Die Trying
by PorkyPandaExpress

The glow of the torch revealed only a few blocks ahead of him at a time. The darkness stretched throughout the cave and wrapped around him. His eyeballs seemed to bore quickly as they were all over the place. From left to right, up and down, they were convinced they'd find something. As he came closer into the darkness, illuminating it bit by bit, the grip on his iron sword tightened.  His heart at any moment would come bursting out of his chest.  He felt the building pressure push down on him, and it made it harder for him to pick up his feet. He walked in a slow and steady pace. His sword he held pointed slightly outward, keeping some distance from his face. In whatever way, he thought eventually something would lunge at him, attack him and intend to kill him  He wasn't hesitant to beat his sword against anything that he saw move.


After a moment he felt he was walking in circles. The path he walked laid so long that it looked to repeat. "Wasn't I here before?" 'This seems too familiar"  "Where am I?" All were thoughts that passed his mind.  


When he finally reached a point that was unfamiliar, he found it necessary to take a rest and replenish on water. He unzipped his leather-crafted backpack, and uncovered his canteen.  He slugged down the water with much want, clenching his thirst and pumping his energy up significantly. But then he heard it. The chorus of zombies broke the silence and from the wall of mossy cobblestone came five zombies.  From there, he could've given up. He felt foolish and felt he deserved to die. The thing that made him lost in the cave was his striking greed for diamond. But behind the assembly of zombies he saw  multiple chests. "Could it be diamonds?" he asked himself.


He got up from the knelt position  and brung his sword to the air. He face was stroked with determination.


"How dare you stand in my way!" He yelled.He charged them headlong. He slashed the air and sliced the belly of one. To the second he chopped off their arms and legs. Three remained. He poked his sword through the heart of the third zombie. But the sword stuck in its chest. He was to rely now on his torch. Without thought, he set the fourth on fire. As it went away aflame, the last one came closer and grabbed the adventurer by his shirt. From there, the zombie leapt on to him and they rolled and turned  across the ground. The adventurer was able to gain the upperhand and with  fury bashed the zombie's head in with the wood of the torch.  Now nothing stood in the way of him and the chests.


The first chest held cocoa beans, a saddle, and gold. Not diamond.


The second had string and more gold. Still no diamond.


He approached the last chest with both hope and doubt. Opening this chest to reveal what’s inside made him anxious. His breathing slightly changed and became heavier. When he opened it, he looked away then quickly snapped his head to the insides of the chest. Alas! His efforts proved fair! One single diamond looked back at him and filled him with glee.  But that quickly changed when he heard the sinister growling  of zombies.  He looked back and saw more zombies attracted by the occasion. Coming as if to avenge their dead brothers. He grabbed the diamond and looked around. The zombies came closing in and he needed to think fast. It is then when he saw an opening in the wall. Without thinking he proceeded to dash towards it, avoiding the hands of the monsters. He hardly  fit through the hole but underestimated the height of the drop.  He fell 100 feet into water, unconscious on impact. When he woke up the water had carried him onto dry sand. But there was no mistaking it, the injuries of the fall meant to be fatal. A gash on the side of his stomach was gushing blood. Scraps and bruise laid about his arms and legs. A cut underneath his eye disturbed him immensely.  


“This is what I get! To die alone in this neverending cave!’ he shouted.


In great pain he slowly reached for his pockets. He felt and grasp the diamond that survived the fall. With it in his hands he continued, “But its okay. I’ve gotten what I wanted.”


If he were a better man there would be will to carry on and find a way out. But he stayed there, accepting his fate and allowing his soul to go into the white glow.


His body was discovered, decaying and ghastly, with the diamond still in his hands by two miners months later. The true pity lies in the unfortunate fact that the adventurer was in fact only a couple yards away from an exit.