Sierra

Chapter 10

Shortly after leaving her prison, the water way began to constrict. Soon she was on her hands and knees crawling in the slick grime coating the floor. Her light flickered as she crawled, but she didn't dare turn it off. She couldn't risk missing a junction that could mean her escape.

Ahead, the tunnel constricted further and Sierra held the flickering beam up, trying to see down the tunnel further. If it shrank to the point she couldn't fit, it would be difficult to go scoot backward. But back had nothing either, only the bars she would have to squeeze through and a prison to be stuck in again.

With a sigh she settled onto her stomach and began to crawl, pulling herself forward with her elbows. At the same time, her light flickered out. Darkness pressed against her.

"No-no, come on." She smacked the light against her hand. A sickening feeling crept into her stomach as the feeling of being completely and utterly screwed finally dawned on her. Her head dropped down, resting on her hands as her eyes screwed shut. She breathed out unsteadily and opened them again, though it was just as dark as before.

"Come on," she said quietly "you can do this. You don't have any other choice."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and pulled herself forward by her elbows. A few more feet passed beneath her until she felt her elbows start to hit the sides of the tunnel. Her breath echoed close to her ears and her head scraped the ceiling, forcing her to duck it down. Ahead of her, a faint squeaking brought on a new wave of horror. It grew closer and she stopped crawling as the pittering-pat of little feet came echoing down the tunnel towards her. Despite the ground being covered in muck, she dropped her face and hid it in her hands.

The rat jumped onto her shoulder and somehow, she suppressed the urge to scream. It's feet padded down her back and then it stopped. She took a shuttered breath as she felt it move and shift.

"This is harassment," she whispered as she felt its little paws scampering across her backside. It moved down her leg and quick as it came, it was gone. That was a good sign she tried to tell herself as she took another choked breath. If there were rats, that meant food, food meant scavengers. And, there had to be an entrance to the tunnel. She just hoped it wasn't rat sized.

She resumed her belly crawl and after what felt like hours, her fingers touched an edge to the tunnel. Her fingers wrapped around it and she pulled herself forward, sliding like a snake on her stomach into a small access chamber. Above her, maybe five feet up, was a porthole. Two faint streams of light peaked through holes in the metal.

She waited a few minutes, but didn't hear anyone above her. Standing slowly, she pushed the manhole cover up and then wedged her feet against the walls so she could peek out of the gap. The room was dark, but not as oppressively dark as the tunnel. In the distance, she could see a light down a curve in a tunnel, but the room itself was empty and silent.

Taking care to move the heavy porthole as quietly as possible, Sierra slid it aside and hoisted herself up. She paused halfway through, pausing on her stomach to glance around for any witnesses. Around her was an empty corridor and in the dim light she could just make out scrap pieces of metal scattering the floor.

With a soft grunt, she pulled herself out the rest of the way and slid the cover back into place. In the distance, she could hear the hum of voices, but they seemed far enough to be safe. The room seemed to be for storage or maybe for scraps and hopefully wasn't visited often. She took shelter behind one of the scrap pieces, hiding in its shadow as she considered what was next.

Regardless of being free, she wasn't any closer to escaping this labyrinth. Now she had no flashlight to find her way. She couldn't just grope around in the dark, hoping she lucked herself into the right direction. The scouts they had guarding their territory would find her in no time.