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Rated: E · Short Story · Psychology · #1690583
I found myself in a cavern which wasn't on the map. (Editor's Pick)
There’s quiet, then there’s silence. The kind of silence that as soon as you stop whatever you are doing, it presses upon you. Like a blanket, it surrounds you. It becomes part of you. The only sound you can hear is your own heart beating, your own breathing… and it. Nothing else. It simply waits.

I descended on a Friday into a well-mapped cave. After two hours, I entered the area called the ‘Needle’; A narrow path that you have to squeeze through without your pack. In particular I had to pull my supplies through with a strong rope.

According to the map, I had two more miles before I emerged; One hundred yards from where I entered. I examined the map and expected the next marker. The steep grade and sheer rock wall indicated, never came. Instead I found myself in a large cavern. The smell of dirt, stale air, and mildew flowed through my nostrils. Something was wrong.

I used my flashlight to survey my surroundings. Five entrances -- or exits -- stared at me. One of them I’d just walked through, and the largest lay right in front of me. I’d taken too many steps into the cavern. I couldn’t determine which one I’d emerged from. In all my years of spelunking, this was a new wrinkle. I had to decide – Go back through a passage I think I went through, hoping to retrace my steps, or go on. I decided to go on.

My light fading, I’ve wandered around for twenty hours, dropping birdseed. I keep coming across my own trails. I’ve come to realize even if I got on the right path, my light would not last.

I sit here writing this, barely able to read it. The silence engulfs me. It waits for me.


299 Words
Flash Story Must contain: Needle, Strong, Wrinkle

Editor's Pick 04/27/2011 Action/Adventure Newsletter
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