leilanyu18

@@@@@ It had been weeks and weeks since I'd been down this particular corridor; I hadn't been back since the morning after Jared had left and Jeb had set me freeIt seemed to me that while I lived and Jared was in the caves, this must be where I belonged There was no dim light to greet me nowI was fairly sure I was in the last leg?the turns and twists were still vaguely familiarI let my left hand drag against the wall as low as I could reach, feeling for the opening as I crept forwardI wasn't decided on crawling backinside the cramped hole, but at least it would give me a reference point, letting me know that I was where I meant to be As it happened, I didn't have the option of inhabiting my cell again In the same moment that my fingers brushed the rough edge at the top of the hole, my foot hit an obstacle and I stumbled, falling to my kneesI threw my hands out to catch myself, and they landed with a crunch and a crackle, breaking through something that wasn't rock and didn't belong here The sound startled me; the unexpected object frightened mePerhaps I'd made a wrong turn and wasn't anywhere near my holePerhaps I was in someone's living spaceI ran through the memory of my recent journey in my head, wondering how I could have gotten so turned about Meanwhile, I listened for some reaction to my crashing fall, holding absolutely still in the darkness There was nothing?no reaction, no soundIt was only dark and stuffy and humid, as it always was, and so silent that I knew I must be alone Carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible, I took stock of my surroundings My hands were stuck in somethingI pulled them free, tracing the contours of what felt like a cardboard box?a cardboard box with a sheet of thin, crackly plastic on top that my hands had fallen throughI felt around inside the box and found a layer of more crackly plastic?small rectangles that made a lot of noise when I handled themI retreated quickly, afraid of drawing attention to myself I remembered that I'd thought I'd found the top of the holeI searched to my left and found more stacks of cardboard squares on that sideI tried to find the top of the stack and had to stand in order to do so?it was as high as my headI searched until I found the wall, and then the hole, exactly where I'd thought it wa