Harbor

You run down, deeper into the dark, resisting the urge to go up towards the light, for that is where your captors dwell. At the beginning of your descent there are stairs, but soon you are stumbling through rough-walled caves, praying that Maisie truly knows where she is going.

“There,” she whispers and tugs on your hand. It is too dark for you to see much, but she places your hand on the wall so you can feel the fissure in the rock, just big enough for a girl to squeeze through.

On the other side you must keep your head tucked down to continue. The ground is wet with puddles that grow and gather together until you are wading through ankle deep water. The water emits a faint phosphorescent glow which allows you to make out a large, dark shape bobbing ahead of you.

“Oh, thank goodness,” says Maisie. “It is still here.”

A closer look reveals it to be a long, thin boat holding two oars. She points out how perfect it is for two and you fervently hope it is a sign of something too. You clamber in and begin rowing.

The only sounds are your paddles and the slosh of water against the cave walls. The underground river continues on interminably and at some point both you and Maisie drift off to sleep. When you awaken you are luckily still holding your oars. Maisie points excitedly ahead and you see a dim pinprick of light ahead.

It grows and brightens, so that you can see that the cave has widened considerably. There is an opening up ahead letting in the soft dawn light and you paddle towards it, cheering when you float out into a clear lake. All around are mountains and ahead the rising sun.

It is breathtaking. Though you know you are still in danger, you and Maisie paddle slowly, enjoying the fresh morning air and the muted sunlight. You do not hurry until you spot a small hut above a pebbled beach. Its door is large and thick, out of place on such a small structure.

You approach it nervously, but when you push it open there is a familiar clatter of metal pans. Maisie grabs your hand and squeezes it. She rushes in, pulling you along, and then you both dance in a tiny circle as the door swings shut. You have made it home, to a small storage room off the scullery on the ground floor of Leadmere.

“But we must hurry away quickly,” warns Maisie. “They will know that we have crossed back and they will surely come.”

One of the scullery maids shrieks and drops a pile of plates when you suddenly appear, but you and Maisie pay her no mind. You rush through to the kitchen, heading for the nearest exit to the outside.

The cook’s eyes widen when she sees you, but her face is nothing to the look of horror the housekeeper gives when she turns.

“Kate! M-Maisie? Girls, where are you going!”

You ignore her frantic cries, almost laughing when she orders you back. Already there is a distant rumbling coming from below. They will be here shortly to collect, but you and Maisie will not be the ones to pay.

THE END

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This is part of the story Beneath Leadmere Manor, written for @calluna’s 9th Tell a Story to Me Contest, based on the prompt, “Deep below ground, a portal opens…,” as well as the Day 251 photo prompt for the #365daysofwriting challenge by @mydivathings.

Photo by Nathan Peterson.