Yarra’s Adventure Notes

Chapter 20 - 20 14 Rachel's Escape _1

?20: Chapter 14 Rachel’s Escape _1 20: Chapter 14 Rachel’s Escape _1 “Drip, drip, drip…”

The cave was shrouded in darkness, where time and space were indistinguishable.

It wasn’t entirely silent within the heavy and oppressive darkness; occasionally, the rustling sounds of magical creatures passing by could be heard, quickly fading away.

Apart from the noise of these creatures, the only other sound was the dripping water.

The slow rhythm, the unchanging pace, the echoes of the water drops reverberating in the cave, seemed to have started from the beginning of the world’s creation, continuing until the end of time itself.

A flurry of frantic footsteps, coming from far away, disrupted the monotonous dripping.

From the depth of the dark cave, two faint lights appeared, shaking violently and moving rapidly.

Amid the moving lights, there were times when a beam of light would suddenly hit the cave floor, only to quickly return to its original height and continue moving swiftly ahead.

“Huff, huff, huff…” Rachel was running wildly in the darkness.

Fear gripped at her heart.

Even with Gaston — her team-mate and boyfriend — beside her, her fear did not diminish even slightly.

Her throat felt as if it was ablaze, her lungs felt as if they were tearing apart from the violent contractions, and her legs, from fatigue to numbness, were now nearly unfeeling.

She stumbled and fell countless times, many times bumping into the cave walls or the rocks hanging from the ceiling due to her panic.

The blood that dripped down from her forehead blurred her vision.

She would love to stop and wipe her eyes, or even sit down and rest, but her remaining shred of sanity reminded her that she needed to escape — the faster, the better.

“Ah.” Rachel let out a yelp as her left foot stepped into a dent on the floor, her ankle making a barely audible whimper.

Struggling to get up, she found her left foot couldn’t fully support her weight anymore.

Her steps became stumbling and twisted as her escape speed dropped dramatically.

Looking frightened at her partner, who also halted, Rachel reached out, grabbing the sleeve of his clothes, pleading, “My dear, I don’t want to die.

Don’t leave me behind.

I’m still young.

I don’t want to die.

Please, please take me with you.”

“Of course, of course.” Gaston, also panting heavily, held Rachel’s trembling hands within his, whispering softly, “I won’t leave you behind.

Don’t worry, I will not abandon you.

In five or six hours, we will have escaped.

Neither of us will die here.

I will help you along, and if it comes to it, I can carry you.

My dear, rest assured, we will definitely escape together.”

“Thank you, thank you.” Rachel’s tears blurred her vision.

In a haze, she looked at the man she loved get closer, feeling a sense of happiness and security welling up within her heart.

“Ahh!” Submerged in her momentary happiness, Rachel suddenly felt excruciating pain in her right leg, causing her to lose all strength and collapse onto the floor, looking in disbelief as her right leg was bent at an unnatural angle.

“I’m sorry, dear.” Gaston kicked her leg and retreated, devoid of the tenderness he’d shown just moments ago, saying frantically, “I lied to you.

At this rate, neither can escape.

I don’t want to die either.

We love each other so much, you wouldn’t want to see me die with you, right?

Please distract them.

I’m sure I can escape.”

“Bastard, you bastard.” Filled with terror and despair, Rachel crawled forward with her bare hands, cursing aloud, “Gaston, you won’t escape.

You will die here, you will surely die.”

Gaston completely ignored the curses and insults thrown at him and continued running ahead.

In the blink of an eye, the light indicating Gaston’s position turned and disappeared around a bend in the passage.

“Huff, huff, huff, I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die.” Rachel wheezed as she scraped her fingers across the floor to crawl forward.

Her fingernails dug into the hard rock, quickly causing them to bleed, but the strong will to survive overshadowed the pain.

Unfeeling, Rachel continued moving forward, leaving bloody trails, “I won’t die here.

I still have unfulfilled dreams.

I won’t die here.”

Unfortunately, minutes had passed already.

Even with her strenuous efforts, she’d only managed to crawl forward about five meters.

“Thud, thud.” Slow, heavy footsteps resounded from behind her.

On hearing them, Rachel bit her lip in nervousness.

Fear caused her to not dare to turn her head back, only prompting her to crawl at an accelerated pace.

The heavy footsteps continued at a relaxed pace, gradually closing in, like the toll of a death knell in the darkness, echoing incessantly in Rachel’s ears.

“I’m not afraid of you.

You won’t catch up to me.

You won’t.” Muttering a lie she couldn’t even believe herself, Rachel’s originally beautiful face was now wet from tears and her crawling speed gradually slowed.

Behind her, the sound of steady footsteps echoed, as if a cat toying with a mouse, steadily closing the distance.

“There’s a light up ahead, and voices.” A voice akin to a divine melody floated out from a narrow pathway next to Rachel, “Shall we go take a look, Mr.

Pannis?

Could it be dangerous?”

“Help me, help me.” Rachel desperately wanted to shout for help, but the more anxious she became, the harder it was for her hoarse, painful throat to produce any sound.

Luckily, another man’s voice reached her right on time, giving Rachel a glimmer of hope: “It must be other adventurers.

We could meet up and share information.”

As soon as the woman’s voice rang out, the footsteps behind Rachel sped up, only to hesitate before stopping.

Eventually, with what sounded like a foot stomp, the footsteps hurriedly retreated into the depths of the darkness and disappeared.

Upon hearing the departure of the threat behind her, Rachel let her guard down.

She struggled to roll onto her back and stare up at the dark cavern ceiling.

As pain, fatigue, sadness, and resentment rushed over her all at once, her vision blurred.

Finally, she slipped blissfully into unconsciousness.

——————————————————

“Huh, there’s someone lying here.” Lena, who was walking side by side with Catherine, was the first to spot Rachel, “She seems injured.

Let me check her.”

Despite her words, Lina did not take any action.

She even stopped dead in her tracks, entering a state of battle readiness.

Catherine, too, went on guard, taking off the knight’s shield she had always carried on her back but never used before, holding it in front of her chest.

She made her way cautiously towards the unconscious Rachel, one step at a time.

Catherine’s attention was completely focused on Rachel, while Lina and the approaching Vivian paid no attention to Rachel; their attention was solely on the surrounding environment.

It wasn’t until Catherine checked Rachel’s body that Catherine murmured, “She’s passed out.”

“Mr.

Pannis.” Catherine looked up and asked Pannis, who was walking over, “Is there any special reason for such events occurring in these caves or is it the same as outside?”

“Nothing special.” Pannis shook his head, “The most probable reason is that she was attacked by magical creatures, only she managed to escape.”

“I think so too.” Lina came over, squatting down to inspect Rachel’s body thoroughly, “Most of her injuries are impact wounds, probably from hitting something while trying to escape.

Tsk tsk, those are some bad hits.

Hmm, the rest of the wounds were caused by a weapon.

Are there magical creatures who can use weapons?”

“Yes.” Pannis looked at Rachel’s wounds, seemingly lost in thought, “Demonic cavemen and demonic gnolls.

These two kinds of magical creatures can both use weapons.

But the gnolls tribe is very far away from here, it should be the cavemen.”

“Cavemen?” A light appeared in Lina’s eyes, “Do you remember the commission we received?

That one from Lisa or Sally, she mentioned that they encountered disturbances caused by cavemen.”

“It seems that they too encountered the cavemen.” Catherine nodded, nudging Lina, “Her name is Lisa, don’t be so impolite.

Mr.

Pannis, are disturbances caused by cavemen common?”

Pannis thought for a moment, furrowing his brows and shaking his head, “A cavemen disturbance usually refers to when the cavemen, before their mating season, crazily attack living creatures for meat, to accumulate food for their offspring.

However, we are far from their mating season now, there shouldn’t be any disturbances caused by cave dwellers.”

“Look at her leg.” Lina suddenly noticed something abnormal, “She’s sprained one foot and broken the other leg.

Even if she sprained her foot here, she couldn’t have run far, dragging a broken leg.

This means there must have been a battle nearby.”

“That’s normal.” Pannis sneered with a touch of mockery, “Sometimes, companions are more terrifying than magical creatures.”

Catherine gave Pannis glance, “We agreed not to discuss such topics, right?”

“I was only commenting on her situation.” Pannis defended himself, “It was solely about this issue.”

Catherine laughed helplessly and shook her head, “But from my perspective, not having companions is much scarier than the terrifying companions you mentioned.”

Pannis was about to say something when he suddenly fell silent, taking a deep breath, “Now it can be confirmed that she indeed encountered a disturbance caused by cavemen.”

Understanding the implication in Pannis’s words, Catherine jumped up, “They’re coming for us?”

“Yes.” Pannis pointed to a spacious passageway wide enough for three people to walk side by side, “I can smell them.”

Catherine frowned at the unconscious Rachel and gave her orders, “Prepare to withdraw.

If we engage in battle, prioritize retreat.

Everyone, do not get separated; do not allow yourselves to be surrounded, and ensure the safety of the wounded.”

“Wait.” Pannis felt a headache coming on, “Are you suggesting that we bring her along?”

“Otherwise?” Lina looked at Pannis contemptuously, “Are you expecting a priestess of the Benevolent God and a staunch follower of the knight’s code to leave an incapacitated girl here to fend for herself?”

Catherine silently observed Pannis for a while, whispering, “Mr.

Pannis, I won’t go against your wishes and force you to join the battle but, during the fight, could you provide a bit of protection for the injured and share some advice with us?

That’s not asking too much, is it?”

Pannis lowered his gaze, silent for a moment, before finally nodding, still pointing to the cave entrance, “Don’t retreat.

Demonic cavemen, even during a disturbance, are very afraid of dying.

So as long as we defend this place, inflict some damage on them, and make them completely hopeless about victory, they will flee.

Remember, make them lose all hope of winning.

The stronger you appear, the more they fear you and the less likely they are to pursue you until you are completely exhausted.”

“Thanks.” Catherine smiled, throwing Lina and Vivian a triumphant look, and headed for the cave entrance Pannis had pointed to.