A Light in the Dark

By Rachel Dib

“Do you remember me mentioning how much I hate small spaces?”

Sic sighed. “It’s not like you can see how small it is.”

I blinked. Or at least I think I blinked. The cave was so dark, it was hard to tell.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” Sic added.

“No. That’s not how this works. I saw the chamber before that boulder fell. It was tiny!”

Sic sighed again. “Well, imagine you’re in a huge cavern.”

“Pretend! You think I can just—”

Woordle.

I froze. “What was that?”

“No idea,” Sic said, his voice tight.

Something touched my arm. I jumped, swatting the air. My hand smacked against something soft.

Sic grunted. “It’s me. I’m looking for another way out.”

“Well, there isn’t one here.”

“Okay, but I couldn’t see that.”

Woordle.

“There’s that sound again,” I squeaked, pressing my back against the wall. A pink glow popped into existence next to my shoulder. I twisted around to see a bug-eyed, furry face inches from my nose.

I shrieked and lurched away.

It glowed brighter.

Sic spat out a curse as a blue glow appeared beside him. At least now I could see where he was.

Woordle. The pink fluffball waddled toward me. How it walked across the sharp incline as if it were flat was beyond me. Suction cups?

I backed away until a green fluffball lit up on my other side. “Wha-what are these?”

Sic shook his head. “None of the texts I’ve read mentioned bioluminescent creatures.”

Hesitant, he edged a bit closer. “Face like a baby seal. Short round body. Small paws.”

“Yes, I can see it for myself.” I scowled. “Is it dangerous?”

“No idea.” Sic slowly reached out a hand.

The little powderpuff twirled around faster than it should have been able to, and Sic yanked his hand back.

“Very fast,” he added.

Sighing, I eyed the animal closest to me. It cocked its pink face to the side as if studying me, as well.

I glanced around. While the space itself was small, it seemed to lead upwards indefinitely. I pursed my lips. “I wonder how far that goes.”

As if in response to my question, the pink fluffball cooed, and a variety of colored animals seemed to pop into existence, creating a trail up the wall.

“Creepy,” I muttered.

Sic stepped to the center of the chamber and craned his neck back. “I don’t see a top.”

“Does it matter?” I shrugged. “It’s not as if we can climb up there to find a way out.”

“Hmm.” Sic stepped backward and tripped. Flailing, he latched onto one of the furballs. Surprisingly, the little animal stayed fixed to the wall.

Woordle, it chirped, eyeing Sic’s hand.

Sic snatched his arm away but when the animal didn’t seem bothered by his touch, he slowly reached out again. Like before, the fluffball spun around, but this time, Sic didn’t withdraw his hand. As he stroked the creature’s fur, it stiffened. After a moment, however, it closed its eyes and purred.

“Tierra, you have to pet one of these. It’s remarkably soft.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I replied.

I glanced at my pink fluffy to see it watching Sic. After a few seconds, Pink waddled toward him. Perhaps it wanted to be petted, too. I shuddered.

Other creatures followed Pink’s lead.

“You’re about to be swarmed!”

“That’s okay,” Sic replied. “I want to test something.”

When a few of the little animals had reached him, Sic positioned them in certain places along the wall. Then he picked one and pushed down on it. The creature immediately tensed but otherwise didn’t move. Sic leaned more weight on it. Still, it didn’t move.

I shook my head as he hung from two furballs. “You’re not seriously thinking of using them as steppingstones, are you?”

He held on for a few seconds more before dropping back to the ground. “If it helps us get out of here, why not?”

“Because they’re animals, not rocks.”

“They don’t mind.” Sic then proceeded to pull himself up the wall, using the glowing fluffballs as hand and foot holds.

I shook my head but couldn’t judge. I didn’t have any better ideas.

Oddly enough, the creatures didn’t scatter upon seeing what Sic was doing but continued scampering toward him. Whenever he needed another hand hold, Sic reached out to pet a creature, and it immediately froze in place.

A green furball chirped beside me, drawing my attention. Its large eyes glanced from my face to my hand. Woordle

I bit my lip. “Okay, but don’t bite me.” As I hesitantly reached toward the animal, it shoved its head into my palm. It felt like silky cotton, and I had the sudden urge to cradle it close to my face.

“Tierra!”

I jumped and glanced back to Sic. All I could see was a spattering of glowing furballs trailing up to the bottoms of his soles.

“I’ve found a way out. Come on!” A moment later, his shoes disappeared.

I swallowed. “Okay.”

Sighing, I headed over to the wall. The furballs hadn’t moved much, making it easy to follow Sic’s path. I swallowed again.

I tried not to think about what I was doing as I climbed. Though none of the furballs made so much as a squeak in protest, they squished slightly under my weight, and I worried about hurting them.

When I reached Sic’s tunnel, a shiver zipped down my spine. It was tight.

Nope. Can’t do it, I grimaced, turning back. When I glanced down, however, I discovered the bioluminescent trail had disappeared. Only the two fluffballs I stood upon remained.

“Seriously?”

The two fluffballs twitched beneath my feet.

Unnerved, I lunged for the tunnel opening and scrambled inside. While the tunnel wasn’t as cramped as I’d thought, I broke out in a clammy sweat as I crawled forward.

“I don’t care if it’s for science,” I scowled. “I’m never going exploring with Sic again!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Dib is a stay-at-home mom of three small children. After marrying a soldier, she left her home state of South Carolina to live in random places across the U.S. In her limited spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and playing board games. Her other published work can be found in online magazines.

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