CHAPTER FOURTEEN
*
Kagome sighed and huddled deeper into her jacket. Her butt was starting to go numb from the cold, damp rocks she was sitting on. But at least my feet aren't hurting as much, she thought. She fumbled at her belt for her flashlight, and shone the beam around the darkened tunnel. The light beam went on for a few yards, but was swallowed by the darkness.
"Kagome!"
She stiffened. She could hear Inuyasha's voice in the distance, echoing softly through the caves. She staggered to her feet. "Inuyasha?" she called. "Are you okay?"
A cold silence followed.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome called, starting forward. "Inuyasha, are you still there? Say something! Can you hear me?"
She could hardly see ahead of herself, but she stumbled into the pit anyway. The cold air seared her throat and nose, and made her eyes water. Something in her recoiled at what was ahead. "There's something down there," she whispered, hesitating. "It's... it's warped. And it must have Inuyasha!"
"Kagome!" His voice was growing louder and more urgent.
"I'm coming!" Kagome gasped, slipping on the ice. "Inuyasha! Where are you?"
"In here!" the voice called from a sloping tunnel. "Kagome, I need your help! Hurry! It's only a little further; I can already smell you."
Kagome took another step... and moved back. "You need my help," she repeated in a low voice. "I don't think you've ever said that to me... even when it was true." It wasn't like Inuyasha to say he NEEDED anyone. Wanted them, asked for them, demanded them... but not NEEDED.
A horrible suspicion started to form in Kagome's mind. That wasn't Inuyasha. Whatever was out there spoke with his voice, his inflections, even that note of impatience. But it wasn't him.
"Inuyasha," she called in a high, wavering voice. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah."
That wasn't him, Kagome thought. Inuyasha would have said something sarcastic like "Of course I am!" or "Where am I supposed to go?" She cleared her throat. "Inuyasha, I think that... Inuyasha, what did we do last night? I can't remember."
"We did what we do every night."
Strike one, Kagome thought. Sleeping with Inuyasha in one sleeping bag was not something that had happened before. "And... you remember how cold we both got? You rubbed my hands when they got cold."
"Yeah, I did."
"And we... we spent half the night looking for Miroku and Sango until we had to use our sleeping bags. It was a good thing Shippo was with us then, huh?"
"Yeah, he turned out to be useful after all." There was a hint of humor in the voice. "Kagome, are you still coming? I need some help down here... I think I've found out what caused those storms. You're not gonna believe it. But I need you over here right now."
"I'm coming. I'll be down in a minute, okay?" Stamping her feet in what she hoped sounded like footsteps, Kagome took a deep breath. He was lying. IT was lying. His voice, but not the mind behind it; she had known him for months, long enough to know how he talked in a crisis. "And you told me how you were afraid of snow because your mother froze to death in the middle of a blizzard, and you had hated snow ever since. That was really sad, Inuyasha. When you told me that, I almost cried, and I rubbed your back..."
A catch came into the voice. "Yeah. Why are you askin' me these things?"
"Because you're lying!" Kagome burst out, her voice echoing eerily in the passage. The wind began to blow from behind her, and something shadowy stirred ahead in the darkness. "All three of those were lies, and Inuyasha would have known it in a minute!"
Something roared in the distance -- it sounded like a tornado. Kagome's hair blew forward over her face, and her boots began slipping on the icy rocks. She clutched at a stalagmite, and clung to it with all her strength. The wind was blowing harder and harder, trying to drag her down that passageway.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted above the howls of the wind. "Inuyasha, can you hear me? INUYASHA?"
The wind faded away, leaving her shivering in the dark and silence.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
Kagome sighed and huddled deeper into her jacket. Her butt was starting to go numb from the cold, damp rocks she was sitting on. But at least my feet aren't hurting as much, she thought. She fumbled at her belt for her flashlight, and shone the beam around the darkened tunnel. The light beam went on for a few yards, but was swallowed by the darkness.
"Kagome!"
She stiffened. She could hear Inuyasha's voice in the distance, echoing softly through the caves. She staggered to her feet. "Inuyasha?" she called. "Are you okay?"
A cold silence followed.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome called, starting forward. "Inuyasha, are you still there? Say something! Can you hear me?"
She could hardly see ahead of herself, but she stumbled into the pit anyway. The cold air seared her throat and nose, and made her eyes water. Something in her recoiled at what was ahead. "There's something down there," she whispered, hesitating. "It's... it's warped. And it must have Inuyasha!"
"Kagome!" His voice was growing louder and more urgent.
"I'm coming!" Kagome gasped, slipping on the ice. "Inuyasha! Where are you?"
"In here!" the voice called from a sloping tunnel. "Kagome, I need your help! Hurry! It's only a little further; I can already smell you."
Kagome took another step... and moved back. "You need my help," she repeated in a low voice. "I don't think you've ever said that to me... even when it was true." It wasn't like Inuyasha to say he NEEDED anyone. Wanted them, asked for them, demanded them... but not NEEDED.
A horrible suspicion started to form in Kagome's mind. That wasn't Inuyasha. Whatever was out there spoke with his voice, his inflections, even that note of impatience. But it wasn't him.
"Inuyasha," she called in a high, wavering voice. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah."
That wasn't him, Kagome thought. Inuyasha would have said something sarcastic like "Of course I am!" or "Where am I supposed to go?" She cleared her throat. "Inuyasha, I think that... Inuyasha, what did we do last night? I can't remember."
"We did what we do every night."
Strike one, Kagome thought. Sleeping with Inuyasha in one sleeping bag was not something that had happened before. "And... you remember how cold we both got? You rubbed my hands when they got cold."
"Yeah, I did."
"And we... we spent half the night looking for Miroku and Sango until we had to use our sleeping bags. It was a good thing Shippo was with us then, huh?"
"Yeah, he turned out to be useful after all." There was a hint of humor in the voice. "Kagome, are you still coming? I need some help down here... I think I've found out what caused those storms. You're not gonna believe it. But I need you over here right now."
"I'm coming. I'll be down in a minute, okay?" Stamping her feet in what she hoped sounded like footsteps, Kagome took a deep breath. He was lying. IT was lying. His voice, but not the mind behind it; she had known him for months, long enough to know how he talked in a crisis. "And you told me how you were afraid of snow because your mother froze to death in the middle of a blizzard, and you had hated snow ever since. That was really sad, Inuyasha. When you told me that, I almost cried, and I rubbed your back..."
A catch came into the voice. "Yeah. Why are you askin' me these things?"
"Because you're lying!" Kagome burst out, her voice echoing eerily in the passage. The wind began to blow from behind her, and something shadowy stirred ahead in the darkness. "All three of those were lies, and Inuyasha would have known it in a minute!"
Something roared in the distance -- it sounded like a tornado. Kagome's hair blew forward over her face, and her boots began slipping on the icy rocks. She clutched at a stalagmite, and clung to it with all her strength. The wind was blowing harder and harder, trying to drag her down that passageway.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted above the howls of the wind. "Inuyasha, can you hear me? INUYASHA?"
The wind faded away, leaving her shivering in the dark and silence.
TO BE CONTINUED
