“You can do this.”
I shuddered as I tore my attention away from him, put my hands out, and squirmed into the hole before I couldn't. I instantly wanted to start screaming, instantly balked against the horrendous sensation that immediately encompassed me. There was about six inches above me as I squirmed, crawled, and slithered down the pipe but it felt as if it were crushing my back and squeezing the air from my lungs.
The air within the pipe was cool and musty like an old stone cellar on a humid day. The small beam revealed a glistening layer of gunk, mold, and something that I couldn't identify coating the walls. I fought against screaming and squirming my way backwards when I felt someone enter the pipe behind me. The crushing sensation of being buried alive encompassed me; it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. I was going to die, not from being trapped in the pipe but because I felt as if my lungs were starting to shut down.
I reached a turn, and after a little bit of maneuvering, managed to twist my way into the curve. It didn't feel as if the pipe was getting smaller, but I was certain it was. I couldn’t let myself think about being trapped in here, couldn’t let myself think that there might be no way out. I would become useless if I did, and everyone else would be trapped behind me.
“Bethany?”
“I’m fine,” I managed to choke out to Abby though we both knew I was lying.
I'd made it another twenty feet when a rocking bang from above caused the pipe to shudder. A creaking, groaning noise echoed throughout the system. A low whimper escaped me as I froze. If there had been enough room in the pipe I was pretty sure I would have curled into a ball and screamed like a baby.
“Faster Bethy, faster.”
Cade didn’t have to say it twice. I was suddenly frantic to be free of this world of unending torture and madness within these crushing confines. I wasn’t entirely against death as an option anymore, not if it meant escaping this convoluted pipe. I was either going to find the end of this tunnel, or I was going to die in it, and I didn’t care which one came first anymore.
Using my elbows and feet, I squirmed my way forward like an earthworm at a more rapid pace. The beam bounced over the walls, flashing over the slime and sludge that had been there for longer than I'd probably been alive. The stink of the refuse had been bad; this forgotten mix of hair, dead skin, waste, and gunk was almost as bad. It coated me and permeated everything as it pressed against my lips, and slid up my nose.
I was tempted to vomit, but then I would also have to crawl through that. Though, at this point, it might be cleaner than the mess I was already struggling through.
The pipe took a sharp turn down. I used the light to peer into it. The dim glow bounced off of the slush infested network that twisted somewhere out of sight about fifteen feet down. Where did the damn thing go, and would we be able to get through it?
“Bethany?” Abby asked.
“It drops again,” I warned in a strangled voice that I barely recognized and was more than a little ashamed of.
I pulled myself into the void.
CHAPTER 22
There was light at the end of the tunnel. I had to turn off the flashlight to make sure, but there it was, a bright beacon against the darkness enshrouding me. Hope surged through me; I scurried forward at a more rapid pace. Tears flooded my eyes and clogged my throat.
I didn’t care what was at the end of this tunnel, didn’t care if it dumped into raw sewage or a nest full of aliens. I didn’t care if I was scooped up and eaten as soon as I broke free. I only cared about escaping this cramped enclosure and breathing fresh air once again. I heard a gasp from Abby as I made it to the end and plunged heedlessly out of the pipe.
It was a further drop than I'd anticipated; I hit the muddied, wet ground with a loud grunt. Pain shot through my bruised tailbone and elbow. The air was knocked forcefully out of me, and then it rushed blessedly back in. I clawed at the watery ground as I pulled myself clear of the pipe exit. I blinked against the harsh glare of the day that burned my eyes.
Though it was wet beneath me I wasn't in a puddle, and even if I couldn’t see yet I knew that I was in the wide open. I couldn't feel walls around me anymore. Hands seized hold of my arms; I blinked, trying to clear the tears away that were blurring my vision. It was then that I realized that the sun wasn't the reason I couldn’t see, it was the tears streaking down my face and clogging my eyes. “Are you ok?” Cade demanded.
I tried to reassure him that I was dazed, but completely fine. Only a groan escaped though as a sob ripped free of me. I was shaken, torn, and very close to coming completely undone. I had managed to keep it together in that awful pipe, but it had been too much. I could feel a shattering forming inside of me and I was afraid it might just destroy me.
Cade wrapped me up in his arms and pulled me against him. He buried my head in his neck to muffle the sounds of my tears with his body. I clung to him as all of the pent up horror of that pipe, and everything else that had occurred, boiled out of me.
“Bethany, Bethy hush. You’re out now, you made it. You’re free, it’s over, and you did great. You did great,” Cade whispered against my ear. His hands entangled in my snarled and filthy hair as he pressed me closer.
I clawed at his skin and clothes as I tried to get closer to him, though it was nearly impossible to do so. It was impossible to be any closer but I had to be, I needed more. I needed him, all of him. The absolute certainty of that was soul shaking, it nearly ripped me in two as I held him, oblivious to anyone outside of the two of us. No one else existed in this world of warm sanctuary within Cade’s strong embrace. I wasn’t aware that my sobs had subsided until I felt the stroke of his hands over my hair, soothing me as I began to tremble. Not from fear this time, or relief, but from the sheer wonder of this tender moment, and his touch.
I didn't care that we were both covered with slime and stunk to high heaven. I didn’t even care that there were two other people watching us. All I cared about was the fact that I didn’t ever want to let go. I could hear his answering response to me in the excited beat of his heart, and his ragged breathing.
“Bethany,” he whispered, his lips against my ear, his hands in my hair. “My brave Bethany.”
I didn’t feel so brave today. I felt like a coward, drained and nearly defeated. If it hadn’t been for his subtle strength, and unwavering faith in me, I wasn’t sure that I would have made it this far. It was a faith I wasn’t sure I deserved, especially not after the breakdown I had just experienced. Jenna may complain about everything, but at least she was keeping it together. I was unraveling faster than a yo-yo. If there had been any aliens in the area, I could have just killed us and all because I had a problem with small spaces.