"mhm is brighter that what i though"
Alex could not help but admire the natural beauty that formed in front of his eyes as he ventured deeper into the cave.
As soon as he started walking inside he expected to find himself in total darkness as he didn't have any source of light to help him navigate, but still decided to go.
He didn't have great amount of water to begin with, and walking through a desert didn't help him, and he knew it was but a matter of time until it ran out, so without other option he ventured inside the cave, exposing himself to a great amount of danger since he didn't know what to expect inside, but still decided to go as he was a dead man if he couldn't advance.
But to his surprise just a few minutes after any ray of light illuminating his path disappeared, the cave became big enough for a truck to easily pass without trouble.
And that was not what caught his attention, the cave was fully illuminated, a softly pale blue light shone all around him, which contrasted with dark red of the cave, and reflected by the numerous materials which he could only consider as some sort of crystal, creating a constant changing play of colors increasing it beauty.
Looking closer i notice the culprit that illuminated my way, a type of fungi similar to an oyster mushroom covered the walls of the cave, its color, a mix of blue and purple making it blend with the light of the cave, adding a mysterious feeling to it.
Fascinated by them, I really had to control my urge to pick some and take them with me, I always loved learning about nature and while I know of purple mushrooms, some of them are deadly to humans, and I'm damn sure no a single one glows so I stoped myself touching them.
Looking over my head I saw a uncountable amount of either stalactites or stalagmites covering the ceiling, they were of a whitish dirt color, its smooth surface made them reflect the pale glow around it, making the entire ceiling glow, highlighting its whitish color even more.
I had no words to even describe what i was looking at anymore, it was magnificent, never before had i cursed the fact that i didn't have a camera with me, damned be my luck.
After admiring such sights for a few more minutes i resume my march.
While walking deeper into the cave i began to observe my surrounding, while not big enough to be overly cautions, it was still wide and dark enough for something to suddenly surprise me if i let my guard down.
Ever since i entered the cave i made sure to always have my hand on the sword hilt, ready for anything that may happen, but having the cave be this big was pleasant surprise, while not being a long sword, it was not small either, and in a close space it would be disadvantageous to have, but now i was relive it was one less problem to worry about.
As i keep walking, and hours went by I decided it was time for a break, while I wanted to get out of here fast, I didn't know how long this place was and wasn't going to walk myself to exhaustion only to be attacked by anything that lived here.
Moving to the wall, near an empty area, where I could still see both direction without any obstacles in the way, this way while anything that pass may see me, i could also see them and run if i need to in the opposite direction.
"I truly want to eat something better, god why couldn't you be a good homie and send me some cola, the Mexican one plz, like people ask you for miracles and shit but I'm just asking you for a 1 dollar drink man, help a brotha out"
But much for my desires my calls were ignored, leaving me to eat unsavory jerky and temperature water, the audacity.
Finishing eating my food and resting a good half an hour, I began moving again, having no way of knowing how long I been here, I knew is been a few hours but the specifics were unknown to me.
"Haaa, I wish I had the same ability as a certain pink haired loli teacher I read in a manga but I guess life ain't that easy.... uh?"
While thinking about stupids thinks I notice something on the ground a few feet from me.
"Well well well, what do we have here"
Moving closer to it, I realized what I had just found, making a big smile on my face, in front of me was a few rocks, around 1/3 of my size in a position that looked as if they formed some kind of circle, in the middle it was hard but i could still see some black ash mixed with dirt.
"I had my suspicion, why was this cave straight? usually a cave system have many paths and detours, but so far I have found none, just one single way forward, almost s if it was a tunel instead, but know this confirm it.
Looking at the the rocks i could contain my excitement, no, more than looking at the rocks I was staring at what i found between them.
"Footprints"
Not only that but this are no animal footprint, the shape was clearly of a shoe which made Alex event more excited, it was evidence that an intelligent race had pass through here, meaning he was on the right path.
"I still don't know who they are, much less if they are hostile or not but this is way better than nothing, at least there is hope."
No matter how strong willed a person was, they were bound to break or go insane depending on the situation they were in, Alex knew that well, and being alone for days with out any sign of a village or a city, water and food decreasing with every passing day and no knowledge if his decisions were correct was starting to affect him, finding this was a huge raise of both his mental health and moral.
With his heart beating faster at every passing second began moving forward again, his body filled with vigor and hope, his mind more clearly as his previous doubts had been erased from it and after a few hours of moving his actions were finally rewarded.
"Hh ah HA HAH AH"
A cheerful laugh could be heard around the cave, Alex couldn't contain his excitement as he looked what it laid in front of him.
"Stairs! HAHA HA Stairs!
Finally, after so long I may have found a way out of here.
Without thinking twice he begun climbing upstairs, his desire to get out of here was screaming at him to hurry!, go faster!, but his rationality stoped as he began to wondered what he would find when he reached the top.
"Looking closely at the stair I can see they are fairly worn out, so either they are too old or used quite frequently, either way I'm mostly sure that there should be some kind of settlement near, or at least close enough for people to carve stairs into this rock and use them until it worn out.
The question is who are they and what kind of people they are."
With everything I have been so far, especially with the attire I'm currently wearing, I would say things may not be peaceful, specially if I find a small village or settlement.
Just imagine a stranger you never see in you life arriving armed, with no food or water to your small village, pretty sus would I say myself.
Also I don't even know if the leather armor I'm wearing is from an enemy army to them, so far I found no symbols or banners inscribed on it, so either is just a standard armor or to low in ranks to care.
As I keep walking, thinking about what to do after getting out of here I finally saw a small light, far away slowly getting which each step I took.
"The exit!"
Immediately increasing my speed, i ran up stairs, my smile getting bigger as excitement began to fill my very core.
And finally reaching the last step, a bright light covered my entire body, forcibly making me shut my eyes for a couple of second until they readjusted to the brightens of the sun.
I was finally out of the cave.