She gradually slid off the edge and suspended in the air for a while, her heart beat speeding up as she breathed deeply. Ake slowly lowered her down. She was slowly rotating as she quickly took a look around the walls of the cave that were covered in algae. As she went lower and lower she started to hear the noises of water running inside the cave and the sound of droplets echoing as they fell onto the rock surface. When her boots touched the ground she gained control and undid the harness. Ake pulled the harness back and waved at her pointing to her right and into the cave that started a few feet away. She located the entrance of the smaller cave and nodded. Once Ake’s head disappeared she felt alone and an uncomfortable feeling took over her for a few seconds. She put on her bag pack and walked to the second entrance. The size of the cave was big enough for her to be able to stand up straight and move freely, in fact it looked more like a tunnel than a cave and even though there were no signs of unnatural cutting on the rock surface, the tunnel almost had a circular shape. She quickly looked in her one of the several pockets of her baggie pants to find a flash light before turning it on and examining the cave. She realized she was not going to need it for long as few yards ahead there seemed to be a dim fire light that had lid up the cave with a yellow orange light.
She walked to the light hoping she would not need to walk long before finding everyone else. She was a bit afraid. She had not been in many caves and was not very fond of cave creatures such as bats and bugs but was not very sensitive about them either. The only thing she didn’t like was their surprising way of popping out of nowhere and scaring even the bravest cave explorers. Once she was by the light she realized it was a bowl that was hanging from the edge of the cave using thin fiber ropes. Inside, a single string of wick, barely hanging out of what seemed to be oil, was burning. The light was placed on a bend and once she made the turn she saw several other oil lamps that had created a beautiful view from where she was standing. She turned off the flash light and walked, more confidently, through the tunnel in search of her colleagues.
The temperature seemed to be dropping as she walked down the cave. She felt a breeze against her skin and was getting close to the end of the tunnel. Once she walked out she was in a larger hall. The ceiling was completely covered with stalactite and water dripped from each into a small pull of water that was in the middle of the hall shaped cave. The oil lamps continued around the pool and the yellow and orange reflection of light showed off the white, orange and red colors of flowstones that surrounded them. While looking around she noticed a red camping tent on the other side and she smiled walking towards the tent. “Hello?” she called while walking towards the tint. She looked inside the tent and knew this definitely belonged to her colleagues. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were two sleeping bags inside with one bag pack but there was no sign of any of the professors. She stood in front of the tint looking around the cave and called for them again. “Professor?” Her voice echoed around, traveling through the tunnels of the cave before leaving her there waiting for a reply.
She stood there for what seemed to be minutes, waiting, and decided to look more closely for any other tunnels that might have continued down the cave but before she could take her first step her foot quickly slipped over the wet rocks that had been shaved and smoothed for millions of years by the running water. She screamed and fell into the pull. Before she could gain ground she was in water to her chest. She gasped for air and quickly tried to get out of the pool but the smooth surface of the rock kept her from getting out as fast as she wanted. She was wet from head to toe but that didn’t seem to be her main issue. She quickly took off her bag pack. It had gotten wet and water was running down and coming out from the bottom of her bag pack. “No, no, no!” she whined as she hurriedly opened the bag and emptied the content next to the tent. All her clothing was already wet but most importantly the three pieces of electronics seemed to have been completely soaked. She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand and closed her eyes in pain. She didn’t attempt to turn on the electronics and didn’t know what she was going to tell her colleagues. She was going to be an instant disappointment to them she thought to herself.
She sat there for a while waiting for anyone to come back but it was getting late. She had been there for at least an hour now. It was getting colder and sitting there in wet clothes was not helping. She quickly took off her clothes, standing there in her underwear before she went into the tint to look for a few dry pieces of clothing. There was nothing around and all there was in the bag pack was already wet and damp. She was still going to wear what she found but after seeing molded spots on the clothing she wasn’t sure if she could wear them. She decided the best thing she could do is to get into one of the sleeping bags to keep her warm and surely the professors would get back here sooner or later. She took a quick look at her watch as she took it off her wrist. It was exactly three in the afternoon and she was starting to feel hungry. Luckily the packaging of food had kept them from getting wet. She found a snickers bar and attempted to open it before she heard echoing noise around her. She smiled instantly and was glad someone was finally coming back.
She put the candy bar down and examined her surrounding, looking for the source of the echoing noise. Her bare feet touching the cold wet rocks as she walked back to the oil lamps. A dim light dancing from behind the rocks indicated there was another oil lamp behind it. She was sure the noise was coming from down the tunnel. She waited for them to perhaps get to her but they were taking too long. She wanted to walk to them but she was not in the best attire to do so having only her black underwear and bra on. She was starting to feel cold and was starting to shake. She took a few more steps into the cave, this one a little shorter and tighter. An unusually warm wind was coming from down the cave. It felt great against her cold skin and she knew even if she wasn’t going to go look for the professors she was definitely going to wait for them here.
She felt relaxed and warm again but the noises seemed to come and go from down the cave. She called a few times and did not hear any replies. She was feeling anxious and did not know what to do. After all she could not wait here all night. She walked a little further into the cave. It wasn’t dark and the lamps seemed to continue along the cave wall. She had walked several yards and the tunnel seemed to continue even further. She was contemplating to whether she should continue or go back. Before she could make a decision she detected a strange scent. It was a pleasant aroma that smelt almost sweet and warm. She inhaled deeply, trying to recognize the smell. She was a bit surprised because she never thought she would be smelling such perfume in a cave. The scent of what felt like sweet clove mixed with cinnamon and gingerbread. She almost couldn’t believe what she smelled. She continued down the tunnel to find the source of the fragrance that seemed to get stronger as she walked forward.