She continued to run, hoping that it would end soon, hoping that they would make it out so safely.

Her foot tripped.

It slipped on a piece of rubble.

Corinna crashed onto the ground. The imp was flung out of her arms from the force.

And everything went black.

Something warm oozed out of Corinna's forehead. She groaned, her hand quivering in pain she wiped away the blood. She tried to stand but she couldn't. There was a heavy weight on her legs restricting her. Her eyes glanced back. The lower part of her body was trapped under a pile of rocks and sand. She attempted to lift and kick her legs, but it was no use. It wouldn't budge.

Corinna controlled her breathing, calming herself down. There was no need to panic. She would get out, she promised herself. Fortunately, the lantern hadn't got buried. It lay on its side, slightly dented, with the green wisp swirling inside, illuminating the place and keeping the darkness at bay.

Spotting the imp laying on the ground in the distance, Corinna called out to it.

Regaining consciousness, the imp stood up and brushed off the sand from its cloak. It turned and saw Corinna trapped underneath the rubble. It got closer, its eyes darting from Corinna then to the lantern.

The imp picked up the lantern.

Corinna stared at it. "Please..." she muttered, her eyes watering.

The imp turned and walked away with the lantern.

So this was it...

Corinna lowered her head, gritting her teeth, trying desperately not to let the tears escape. She looked up, ready to yell and curse at the imp but she didn't.

The imp stood still a metre away, the lantern in its hands. For a while, it stood there, unmoving. Then, it walked back and laid the lantern down on the ground beside Corinna. The imp stared at Corinna for a moment, a long moment.

Corinna stared back.

Going over to the pile of rocks and sand, the imp began to move the debris trapping Corinna's legs.