CYOA Page 144
Sep. 12th, 2013 07:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12You just want to see for yourself that there's nothing cool down there; maybe the kid's been holding out on you.
Everything looks very similar to the other tunnel for like... the first ten seconds. Then you notice there seems to be a lot more rocks scattered about -- big ones. Boulder-sized, even, some of them. You've come to what you think is the end of the path... but then you notice a hole big enough for you to squeeze through. If it's big enough for you, it's obviously big enough for David.
You have to take off your backpack and turn sideways to fit, but you manage. You pluck your light off the backpack, then decide you don't need to bother lugging the whole bag through behind you. You won't need anything from it.
Do I hear... You strain your ears. Yes! Is that water?! You've heard of underground hot springs, but you kind of thought that was a myth... Wait, who says they have to be hot? Are there cold ones, too? You're already imagining you and Joel checking it out together... NAKED! Yeah, we'll heat up that water!
You giggle to yourself because Joel would never agree to that. "Maybe when you're older," he would say.
There's a surprising amount of rubble on the other side of those boulders. You can probably just climb over the one spot there on the right... you clip your light on the collar of your T-shirt and carefully make your way up to the--
One of the rocks slips when you put your hand on it! Shit -- maybe this isn't as solid as it--
And then the whole mass of them is tumbling -- with you on top! You scream as you tumble with them, frantically reaching out for anything you can hold on to. Part of the ceiling seems to have fallen, too, but not over your head (must be your lucky day!). Thankfully, you weren't very high up, and you've suffered only a few bumps and scrapes, nothing major.
"Ellie!"
...Oh good, Joel heard that! You don't even care that he's going to be annoyed with you -- because you've just noticed that the little opening you slithered through no longer exists! "Joel!" you yell as loud as you can. You look around... you're surrounded by rocks in a space no larger than... a campfire. ...Well, okay, maybe a very large campfire. Like including the surrounding area where people sit. You think you could get over the wall-like boulder, squeezing in between it and the ceiling, if you can manage to climb up there...
"Ellie!"
He's right on the other side of the wall now! "Joel, I'm right here!"
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah -- except I can't fit through those two rocks now... I dunno what happened, everything just started falling!" You conveniently omit the part about you climbing on an unstable surface.
"You... fit through these two here?"
"There was a space in between them," you explain. "But it's gone now. Everything like... shifted a little... and mushed together. If I make myself some stairs out of these rocks I might be able to get over the top, though?"
"No. Too dangerous."
"It's the only way through!"
"I don't want you fallin' an' breakin' your neck."
"Well, I don't want that either, so I won't fall!"
"No. There has to be another way."
"There isn't!" You survey the rocks surrounding you with a more discerning eye. To build a staircase, I'll need the biggest one on the bottom, obviously... can I push that one--
"How far back can you go?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I can blow this thing up, but not if you can't move away from it."
"Oh! That might work, huh. The rocks are kinda thick, though..."
"I'll make the most powerful bomb I can. If you can move back."
"I can! There's more rocks, but I can climb over the--"
"Without climbin' on anythin', how far back?"
"Um... I dunno... less than fifty feet?" you guess, based on what you can remember from target practice.
"How much less? Move back an' talk to me from there."
You lean against the back 'wall' of rocks. "This far. Is that good enough?"
"...I think so."
"You don't sound very sure."
"Fairly sure... I just hate to risk it, not bein' a hundred percent sure. An' I don't wanna make the roof collapse, either."
"I can get over these r--"
"No climbin'!"
Okay, forget the little mound behind you -- you still think you can scale the wall between you and Joel. You move closer to him. "I can get up to the top and over. If you can help me down on your side."
"I don't want you doin' that." You can hear the frown in his voice.
Joel doesn't seem to like either option. You're sure if you scale the short barrier behind you at its lowest point, you'd be far enough back that he wouldn't worry. But if he makes the cave collapse or something... then you're both in danger. At least David is far away? ...Not that I care about that little freak...
If you start making your staircase in front of the wall, Joel can't stop you from climbing, and he won't blow the thing with you right there, so it does seem to be your choice.
If you plan on climbing over the boulder, turn to page 222.
If you plan to let Joel blow it up, turn to page 227.
Carlos
Date: 2021-02-03 05:08 am (UTC)RE: Carlos
Date: 2021-02-03 01:50 pm (UTC)