Patty Liu - Silent Reflections

Virginia clawed at the dirt ground but her fingers gripped nothing. She was already halfway into the yawning cavern that had opened in the ground. She could hear Bon struggling and it didn’t help matters at all. All the wiggling was making it harder for her to hold on.

The waltzing music was blaring so loud that it roared in Virginia’s ears. Her feet were already dangling in midair in the hole. Bon still held onto her foot and had also managed to grip onto her other foot. He was so heavy! She was bearing all the weight on herself and she could feel herself losing her leverage at the edge of the chasm. She looked over at Wolf but he was still out cold. She whimpered but didn’t dare make a louder sound for she was afraid a slight change in her air supply was going to cause her lungs to inflate or deflate and she was going to lose her grip. But it was too late, her hand slipped and she completely lost her grasp. And she screamed as she felt herself quickly sliding into the crack.

A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her arm. It gripped tightly and held on. Wolf! It was Wolf. He’s all right. I knew he’d help me just in time, Virginia thought and gripped the hand in hers as tight as she could. She looked up and was thoroughly surprised to find someone else in front of her. It wasn’t Wolf at all. In fact, it was the last person she had expected. It was Melody.

Melody strained and got her footing hooked in a protruding rock. She also somehow dragged Wolf’s body closer and used his weight as leverage. Her face was turning red from the exertion but she still held on to Virginia’s hands with all her strength. Virginia quickly got a hold of herself. It was no time to wonder why Melody was here. They had to get out of the gaping crack or they were going to be forced to dance for eternity.

“Pull, Melody! Pull!” Virginia cried out.

“I’m trying, Virginia. But I can’t hold on much longer!”

“No, please don’t let go!”

“I didn’t realize you were so heavy!”

“That’s because I’ve got a tazzie holding onto my ankles at the other end!”

Melody’s eyes opened wide in shock. No wonder Virginia was so heavy.

“Make that two tazzies!” came a low voice bellowing out of the chasm. “The sire’s at the other end of my feet!”

“WHAT?! Let go, you filthy beast!” Virginia tried kicking but it only made Melody frustrated.

“Stop, Virginia, don’t move! I can’t hold on if you keep wiggling,” Melody cried out.

Virginia quit her wiggling. Her knees and arms were getting scraped on the rocks that were pointing out of the dirt. It felt like she’d been there holding on for dear life for over days now but it was only for a mere five minutes. She tried to relax and think logically. If they only had some rope. Or maybe a-a, she didn’t know what else.

Melody held on with all her might. She was so afraid she was going to pull Virginia’s arm out of her sockets if she pulled any harder.

“Melody, is that you?” came a voice. Melody turned her head slightly to see who had called out her name. It was Patrick. He had the most bewildered expression on his face. One of confusion, relief and worry.

“Patrick! Please help. Virginia’s going to fall in,” Melody cried out.

Patrick studied the situation and realized that Virginia was indeed hanging on at the edge of a huge hole that had opened in the ground. He could also hear loud earsplitting waltzing music coming from the gap. He also realized that Melody was trying to save Virginia. I knew it! I knew she’d come back! And she’s not evil. She’s good! Patrick thought in his head. He raced over to the gaping chasm and looked down. His jaw dropped open as he saw that Virginia had two tazzies holding onto her at the other end.

“Virginia! How can you still be holding on?! The weight must be unbearable!”

“Patrick, tell me something I DON’T know. Just get me out of here! I don’t want to end up dancing for the rest of my life,” Virginia hollered at Patrick and he immediately jumped up and got a firm grip of Virginia underneath her arms.

“Cripes! Virginia!” Wolf’s voice cried out above the blaring waltz music. He had awakened and immediately taken in the situation. He howled in distress at the sight of Virginia hanging on for dear life. He quickly stood up awkwardly for his head ached profusely. Then he noticed that Melody had Virginia by the arm and he was thoroughly surprised! What in the world was Melody doing there?! But he quickly pushed the thought out of his head.

“We gotta get Virginia out of there!” Wolf half howled and half whimpered.

“Wolf, what do you think we’re already doing here?” Patrick gave Wolf an annoyed look as he held onto Virginia too. The weight of Virginia and two dangling tazzies was too much for even Patrick to pull up. “Come and help, Wolf. With you, I think we can get them up.”

“Them? What do you mean THEM?”

“Just quit asking questions, Wolf. Help me out of here!” Virginia impatiently yelled out. “I’ve got Bon and the sire hanging onto my feet. I can’t hold on any longer. This isn’t the most comfortable position I’m in right now as you can see.”

Wolf scratched at his forehead and also rubbed at the large bump that was forming on the back of his head. He, Patrick and Melody all grabbed Virginia by her arms and torso and slowly hauled her out of the large crevice. Bon also reached the surface. He let go of Virginia’s feet and he grabbed onto the ledge with his feet still dangling below. The sire still had a firm grasp of Bon’s legs. Bon kicked out trying to free himself from the sire’s grip.

Virginia dusted herself off and stepped away from the hole as far as she could. Wolf grabbed her from behind and gave her a ferocious hug. She turned and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.

“Should we help the tazzies out of there, Wolf?” Virginia whispered against his ear. She also kept a close eye on Melody. Patrick and Melody had also stepped away from the hole in the ground but they just stood awkwardly trying not to look at each other.

“Let them hang for a while.” Wolf stroked Virginia’s hair. “Are you all right though? God, what happened?” He spun Virginia around to check for any damages.

“They broke some branches and one hit you and knocked you out. Then the ground opened up and they fell in. But Bon grabbed my foot and was intending on dragging me in there with them. Thank God for Melody! If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve been dancing my feet off by now.” They both peered over at Melody who was standing around trying to look invisible.

“Get us out of here!” Bon growled.

“I don’t think so Bon. I think you and the sire need some time alone,” Wolf said with a sly grin on his face. “Let’s get out of here!”

“We’re just going to leave them here?” Patrick asked.

“Yes, they would’ve done the same thing to us.”

“You can’t leave us here, Wolf! We’re gonna die if you don’t get us out!” Bon cried out in anguish.

“You won’t die, Bon. You’ll just be waltzing to your heart’s content.”

“No, you can’t leave me here!” Bon clawed at the ground but it was no use. He wasn’t going to get out. But he also had a firm leverage so he wouldn’t fall either. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The sire was the one who was slowing, pulling himself upwards by holding onto Bon’s body. He hadn’t made a peep the entire time. Wolf didn’t care. They were going to leave and get the hell out of the forests as far as they could.