enur0801

@@@@@We've widened the entrance up to a comfortable sizeThat room is the farthest we can follow the stream?it drops underground thereSo we've got that room fixed up as the latrineConvenient and sanitary His voice had assumed a complacent tone, as if he felt credit was due to him for nature's creationsWell, he had discovered and improved the place?I supposed some pride was justified ?We don't like to waste batteries, and most of us know the floor here by heart, but since it's your first time, you can find your way with this Jeb pulled a flashlight from his pocket and held it outThe sight of it reminded me of the moment he'd found me dying in the desert, when he'd checked my eyes and known what I wasI didn't know why the memory made me sad ?Don't get any crazy ideas about maybe the river taking you out of here or somethingOnce that water goes underground, it doesn't come back up,? he cautioned me Since he seemed to be waiting for some acknowledgment of his warning, I nodded onceI took the flashlight from his hand slowly, being careful not to make any quick movements that might startle him He smiled in encouragement I followed his directions quickly?the sound of the rushing water was not making my discomfort any easier to bearIt felt very strange to be out of his sightWhat if someone had hidden in these caves, guessing I would have to come here eventually? Would Jeb hear the struggle over the cacophony of the rivers? I shone the flashlight all around the bathing room, looking for any sign of an ambushThe odd flickering shadows it made were not comforting, but I found no substance to my fearsJeb's tub was more the size of a small swimming pool and black as inkUnder the surface, a person would be invisible as long as they could hold their breath I hurried through the slender crack at the back of the room to escape my imaginingsAway from Jeb, I was nearly overwhelmed with panic?I couldn't breathe normally; I could barely hear over the sound of my pulse racing behind my earsI was more running than walking when I made my way back to the room with the rivers To find Jeb standing there, still in the same pose, still alone, was like a balm to my splintered ner