FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

AN: Late night tonight, I almost forgot to post the chapter. Whoops. But here it is! Enjoy!

---

Chapter 8

Although the pain was gone, Shanlai was exhausted by her ordeal. At the end of her watch, she woke Yolanda without mentioning any of the encounter or that she could now see in the dark. When the time came to start the day once more, however, she marveled at her new power.

The range was limited, something like thirty feet, and everything was black and white, but she could see. That alone caused relief to well up in her. They were still in massive trouble with no real idea of the way out, but maybe, just maybe, they had a chance.

Her sight proved immediately useful. Originally, they had thought there were only two ways to go: back the way they had come or out the other end. With her new vision, she could see a third option. There was an opening about ten feet off the ground. While the others got ready to move Sonya, Shanlai debated their route. The lower path was appealing given Sonya's limited mobility. Then, next to the opening above, a glint of inexplicable gold caught Shanlai's eye. There, in her otherwise greyscale vision, was a golden circle with familiar patterns traced through it. Shanlai frowned. Then again, it wanted to see what she did with her gift. Perhaps it would be bored if she died with it down in the dark.

Shanlai looked thoughtfully at her companions. She was reluctant to share last night's events with them, but she couldn't hide her ability to see.

"Schala? Where are you?"

Shanlai started. It didn't sound like the first time Joren had called her. "I'm here."

"Something wrong?" asked Sonya.

"No." Shanlai realized her tone was ambiguous, and said more strongly, "No, nothing's wrong. We have rope, right?"

"I'm carrying some," came Joren's steady voice. "What were you thinking?"

"There's an opening about ten feet up over here. We need a way to get Sonya up."

"How did you find that?" Sonya asked incredulously.

"I know your arms don't reach that high," Yolanda chipped in.

Shanlai gave a dry stare before realizing it was wasted effort. "I don't want to hear that from you."

"Are you sure it's worth the effort?" Joren's tone was reasonable. "We don't know where either way leads, and staying down would be easier."

"We fell a good way from the surface, so I think we need to head up." Shanlai was thinking fast. "Call it a good feeling."

"I still want to know how you found it," said Sonya. "Don't tell me you were climbing all over the walls looking."

I made a pact with a weird not-angel for a creepy eye that can see in the dark. Nope, doesn't sound good, Shanlai thought.

"Lucky shot in the dark." Clearly none of them believed that, but they were willing to drop it for the moment at least.

Fortunately, they managed to avoid dropping Sonya, but it was a near thing. The others could climb the wall with some difficulty, but Sonya couldn't manage it with her leg. It took Yolanda and Joren pulling her up on a rope while she used her arms as best she could to get her the ten feet to the ledge. Shanlai stayed on the ground to protect their rear. She hoped heading up would either confuse the beasts that attacked them or that they would be unable to follow, but she didn't hold out much hope. When Sonya was finally up, they had to lower the rope for Shanlai to grab and climb. She lacked the strength to reliably climb the rocky surface.

This tunnel was similar to the others they had been through. Shanlai took the lead, guiding the others. After several twists and turns, and an uphill slope Shanlai took as a good sign, a pit impeded their path. Shanlai was extremely grateful for her eye. If she had misstepped, she didn't know if she would have been able to save herself, and given that the pit went deeper than her eye could see, it almost certainly would have been fatal.

An eight foot gap was easily jumped, but without eyes to guide them, Joren and Yolanda risked jumping too late, and Sonya certainly couldn't make it. There was enough of a lip by the wall to edge along, but Sonya would again not be able to do it. Shanlai growled with frustration as she explained the problem to the others. Sonya once more suggested going on without her, and Shanlai once more spoke over her without acknowledging a word. This time, though, she could see in Joren's and Yolanda's faces that they were just as set on getting Sonya out. Shanlai was grateful. She no longer worried that they resented her for insisting on bringing Sonya.

"Should we try a different way?" Joren asked.

Shanlai shook her head before realizing he couldn't see it. "No, this is the most promising path we have. We just need to figure this out."

"Too bad we can't tie the rope to be ceiling," Yolanda said. "We should swing her across like a pendulum then."

Shanlai cast her gaze up. The ceiling was craggy stove about ten feet off the ground. If we had pitons... But even then, how would we get up there?

The far side had stalagmites a short distance away from the pit. After turning Yolanda's words over for another minute, Shanlai had a solution.

"Hand me the rope." After looping it around her arm, she said, "Wait here a minute." With a running leap, Shanlai was across the pit. Finding the largest stalagmite, she kicked it a few times to test its sturdiness. Then, she set about looping the rope around it and securely knotting it. She grabbed the other end and leapt again.

"Here's the plan. I have the rope tied around a stalagmite on the other side."

"Is that a one on the ground or the ceiling?"

Shanlai let out a huff of breath. Sonya evidently heard it and chuckled. "On the ground," Sonya answered Yolanda's question.

"I can never keep them straight."

"Stalac_tites_ hold tight to the ceiling." Joren's tone was patient, but Shanlai could see the smile he didn't bother to hide in the dark.

"If the grammar lesson is over," Shanlai said, though her admonishment lacked bite. They could all use some levity under the circumstances.

"We're going to tie a loop under Sonya's arms. Then we'll hold the other end and gently lower her until she's against the far side. Then we'll edge along the wall and pull her up."

It was easier said than done. The last thing anyone wanted was for Sonya to slip out. After several minutes of work and triple-checking the knots, they were ready to put the plan in action. Just as they started, muscles straining to make the journey gentle, Shanlai had the thought that those creatures could attack right at this moment. It was not a pleasant thought, and she did her best to keep the pace consistent without panicking. Eventually, they could let go and make their own way across.

Shanlai gave a silent prayer that the rope would hold. She held the others' weapons and jumped across to lower the amount of bulk they had while edging around the hole. Shanlai didn't take a breath until both were safely across. Then she had to breathe as they worked on getting Sonya up.

It was with no small amount of satisfaction that Shanlai found herself with all three of her companions across the gap. Once more, Shanlai led the way while Joren helped Sonya and Yolanda took up the rear.

They covered a good amount of ground by the time they settled down for the night. Thus far, their path had encountered no large caves or forks in their path. Shanlai was leading them down a path with only a weird sign from her benefactor, but even though she still had no clue where they were or where they were going, she allowed herself to feel a glimmer of hope.