The Edge

Luca: Part Four

He was lying on his back in a cave. His ankle hurt. His entire body hurt, really, but the worst of the pain was in his ankle. He was clutching the diary to his chest. There were no other books in sight. Had he opened a secret passageway? I mean, if a place is going to have secret passageways, I feel like it'd be this one.

"-ca? Luca?"

Alan's voice was distant, but Luca could still hear how worried he sounded. That scared him more than the pain and confusing surroundings. "He-" Luca's voice cracked. The inside of his mouth was caked in something gritty-dirt, maybe? He spit it off to the side. "Hello?"

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake. There was a collapse. There's debris between us. I'm going to get the others and see if we can get help. Are you injured?"

"Uh..." Luca sat up carefully. "Ankle hurts." He grimaced as he wiggled his toes, then tested his arms, hands, fingers. "I don't think I broke my back." He gingerly touched his skull. "No head wounds, either. Or nothing bleeding."

"Good. That's good. Stay where you are, if you can. We'll come for you."

"Okay." Luca lay back down. His vision slowly adjusted to the darkness, giving him a clearer view of his surroundings. He was at the bottom of the slopes. There was a wall of rocks blocking off the path between him and the library. He thought he could see a few books in the rubble. It hurt his heart. I'm glad I grabbed...

Luca sat right back up again. The diary! He pulled it away from his chest to look at it. It looked intact. He must've held it close to make sure it didn't get hurt. He wasn't picking up anything from it, but that didn't surprise him. Once the initial impression from an object faded, he had to make an effort to see more. He must've been unconscious long enough for that initial impression to fade.

Oh, shit, I was unconscious. That's bad, right? He tried to reassure himself that he couldn't have been unconscious for that long. If he had, Alan would've gone for help before he woke up. That's what Luca would've done, anyway.

The thought was shaken from his head as everything around him started shaking. Luca slid a little further down, his startled yelp just barely audible over all the rocks moving. No, no, please, God, I don't want to die down here!

He didn't die. He moved a little further down along with some small rocks, but he didn't die. Actually, the shaking made the tunnel a little brighter. Luca hoped at first that the rocks blocking him off from the library had been dislodged, but the light was coming from now-visible crystals. They looked like the ones he'd seen on the surface, just underground and still glowing...somehow.

You know what? I'm not going to question it. It wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen to him lately, and Luca was just grateful he could see. It helped soothe his anxiety...for a little bit. Then the never-ending stream of questions started back up.

What's happening? Is the planet shaking apart? Are the others hurt? Are they actually coming back for me? What if they need to get off-planet, or are forced to? Did the scientists know? Were they somehow responsible? Why hadn't they warned anyone?

Shit. Are the cats okay?

Another tremor pushed Luca further down the slope. The space brightened up as he went, but he could still only make out parts of his surroundings. The problem was the sharp contrast between the illuminated spaces and the dark ones. Were the shadows over his shoulder a steep drop into nothing, or a crystal-less stretch of cave? Was there anything in here, hiding in the shadows, or was he alone?

Luca tried to turn so he could see better. He didn't even think he'd moved that much. But he must've been on more of an incline than he thought, because the movement made him start sliding.

And sliding.

And sliding.

He started panicking. Luca tried to push his weight down as much as possible, digging his elbows and heels into the dirt as best he could without dropping the diary. For a brief, horrifying second, he wondered if he was being eaten. If this planet was alive, somehow. But he didn't hit a stomach when he stopped. He'd shut his eyes tightly, but he could still tell that the space was a lot brighter. So...that must've meant he wasn't being eaten alive. Right?

I sure hope so.

Luca opened his eyes slowly. He wasn't being eaten alive. He'd just slidden down into a crystal-dense cave. The slope leading back up seemed just too steep for him to climb, especially with his ankle in the shape it was in. So much for waiting where I was. "Hello?" Luca called as he sat up.

He saw something moving in the corner of his eye. Luca turned to see what it was.

He froze.

Cassandra was sitting next to him. He could see her face clearly in the crystals. It looked like she was staring straight at him, her dark eyes confused. As if she didn't understand how he could be there, either.

Luca looked over his shoulder. Cassandra wasn't there.

Luca looked back at the crystals. Cassandra had vanished.

Oh, no. I hit my head. I'm hallucinating. This is bad. "Hello?" Luca called. His eyes darted around the crystals, trying to find any sign of escape. "Hello?!"

No one replied. Luca wasn't sure if he felt better or worse because of that. A reply could mean safety, but it could also be more hallucinations. Luca carefully tucked the journal into his hoodie's pocket and tried to stand. Putting weight on his ankle made it feel like a knife was going through it. Luca lowered himself back down, just barely managing to sit before gravity and pain did the work for him.

Okay. Crawling it is. He wasn't sure how far he'd get, but there was no way he could stay here. Luca started scooting himself across the floor towards the slope. He kept seeing movement out of the corner of his eye. He tried to ignore it and focus on getting up the slope.

There's nothing there. It's just your reflection, or your powers are going haywire because you're stressed. It's okay. You're fine. Everything is fine...

He barely made it up a few feet before he started slipping.

Luca tried not to panic. He attempted the ascent again and slid down again. He made it a little further up on the third try, but still ended up sliding back down to where he'd started.

There was no way he'd be able to get back up.

Oh, shit. I'm trapped.