Chapter Three: Underground and Underwater.

After everything I've gone through in the past few hours, I still wouldn't have ever imagined being sucked straight into the Earth. The men warned me but I didn't believe them until this very moment in time. They were right! They were right about everything. I will never be seen again, and maybe I'm comfortable with that. Though assuming it would kill me has gone over the top of my head now discovering how I'm not in excruciating pain. I should be crushed, suffocated and dead but here I am still existing inside a body that can not comprehend what this strange occurrence is.

To me everything feels like mush from the inside out as if my bones don't exist any longer and I am complete Jell-O. I can only see blackness, but for some reason I'm no longer afraid. Maybe it is the relief of not being smothered to death by the ground itself. I'm in no pain at all but am completely paralyzed. My lungs are not needing a breath and are comfortable like I just took one. The only thing that is disturbing to me is the part where I can't hear a single sound. No moving through dirt, and most definitely nothing from myself either. It's as if my body doesn't exist anymore. The heartbeat that I normally hear every second of every day is no longer there.

An exhaustion washes over me like someone put a spell upon my body. Instantly I presume its the spirit that has done this to me, I'm surprised but more curious than anything. If I'm being taken somewhere by that creature I guess it will be better than that prison I was in. Being here right now is better, even though it seems like somehow time has stopped and I'm drifting off into my own little world. Though really, I am struggling to keep a straight mind. I'm falling into such a peaceful silence that I allow myself to go and possibly into some sort of forced slumber.

Out of no where I feel like a switch was flipped and suddenly all of the senses have returned to my body. I'm a bit woozy and light-headed as if I slept for hours which may be true. A frigid sensation washes over my body, feeling how the ground must be some type of stone. Next, a smell drifts into my nostrils...dampness, but cold, mustsy? Rock and dirt? Where am I?

The fatigue wears off so quickly because of the hard ground below my muscles. It doesn't feel like time has passed from when I was out in that strange forest, but I know I'm no longer there anymore. My ears are ringing, and at first I wonder why until I take a breath, recalling what it's like to feel the air go into my lungs. I determine that where ever I am, this place is just silent. Meaning no one is here, not even a living creature or plant. Unless the spirit is here. No breeze, no water, no surrounding things that can make sound. It's odd. Very odd.

My eyes peek open, unsticking my eyelashes from each other. They blink a few times trying to focus but when there's nothing I just flinch. My trembling body moves up into a sitting position. My head moves up and down, left and right and still all I can see is blackness. There's aren't any twinkling stars up above to give me comfort. I feel around on the ground, but strangely find no trace of dirt that should've come sprinkling down when I fell. Does this mean I really didn't go through the Earth? Maybe it was some sort of trick. I only have one more conception and it's that my mind could by chance be tampering with reality.

I close my eyes for a second and take in some air, hoping it will allow my shaking body to calm down. Within a second of breathing in the musty air I declare that yes this is real life. It's got to be! I've checked this twice now and still I'm contemplating on if all of this has really happened or if it is only my imagination. Maybe the whole reason why I was locked up in that building was because I'm a lunatic. And the men just told me things to frighten me. That makes a lot more sense than what I'm experiencing. I must find my way out, I must run away to somewhere safe.

I automatically begin tapping my fingers against the floor, making this eery silent place have a little bit of sound. I can only hear my heartbeat going faster, and the echo of my finger nail against the stone. I make another sound but this time with my voice, hoping it will travel someplace and tell me this place isn't just a plain box. But when the sound waves just bounce back at me it proves that there's no openings anyplace, unless there's a door and the walls are very thick. Then suddenly it hits me, I must be underground still.

If I did come from up above there has to be an opening on the ceiling somewhere. When I get to my feet my body becomes more alert and an adrenaline rush makes me freeze for a minute. Is there something watching me? After scanning my eyes in front of me I turn around and do the same, half expecting to see that glowing orb of light. The spirit isn't here watching me which I wish it was, even if it made me feel funny.

I sigh a little too loud and go back to what I was doing before. To test my theories I lift my hands up to the ceiling and feel nothing until I get on my tippy toes. My fingers barely skim anything identifiable until I stretch up and reach too far. Something sharp pricks my index finger and crumbles under the light pressure I put on it. Little pieces of what I assume is rock rains down upon my head and shoulders. I duck, trying to avoid any large chunks that could come in contact with my body. Quickly after I easily identify this place as a little cave.

Next, my palms feel around the ceiling carefully for what seems like minutes and all I find is how painful it is to get little pieces of rock in my eyes. I conclude that an ordinary little door above won't be there, not if I travelled here in some supernatural way. Or magic? Maybe this cave his some kind of power. How could there not be any of that here? Especially when a sparkling swarm of purple and yellow lights somehow seduced me and brought me into this cave. And of all things a cave?

I'm more dissapointed that I haven't found anything remotely interesting or something that will lead me to my new life. But what ever happens I'm hoping to have something better than I had before, and I'm trying to understand why I've been brought here out of all places. Its odd atmosphere bothers me because I feel like this isn't any ordinary cave. Since there's no way out there has to be something down here that the spirit wanted me to see, or somewhere it wanted me to go.

I take a deep breath getting a sharp pain in my chest. I let the mold in the air creep into my lungs knowing that my recent short breaths are only because I'm overthinking. I decide for the millionth time that I need to go with my gut feeling, even if it is aimlessly following an unidentifiable purple being which is not here. Though there is this sliver of hope that I have, feeling that its presence lingers immensely as if this place was it's home, the very same place I'm so apprehensive to explore. The only possibility I have left is there's a door somewhere, but I don't have the energy to search.

My speculations on the creature and a door come to a halt at the first sound that gladly rings through my ears. There is an additional softness to it, something splashing against something hard. I identify the noise as rushing water coming from below, rising up towards me. I stand tensely knowing full well that something has suddenly changed. The longer I stand frozen the more the previously faint sound of water moves to an extremely sickening rush. The peach fuzz on the back of my neck stands on end and my skin becomes covered in immeasurable goosebumps. The temperature drops drastically making me more uncomfortable.

Is this the spirit's doing?

My impatience really does annoy me, causing me to begin pacing around even though my tired body has begun to weigh me down. I wonder if I will discover something that will get me out, though my ears argue otherwise. There's no need for me to walk around but I do so anyway, with my hand outstretched along the wall. It is just as completely solid and rocky as the ceiling with no sort of exit.

After marching around for a while I find how the ground is just like a sidewalk, flat one minute then out of no where becomes uneven causing me to stumble. The first time was enough to make me grumble but now that I've done it a second time I come to conclusion that I've gone further than a whole trip around the cave. My foot makes a small splashing sound making me aware of a thin layer of water on the floor. To declare its really there I crouch down and touch my fingertips to the puddle. It is icy cold, making me want to go curl up in a blanket, even if it's those thin sheets from my bed in my locked and lonely room.

It's hardly enough water to seep into my shoes but soon enough it will be rising. This is definitely abnormal because of how quickly it appeared and besides, I should of heard it when I woke up. Since then time must not have passed much at all. It doesn't feel like I have been here for more than ten minutes, and so with that I try again to think up a plan on what to do next. Waiting here is not an option now, but my mind is just as blank as when I first tried to find a way out.

There's not way I can leave the same way I came because it physically doesn't exist. This is a mind game I've got to solve unaccompanied which I guess is all I've ever known in life. The men messed up everything about me and yet here I stand pondering if maybe they aren't entirely atrocious. But being warned about this world is different from experiencing it myself, and so in this moment in time I still stand grateful that I've escaped them, even while ice cold water soaks my socks. My feet cringe and tingling rapidly goes up my ankles, legs, and knees, up my spine then to the back of my neck.

I shiver finding how the water rises extremely fast and in a split second it is creeping up inches past my ankles. All I can do now is wait for some unnatural event to happen, unless I dround first. Honestly, I believed that if I didn't find my way to civilization I would eventually die of starvation but I never thought drowning would have been possible. Either way it would be painful. Thinking of death brings be back to the thought of those men, would they kill me if I had stayed?

Time passes like a snail until I notice how the water is already up to my thighs. It no longer sounds like it's pouring into the room, making me finally understand that it is coming up from someplace in the floor. It feels like it was in the refrigerator all day, bringing a numbness to my body. I keep my hands up around my shoulders, hoping that if there is a god out there he will spare me from this pure agony.

I want a life, not death!

But the more I beg the more I feel alone, just like usual. I sigh and speak out loud, "Why is this happening to me?" I wait, half expecting to get a change but the only thing I get is water up to my waist. The spirit has to be here, "Spirit! Let me explain myself. I want to life! I want to live!" Still nothing but I continue with, "I'm just a lost lonely girl who is looking for a family. I want to be a person. I want a name, and friends and a life."

My voice reaches to the point where I don't quite recognize it as mine. I'm the quiet type and I never have begged for my life, though I do recall some moments where I almost got to that point. Around those men I was too frightened to step out of line but now that I don't have to worry about them I have become more scared of dying than ever before.

It will only be a minute or so until I'm completly submerged in the frigid water. Within a few more minutes I'll be dead and I will be nothing, just like my pointless life. Giving up seems like the best option, it's not like I have anything to loose. Maybe there is an afterlife that will be so blissful that I will feel more alive than ever. The only thing that is holding me back is the curiosity I have about this forest and myself. I want to be able to uncover the secrets the men have withheld from me.

With the water up to my stomach I declare that the cave is halfway filled. Maybe if I can imagine my own alternate life I can get out of this. I snap my eyes closed, forcing my body to loosen up a bit. I am not alone, I am with an only friend I knew before I lost my memories. Somebody I can trust that knows me better than I will ever know myself. My hand snags on a sharp rock attached to the wall, if only that person was real. If only they could aid my stinging hand that indicates it is bleeding.

My foot slips out from under me and my injured hand falls beneath the water. I try to fix myself upright but my knees buckle. The water is inching up almost to my heavy chest, then in a matter of seconds it is at my shoulders. Next I am treading water, knowing that the ceiling is only inches above me with little space left. My time is dwindling but I am calm, almost not knowing my fate. I still think it is possible the spirit will come, but maybe it wants to take me to another place beyond this dark world.

This time my head unexpectedly smacks against the stone ceiling. I let out a blood cuddling yelp that eccos throughout the space I have left. My forehead begins pounding and I try to steady myself by placing my feet on the ground but with the lack of circulation in my lower half I can't keep me standing. I begin to hyperventilate realizing what that no one will come to save me. I always get left behind to fend for myself and that is because nobody cares about me.

I reach my left hand out to grab the stone wall, and for a brief moment I believe I'm alright until my foot catches on something below me making my head dip under the water. My eyes experience the worst pain they have ever felt as if sand got in them. The sting is hard but not as awful as the feeling of my knee bashing against something sharp.

When I surface my mouth opens, water dripping down my lips tasting like salt but I don't dare take the time to be astonished. No, instead my foot falls into an opening on the ground. This must be what I found a few moments earlier when my foot got caught. I take a moment to investigate then conclude I can't feel anything with my foot well enough to tell if I can fit through it. So in a split second I know this is where the water is coming from and I might have a chance to find a way out through there.

I will find something, someone, love, happiness, peace! My life! The thinkening air argues otherwise making me not want to face my sudden fear of drowning. Though if I stay here there is a one hundred percent chance I will die, so I decide to shut my burning eyes shut, take in some air, and go under. With frantic hands I search for the space and when it's found I make sure I'll fit.

I pop up one last time to get some air then with all the strength I can muster I plummet down. My body sucessfully passes through the hole without any altercations making me feel accomplished. Carefully I swim through the unknown, preparing to crash into any object in front of me but after a few seconds I determine it is somewhat safe.

My cloths slow me down but there is no time to strip my jacket off, so I continue on my way even though my head wants to explode from the pressure and my lungs long for a breath of fresh air. There is no way in telling how far down this tunnel goes so I push myself to the limit even if my mind is the definition of a panic attack. I do want to be above water, anyplace but here honestly. I use that as motivation to keep going, though I am extremely light headed and the pain is horrifying.

I'm unintentionally slowing down and after what feels like an eternity can't help but give in to the temptation of taking in a breath, it's of course more painful than having empty lungs. My body tries rejecting the water causing me to cough uncontrollably making tiny bubbles escape from my mouth. I take a gulp of water and open my eyes as a last resort for hope.

Expecting to not see anything I flinch when my blurred vision picks up on a source of light not too far from me. It shimmers purple and I know that must be the spirit I met in the woods. Without thinking my mouth forces itself shut and I keep going towards the light. It disappears as soon as it arrives just as I am grabbed by the waist startling me into a muffled scream.

I'm held captive and pulled into the depths of the water while the only thing I can do is frantically attempt to smack it's arm. At first I think it is some strange sea monster but then when I stop fighting against it, it's fleshy skin is smooth and human-like. It is warm and quickly my body begin to feel again. As we descend further a strand of my hair begins dripping down my face. The gears start turning inside my brain after I cough up the water from my burning lungs and take in some much needed breaths of air.

There's still a rush of water against me but now I feel marvelous despite how I was just drowning a minute ago. A relief washes over me like never before, even though I can magically breathe underwater. I allow my heavy eyes to shut and my mind to go to ease but before I know it we aren't moving downward any longer and I'm taken into a tunnel that is lit up with some kind of yellow light. My eyes open and we follow it for a few seconds, it gets brighter and brighter.

When the toes of my shoes brush against something soft and I am released to stand, my head emerges from the water. Everything is so blurry I can't make out where I am so I rub my eyes, thankful that I am still living and breathing. My begs for help were answered! I survived! My mind is just entirely blown because if it wasn't for this person my body would be decaying by now.

My body would have been already decaying by the second if it wasn't for this thing that saved me. I'm a bit curious of what would've happened to my soul after I died but at the same time I'm glad I didn't. I guess I don't want to be let down like I already have with my life. Now things have changed, I never believed this would have happened to me. I wanted to live, know about my life, and have experiences of love. I will get that. It's all so surreal.

When my eyes finally can see I catch my savior staring down at me. The room around us is another cave, just much larger than the last one. There's some stairs that lead up from the pool to the room around it, a hallway above and carvings into the stone everywhere I can see. What is this place and who is this woman that saved me?

She appears just as astounded as I am, "Wow." Her voice is oddly recognizable but from where I wouldn't know. Her long dripping blonde hair sticks to her shoulders but she could care less about it, "Is it really you?"

Her extravagant baby blue eyes twinkle, letting a tear escape from the corner of her right eye and running down her freckled cheeks.