Day 16: Escape and Recovery
Eli knelt beside Cass, his hands shaking as he gently moved the rubble off her body. She lay still, her breathing shallow, her forehead slick with blood from the cut just above her brow. Her leg was twisted, bent in a way that made Eli's stomach churn.
"Cass," Eli whispered, his voice tight with fear. "Come on, stay with me."
There was no response. Her eyelids fluttered weakly, but she didn't seem to hear him. He couldn't tell how bad her injuries were, but the sight of her lying there, motionless, filled him with dread.
Above, Luke was already tying the rope to the beam, his face pale as he peered down into the sinkhole. "Eli, hold on! I'm coming down!"
Eli nodded, his throat tight. 'She's alive,' he thought, trying to steady himself. 'We just need to get her out of here.'
Luke rappelled down the rope, his descent slow but steady, his eyes wide with worry when he reached the bottom. He knelt beside Eli, his breath quick from both the climb and the tension.
"Is she…?" Luke's voice trailed off, his eyes scanning Cass's still form.
"She's alive," Eli said, his voice trembling. "But she's hurt bad. We need to get her out of here."
Luke nodded grimly, glancing up at the rope. "We'll have to lift her carefully. You think we can manage with just the two of us?"
Eli swallowed hard, his mind racing. "We don't have a choice."
Working together, they moved Cass gently, making sure not to aggravate her injuries. Every time her body shifted, she let out a faint groan of pain, but her eyes remained closed. Eli's heart twisted with guilt. She had saved them again, throwing herself into danger without a second thought, and now she was paying for it.
'She always does this,' Eli thought, the anger and fear swirling inside him. 'She always takes the fall.'
Luke tied the rope securely around her waist, then carefully began pulling her up toward the surface. Eli helped from below, supporting her weight as best he could. It was slow going—every pull of the rope felt like it took hours—but they were making progress.
Cass's body hung limp, her head lolling to the side as they hoisted her up. She didn't stir, didn't speak. Eli's heart pounded in his chest, his hands shaking as he guided her.
Finally, they reached the top. Luke heaved her onto solid ground, his chest rising and falling with exertion as he untied the rope. Eli scrambled up after them, his legs burning from the climb, but he barely noticed the pain. His focus was entirely on Cass.
They laid her down on the cracked pavement, her face pale, her breathing still shallow. Her leg looked bad—twisted and swollen, the skin around it already bruising—and the cut on her forehead continued to bleed, staining her dark hair.
"Cass, wake up," Eli said, his voice tight with desperation. He knelt beside her, gently tapping her cheek, trying to rouse her. "We need you."
Luke knelt next to Eli, his face grim. "She's out cold. We need to tend to her wounds, or she's not going to make it."
Eli's throat tightened. Cass had always been the strong one, the one who knew what to do, who fought through anything. Seeing her like this—so vulnerable—made his chest ache. But there was no time to panic. They had to act.
"We need to set her leg," Eli said, though the words felt heavy and foreign on his tongue. He had no idea how to fix something like this, but they couldn't leave her like that. "And we need to stop the bleeding."
Luke nodded, already searching through their supplies. They didn't have much—just a few scraps of cloth and some makeshift bandages—but they would have to make do.
"Hold her leg steady," Luke said, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. "I'm going to try to set it."
Eli swallowed hard, moving to hold Cass's leg. He could feel the heat radiating from her injury, the swelling making it difficult to even touch. Every movement made him wince, but he steeled himself. 'We have to help her,' he thought, gritting his teeth. 'She saved us. Now we have to save her.'
Luke worked quickly but carefully, his hands moving with a practiced precision that surprised Eli. He set the leg with a quick motion, eliciting a faint groan from Cass, though she didn't wake. Eli's stomach turned at the sound, but he forced himself to stay focused.
"Good," Luke said quietly. "Now the head wound."
Eli nodded, gently lifting Cass's head as Luke wrapped a piece of cloth around her forehead, tying it tightly to stop the bleeding. Blood seeped through the bandage, but it seemed to slow, and Eli let out a shaky breath.
"We need to move," Luke said, his voice urgent. "She's not safe here. None of us are."
Eli looked down at Cass, his heart pounding. "She said we were in something's territory. Something worse than the Wraithkin. We can't stay."
Luke's eyes widened, but he nodded. "Then we need to find shelter. Somewhere away from this place."
Together, they carefully lifted Cass between them, her limp body resting in their arms. Eli's muscles screamed in protest, but he pushed through the pain. They couldn't leave her behind. Not after everything she had done for them.
As they moved through the ruined streets, Eli's thoughts raced. Cass had always known more than she let on—always knew when danger was coming, always reacted before anyone else. But now, for the first time, she was vulnerable. And without her guidance, without her strength, they were on their own.
'I hope she wakes up,' Eli thought, his stomach knotting with fear. 'We can't do this without her.'
They pushed forward, their bodies straining under Cass's weight, but the need to survive drove them onward. The city was eerily quiet, the air thick with the same oppressive silence that had haunted them since they entered this new territory. Eli's eyes scanned the streets for any sign of movement, but all he could hear was the sound of their own labored breathing.
After what felt like hours, they finally found an old, half-collapsed building with enough of a roof to provide some shelter. They laid Cass down gently on the floor, her breathing still shallow, her face pale and bruised. She hadn't stirred since they pulled her from the sinkhole, and the sight of her like this sent a wave of dread through Eli's chest.
"What do we do now?" Luke asked, his voice hushed as he knelt beside her.
Eli shook his head, his throat tight with emotion. "We wait. We hope she wakes up."
Luke nodded, though the worry in his eyes was clear. He slumped back against the wall, exhaustion weighing down his body. "I don't know what we'll do if she doesn't."
Eli swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on Cass's still form. 'She has to wake up,' he thought desperately. 'She's the only one who knows how to survive out here. She's the only one who understands what's coming.'
The minutes dragged by, each one heavier than the last. They tended to Cass as best they could, keeping her leg elevated and her head wound clean, but the uncertainty gnawed at Eli's insides. He couldn't stop thinking about the unseen threat Cass had warned them about—the territory they had entered without knowing.
'What if we don't see it coming, like she did?'
As night began to fall, the shadows deepening around them, Eli sat beside Cass, his hands trembling with fear and exhaustion. He didn't know what to do, didn't know how to lead without her. All he could do was wait, hope, and listen for the faint sound of her breathing.
"Please wake up, Cass," Eli whispered, his voice barely audible in the darkness. "We need you."
But the night stretched on, and still, she didn't stir.