Feela looked backward as she stood at the mouth of the tunnel, seeing all the people who couldn't hope to follow her out. She felt an unfamiliar pressure Rise in her chest as she thought about them dying down here, separated from the sky by cold, unfeeling stone. There was nothing she could do for them though, so she pushed herself against the water towards her escape.
That is, until she had a choice in front of her. There was series of handholds going upwards, to freedom and relative safety, but the water was flowing from farther down the tunnel. Again her mind strayed to the people trapped down in the cavern, frightened and struggling, and as her hand rested on the first handholds the pressure in her chest refused to let her upwards. With a howl of frustration, she launched herself upstream, clawing forward as fast as she could until she reached a circle of metal sticking out of the wall. She had seen people traveling from the cities grab such circles and turn them to do... something. She didn't trust the creations of the people in the walls, but she didn't have another choice right now. She grabbed the wheel and yanked at it with all her might, growling with the effort until, finally, she noticed the water getting less violent. Opening her eyes, she saw where there was once an open tunnel pouring out water, now a slab of metal stood sentry instead. Taking a moment to wonder at this event, Feela turned around a sprinted back down the tunnel towards the cavern. Once she saw the people inside, and the water level still rising, she pulled up short and banged against the bars to get everyone's attention.
"Way out!" She yelled, hoping those where the right sounds to make. They sounded weird, but she remembered hearing something like that a long time ago.
Danyel