After hours of climbing up and down, squeezing through narrow cracks, and crouching on all four down a few holes, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
It was so bright that it could only mean one thing.
The outside world was not so far.
As if urging them to get out of there faster, the wind blew harder against them, buffeting their clothes as they picked up their pace, eager to be done with he damp underground.
Climbing up the last steep slope, Ali Baba poked his head outside and was greeted with the first lungful of fresh air for hours.
He sucked in a deep breath, then turned to help Zarqa out of the crack.
The girl dusted her dress and breathed deeply as if it was the first real breath she had taken for days. Then, she sat about considering their whereabouts.
Red.
As far as she could see.
Cliffs, boulders, mountains, ground… Everything was so ominously red that it made her shiver uneasily for a moment.
