Journey across the volcano.

Honestly, the whole drama was becoming more weird than we had actually expected it to be.

Now, we had to worry about a lot of things, which included the best way that we can be free from this cave.

"Which way do you suggest that we go through?" The driver asked me, and I stared at him with a blank expression.

Like, what did he even expect me to say?

"How would I know the best way out? You're the one with the experience, and you can easily tell the best way that we can escape this from this cave." I replied back at him.

At this point, my mind was just very blank. I couldn't come up with any thoughts at all.

"I don't even know what to say. I don't have any suggestions at all." He replied back at me.

Each and every single moment that we spent inside this cave, was a total waste of time.

"Are you aware that sunset is gradually approaching?" I finally asked him.

It was at that moment that I noticed that something flickered through his eyes. He obviously understood that our lives were in pure jeopardy.

"We would have to take the west." He muttered.

"The west... Through the active volcano?" I asked him utter bewilderment.

The three of us were really in a bad state of mind, as we really needed to process all that was happening.

"Yes, we don't have a choice." Vincent, replied to me.

"We would definitely melt before we get to the end." Karen, said with a mock laughter, and I joined her.

This was really funny.

It was just like asking us to work through the fire.

"Exactly...!" I exclaimed. "I'm just so surprised with what I just heard." I said.

We kept looking around in confusion, as we hoped for some sort of miracle to happen.

"Well, we can cross there alive without melting..." The driver finally spoke, and I gave him a very puzzled look.

"Is that even possible?" I asked in confusion.

"It is very possible." He began. "That volcano is controlled by some spirits, and it stops before midnight, and starts again in the early hours of the morning." He explained.

At least, his points sounded very valid and believable. I didn't want a situation where I would be stranded in the middle of nowhere.

"So, how can we access it?" I asked him.

He gave directions with his hands, and soon, we began to walk through that cave. The further we walked, the more scary and intense that it became.

On our way, we could see some beautiful flowers and other ornaments, and when I tried to touch them, the driver asked me not to.

"Don't touch them." He muttered.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Those flowers are spirits, and they hypnotize you the moment you touch them. So, do you understand?" He asked, and I nodded. Nothing gave me greater joy, than seeing that I was soon going to regain my freedom again.

After walking for what seemed like and eternity, we finally became thirsty.

"I don't think I can move any further. My throat is very dry." Karen said weakly.

To be honest, I was equally thirsty as well, but I decided to distract myself with other thoughts, so that I won't feel the thirst for water.

"So, what do we do now? I'm equally thirsty, as well..." I mumbled, and the driver stared at us with some thoughts in his mind.

"From what I can observe, we're close to a stream, and we really need to hasten our steps, so that we would meet the stream there." He explained.

Honestly, I was surprised when he talked about meeting the stream there. Was he trying to tell us that the stream had legs, and could move?

Damn!

It was really scary because everything in that cave was really weird.

"That's a stream for crying out loud. Does it move around or something?" I asked in surprise.

Honestly, this was really scary.

"Well, this is a spirit land, and it dries up just before the sunsets. So, we have to get out of here very fast." Vincent replied to me, and I smiled at him.

It wasn't a smile of happiness or something related. It was just a smile of confusion.

We continued to work in absolute tiredness, until we got to a part of the forest that was covered with bamboo.

We were finally here. It was the river.

Just as we made to drink water from that stream, Vincent dragged us back.

"This isn't the stream. If you drink from this water, you'd die from a bloated stomach." He announced, and I retreated weakly.

At this point, I was slowly beginning to accept the fact that I was going to die inside this cave.

Like?

How would I be seeing drinkable water, but I can't have access to it?

"I'm just going to drink that water. I can't hold my thirst anymore..." Karen said, and made for the water, but Vincent stopped her midway.

"We're not far from the actual spring. Although this water is crystal clear and alluring, it's just a bait, trap and distraction to make you drink from it. The bad spirits had a strategic plan, when they decided to allow this water to be here." He explained to Karen who was almost fainting.

At this point, I was already feeling dizzy and exhausted. My whole body was also dehydrated as a result.

"May the goddess of the moon guide our paths..." I muttered in total exhaustion, as I almost fainted on the road.

Finally, I could see the beautiful spring that contained a beautiful water. Slowly and with my remaining energy, I forced myself to that spring, and slumped to the sensation of the water.

Indeed, my craving had been satisfied.

"Water is life..." Karen, muttered in happiness.

"Indeed, it is...!" I concurred with her.

Now, we had to take some rest, and think about what our next movement was going to be.