text: It was the first day that I had been able to venture out alone. My Sherpa had been keeping me in closed quarters until now, but she felt I knew the terrain well enough now for a solo wander. I set out early, crossing through the wooded area, and the cold slate flats before taking some respite and food, a mixture of soaked grains and meats to keep me from becoming dehydrated should I not find a water source. By mid morning, I came to another wooded area I had been through once with my Sherpa, but was not very familiar with it. Two pools and an almost dry waterfall framed the terrain neatly, beyond this was unknown to me. I decided to push no further and began to explore the dry basins, scrambling over hardened clays that so recently held water. I came to an unusual looking raised area, the shapes too regular to be natural, though in material it seemed to be wooden. Yes some sort of wooden structure, a man made object all the way out here? My curiosity peaked and I couldn't resist the urge to climb up and explore. I leaped and scrambled up the side, which proved smoother and more difficult to get a grip on then anticipated, as if its creator had been attempting to deter such actions. Of course, this only spurred me on further. At the top, unseen from below was a plateau. Some signs of long since ceased activity still showed here, but it was the eastern side of the plateau that caught my attention. A raised lip in the midst of the flatness. I wandered over, to discover that the lip shielded what seemed to be some sort of hole. Whether natural or man made I could not say. After poking about for a few moments and realizing from I could not see far into this cave, I weighed my options. My sensible side yielded, the stern voice of my Sherpa echoing in my ear. We didn't have a common tongue, but I knew a warning from her when I heard it. But my wild side won out. I am a strong climber, I could descend a little and have a better look and come back out if the cave looked too dangerous. Tentatively I lowered myself over the ledge, gradually sinking into the crevice. My leg reached for the next foothold just as I lost my grip, the surface smooth and polished - in a flash I found myself free falling into the darkness. I've been deemed lucky and told I always seem to land on my feet in life, something I have scoffed at in the past but fortunately rang true this morning. I blinked in the darkness, mentally checking over my body which appeared injury free after the fall. As my eyes adjusted slowly to the dark, the light from above began to reveal the shadowy shapes that made up my surroundings. The cave had an unnatural smell, musty and a sickly sweet almost synthetic fragrance singed my nostrils. I set out to familiarize myself with my surroundings, and most importantly, seek out a route back to the ledge I had climbed down. Unless I had become completely disoriented, I discovered that the east and south sides of the cave did indeed seem to be of stone. The hairs on my neck began to raise - what was this cave, part nature and part constructed. What and where was that sickly sweet smell coming from? I followed the southern wall of the cave around until I met what must have been the western face I had climbed, it's smooth and constructed surface mirroring that I had just found. Underfoot I heard a rustling and froze... was there more than one level to this cave? I shuddered at the thought... though perhaps that could be my way out. I decided to continue mapping my surroundings first, turning north. With a sickening thud, my entire body rebounded of an unexpected surface. I reached out to feel a smooth, highly polished surface, cold to the touch. This was not like the stone or constructed walls I had encountered. No, this was something entirely different. I gave the surface a tentative sniff - metallic. My mind reeled. This must have been the same surface I lost my footing on, leading me here. A trap? What was this large metal object? Why was it hidden in this cave? Or could I even call this a cave, given its apparent semi constructed nature? My heart raced as panic roared in my ears. pullyourselftogether pull yourself together PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!! I took a deep breath. Be rational. My mind had jumped ahead to alien conspiracy theories, and I struggled to rein them in. Perhaps this had once been the site of some sort of industrial plant? But why then hide it? Toxic sludge monsters battled the far more rational "to keep people safe" option in my mind. As I explored further, the panic in my mind became harder and harder to control... encountering areas of dampness with that heavy perfumed scent. What felt like gigantic plastic pipes jutted aggressively out of the metallic surface. A knot in my stomach grew progressively tighter, with the realization that I had left my food topside, having planned to initially just have a little nose around the edge. The surfaces of the cave proved unclimbable, and though I had a little more luck with the plastic piping, it only raised me slightly from the surface - there was no way I could clamber back to the top. I sunk to the floor, dejected, hungry. The smell of the cave becoming more and more nauseating as time wore on and my spirit wore down. I'm uncertain how long had passed when I felt the breeze, the scent of fresh air. I sought out the source and discovered that the cave I was in was not rectangular as I suspected initially, a small opening between the rock and the metal revealed itself on the north east side. Exploring this could mean a way out. But it would also mean being pressed between the indifferent rock and the cold, unknown metallic object. The potential of escape won out, I slowly moved forward into the tight space, squeezing my body forward. There was no room to turn, should I meet anything on this path a hasty retreat backwards my only hope. The resonance of my movement against the metal surface told me the object was some sort of hollow entity. I tried not to dwell on the multiple grim scenarios that plagued my mind and keep focus on my escape. After what seemed like a lifetime, a sliver of light shimmered in the distance, my heart soaring with joy. But with each step forward, an unseen force began to clip the wings of my soaring heart. The sliver of light was just that. A sliver. The cave narrowed impossibly, not even enough space to slide a hand through. To my dismay through the crack I could see the wooded area I had so happily traipsed through hours before. The sight was torture, and I slunk back into the dark, damp perfumed air. Hunger gripped at my belly and though noises we abundant, no dark evil seemed to make is presence known. I tried to make myself comfortable, as best I could. Here and there were the crisp, hollow remains of long since dead bugs, nothing lived in this box. Would I?, I thought grimly... To keep warm, periodically I would move my bones, and on one such jaunt stumbled across a soft surface, too hard to be a blanket... a rug perhaps? I decided to sit and consider my limited options. I screamed myself raw, hoping perhaps in this remote wilderness someone would pass. I sat and sobbed, thinking of my Sherpa's warnings. Would she return this way? I expended what little energy I held attempting to hoist myself back towards the ledge, through which by now the light was beginning to dwindled. Night fell, and with it, my hopes. I lay dejected, nauseous, miserable. The smell and metal shape infecting my mind, cruel smooth surfaces, perfume stench. I was doomed, this was my lot. My mind drifted to the Sherpa, she often practiced some form of meditation whilst I had been awakening in the mornings. I tried to emulate her calm, but my mind fixated on my slow and eventual doom. I wept. Small mewling sobs escaped my lips, when I began to hear the noises. A distant boom - from outside or within the depths of the metal object? I shuddered. Rustling.. trees? Or creatures ascending whatever depths the object held? And then... in the distance a voice? Not alien but a human voice? The source was hard to decipher but I pressed forward into the narrow crevasse I had earlier explored in the hopes of freedom. The forest remained dark and silent, until I heard it again. My name. MY NAME. Faint, distant, but unmistakable My heart rate rapid I attempted to push my way as far into the crevasse as I could. A light, and her. The Sherpa had returned and had begun to search for me, relief flooding my every fiber. I parted my dehydrated lips to shout in response but nothing came out. She moved away as I tried again and again to get my hoarse voice to respond. She had moved completely out of sight when finally a choked noise escaped my mouth - HERE. HERE. HERE. OVER HERE. I heard her sure and speedy footfall and finally a familiar face loomed in front of me. She smiled and said something - her native tongue incomprehensible to me, though I could see a flash of fear in her eyes. I cried back at her pleading for her speedy help, but she turned and ran back towards the slate flats. I openly cried. After what seemed like hours, she returned, this time with some of her strange items I had seen her use before. She began to methodically work on the smooth surface opening the space but it was not enough. I continued to weep freely now, the metal object still blocking my path and I saw no hope of this small, weak woman shifting it. Unlike my fear of the object, she seemed unperturbed by it, confirming that perhaps it was not some monstrous spacecraft but in fact something of her native people's design. I cowered in the back of the cave as she worked at the crevasse. Then unbelievably, with what I can only imagine was my Sherpa having called on the strength of her gods, she started to push and pull on the metal object. There was a ferocity I had not yet seen in this gentle soul and with an almighty heave, to my disbelief the object began to move.... small minute distances at first. The roar from the hollow drum deafening my ears. With an almighty heave this unassuming woman moved the metal structure, in the light now visible to me as some sort of box. As fresh air flowed in I became aware that this box was the source to of the perfumed stench I had choked on throughout the day. My instincts took over and I dashed to freedom, past the Sherpa who was now struggling with the metal object, a strange and I thought pointless dance now that I was out. I found the pack of food I had left behind scarfing down chunks of meat and moist grains barely stopping to chew, and within moments, vomited everything I had consumed back up. Shock, I assumed. But I was free. The Sherpa had by now replaced the metal box, and in a high voice, I assume gave me a scolding, but I did not understand. We walked back in silence to the area we most often camped on, with it's soft plush surfaces. Exhausted, she lay down, and I moved to her side, trying to express my thanks - thinking late is better than never. She looked at me and rubbed my head, which I took as an open invitation. Purring, I moved on to her stomach and curled up for a nap, gave a little meow and began kneading her legs with my claws.