“Are you hurt?”
Still nothing.
The man lowered his flashlight slightly, trying not to shine it directly into her face.
“Can you tell us your name?”
For several seconds, she remained completely still.
Then she whispered something.
The explorer leaned closer.
“Layan.”
He froze.
“Did you say Layan?”
The woman nodded.
Another member of the team immediately recognized the name.
He remembered news reports about a university student who had disappeared in the mountains several years earlier.
“Layan Mahmoud?”
She looked at him.
Then she nodded again.
No one spoke.
The explorers had entered an unfamiliar cave expecting to find rock formations.
Instead, they had apparently discovered a missing woman whose disappearance had remained unsolved for three years.
One of them reached for his radio.
Another crouched beside her.
“Layan, we’ve come to help you.”
For the first time, her expression changed.
The smile faded.
Her eyes widened.
And when the explorer moved toward the passage leading out of the chamber, she grabbed his wrist.
