Day 507

The ladder was almost hidden by three large boulders and autumnal leaves.
He tried to see how far down it went but was met by absolute darkness.
After testing the depth of the hole and finding it safe should he drop, he ventured down.

The ladder held surprisingly well,considering how damp the air down there was.
Looking around, the thin beam of his helmet's torch met a murky lake that seemed to have no end.
Behind him the ladder creaked, distracting him from the lake long enough to miss the bubbles.

The small rocky island he was standing on crumbled under his feet, leaving him two options.
To head up, come back later with a rope instead or continue out risking entrapment.
As he stood debating his choices, he felt like he was being watched from somewhere in the dark.

Putting it down to paranoia he decided to swim out a short way, just to see how large the area was.
He gasped as his bare legs met the icy cold water, voice echoing all around him mockingly.
Faintly he heard someone say hello to his left.

Looking around his torch beam met nothing but cave walls and water.
Just in case someone had gotten trapped there he headed towards the voice, calling out loudly.
The voice responded, still so quiet, who's there and where are you - I can't see.

This exchange continued until he found another small island that seemed indented in the centre.
There was some kind of black weed around it, making the climb up difficult.
His feet kept getting tangled up, eventually he resorted to yanking his legs along.

As he did so the voice cried out in pain, so much closer now.
Panicking he scrambled faster, tearing out more weed as he tried to reach the wounded stranger.
By the time he made it fully onto the island the voice was quietly sobbing and muttering.

He saw no one at first until he looked down.
There was a large pool of water in the island's centre and an old woman lay in it, barely floating.
Her body entirely unseen as her jet black hair covered every inch of the pool, overflowing the island.