Chapter 18: Escape from the Cave

Time passed by minute by minute, and it was already noon. I was also shouting until my mouth was dry. Whether it was yelling or calling for help, we seemed to be isolated from the world. There was no response from the cave entrance, not even from wild animals.

Andrew has become depressed ever since he lost the flag of the Gemina Legion, as if his entire spirit was attached to that flag. Now the flag has been taken away by that female thief from Tenaia, and half of Andrew's soul has also been taken away.

"Listen, Andrew."

I grabbed Andrew's mail as he sat on the ground, and suddenly lifted him up, saying in a hoarse voice: "We can't just sit here and wait for death any longer, we have to find a way out!"

"You don't understand, Luke."

Andrew pushed my hand away and said, "Don't you understand? That hateful, vicious woman took our flag. From what she said just now, it almost means that she has already handed the legion's flag to that hateful officer to improve his military merit! Similarly, this woman also got the money she wanted. It's over. We will not be understood! No one believes that we are from the Gemina Legion anymore. It's over, it's over!"

As he was talking, Andrew burst into tears. This was the first time I saw Andrew cry in the short ten days we spent together. He was so desperate that he wanted to die in the next second! Maybe I didn't know the profoundness of it because I just came here. Andrew's loyalty to the glory of the soldiers and the legion really surprised me. Maybe I still can't understand the meaning of glory. But the first task now is to get out, not wait to die here!

"Andrew." I patted his shoulder and consoled him, "What if he hasn't sold it yet?"

"What?"

Andrew looked up and asked me in surprise, "Is what you just said true?"

"I'm not sure." I shrugged, indicating that I didn't know the details, and then continued, "I don't think we can solve this problem alone now. If this stupid woman really sold the flag to the Roman officer, we will not be able to get it back even if we die a hundred times."

"So, what do you mean?"

"We need help!" I said to him calmly, "We need to go out and find all the resources that can help us. There may be few resources, only Dr. Bella and his wife, but based on Dr. Bella's experience, we should be able to know who that female thief is!"

"So, how do we get out?"

Yes, how to get out? This is a problem, because the height is much higher than the two of us stacked together. I can't help but think of a story from my childhood, about MacArthur, who said that he passed the deep barrel test of the West Point Military Academy by his own means. The general situation is like this.

I looked around. The cave was full of dirt and gravel, and we had no tools in our hands. I looked at the hole above my head and then at my hands. I couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed that it would be time for the hard work next.

Andrew and I dug the soil from one side of the hole with our bare hands, and piled it from one side to the other side one handful at a time, and then stomped it down bit by bit. It was really hard to imagine the workload Andrew and I had at that time. The voluntary labor in the past, such as cleaning the road, was nothing compared to this. In that case, we could still complain a few words, and it was not a strange and shameful thing to be tired, but this was different. Not only was it more difficult and tiring, but we didn't even have the courage to complain. Resting was just a moment of stepping on the soil and jumping on the spot to relax ourselves a little.

"Damn woman, vicious woman!" Andrew kept cursing while working. We were exhausted. The suffering we suffered now was all caused by that damned stinky woman. We secretly decided to skin her alive. Even though she was much more beautiful than ordinary people, I would tell her righteously that beauty could not save your life! Seeing that the pile of mud in front of me was only as high as my knees, I got angry immediately. But looking at the hole again, it was still far from that height. I couldn't help but sigh, suppress my impatient temper, remove the mud from the cracks of my fingernails, and work silently with my head down.

Time passed by, the sunlight outside the cave became brighter and brighter, we were still working, until the light faded and the sunset dyed half of the sky red, we were still working, our throats were dry and about to burst into flames, but there was nothing to do, not even urine. Under such difficult conditions, I held back my tears, gritted my teeth and continued to work.

Soon, the setting sun took away the last rays of afterglow, and the sky was completely dark. Finally, the steps made of mud were as high as me, which should be enough!

"So, who of us goes up first?"

I began to seek Andrew's advice. "You, Luca, you're smaller than me." Andrew said, motioning me to climb up the dirt steps that were as tall as me. As I said before, this hole is as tall as the two of us put together. Even if I stood on the steps and stretched out my hand, I could only reach the hole one knuckle away.

"Andrew, help me, I'm not tall enough!"

Although I am European, I must have not had enough nutrition. I feel that I am still a little shorter than when I was alive. Fortunately, Andrew helped me. He grabbed my ankles and lifted them up. Now I was able to grab the ground outside the cave. My sore arms exerted force and supported my entire upper body to get out of the cave. I didn't dare to rest. I quickly caught Andrew's hand and dragged him up.

"So, Luka, what should we do next?"

"Cuckoo, cuckoo"

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After hearing what Andrew said just now, my stomach protested uncontrollably. I had no choice but to say shamelessly, "How about we go visit Dr. Bella at her home?"

"That's true." Andrew rubbed his stomach. It seemed that he was also very hungry. Since the decision had been made, he might as well leave immediately.

After half an hour of walking, I still remembered how to get there. Soon, I saw a fire. It was a small torch outside the village. Two soldiers in leather armor were staring at us in horror. I didn't dare to talk to them because my mail was covered in dirt and my face looked like a beggar. Andrew was similar. He didn't care about the strange look from the guard. He just lowered his head and quickened his pace.

Doctor Bella's house was just ahead. I saw the lights on inside. Fortunately, the family hadn't gone to sleep yet!

(End of this chapter)