Free The Chair by Michael Ziegler

wildest dreams, but there I was. I had to locate Ara as I knew she must be somewhere close by. At that moment, she was nowhere to be seen, but something told me she was going to be where I certainly did not want to go, in the cavern.
    The further I ventured inside the immense cavern the more disturbing it became. At first I thought there were interesting birds flying about but then I realized they were squealing bats winging in and out of the darkness as I descended further in. There was a wooden walkway that followed deeper into the cavern and I was sure this place must have been used for exploration or tourism. That accursed odor began to become more intense and I was beginning to notice little insects scurrying about on the floor of the cave. Taking a closer look, I could see they were big insects; giant cockroaches which, as I ventured further, were growing in numbers. Then I heard her frantic yelling. It was Ara, and she was in trouble.
    “Help! Someone help me please!”
    I shouted back. “Ara, it’s Richard! I’m here where are you? Keep yelling!”
    I began running down the rickety wooden walkway with bat droppings smeared on all of the hand railings. As I looked up at the immense ceiling of the cavern it seemed to be undulating in a strange manner and it was then I realized that the ceiling was entirely covered with bats. Now I knew what the stench was; looking down under the walkway, adding insult to injury, were hoards of giant cockroaches toppling over each other and covering the cavern floor. This was indeed the cave from hell and Ara was somewhere close by and in trouble.
    “Richard, up here!” Her frantic shouting turned into almost a whimper “I can’t hold on much longer!”
    I was beginning to panic and began surveying the many layers of rock, covered with bats. “Ara, I can’t see you! The echoes are too confusing and I can’t tell where―” Then I suddenly spotted her. “Oh my god Ara hold on don’t let go, I’m coming!”
    She was barely hanging onto an upper walkway suspended by ropes dangling at least fifty feet directly above me. I could see the chair lying down at an angle which meant when she materialized on that walkway, a leg of the chair somehow fell through, tossing her over the side of the railing. I looked carefully, tracing where one walkway merged into another and then another rising higher in the cavern. There were several, but if I happened to take the wrong one I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time. I started out up one of them which led to a set of stairs connecting to another that seemed to head in her direction. My foot slipped and in reaching out to break my fall, I must have inadvertently grabbed on to the carcass of a dead bat, to which I quickly swiped away. This god forsaken place was truly trying my fortitude, stretching my tolerance to the farthest degree as I was getting closer to her.
    “Richard… I can’t hold on any longer, I’m sorry!”
    “Yes you can! You must Ara! I’m almost there, don’t you let go!”
    I scrambled further up the walkway and I could now see her dangling from the floorboards. I could see one of her hands let go and disappear from view, so I dove for the other hand and grasped her wrist just as she was loosing grip. I was now literally her only lifeline as she helplessly hung at least fifty feet or so above the undulating masses of cockroaches covering the floor of the cavern below. She grabbed for my wrist with her other hand and I fell to my knees slowly pulling her up on to the walkway. She grabbed onto me and held me tightly sobbing and delirious; her eyes closed tightly. “Oh god Richard!” she moaned as she tucked her head in my side. I looked down over the edge once more and gulped. To think she nearly fell into that horror was enough to take some years away from your life.
    “Richard, I can’t believe your timing!” She let out a laugh of relief, hugging me again and we slowly stood by the chair on the swaying