About a month later, I was able to stand on my feet and move around a little without facing any discomfort in my stomach. A few more days and I grew more adventurous on account of my progress. I would wander out of my room and explore the ‘village’ of the Skhites.

The so-called village had its opening at the bottom of a cliff face. The village was a network of pre-existing tunnels that the Skhites had further expanded and modified greatly using simple tools like hammer and chisel powered by brute muscle force. The village, inhabited by thousands, was spread over at least one square kilometers.

I would saunter into different tunnels. Whenever I explored a new section of the village the Skhites living there would welcome me. I had become famous among the Skhites. I was not an unwanted outsider but a beloved guest.

One day, I was on one of my daily expeditions, when a shudder took over the ground. An earthquake. The Skhites panicked. Screams and prayers were in the air for the quake was no small one. It rocked the village and continued for no less than five minutes.

I was in one of the more desolate areas of the Skhite village. The last home of a Skhite couple that I had encountered had been two hundred meters earlier. I braced the ground even as the earth shuddered. This part of the caves had stalactites on the ceiling and I hoped they wouldn't fall and crush me to death.

An extraordinarily loud rumble occurred, and suddenly a small boulder dislodged from the wall of the tunnel ahead and came rolling towards me. With some luck I was able to avoid the boulder. It finally stopped after hitting a turn along the tunnel.

But a cavity on the wall of the tunnel had been revealed and it piqued my curiosity for the cavity looked oddly like a hidden tunnel that had been intentionally blocked by the now displaced rock.

I removed a torch hanging from the wall and examined the cavity with its unsteady radiance. I was right. It was indeed a secret tunnel.

I saw that this tunnel too had torches perched on the walls, even though none of them were alit. I was a little afraid to go in because it was obvious that the tunnel had been blocked deliberately by the Skhites. But my curiosity got the better of me. I told myself that I would stroll only a few meters into the tunnel and if I ran into any problem then I would exit immediately.

My hair stood on their ends as I entered the dark tube. This was the first really exciting thing that I was doing in months. I took one careful step after another and, forgetting my promise, I went a few hundred meters deep but found nothing of importance.

I decided to turn around. I would relate the discovery to Nora and Nadir. I had only come a short distance when I arrived back at the mouth of the secret tunnel. I reckoned I had walked faster on the way back.

I began to move along the way that I believed would lead me to the populated part of the village. I suddenly noted that there was no sign of the boulder.

I froze in fear. Something was definitely amiss. Where had the boulder disappeared? A chill licked my spine. Had I entered some wrong shaft, thinking I was exiting the concealed tube?

Claustrophobia settled on my nerves. How was I going to find my way back? I was on the verge of a panic attack when I heard a low sound. I strained my ears and realized that the noise was actually moans, surely made by a person or a monster. Surely they would help me get back to the village... unless they were in some problem themselves.

I moved towards the sound and the closer I got they seemed less like moans of pain and more like those of pleasure. I turned a corner, and the glow from my torch revealed two Skhite bodies, one male and the other female, entwined on the ground, lost in ecstasy.