Kit and Angelica looked at each other. "No-"
"Way," Angelica finished. She looked back at the hole. "What do you say, Kit? Think it's our ticket out?"
Kit thought for only a moment. "I don't see another option. Your call, Ange. Take it or no?
"Well…if it leads to a dead end we're screwed. They'll find us, and after an escape attempt I'd be willing to bet that our situation would get a hell of a lot worse. But I'd never forgive myself if we had a shot to get out and we didn't take it."
"Agreed," Kit said. She didn't wait for any sign from Angelica, just ducked into the darkness, and inched her way forward. She kept one hand out in front of her to make sure she didn't run into anything. The other clutched at her oakleaf, which she realized with a jolt wasn't there, as she forced back the panic that came with enclosed spaces.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was only her sheer will that kept her rom screaming.
"It's alright, Kit," Angelica whispered, feeling her friend tense at her touch. "It's just me. I figured you could use a little reassurance."
"Thank you," Kit whispered, and she could feel the tension slip from her muscles. She kept moving forward, aware of Angelica sticking close to her.
It has to end. It has to end somewhere. I'm okay. Kit felt like she was about to break. She'd been in the dark too long and it was starting to take on a solid consistency. Breathing became harder, and each step was met with resistance. It's all in your head, Kit. Keep moving. Keep going.
"How long have we been going?" Kit asked, hoping hearing voices would help with thinning the darkness.
"I'd say about half an hour. Maybe a little bit more," Angelica answered.
"Do you think they've noticed we're missing yet?"
"Doubtful. They don't have any reason to check on us, and they probably won't until they decide it's time to feed us again."
Kit nodded, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't be seen. "How far do you think we've walked."
Angelica shrugged. "Mile? Mile and a half maybe. I don't have any way of knowi-hey. Do you see that?" She squinted. She could swear she saw a pinprick of light up ahead, but she didn't know whether or not her mind was starting to play tricks on her.
"See wh-oh. The light? Yeah…yeah I see it."
"Oh, good!" Angelica smiled, and without either one suggesting it the two girls picked up the pace to as close to a sprint as they dared come in the dark. They moved faster and faster the closer they came to the light.
Kit laughed, hysterically, as they spilled out into a vast cavern, the ceiling more than 200 meters above their head. It opened up to the sky, and light streamed in. It reflected off a stream in front of them.
Kit moved closer to look at the water. It was narrow, less than five feet across, but it was at least twice that deep. It got wider as it flowed into a tunnel, that left about two feet of space between the surface of the water and the top of the tunnel. "Well," Kit took a deep breath and swallowed. "It's gotta let out somewhere, right?" She ditched her shoes on the shore and plunged into the cold water. She surfaced, sputtering and shaking water out of her hair, before swimming to the edge and grabbing her shoes. She held them above water, so as to avoid creating a pointless weight for her to carry.
"You can't be serious," Angelica said, staring at her friend, who was now treading water. "You want to go through that tunnel…in a river?"
"Do you see a better option?" Kit asked. "Besides. There's room for us to breathe at the surface."
"And how will we know if that changes?"
"Ange, we don't have a choice, here. If we run out of air we can turn around and swim upstream. The current's not that strong. Get in the water."
She hesitated. "Is it cold?"
"No, Ange. It's a hot spring. Get in the water."
Angelica kicked off her shoes, took a breath, and leapt into the water. "You liar," She coughed when she came back up.
"If I had told you it was cold you wouldn't have gotten in. I did what I had to and regret nothing. Now let's get going." She swam toward the tunnel entrance, and closed her eyes, before she was once again plunged into total darkness. Angelica grabbed her shoes off the shore before following.
She floated on the surface of the water, face up, and let the current carry her. She figured it was easier than trying to guess the twists and turns the water would take through the tunnel. "Ange?" She called back, hearing her friend splashing in the water. "Just float! It makes things easier." Angelica didn't reply but Kit knew she had taken the advice because the water calmed. Either that or she was drowning, Kit laughed quietly, then the thought ran through her head again and she twisted around, squinting to see her friend. She was floating. Thank God.
Kit closed her eyes, and let the current do it's job.
She finally opened her eyes again when the current ebbed, and she found herself in a large lake. She smiled. "Ange! We did it! We made it!" She splashed in the water and dove under the surface, doing a celebratory somersault in the water, before coming up and swimming towards the shore.