The group was out of the danger zone. They stopped with output on their backs, to see the cave gradually shed in the dark, with stones falling on the water, the constant rumble of the earth.
For a moment, Sam stood still, petrified, in an obvious state of shock, with his eyes totally lost in nothingness.
His brother approached him, standing on one side, almost opposite to make him that return. He knew what Edna meant to him, so knew what state he would be.
- Sam...- He put his hand on his shoulder- Hey...
- Don't…- He close his eyes, slowly, while denying- Do not say anything… This just is not happening...
- Sam...
Samuel removed his hand, with some abruptness, just to sit slowly, on a rock.
- Is a lie- He muttered, head down- It's... a bad dream... just that... She... She...
He closed his eyes tightly, while held his head with both hands, snuggling, trying to wake up to the badly sleep he thought was, but that not ended.
Legs open, elbows on knees, leaning forward, looking down, he saw the ground beneath his face began to be painted with wet drops that surfaced together with the terrible feeling growing in his chest.
Nathan sat beside him and quietly he began to rub his back.
- I killed her…- Groaned Samuel- I killed her...
- No, no- Said Nate- It's not your fault…
- I made her come here...- He rubbed his soaked eyes- I hit the damn trap... Nate... God...
- It was... Nauhky Lee- Nathan also began to mourn slightly- Not your... Understand...
- God...- He cry, taking his chest- Not my Edy... My Edy...
Victor stood still, watching the brothers crying for Shaareim. He lowered his face, hurt, recognizing the affection he also had for her.
Edna had circumvented the crushing stones practically by miracle. A force to slide and hang from ledges, she fell relatively healthy into the internal lake water wich starting to leak. But knew if she not find a way out quickly, she would die or stoned to death by rocks that were falling, or drowned. She began rummaging among the rocks, trying to make an exit, but half cave had collapsed, so it was unlikely that he could escape through there.
She looked everywhere, with the flashlight she had left, illuminating poorly corners giving into nothingness. She saw fall the counterfeit coins from the adjoining cave, and then a piece of that chest how seducing any dreamer. And behind, twenty coins spilled, real, of pure gold.
In her state, tt least that should matter to her, was that treasure. But an idea crossed in her overwhelmed mind. That award was useless for her, but knowing the Drake brothers, it was quite possible that, if she died there, they seek her body afterwards. And so, also they find part of the booty. It would be her parting gift.
She quickly took a small bag he had in his pockets, and gathered the coins, to tie them in her belt.
However, more rocks and earth began to flood the place, so she got into the water, being in the center, still she had some space.
A couple of stones of huge size fell very close to her, spattering, entering through the joints of the apparatus, shutting down its only light.
- No… No…- She murmured, shaking futilely the flashlight- Come on… Do not turn off now...
But it did not work. She threw the device aside, in the dark.
Swimming in the middle of the water, silent, she noticed a slight current under her feet. She took a deep breath and plunged, finding a slight passage overlooking a tiny air chamber between the stones, and then, another passage more, apparently, to the outside.
She went back to the main room, but she heard the collapse behind him, and water filled with dirt that seemed to follow her. There was no turning back. The air chamber is also reduced, she must move.
She took a deep breath a couple of times and in the third, she swam a little, finding a small opening between the rocks, they are overlooking the outside lake.
Shaareim was glad to have an escape route, but soon she noticed that the gap it was too small. She tried to enlarge it, remove stones, but it did not work. She removed the gold bag and she passed through the gap, then try to pass it.
Difficultly he could pass the head and arms, and torso through him without avoiding injury herself. But her waist was locked. She panicked even more when she heard the rumbling mountain and the slight pressure of the stone on her back. She tried to go back, but neither could. She held the rock and she pushed with her arms, without results. She moved frantically, being totally stagnant. At that moment she felt the hand of death touch her soul. She knew she would die there.
Edna stood still, maybe to not spend the little oxygen left in his lungs. She looked at the bag of gold resting half open, with coins in the rock, and immediately his friends crowded into her mind. She thought about Sam, how sad and angry that he would, how would be like back home. She imagined talking to him, as so often, happy and effusive. Terrified and distraught at the same time, her eyes filled with tears which instantly mixed with water.
A breath obligatorily out of her body, the last trace of her air, means coughing. She felt the water enter in his mouth and nose, swallow it, her lungs closing as a last resort. Her body contorted like a poisonous spider, her members danced with spasms for a short time seemed infinite. She stooped down on herself, closing her eyes, and everything turned dark.
