Moana sighed and tipped her head back to rest on the coral wall. Her escape plan was a failure; the only thing she gained was scraped hands and aching shoulders. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her just how long it had been since she had last eaten. The hunger pains she could ignore. She was used to going long periods between meals during long voyages. The pounding in her temples was more concerning, a sure sign she was dangerously close to dehydration. She cracked her eyes open and squinted at the dry walls surrounding her.
After her first night in the cave, Moana had discovered that the cave walls collected the water from the cool night air, giving her a consistent, but small, supply of fresh water. It was tricky collecting the drops of water without scrapping her hands or tongue, but Moana had managed drink enough to keep the sickness at bay. But if the increase of headaches and dizziness was any indication, it would seem that her luck had run out. She closed her eyes again, focusing on her breathing to keep her mind occupied.
Her head pounded with every heartbeat, the loud thuds ringing painfully in her ears. Moana groaned and rubbed her temples, hoping the pounding would stop. She dropped her hands with a frustrated sigh and stared at the ceiling of the cave. The thuds continued to echo throughout the cave and water dripped from the ceiling after every beat. It took her exhausted mind several moments to understand the significance of what her eyes were seeing.
Someone's up there!
Moana scrambled to her feet, ignoring the way her head exploded at her sudden movement, and stared at the hole in the ceiling. Another column of water shot up through the hole, momentarily blocking Moana's view. The water settled and several moments passed with nothing but the sound of dripping water and Moana's shallow breathing.
Maybe I was just imagining it.
Disappointment filled her and she expelled a long breath, slumping back onto the floor. She had just rested her head on her raised knees when a loud splash startled her. Another splash followed the first and Moana quickly looked around for the sharp piece of coral she had used to dig, hoping that whatever dropped into the cave was friendly, but preparing for the worst.
Weapon safely secured, she watched in confusion as a strange woman rose from the water. Moana's gaze moved from the woman's giant spear to the silver eyes that studied her as well. The woman smiled and jerked her chin towards the coral in Moana's hand before reaching down to help her companion out of the water.
"Nice to see that you were prepared, though I don't think that small weapon would have done much in a fight."
Her companion climbed out of the water and swiped his dripping hair out of his eyes.
Moana gasped and smiled widely, dropping her crude weapon and reaching out to grab the bars in front of her.
"Taianui! How did you find me?" She used the bars as support while standing. "Where's Maui?"
Another splash, much bigger than the previous ones, caused the water to churn and water to spill over the sides of the pool. Taianui and the woman walked towards her prison, but Moana rose on her toes to stare over their shoulders at the water. After what seemed like an age, she finally saw him.
"Maui!" she cried, knees buckling in relief.
Almost done! Two, maybe three more chapters, plus the epilogue! Thank you for continuing to read, I will do my very best to get the rest of the chapters posted by next week!