The Antelope's Journey

19. I lost Betty!

No-one had ever survived the game. All these challenges would always be somebody’s weakness. This meant that no-one has ever made it to the last stage of the game and retrieved the totem. Therefore, all those that entered the portal to the game were trapped in there forever. And in their waking life, they would be registered as missing persons.

The three people continued to push through, they all desperately wanted to survive. And including Monkey. She would not leave the backpack. It was becoming much hotter in that backpack but she was more terrified of falling off and getting lost. So, staying cooped up that backpack was much more viable for her. The heat was suffocating them. Their bodies needed more oxygen to replenish their strength—having been used up in their constant chase for survival. They needed cool air to un-heat their risen body temperatures. Each one could feel a foggy sensation by now. It was the lava’s smoke and the cave’s dust hauling up in the atmosphere.

“GUYS, LOOK!” came Kali’s voice in the dark. “BEHIND US!”

When they looked back, they could see an orange-red glow. No, it was not lava yet—it just it’s ray. At least now, they knew what they had to run from and to where they should run. They ran forward. It was scary that they could see the glow as it only meant that their deaths might be close.

They each had begun despising the ‘game’, however if it meant dropping out like this, they did not wish for the game-over yet. Each had a silent prayer internally. They were pulling and pushing each other in trying to stay close but that did not work well, not for long. They lost Betty. She had tripped, Mbali felt her hand aggressively rip from hers and from there she couldn’t find Betty’s reach anywhere.

Mbali was swinging her arm in the dark hoping that she might hit against Betty. On the other hand, she made sure to hold tight on Kali’s grip—she did not want to lose him as well. The orange-red glow was not providing much light at all for her to see Betty. Kali lost hope of ever finding Betty, he started pulling Mbali forward. Mbali was still holding onto her little hope of finding her love. Betty must have been close, she could not have gone far already.

“Betty! Betty!” but the noise of lava was louder than Mbali’s voice. Her voice easily got lost in all that nature’s roar. Kali had to pull her forward, “COME ON, LET’S KEEP GOING! THE LAVA’S CATCHING UP ON US.” He managed to pull her with. They raced on, careful enough not to trip over the rock pieces on the ground.

They’d started climbing up some rocks headed for the higher ground. The tube up was tight enough for them to feel safe as they climbed up. Kali had made sure to have Mbali go up first as he did not trust that she would follow him behind. He knew that the thought of leaving Betty behind was weighing heavily on her. At the same time, he knew that he did not wish to complete the mission alone. More importantly, he had no idea what he was there for.

I was curious what my father had been busy on all those years. So busy that he had totally ignored me my whole life. Now that I have some clue, I do wish to go back home. Maybe, indeed, my naivety was my blessing. It is true that ignorance is bliss. Back when I was ignorant and did not know of my father’s shenanigans, I was in bliss and safety. But now, because of my curiosity, I might just lose my life. Curiosity killed the cat, huh?

Mbali began tearing. She would pause a little to wipe the blurry waters off her eyes. She was slowing down as the pain in her heart becoming heavier, she was realising how farther away she getting from Betty. She never thought that she’s make it to the end anyway but she always believed that she would never separate from Betty. It was a hurtful reality check for her.

Finally, they’d made it all the way to the top. They had climbed out of the hole. They were on level ground. Looking around, it was a different scene from what they had just escaped beneath—not very different but they could see the scene transition into a much peaceful tunnel as they looked on further. There were moulded rocks like the ones people put outside their gate. And even farther was a little and a gentle waterfall.

The mission was not over yet, they had self-acclaimed mission to save their lives from the burns of lava. Their intuition would threaten them that the lava would soon erupt through the hole. The two started rolling a giant rock to shut the hole. Kali would have to be patient with Mbali’s hesitance yet again. “Come on, Mbali.” He said in a soft voice, “We have to do this in order to live. Betty wouldn’t want you to die like this.” Kali started pushing the rock again, “Let’s do this, we’re almost done.”

The rock was heavy and he did need her help. For that reason, aggressively forcing her would not work and he knew it. He had to play on his words carefully to convince her to help him save their lives. He did convince her. They started rolling the giant rock again. The ground was rumbling even louder now and the quake had become much more aggressive. Clearly, the lava was closer now. They started putting more strength on their work.

The rock could almost fill the entire—

There came a, “Stop!”

“Did you hear that?” asked Mbali. Kali shook his head—for a moment he believed that she was now hallucinating from the trauma. Of which was understandable, she had just lost her lover and they were—

“Hey, wait!!! Please, wait!” Kali heard it too this time. The voices were squeaky, sounding almost like dry screams. Coughs were heard as well. Kali and Mbali both paused and looked at each other to confirm if they had both heard it. Could there be life underneath? Kali and Mbali swayed over to look into the hole…