Chapter 7
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Scroll up for Part One.
Inhe Raasta Tuhi Dikha...
Part Two.
"Welcome to the California Cavern's four-hour middle earth expedition. As you all must know by now, this is by far our most grueling,physically taxing adventure trip. This isn't for the claustrophobic, or the faint at heart. Before we proceed further, I must ask you if you have signed and returned the Waiver of liability and assumption of risk forms? Everyone? That's fine then.Now here are the rules once again . The protective coveralls and high-top boots that you are all wearing will never come off for the duration of the trip, and neither will the elbow and knee pads. We don't allow food and drinks inside, except for medical reasons. So if you do want to carry something inside, now is the time to tell us..."
Khushi stared at the tour guide, wondering just what she was doing here for the millionth time.
Why was a bureaucrat who pushed files for a living here, at this place?
And then she forced herself to remember what had brought her here.
After spending a sleepless night at her hotel, she had woken up with just one thing on her mind.
The determination to prove him wrong, on his own terms.
No one called her a coward, certainly not the man who...
She closed her eyes, well aware that her anger had fueled her reckless resolve to best him in his own playing-field. Throughout the two-and a half hour drive from San Francisco to the California Caverns in Mountain Ranch, she had never let herself waver from her course of action.
But now, as she stood here with the group of twelve others who had signed up for the middle earth expedition, she realized that she had taken on way more than she could handle.
The caving expedition had sounded arduous on paper, but she had convinced herself that she could do this.
But now that she was faced with reality, her resolve was being sorely tested.
She was way out of her depth, and she felt stupid for even coming here in the first place, just so that she could prove him wrong.
She clenched her fists, and almost took a step back.
Just as he finally looked away from the guide, and saw her.
Up until this moment, she had been hidden from his view by the others between them. But now the crowd had shifted and he could see her clearly.
His eyes widened with shock, and then he let his gaze drop to take in her body from head to toe.
She fought against a wave of embarrassment, and bravely held his gaze when it finally returned to her face.
The shock was still visible in the brown depths, but there was something else there as well.
A glimmer of admiration?
And in that instant, it was all worth it.
She pushed her fears and anxiety to the back of her mind, and concentrated on the last minute instructions given by their guide.
And although she could feel his eyes on her every step of the way, he never once came near her, or attempted to speak to her.
And she was left wondering why.
______
Two hours later, Khushi had no room in her mind to worry about anything else.
Her entire focus was taken up with navigating through the tight passageways and sticky mud paths of the subterranean cave system, and there was only one thing that echoed in her head.
Just a few minutes before, they had passed the halfway point, the point of no return. They had been given the choice to leave the expedition by taking the easier trail that led to the walking section, but Khushi hadn't opted for it.
She had been tempted, of course.
The expedition had been harrowing so far, and she was beginning to regret it again.
First, there had been the frightening drop into the cave system through the spelunking entrance, followed by a head-first crawl through a narrow, vertical hole called the 'womb-room'.
An attack of claustrophobia had left her feeling giddy after that, but she had steeled herself to go on.
But things had only gotten worse as they crawled on their hands and knees through the narrow passages of the Mammoth Cave. Their guide had pointed out various stone formations and other natural wonders, but Khushi had been blind to it all.
Fear and fatigue threatened to overwhelm her, but just one thing kept her going.
The look in his eyes.
But now, as they readied themselves to tackle the narrow trails filled with sticky mud and water that formed the next part of the expedition, she could feel herself giving up.
It was just too much for her.
She was a novice at this, and she just wasn't equipped to handle it.
Unlike him.
He was moving with fluid grace and strength through the whole expedition, and did not look tired at all.
But she was exhausted, and found herself wishing that she had taken the easy route a few minutes back, just like the six others who had left their group.
Right now, there was no going back.
The only way out was to continue on their path, and she hoped that she could get through the rest without collapsing in a heap.
They had come to a fork in the path, and she dropped to her knees automatically as she viewed the tight crawl space ahead.
The guide was saying something now, but Khushi was too overwhelmed to pay any attention to her words.
She looked down at her mud-splattered overalls, and sighed as she moved ahead towards the path on the right.
This space was narrower than anything she had encountered so far, and she could feel the walls closing in around her. Fighting off the wave of breathlessness that assailed her, she moved towards the faint light at the end of the tunnel.
When she finally reached it, she was so relieved that she didn't stop to look where she was going.
The next moment, she regretted her hasty action as she placed both feet on the ledge and stepped out, only to meet thin air.
Luckily for her, the ledge wasn't too far above the ground, and she managed to land on her feet.
She tried to stand up immediately, and in that instant, she realized two vital things.
One, she had obviously taken the wrong path, because there was no one behind her now.
The cave she was in was very dimly-lit, and was obviously not a part of the guided expedition.
And secondly, she had injured her foot in some way.
She fell to her knees, gasping as a streak of pain shot through her ankle.
She rubbed the spot, wondering it was a sprain. Or worse.
A loud scuffling sound followed by a thump made her look up towards the ledge, and her eyes widened as she realized who had followed her here.
"You!"
"Who else were you expecting, you stupid woman? Everyone else listened to the guide's instructions and took the right path, but obviously you couldn't be bothered to do the same! It was a wonder that I caught a glimpse of your bright-yellow coverall as you disappeared down the crawl space, and I barely managed to fit myself through there!"
"I...I wasn't listening..."
"That much is obvious! Now come on, what the hell are you doing on the floor? We've got to find a way to..."
He had finally come up to her, and now he caught a glimpse of her tear-stained, pain-ravaged face.
"Khushi? What's wrong?"
Through all the pain, through the mortification of making a huge error, she could only focus on one thing.
He had called by her first name...
"I...I think I've injured my right ankle..."
He swore under his breath, then dropped down on one knee and placed his hand on her ankle.
A moment later, he looked up at her with a grim expression on his face.
"I can't be sure,but it might be fractured..."
More tears pooled in her eyes, and she looked away before he could see them.
"I...I'm sorry."
That seemed to incense him.
He stood up suddenly, his voice low and vibrating with rage.
"Sorry? For what, exactly? For being foolish enough to take up an expedition for which you are hardly prepared, just to prove a point? Or for being stupid enough to continue, even when you were offered a way out?"
"I..."
"Or are you sorry for being over-confident enough to ignore the guide's instructions? Which part of your foolishness are you apologizing for, Khushi? Of all the damn, moronic..."
She looked up at him as his voice trailed off suddenly.
Her breath stopped as she realized that she couldn't see him anymore.
Paying no heed to her injured foot, she stood up again, looking wildly around the cave she was trapped in.
Where was he?
Had he found a way out?
And if he had, would he really leave her here alone?
Was he angry enough to do that?
She dropped to the floor again as a horrible thought struck her.
Did he hate her enough to do that?
In desperation and a panic born out of fear, she screamed his name...
"Arnav!!"
********************
A/N: My sincere apologies for the delay, asli duniya is to blame!
I hope to make up for it by writing three updates this week instead of two.
A word about 'spelunking': It is the word used for the recreational pastime of exploring cave systems.
Here are some pictures of the California Cavern cave system and Tom's lake within it.
New readers, please add me to your buddy list for PMs of updates.
Or you can follow me on Twitter @Patronus31 for update alerts.
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