Tala, Chapter 3

She had been in the cave for a while now, still dealing with what had just happened, not knowing what to do next.

Finally, she plucked up the courage to explore her new surroundings. Stalactites dripped off the ceiling and there was a strange blue glow on the walls, in here her breath was steamy and her feet were cold. There was a blacker patch at the back of the cave, it looked like another tunnel, she was fed up of tunnels at this point, they had led her here, but she had no choice. So she got up, and padded towards the tunnel, it was small, but just big enough for her to squeeze through.

When she reached the end of the tunnel, she came across something strange, out of place, it was a wooden stand, to keep the ceiling rocks in place, but why was it there? And then she realised, this was an abandoned mine! The best thing she had figured out today, mines are man-made, so they must have an exit!

She kept going, tunnel to tunnel, cave to cave, the tunnels were getting larger, meaning she was close. Eventually, she reached the end, a massive gaping exit loomed over her, beyond it, there was hardly any snow. She must have reached the outskirts of the tundra, a huge relief passed over her, she hoped things would get a bit easier from here on out. First mistake.