As her leg healed, she began exploring the passages near their shelter.
She made small maps in an old notebook Imran gave her.
She marked turns with stones.
She counted steps between chambers and learned to distinguish different sounds.
Water dripping onto limestone produced a gentle tapping noise.
Air moving through narrow cracks sometimes created a low whistle.
A distant rockfall could sound like thunder rolling beneath the ground.
She studied these sounds because she believed they might help her find a way out.
Then, one day, she heard voices.
At first, the sound was faint.
Two people seemed to be speaking somewhere beyond a side passage.
Layan stopped.
She listened carefully.
There it was again.
Human voices.
Her heart began pounding.
“Hello!” she shouted.
The sounds continued.
She hurried toward them.
“Please! I’m here!”
She followed the passage around a bend, ignoring the growing pain in her leg.
The voices seemed closer now.
