CHAPTER 38 The Tunnel

"What happened" Ema groaned in the darkness. Her ribs cage aches from the fall, her left hand going numb with the teeth of pain and her vision all blur. For some passing moments she found her lungs struggling for air, no matter how turgid and dry. Her head was heavy as though she bore the burden of the world. She could taste mud somewhere in her mouth, but her nostril still held the dusty air. The revolving little stars made the ringing in her ear chimed like the morning bell, but the fleeting moment was gone as it had come, when she gathered herself. The floor beneath was soft like a mud, she could have been complaining of a broken rib had the soft earth not cushioned her fall.

Wait a minute. What kind of floor has...are these twigs –?

Ema steered and noticed just then, as her vision came back to her, that what she had mistaken for a soft earth was actually her friend, Jeff. His hands were about her, and she could feel his firm muscles. His hot breathe on her face were harsh and rough, it was more like a stressful one. She stalled her whole body despite herself, afraid that a little shift would break the pleasant warmness. Her world was melting away, his arms felt safe, as if staying there would protect her from any danger. But she needed to let him have a taste of the dusty air, to save her the stress of dragging a hypoxic body in this stinking God knows where place.

"Get the hell off me" She said reluctantly, hoping he had not read the desire in her voice. Her feelings for him were getting stronger than the first time they met. Try as hard as she can, he wasn't looking at her direction. Whenever she thought she had caught him in her web, he always finds a way out. She didn't know how to approach him on the matter without embarrassing herself. To her, that was the most difficult task in the world, she would have preferred he said it to her first; it was more natural that way.

"You are the one who should get off." Jeff whined with the little air he found.

"Oh, sorry" Ema replied sheepishly and stood up, dusting her body. She was glad for the darkness which hid the redness of her cheeks, glad that he wouldn't see it to make fun of her. The pain and the ache in her muscles were all gone, and her numbing hand seemed to have received some flow, she was fine now. She picked up the touch light from the shallow dirty water where it had fallen, pointing endlessly to the moist air of the cold night or evening, the darkness made it hard to tell. Jeff was on his feet too, trying to stretch his muscles, checking himself to know if anything was broken. Save for the few scratches on his rib cage, he was totally fine, unless he had bruises underneath as a result of the fall.

"Are you okay" Jeff asked.

"I am not the one who cushioned a weight twice his size." Ema replied. She was flashing the touch light about the place, trying to make out their location. The once dusty air seemed to have rammed one with the stench of the compost air, which was already coming up to her taste bud, trying to replace the faint taste of the mud.

Jeff chuckled as if he wanted to say something but remained silence. Whatever facial expression he might be wearing was clothed well by the darkness.

"This place stinks" Ema muttered irritably as she looked around. The door of the tunnel was still smoking dust. It had collapsed inwardly and the hind of the ladder was holding what was left from collapsing on them. Just ahead, the dark colloid water, stood on the muddy floor at intervals, like numerous patch on an asphalt road, reflecting poorly on the stone wall, what seemed like a jelly-like liquid. Curtains of root forest hung over the roof and oscillating. They were too numerous that it was impossible to see the earthy ceiling above.

"Raz never told us to expect a violent shake as that" Jeff complains.

"I doubt he expected anything like this to happen." Ema rubbed her little nose with her gloved hand, but she pulled it away when she picked the dust from them. She was staring at them now, contemplating how well to beat the stench from her. Using one of her cloth or cupping her nose with her elbow.

"Now I wonder how we are going to get back" Ema heard Jeff said. She noted the humor in his words and wondered if the smiles which probably were on his face had brought dimples or was it just plastered on his eyes. He had dropped that comment on purpose.

"Seriously, for one who can handle matters himself, I would pretend I didn't hear that." Ema said sarcastically when she remembered the way Jeff had tried to entice her into staying at the academy, where it is safe. Not that she blamed him though; men always mistake feminine nature as weakness, and later they end up saying that they did what they did to protect the people they love. I don't need protecting and Jeff would be a fool to think so. Many a time she had broke people's nose because they underestimated her ability.

She picked her bag from one of the roots, sticking out its head from the wall. It was a good thing that her bag was not saturated by one of this breathe taken odor.

"We should get going before I throw up" Ema finally said. She hung her bag over her shoulder bone and took the lead.