Years Away
By Joker's Specter
Chapter Ten: Not One to Give Up
"Link, no..." started Shia.
Link held up his hand to stop her. "Listen, Shia. You've already been in danger because of me. I can't allow that again... I don't like seeing my friends in danger," Link stated strongly.
Link saw Shia hesitate. The differences between her and Tifa were obvious in situations like this. However, Link couldn't blame Tifa. Her family was involved, so what she did made some sense, even if she did pick the worst possible time to back out of it.
"Please Link... Please let me go with you. I don't care if I get hurt. I want to help you," Shia replied, pleading with the young boy. "I'd feel so bad if I left you out here all alone...?"
Link stared at the girl quietly, then sighed. "Shia... People tend to get hurt with me. We've already seen an example of what could happen... I don't think it's a good idea for you to come with me. I'm sorry."
Shia lowered her head. After a silent moment, she looked up, defeated. "Just...just follow this trail. That's the first step. Eventually you'll come to a big pile of rocks that has the main trail running beside it... You climb up on the rocks and follow them instead of the main trail. That's our alternate path."
"Rocks. Got it," Link said with a nod.
"After about fifteen minutes you'll see a small cave off to your left side. It's a secret entrance to the Shrine. You can only see it from on top of the rocks... It's hidden."
Link made a mental note of what Shia was saying. He hoped he could spot the entrance with how low visibility was.
"Thank you, Shia. I'll be back by morning," Link said with a smile.
"I know..." replied Shia quietly. She looked hesitant again, but then gave in and hugged Link. "Be careful, okay?"
Link nodded and returned the embrace. "I always am. If you hurry, you should be able to catch up with Tifa. I don't want either of you to have to get home on your own," said Link. He released Shia, turned around, and began to tread up the muddy pathway through the heavy downpour.
"Be careful Link!" shouted Shia after him. "And good luck!"
The boy turned around to wave to Shia, showing her that he heard her, and then continued on up the steep slope, into the canyon up ahead.
!-S- -P- -I- -N- -A-!
!-T- -T- -A- -C- -K-!
Link couldn't believe how slippery the path had become. Sure, it had been raining hard, so naturally it would be hard to traverse, but it seemed as if the trail wasn't even made to walk on by anything. Every other step he took threatened to slide his feet out from under him. Still, he continued on, using his as a type of walking stick to dig into the ground and give him a firm hold each step.
Every inch of his body was soaked. His bangs hung down into his eyes, running water over his face. The boy's hat was acting like a faucet, with water continuously flowing off of it. Mud caked his boots so much that they weighed three times their original weight.
None of that bothered Link as much as being unable to see where he was going. The wall of rock and trees on either side of him helped him stay on the path, but how was he going to know where the pile of rocks would be? What if he walked right past it?
Even if he did find the rocks, he knew he'd have a hard time finding the hidden entrance. If he made it that far, it could take all night to spot it. The hero wasn't particularly hopeful he'd even make it that far, as signs of a flash flood began to show its ugly face.
He figured he'd be safe once he got to the rocks, and then he could take his time finding the entrance. But where were they? Link stopped walking and surveyed the area around him. He put his free hand up to shield his eyes from the rain. Ahead of him he saw nothing but darkness, and the faint image of trees on either side of him notified him that he was still in the center of the path. Link silently wished that he had kept his cloak with him, if only to help shield his eyes from the rain.
Gathering whatever energy he still had, Link started to run as fast as he could, straight up the slippery hill. He was determined to reach the cave no matter what obstacles showed up. Getting to the Shrine was all that was important to him at that moment.
On and on Link ran, using his legs, hands, and the bulky sword to propel himself further and further up the mountain. Rain was whipping against his face, but he couldn't feel it anymore. His whole body had gone numb from the cold, stinging rain. The weather was doing more damage to him than some of Ganondorf's stronger minions, it seemed. The higher LInk got, the worse the path became. Twice he had tripped over rocks and landed face first in the cold mud, and he slipped on the mud more times than he could count.
At one particular moment, he slipped and fell into the mud, losing his grip on the sword. Instinct made him catch the sword, but he gripped it at the blade instead of the hilt, and as he fell to the ground, the sword sliced into his palm. Crying out in pain and anger, Link climbed to his feet and grabbed the sword with his good hand. Wincing, he threw the sword ahead of him in anger. A faint clanging sound resonated back to Link.
Link walked forward with his good hand out in front of him, using all of his strength to dig his feet into the mud so he could move forward. The sound had given him hope, as he prayed that the sword had hit the pile of rocks. After a few seconds, Link could make out the shadowy figure of a rock wall ahead of him.
Despite how much he ached, Link smiled to himself. Things were starting to look up.
!-S- -P- -I- -N- -A-!
!-T- -T- -A- -C- -K-!
The rocks had proven to be very difficult to climb up. They acted as a miniature waterfall from the rainstorm, and it took all of Link's strength to reach the top. As he found a safe spot that he convinced himself wouldn't throw his body off of the rock pile, he collapsed in a puddle and caught his breath.
For the first time, he got a good look at his left hand, and grimaced when he saw just how badly the sword had sliced it. Blood was protruding from it at a rapid rate, making Link a little worried. He didn't have much to wrap his hand with, and he didn't have anything to make tears with. His right hand wasn't strong enough to rip the tough fabric of his tunic.
Finally, he settled on taking his hat off and gripping it in his hand, and then wrapping it around the best he could. Link knew it wouldn't make things too much better, but at least it would slow the flow of blood.
Link climbed to his feet, and immediately felt a blast of wind that almost knocked him off of the rocky wall. Link quickly grabbed fell to his stomach and hugged the ledge, inches from being pushed completely off.
Observing the area, Link saw nothing but the tops of trees. The view would have been good if the visibility was better, but with the rain and darkness, he couldn't see much. Getting his bearings, Link looked to the left group of trees. If he continued on the wall, the hidden entrance would be in that direction. Ever so slowly , Link crawled along the rock wall, always looking to the left. After a few minutes, the trees merged into a mountainside, and soon he saw nothing but a steep slope to his left.
Much later, Link was pondering the idea of giving up and going back down. He knew how to get at least that far, and by the next night the storm clouds would have passed. He reasoned it would give him a better chance at spotting the cave. He thought for a moment, and then mentally slapped himself for thinking of giving up. He wasn't like that. Link stood into a crouch, and moved against the wind, keeping his head down low and always turned to the left, surveying for any change in the terrain. He knew his chances of finding the cave were slim, but he had to try. He just needed to go a little further.
Link was constantly growing weaker, but he was making a faster pace walking rather than crawling. After some time, he noticed a change in the mountain side to his left. The slope began to curve into a shape that provided a small ledge within jumping distance. A few trees were growing on the ledge, waving in the wind. Link could just barely make out an opening in the mountain side that was placed between two of the trees.
Feeling a flood of relief wash over his body, Link began to grin. His happiness was fleeting, though, as he realized that to get to the cave, the jump he had to make would possibly kill him if he missed. The drop would at the very least break his legs. In normal conditions, he could maybe just barely make the jump. In the rainy, windy weather, he wasn't as confident.
Link ran his eyes over the ledge. Jumping would be easier than making the grab. He always had a good leap, but he didn't have any plan on securing a safe grab if he didn't jump far enough. The ledge was definitely slippery, and there was also the problem of the wind; it was blowing against him, so it would impede his jump, making it even more difficult.
The boy looked around him for a way out of making the jump. Silently hoping for a log or some rope, he checked everywhere. His heart fell as he realized that there was nothing that could help him. Sighing, he turned back to face the cave, squinting in the rain. He stepped back a few steps until he was at the edge of the rock wall, and then ran and jumped with all the might he had.
End: Chapter Ten: Not One to Give Up
