Broken--Chapter 1

Storm sprang with a nervous energy from step to step. Excitement powered his movement. He dashed around corners, and leaped over little chasms with all the surety of a native of the place. What lie beyond, he claimed, was something so magnificent, it would amaze anyone.
         Taka followed behind him, trying to feel her way around in the darkness while still keeping up with Storm. The torch he carried did little for her behind him. She wasn’t convinced it was doing much for him. As a guide, she ran her hand across the dank, coarse wall of the cave. Something wasn’t right. A sudden gust of cool air swept over Taka, sending a sudden chill up her spine.
         “Stop!” The word just sort of fell out of Taka’s mouth before she knew it.
         Storm stopped suddenly. He turned around to look at Taka who had stopped a few steps earlier.
         “What’s the matter?” he asked. Taka could see--even in the dim light--that Storm paced a little.          
         “Whatever’s down here, we don’t need it--I don’t need it. We’re goin’ back.”
         Storm chuckled. That little chuckle stopped Taka in her tracks as she turned to go back the way they came.
         “Not scared, are you?”
         Those words struck something within Taka.
         “Storm, you know me,” she replied still facing the way they had come, “ but say what want. This place just isn’t--well, we shouldn’t be here.”
         There was a moment’s pause, then Storm sighed.
         “Well, I really want you to have this,” he said. His voice was an odd mixture of disappointment, tinged with just the slightest bit of annoyance. “So, I’ll let you walk back, and I’ll bring it to you. How‘s that?”
         Before she could answer, Storm turned to head on his way.
         “No, Storm wait!” Another shudder raced up Taka’s back.
         But, he continued walking, waving Taka off.
         And then, he was gone.
         Taka watched as his torch shot up into the air, and, as if in slow motion,  slowly fall back down. As it fell, where it should have hit the ground, it illuminated nothing but thin air. Then, it too disappeared, dropping her into utter blackness.
         She dropped to her knees and peered down into the chasm, heart pounding, mind still unable to accept the event that just happened.
         “Storm!” she shouted into the darkness.          
         “Taka!” he was right there, not all the way down “there” like she thought he would be. “Pull me up! Pull me up!” he screamed.
         She fumbled around in the dark for his hand. Upon finally finding it, she wrapped her hand around his wrist--or tried to. Taka never realized it, but Storm had huge wrists. The bad part about that those huge wrists were connected to a huge  and heavy guy.
         “I can’t lift you!”
         “Use some Dust!” Storm’s voice broke with urgency.
         “I don’t have anything that’ll--”
         “I can’t hang here all day, Taka!”
         Feeling his panic coupled with her’s, Taka sat up on her knees, and dug blindly through her fanny pack. She had brought some magic Dust with her, but none of it did anything that would help now.
         “Taka!” Storm’s voice was hoarse, now.
         Here goes, Taka thought to herself as she grabbed a bag, and threw it down into the chasm. Even as she threw it, she knew it was a stupid idea. She knew nothing would happen. She sat there, staring into the darkness, turning over plan after plan, but finding none of them helpful until Storm’s voice broke her harried reverie.
         “I--can’t--hold--on--any--” Taka heard the sound of rock’s crumbling, and furious scratching. Then, she heard Storm’s scream fill the blackness as it reverberated throughout the cave. The screaming stopped, and was replaced by a sickening silence after the last echoes died away.
         Numbed, befuddled, Taka felt the a knot tighten in both her heart and her stomach. She would have crumbled inwardly there had the ground not begin to rumble. She could hear deafening cracking crashing. Then suddenly, she was up in the air. She was thrown who knows how far. She hit a wall, he back taking the brunt of the force. A fierce gale whistled in her ears so she could not even hear her own thoughts. She stayed against the wall, unable to move, for its force kept her pinned there. Then, as suddenly as it had come, it died down.
         Severely shaken. Taka sat where she had landed, straining to get enough oxygen. It was almost as if the darkness was pressing in on her. It was ominous and oppressive--enough to one ill.
         “Taka?”
         The voice scared her. It was just a little ways off in front of her.
         “Taka, are you okay?”
         “Storm, is that you?” She couldn’t believe it. It just had to be some working of her imagination.
         Then she felt a clammy hand grab her left hand.
         “Are you hurt?” he asked. He was sitting right next to her.
         “You’re alive!” Taka felt a hot stream of tears slide down her cheeks.
         “Yeah, but the rest of the cave’s collapsed.” Storm helped Taka to her feet, and put his arm around her in support.
         “You’re alive!” she repeated breathlessly.
         “We both are, but right now, we have to focus on getting out of here somehow. We’ll have to just keep going this way, then.”
         Taka straightened herself up, and wiped away the last of her tears. She could cry later. Right now, they were trapped in a caved-in cave without a source of light.
         “By the way Taka, thanks for saving me. That was smart using a bag of wind Dust, very smart.” Storm gave Taka a little squeeze.
         Taka chuckled. “Uh…yeah,” she said secretly regretting the fact that while she had saved Storm’s life, she had jeopardized both of their lives in causing a cave-in. “Don’t mention it,” she mumbled.