Inside Man | ONC2023

12. The Cave

(Author's Note: this chapter is dedicated to GandalfofspaceAnli and their two stories for the ONC2023, The Valley, an Indian supernatural tale and, In the Name of Love, a WangXian Fanfic)

Paul opened his eyes and blinked. Why was he on the floor? His head spun unpleasantly and he got to his feet slowly. He staggered over to a chair and sat down. Had he tripped? Fainted? He studied the room. Everything seemed to be in its usual place. Nothing on the floor that might have caught him unawares and made him fall.

He rubbed his aching head.

He got up and poured himself a large drink of water, then noticed the two empty beakers on the table. Two? Was Mikel here? Odd that he hadn't come out to see what had happened to Paul.

"Mikel?" His voice sounded scratchy. There was no answer and when he went into the bedroom, it was empty.

Paul shook his head then wished he hadn't. He really didn't feel well. Perhaps things would look better in the morning after a good night's sleep. He collapsed onto the bed.

~~~

Rik woke to find himself in utter darkness. Where was he? What the fuck had happened?

He rubbed his eyes, closed and opened them, but could see nothing at all, not even a glimmer. He fought back panic and tried to concentrate on his surroundings. He was lying on his back on what felt like bare ground. There was total silence, no traffic noise or the sound of electronic equipment running faintly in the background. A musty, earthy smell reminded him strongly of the summer he had gone underground caving. But that was impossible. How could he be in a cave? On the plus side however, that would explain the darkness.

He could feel the dampness penetrating his shirt. His hands scrabbled to find purchase and he sat up, rubbing the mud from his fingertips. He was still dressed, wearing the clothes he had put on that morning, but there was nothing in his pockets and worse than that, his wristcom was missing. He felt around, on the remote chance it had fallen off and landed nearby but there was nothing except damp soil.

He made an effort to think.

He remembered going to visit Paul Finn. They'd had a chat and he'd got up to go, when someone had called at the door. Finn had gone to answer it. And that was the last thing he remembered.

Who had been at the door? He couldn't remember seeing a face, but unless Finn had suddenly gone crazy, the visitor must have been the one who attacked him. Rendered him unconscious and carried him off, brought him to this place in the middle of nowhere. And left him.

What had happened to Finn? Had he been left in the apartment or was it possible he had been brought here too? He called out and felt around where he was sitting but there was no response.

He was alone, it seemed.

But why, what was the purpose here? Best case scenario, he'd been kidnapped and someone would come and rescue him when the ransom was paid. Worst case... he'd been left here to die a slow and lingering death. Well fuck that! He wasn't going to wait here any longer than he had to.

Rik tried to stand and cracked his skull painfully against something extremely hard. He sat down in a hurry. Blood trickled, warm and wet, down his forehead and into his eyes. Fuck! He knew scalp wounds bled like the devil. He tore a strip off the bottom of his shirt and wiped his eyes, then pressed it against the top of his head. He could feel the lump already swelling. Lucky, he hadn't knocked himself out.

Eventually the bleeding stopped. Rik got onto his hands and knees and rose very carefully, allowing his back to hit the roof first this time. He could almost stand, but not quite. He guessed the space was about 150 cm high, maybe a bit less.

He sat down again, feeling a bit giddy, and tried to remember all the tips he had learnt during that week of caving. Of course, back then he had been equipped with a headlamp, caving gear, companions and a guide. But he remembered when the guide had given them a taste of the darkness to be found underground. Everyone had turned off their lights and stood perfectly still, absorbing the atmosphere. The darkness had seemed like a living, breathing entity, wrapping itself around them and one of the team had begun to hyperventilate.

The guide had given a short talk about primitive mining customs, making Rik extremely glad he lived in modern times.

It had only been for a couple of minutes, but Rik could still remember the relieved laughter when the guide had given permission to turn their lamps back on.

He couldn't see any light now but he made himself take the time to look around slowly, checking to see if any area appeared fainter than another. No, it was all uniform black.

The next thing was to lick his forefinger and hold it up. Did one side feel any cooler than another? Was there the faintest breeze coming from the right? It was hard to tell.

He wondered how far underground he'd been taken. Presumably he had been carried so hopefully not too far. On the other hand, unless this was some idiot's idea of a joke, whoever left him here wasn't expecting him to be able to escape. Rik swallowed.

Was there a trap of some sort? Lying between here and the exit? A fissure or a hole, or two, to fall into and break a leg? He reached about and gathered up a handful of small stones, then tossed them one at a time in a circle around where he was sitting.

There was a different sound, a 'click' when a couple of them hit a wall instead of landing back on the ground. What did they say about mazes? If you kept your hand on one of the walls and kept walking you'd eventually find your way out. Always assuming you were heading in the right direction of course. What if he went the wrong way and just got deeper and deeper into the cave? Still, he couldn't stay here, waiting for something to happen.

Did anyone even know he was missing? He hoped Finn had sounded the alarm but how would anyone know where to start looking?

He tried the wet finger trick again. He was pretty sure there was a faint breeze coming from the right, in any case it was worth pursuing. He scooted over until his hand touched the cave wall. The surface was cool and damp.

Paranoid about stepping into space, Rik wished he had a stick to test the ground, but he didn't. Instead, the best he could do was a slow shuffle, crouched over to protect his head, pushing one foot along the ground ahead of the other, making sure there was something solid beneath his foot before he put his weight on it.

One step at a time, Rik made his way around the cave.