《NoS: The Crypts in the Shadow (Hiatus)》 Prologue: Hidden dangers of the lost caves ¡°What does one expect from caves? Normally, that would entail something like bats, guano and insects in narrow passages, that needs to be squeeze through? But¡­ That is not what we found on our expedition deeper into the mysterious cave system, the one under that island, the one that has stumped scientists for decades¡­ No, there is something else in these dark passages. Something not to be trifled with.¡± -Yandr¨¦ Skai Prologue: Hidden dangers of the lost caves ¡°Is the camera on?¡± Yandr¨¦ asked, probing at the little gadget. His tongue stuck out thoughtfully all the while. But before he could start pressing buttons, a soft hand snatched it from his grasp. ¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t!¡± Eria said hurriedly, ¡°I told you to stop messing with the thing.¡± He waved a hand at her and said, ¡°I know, but we don¡¯t have time to waste. We¡¯re already supposed to be heading back to the main expedition. They¡¯ll think something happened to us.¡± ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± Eria glared at him and he lifted his shoulders, knowing he was the one in the first place who suggested extending their two-day scouting mission in the caves to three by abseiling down a waterfall. Yet, his curiosity had revealed a much elaborate cave system than the one they were set to explore and study with the expedition team. His sense of adventure had demanded that they check it out before the rest came. With little effort, Yandr¨¦ rearranged his climbing gear and swung his rucksack back onto his shoulders. He still couldn¡¯t believe these caves were big enough to take a small tent with you. It was unlike any other cave he had ever explored. That was truer in more than one way. The caves didn¡¯t have a single bat in them! No guano either. Yandr¨¦ was still all smiles about that strange fact, earning him a surprising slap from Eria Taylin, his friend and fellow cave exploring companion of the last three years. ¡°What did I do?¡± He exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder. ¡°Never mind,¡± Eria said with exasperation and slipped the video camera into the little holster on the bag next to his neck. ¡°Tell me again why we are not headed back to base?¡± Yandr¨¦ smirked. ¡°You know me, I¡¯m not used to a full out expedition. It still seems so out of place.¡± Eria chuckled and said, ¡°I know right. But still...¡± ¡°Just a little more!¡± He said with excitement bubbling inside, ¡°I bet you there is a chamber through the next part... If not, we¡¯ll head back.¡± Her dark brown hair touched her shoulders as her head drooped with a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I let you get me into these things. But really we need to hurry, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± He said, trying to be serious, but as usual she saw right through him and made a face. Yet a moment later, she smiled and took the lead around the bend into the cave. Yandr¨¦ beamed. This cave was by far the best he has ever explored, not only because there were no bats, which was like striking gold, but there were far fewer areas where it was necessary to crawl through, making it so much easier to make proper time. Not that he was scared of crawling through tight spaces. It came with the profession. Spelunking wasn¡¯t for the faint of heart. Yet the real excitement of this cave was that after going down that waterfall they had found crystals! Small shards of blue crystal lay strewn about on the ground, though not in large numbers. But if his hunch was right and this really was a crystal cave in the truest sense, then it¡¯d be his first one ever. And to top it off, unlike the other natural crystal caves around the world, this one wasn¡¯t an oven! He glanced at his digital watch. A cool twenty-five degrees C, and good airflow from the cracks and tiny shoots to boot. Perfect. Up ahead, around the bend, Eria¡¯s face popped back and she said, ¡°You know, I still can¡¯t believe we are the first to explore this cave system. It seems unreal.¡± ¡°True,¡± He said, ¡°But then again. Draves Town was only founded thirty years back.¡± Yandr¨¦ followed Eria as she moved off into the dark. Their headlamps and the odd glittering of a shard of crystalwas the only light that showed itself in the dark cave. As they went, smaller passages diverged from the bigger tunnel they were in. But as much as the need to explore them tugged badly at him, it was a certainty that Eria would scold him. There was just too little time. And it was sure that the main expedition chief would already be planning a rescue or at least a search party. But that couldn¡¯t be helped. This was just too good an opportunity to miss out on. To be the first to find a crystal cavern! Yandr¨¦ wiped at the drool that escaped over his lip. He cast a glance about for Eria, hoping she hadn¡¯t seen. No sign of her. A chuckle escaped him. It was just so exciting! ¡°YANDRE!!¡± The piercing yell ripped him from his thoughts. He rushed forward, ready to fight as adrenalin pumped through his veins. Around the bend, the tunnel opened into a massive cavern. Though his eyes only searched for his companion. Then, she came into view. Eria was on her haunches. But as he was about to pluck her back to see the danger, he stopped dead. On the ground was a two-metre tall skeleton in armour. A sword clutched in its bony hands and small marble like gems scattered in the dirt. He gaped in awe. This was more than he ever expected to find in the caves under Breakwater Isle. He dropped down to his haunches next to Eria who was clearly as shocked as he was. After what felt like minutes, Eria finally said, ¡°This is remarkable. We have to document this. Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but... isn¡¯t this the first hint of remains of that ancient civilizionto be found on Breakwater Isle? HA! Those Cresties are going to be scarlet behind their ears if they find out we found them first!¡± Yandr¨¦ could only stare at Eria with her triumphant smile, but after a second he started chuckling just thinking about her statement. The people at Lamb¡¯s Crest had been meticulously combing through the Ruins in the cliffs for months, even years maybe, and yet no sign of the occupants was found so far. It was a running mystery which led to the birth of countless theories on why the occupants of Breakwater Isle disappeared. Though most of those were like all theories, they were just theories. The fact that Breakwater Isle just appeared one day ¡ªno earthquake, nothing¡ª was already enough to amply confuse the scientific community. The discovered ruins and then the missing civilization just confused them so much more. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. And yet now there was a skeleton right on the ground! The stories it would generate! Yandr¨¦ smiled. Not saying anything, he pointed the video camera at the scene. His mind still felt fuzzy, but it was a good fuzzy. Without being able to help himself, he picked up the sword. To his surprise, the blade weighed as much as a big knife, yet it was the length of his arm. ¡°Strange,¡± He said, as he swung the blade. ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡± Eria queried with an inquisitive look. ¡°I expected it to be much heavier.¡± Eria just shook her head. ¡°You know,¡± She said, ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to pick up something like that. Any archaeologist would freak seeing you do that. Well, at least without the properdocumentation, it''s like throwing money into the sea. You just don''t do it.¡± Yandr¨¦ shrugged but didn¡¯t drop the weapon. ¡°It¡¯s not a crime scene. And besides, I got it properly on video.¡± He was certain Eria wasn¡¯t bothered by it in the least. She wasn¡¯t the type of person who got worked up over small details. But then Eria got a worried look on her face, her eyes trained on the skeleton. So much so, that he almost apologised to her and started to return the sword to its proper place. But then she said, ¡°Talking about crime scenes, it looks like this person died by something other than nature or another person. Look.¡± Yandr¨¦ looked where she pointed, and on the right side of his armour, there were four big gashes that had gone straight through the metal armour. The ribs inside were smashed. It was claw marks. Each of the individual marks was as big as three of his fingers next to each other. Not even bears had claws close that size. What could have possibly made it... Suddenly the cave didn¡¯t feel as safe anymore. He looked around and finally realised that they were in a large football size cavern. What was more surprising, even in the dark, when his headlamp passed over it, there was plant life, bushes and small trees and crystal veins everywhere. This was alien. There was no hint of a place where sunlight got in. How did the plant life survive in this dark place? It only added to the dread that was forming in the pit of his stomach. Even in the darkest and narrowest of caves he had explored, had never left him scared. But this mysterious cave system was getting to him. He was about to tell Eria that maybe they should go back to the forward base at the cave entrance. But he spotted her flashlight disappearing into one of the side passages. He almost ran after her, to try and stop her, but ultimately kept his nerves under control. With a trot he swept around the corner, only to be met by sunlight piercing the dark. It was another cavern. Though smaller, it was open and looked out over the Atlantic Ocean. Eria was gulping down deep breaths standing at the edge. Yandr¨¦ approached her. And placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. ¡°Eria? You okay?¡± She nodded, but a frown remained on her delicate face. Finally, she said, ¡°I guess I wasn¡¯t quite ready for that. It scared me to think what could have done that.¡± ¡°Yeah... me too,¡± Yandr¨¦ agreed sombrely. He stood silently next to her looking out over the sea. The fresh air revitalized his body. The slight tinge of fear, however, only ebbed a little. After a few minutes, he paused and realised he still had the sword in his hand. The thing was comfortable! Let¡¯s lighten the mood. He trotted a few metres back and dismounted the camera from his rucksack and pulled out the little tripod and mounted the gadget on it. Eria was better at making more advanced adjustments on the cameras, but he knew enough to get mostly what he wanted out of it. He ran over to pose with Eria, grabbing her shoulders and spun her around. ¡°Say cheese!¡± He said loudly. The woman gasped and stared frantically about for the location of the camera, before smiling with haste. Yandr¨¦ grinned and turned to look at the small object. The camera flashed for the first photo and he brandished the sword. ¡°Wait for it. The next few are coming. Pull a face!¡± Eria giggled next to him as they posed again But before he could turn to see, Eria screamed. A hint of silver caught his eye before something ripped at him. His vision burst into thousands of colours and swirled into utter chaos... The last thing heard was Eria terrified wails... ? Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 1 Then comes the fear I decided to at least write this before tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it. ;) ~ If there is anything you would like to see OR something you wish me to think about, feel free to PM me. I love brainstorming ideas. Oh, and while I''m at it, in the future, would you like to see a map maybe? I''ve already created big stretches of the topside world, this is a story playing off under that world. ~ Chapter 1 Then comes the fear ~Yandr¨¦~ Everything was dark. Yandr¨¦ blinked a couple of times to adjust his eyes and groaned as he sat up. Groggily he rubbed at his aching head. ¡°What happened?¡± He coughed, realizing he had dirt in his mouth. He fell over and spit it out as best he could. As he gathered himself, he blinked again, trying to make out any features in the dark, but nothing cleared up. It was then that he remembered what had happened before he blacked out. Eria sprang into his mind and panic burst through him as he struggled to his knees, not even caring about his knees digging into hard the ground. He patted around himself and started calling, ¡°Eria! Eria? Are you okay? Answer me!¡± But stillness met him. Panic was replaced with fear, as his heart thundered in his chest. This can¡¯t be happening, he been so careful all those years. Not one incident other than the odd scrape or bruise. But now¡­ If he lost Eria... Yandr¨¦ frantically called out again and again. But the silence didn¡¯t go away, and the echoes of the cave were only giving him false hope of another person¡¯s presence. Just then his hand landed a small familiar object. He scrambled to it as he fumbled with the headlamp. He held his breath as he pressed the button. And to his utter relief, it came on, blinding him for a moment. But he didn¡¯t care. He blinked rapidly to try and focus on his surroundings. A minute passed. It was taking too long! Yandr¨¦ was chewing at his lips until his eyes finally cleared up. His head spun around as he tried to take in as much as possible, to find Eria. The nerves didn¡¯t ease as he couldn¡¯t recognise any of his surroundings. But that was the least of his worries. A prone figure became visible behind a rock, finally. Yandr¨¦ sprang into action, ignoring the sudden stiffness in his body and within seconds he skidded to halt next to Eria. This wasn¡¯t good. There was no sign of movement. He tried calming down his own breathing, but even knowing that his breathing came in too rapidly and was hampering his decision-making abilities, he couldn¡¯t help it. Not this time. Though as his trembling hand neared her side, he finally saw her ribs expand with an intake of air. Yandr¨¦ blew out all the air in his lungs and sat down heavily in relief. She was alive. He crawled to her head, softly lifting it with his one hand under her neck. He searched for any serious wounds but found only a small scrape on the side of her head. It had bled a bit, but not much. Okay, so now what? He managed to risk a few glances to his surroundings as everything settled down, but it only confirmed his other fears. This part of the cave looked nothing like the place where they had stood. Was it a cave in? No, the hard dirt wall behind him looked as if had been like that for years, and there was no strewn about mounds of ground. The cavern they were in looked a lot like the one they had been in, but somehow completely different... The worrisome part, was, that there was no longer any sight of the ocean, or his shoulder camera that he placed down for the photo. The sword was there, but nothing else. It didn¡¯t make sense at all as he rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. He shook his head and turned back to Eria, her rucksack made her look quite uncomfortable, so he gently eased it off her shoulders before he stood up, striding towards the sword. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. As he got there, he noticed that his theory of somehow getting turned around was shaky at best. There were none of their tracks leading from the other side of the cavern to this ground wall, and only localised tracks, which didn¡¯t make sense at all. It did, however, brought his attention to that wall of compact earth that looked so out of place. It was as if the cavern was cut in half and the solid and undisturbed wall of dirt were pressed against the side that was cut off. Frustration built in him. He just couldn¡¯t figure it out. Rock scraping against rock pierced the silence and Yandr¨¦ flung himself around, brandishing the sword. But to his relief, it was a grumbling Eria who had made the noise in her attempt to sit up. ¡°Ugh...¡± Eria groaned, ¡°My head hurts¡­uh where are we?¡± Yandr¨¦ was tempted to start singing ¡®Somewhere over the rainbow¡¯ but somehow the humour seemed completely out of place right then. He walked over to her and sat down with an oomf. ¡°I have no idea. What happened would be a far better question.¡± She eyed him and asked, ¡°So what did happen?¡± ¡°Beats me!¡± Yandr¨¦ threw up his arms. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to figure out¡­ but nothing so far. But I¡¯m guessing we are in a quite a situation here¡­¡± Eria¡¯s face became serious as she took in her surroundings. "There¡¯s a few exits, but¡­ nothing looks like the one we came through¡­ I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Neither do I Ria, neither do I¡­¡± ¡°Do we set up tent here and wait for a rescu¡ª¡° A low growling rumbled through the cavern from the far side. And immediately they both stiffened. With fear in her voice, Eria whispered, ¡°What was that?¡± Yandr¨¦ shook his head. He had no clue. But clearly, it didn¡¯t sound good. He got up slowly and motioned for Eria to follow. He helped her with her rucksack, not taking his eyes off the furthest place the headlamp reached in the cavern. ¡°We need to find someplace to hide,¡± Yandr¨¦ whispered intently and Eria nodded, even though her shoulders were trembling. Yandr¨¦ was sure his own body was shaking, there was something out there and he didn''t know how to respond. His hand slipped over the glittering crystals that were all over inside the cavern. He didn¡¯t pay much heed to the fact that they were glittering at all after his headlamp had passed over them. The growling was getting louder accompanied by rumbling plops of footfalls. It wasn¡¯t something small, whatever it was. The cold of Eria¡¯s hand disturbed him, it only reminded him that air flow in the cave was much colder now. Why¡­ he couldn¡¯t understand. Then Eria¡¯s voice stammered from behind, her attempt at a whisper not working in her fearful state, ¡°Maybe w-we shouldn¡¯t be walking with the lights on.¡± She was right. It could attract the attention of whatever was out there. But it didn¡¯t at all help with managing the fear that was building inside him, and surely Eria. But she was a strong woman. Her sessions in dabbling with mixed martial arts had taught him that. Fragile body his ass! She could wipe the floor with him. Yet the fear in her voice was making the fear inside him increase exponentially. In fact, he couldn¡¯t remember ever seeing her afraid¡­ His breathing quickened as he gulped, still heading to a big ten-metre boulder. Eria¡¯s headlamp died down. He jumped at the sudden event and a sigh of relief flooded out when he realized what it was. His own hand was almost reluctant to lift up his own light. Though, just before he could switch it off, inspiration struck him. Yandr¨¦ fumbled at the side of his rucksack, and though it was from an awkward position. He managed to pull out one of his multiple glow sticks. The little tube had often saved him a great deal of pain in his adventures into caves. Yet somehow he was scared what the light of this one would reveal. He took a deep breath and cracked it, before tossing to the most central point of the cavern he could see. Without wasting time, he flicked off his headlamp leaving only the green light emanating from the glow stick in the dark cave. ? Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 2 First Encounter! Just a note, I added three hundred odd words to the end of the previous chapter. It was needed to round off the chapter in a better way. ;) ~ Chapter 2 First encounter The green light of the glow stick cast an eerie light in the cavern, it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to illuminated the entirety of the area, but what it did, was beautiful. If there hadn¡¯t been danger Yandr¨¦ was certain he would have stayed quite a while taking it all in. But there was danger and the weight behind the distant footfalls made him want to crawl into a hole. At least there wasn¡¯t a shortage of them¡­ In took him and Eria five minutes to reach the boulders. Just in time as the sounds coming from one of the shadows filled caves in the cavern was close. Far too close. He even opted to not even try whispering to Eria, not wanting to take the risk. He gave her the sword and motioned that he was going to try and get on top of the boulder. She nodded, and even in the green light it was clear she was biting her lip. He softened his features and placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay,¡± He whispering, risking it for her sake. Scraping together his courage, he dropped his rucksack and slipped his hands into the chalk pouch behind his right hip, rubbing his hands together. Yandr¨¦ took deliberate hold of the rock in front of him. This was second nature to him, but still, his hands trembled¡­ and not because of fatigue. Within a few minutes, he reached the top and silently snuck over the rough area to get a better view with his facing the cavern¡¯s wall. He looked down the length of the cavern. There was no movement, and the growling had died down. He squinted while scanning intensely. A hope formed in him that the thing had turned away and moved off away from there. He was about to get up as his foot slipped on some loose gravel. It tumbled to the floor down below and loud echoes filled pierced the air. Then there was noise a grunt, followed by thundering steps coming from the cave right next to the boulder. Yandr¨¦ realized his mistake in perception too late. He looked back over the edge to Eria, her eyes were wide. He wildly motioned for her to hide. Yandr¨¦ threw himself flat against the uneven surface. Just as it finally entered. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He slowly turned over to see what they were up against. His moved at a snail¡¯s pace over the edge as he cast his gaze down. What stood there was straight out of nightmare. A huge creature, half the size of the boulder moved below him. It had had sharp black quills sticking out its muscular back, reflecting the little light there was. Those muscles continued all the way up its broad neck where a head with a mouth that housed hundreds of dagger-like teeth. They were the size of real daggers! The arms had large claws that made him realize how that the man in the armour was most likely killed by such a beast. Yandr¨¦ gulped. They stood no chance against this thing. They needed to run. He was busy sliding back, to start climbing down, when another noise echoed just below him. It came from where Eria was! He glanced down to see his rucksack had fallen over. Then a clattering noise filled the cavern, it sounded like thousands of hard objects being vibrated against each other, followed by an immense roar. Yandr¨¦ dropped his stealth and descended as fast as possible. As he jumped the last two metres, he grabbed his rucksack and hissed to Eria, ¡°Run!¡± All the while he pointed to the small gap between the boulder and side of the cavern. The ground trembled as the monster was clearly on the move. Eria was first through the gap. Yandr¨¦ squeezed through, the area was clear, his instincts had paid off. Just then, Eria was about to run into the cave the monster came from, he lunged forward and grabbed her shaking his head. She regarded him with her panicked eyes and he took the lead. He chose a smaller cave, hoping it would slow down the big brutish beast. In the shadows of the opening, he looked back. And to his terror, he made eye contact with the monster who was staring at them from fifty metres away. The quills on its back started vibrating sending that strange clattering sound through the cavern again. Yandr¨¦ spun around and flipped his light on and yelled. ¡°It saw us!¡± He plucked Eria into the cave entrance and started running. Even from the distance, the weight of the creature¡¯s strides made the ground shake under them as they swept into the narrow cave. It was not small enough. ~ I¡¯ll add to it this afternoon. ;) ? Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 3: Running in the dark Okay here is another chapter. ;) Hope you enjoy it. I would like to hear feedback about it :D ~ Chapter 3 Running in the dark True to his instincts, the thundering footfalls of the lumbering giant stayed within earshot. Yandr¨¦ was so thankful that Eria was as nimble and fast as she was. Because if she hadn¡¯t been able to keep up, they would have been in a world of trouble, even with his own full speed leading the way, it was clear the monster behind them was gaining on them. This was a big problem and one he couldn¡¯t even start to figure out a solution for. The clattering of the beast¡¯s quills was sending eerie chills down his spine each time it happened. In their run, the tunnel suddenly opened up into a relatively small chamber with a half dead tree in it. Yandr¨¦ couldn¡¯t even start to entertain the thought of how it was possible in a cave without any sunlight. But he was immensely glad to see the tree partly block the right exit of the chamber. He glanced back and without having to tell Eria, she nodded. He jumped over a rock and into the metre and half gap between the tree and the exit. The tunnel itself was as wide as the previous one but he prayed that the tree would stop the creature. Within seconds of entering the tunnel, the heavy footsteps were right where they had just been in the small chamber. Yandr¨¦ inhaled deeply. If it wasn¡¯t for the tree, they would have had no place to hide. Just as he was about to slow down, the loud cracking noises of wood spilled into the tunnel. They both gasped, this was bad. They needed to find a place to hide! Yandr¨¦ groaned and started running down the new passage. Bad thing was, the laboured breathing coming from Eria, mirrored his own. The last two days had been full of climbing and exploring. There had never been a moment of worry about was in the cave system, so he had not held back in pushing his body to see everything it had to offer¡­ Yet now a wish of saving his body for this moment was at the forefront in his mind. With great effort, he pushed his tired muscles to power his legs through the tunnel. And then a split in the cave stopped him dead in his tracks. ¡°Right!¡± Eria screamed from behind, clearly not even caring to consider. But as he started down the right, it was apparent why as the sounds of the monster in the tunnel filled the air. Right it is! The stop had done more harm than good as his muscles threatened to spasm. Nevertheless, he grunted and pushed his legs into a flat out run. Maybe the creature would get confused at the intersection¡­ It was a small hope, but he would take anything right then. But just as he thought that the passage widened and ended. It was a dead end! ¡°Crap!¡± He hissed. The alcove had a little more headroom, but as he glanced about, there was no other exit. Just as he was about to turn around, Eria hurriedly said, ¡°Look there are¡ª¡° ¡°Eria! We need to hurry, if can reach the other tunnel before¡ª¡° ¡°No, I said look up there! To the left of the entrance.¡± Eria exclaimed. Yandr¨¦ cast his own headlamp up and there was a strange scar in the rock a few metres up. It looked manmade. ¡°What¡­.¡± ¡°Never mind that. Let¡¯s get up there! Now! Here, take the sword.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Let me lift you.¡± Eria nodded as she cast a nervous glance to the entrance of the tunnel. The noise was not super close, but it was close enough that what needed to happen had to happen fast! Without needing any more planning, Yandr¨¦ hoisted Eria up and onto his shoulder, where she took hold of the edge of the scar in the wall. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.She got there and with a lot of groaning and grunting got herself and her rucksack into the hole. The ground started trembling and panic welled up in Yandr¨¦. There was little time left. He twitched nervously waiting. ¡°Is it big enough?¡± Silence. ¡°Uh, Eria¡­?¡± Finally, she glanced down and Yandr¨¦ wanted to sigh with relief, but the noises coming from the passage gave him no such time. ¡°Yeah there is a lot. It goes quite a way.¡± ¡°Here catch my rucksack. I need speed, that thing is close!¡± She nodded and he threw up his rucksack where she awkwardly caught it. He considered throwing the sword too when out of the darkness, the monster appeared. The blood drained from as his first instinct was to side step, the creature barrelled into the alcove and growled with missing its prey. There was no chance he was going to get up there, so he ran into the tunnel. It was his only chance to confuse the creature. Eria shouted his name from behind, but her voice was faint with the loud clattering of the creature¡¯s quills. The thing was too close to get away from it. It made fear bubble up in his chest. But even with the sword, there was no way he could take such a huge creature on. A bear would¡¯ve been hard. But this thing¡­ No, he had only one chance at surviving. Within a minute, he reached it. He nimbly jumped to his right into the fork of the cave and moved into the left passage. He held up the sword and stabbed as the big form of the huge monster lumbered past him. The blade slipped into the creature with great difficulty, but it went in. And that was what mattered. The creature jerked to the side, wrenching the blade from his hands. A moment¡¯s hesitation filled him, but then a piercing roar came from the monster, enough that Yandr¨¦ slapped his hands over his ears abandoning thoughts of retrieving the sword. There was no time to waste and he took his only chance. He lunged into the passage that went to Eria and ran as hard as he could. His ears still rang from the intensity of the roar, making it impossible to gauge the distance of the thing. He just had to hope. He skidded into the chamber and spotted an extremely worried Eria looking down. His head was throbbing, but he shook it to gain some clarity and without waiting he launched himself up the wall climbing up as fast as he could. The handholds were not big, but for his profession, it was enough. As he grabbed hold of the edge the earth started shaking again. The creature would be there any second. He pulled with all his strength and slid into the two-metre wide scar. With him in it, it was a tight squeeze but he had never been so glad to be in tight space in his entire life. He awkwardly turned around just as the monster burst into the chamber below. The confusion it showed sent relief flooding through him. It spun around searching. But found nothing. Yet the sword sticking out the creature¡¯s back was already causing frustration to bubble up in Yandr¨¦ for not retrieving it. If the creature wasn¡¯t so bloody terrifying... he would have¡ª Eria tapped his shoulder from deeper into the scar and he relented. She was smart. There was no telling what the creature was capable of. He sighed and crawled deeper into the tight space, making as little noise as possible. ~ ~ (Enjoy your evening!) P.s. I''ll try to proofread everything to see if I spot any mistakes in the first few chapters tomorrow. But if anybody spot something, you are welcome to point it out. Thanks in advance. ? Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 4: Questions Hi everyone, From the initial reaction to the poll, I decided to take some time to write a longer post. Hope you enjoy it. I''ll try to add another in a couple of days. ;) --------- Chapter 4 Questions This was not what Yandr¨¦ expected. Throughout the chase, all he could think about was getting them both to safety. Couple with the fact that a monster was chasing them¡­ He sighed as he looked up again. The small man-made scar had opened up into a fifty by fifty-metre expanse with four carved out rooms situated inside the rock and with a stone building right in the centre. If this had been a normal, modern world, cave exploration trip, then this very sight would have blown him away, would have been astonishing¡­ Though it was still astonishing, the elation that normally followed discovering something in a cave was missing. Truly, the dangers of this cave system were like a leech. As he looked to his side, his companion was staring hard at him. He sighed again. She knew him too well. So he just shook his head and eyed her with exasperation. ¡°I know. I know!¡± He said, ¡°But considering the situation, can¡¯t you think of a reason for not enjoying this find?¡± Eria didn¡¯t say anything at first and he was almost surprised, she had always been quick to speak her mind. Then she hugged an arm around herself and said, ¡°Yeah, I guess, but still even with all the scary stuff that happened, I can¡¯t believe that this had been here, under the ground for who knows how long. A little safe haven.¡± Yandr¨¦ paused, before dragging a hand through his short chestnut coloured hair. She really was strong. He smirked at her then and patted her shoulder. ¡°Eria, you surprise me sometimes. Who knew you would actually see something positive in a situation after being chased by a monster? But thank you.¡± She giggled. It did a world of good to his state of mind. A tired yawn escaped Eria as she turned to the small haven and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I really need some rest.¡± ¡°There has to somewhere we can bunk up around here,¡± Yandr¨¦ ventured. The adrenalin had long since left. The aches in his body and the fatigue were growing by the minute. It threatened to allow in thoughts that he¡¯d rather not deal with about how they would get back. But he smiled then for Eria and himself. A memory of his sister had reminded him the importance of staying positive no matter what. ¡ª¡°If you just think of negative things constantly, eventually it would affect your heart. Beware, little brother, I don¡¯t want to drag you out and beat your ass if you allow it happen.¡± It always created a little warm space in his heart. Yandr¨¦ steadied his breathing and strengthened his resolve. Okay, we can do this. Just take it one step at a time. A loud thud resounded in the room Eria had entered and he moved through the doorway. Inside, it was an entire long room carved out of the rock, and many bed size slots covered the one wall, and working spaces covered the other. Though what he assumed to be beds, were flat rock. It hardly screamed comfortable. But the thin mattresses in their rucksacks would have to do. Eria was already busy stretching her mattress over the flat bed. Yandr¨¦ followed suit and within a few minutes, he was on his back looking up. From somewhere behind him, Eria¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Do you think the others are looking for us?¡± Yandr¨¦ grunted, ¡°Some part of me hopes so. But would you want them to find us, if it meant them being stuck in this cave too?¡± It grew quiet for long minutes before Eria spoke again. ¡°I know. But I¡¯m worried for them and us.¡± Yandr¨¦ guessed, ¡°Food and water?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± The quiver in her voice spoke volumes. ¡°There is always water in a cave somewhere. And food¡­ well we¡¯ll figure it out.¡± A shuffling sound filled the air. ¡°What about the creature?! If we go out there to search¡­¡± Her voice was closer then. Yandr¨¦ turned around and Eria¡¯s face was within arms-reach, her hand on her rucksack. He softened his features and tapped her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about tomorrow,¡± He said, trying to encourage her. ¡°We¡¯re two smart people. We¡¯ll figure it out. So try to get some rest.¡± Her lips tugged up slightly and he winked at her. It was a start. He turned around and closed his eyes. After a minute, Eria said, ¡°Sweet dreams.¡± And all went silent. That is, apart from the distant growls throughout the caves. ` ~Somewhere else at the caves~ ~Emma Taylin~ ¡°Oi! I¡¯m sending down the rest of the food supplies and emergency filters, you guys ready?¡± Emma Taylin shouted from the top of the granite mound looking down into the huge cavern down below. It used to look like a big dark abyss at the bottom before the floodlights had been placed. A whistle sounded and she started lowering the weighty parcel, anchoring it at the bolt in the rock and then to her hip to keep it steady as she fed the rope down. With her other hand, she rubbed the sweat off her forehead. It was quite a scorcher out that day. No clouds and the sun laying heavy on the rock face she was standing on. At least the wind was blowing, a small consolation price. She took a deep breath. The smell of the sea was prominent, even though it was quite a ways to it. Emma glanced at her surroundings. *Alright, I¡¯ve got everything down there¡­ All that is needed is¡­ Mmm. The lists of requirements ran through her mind as she looked back over Draves Town situated against a lake. It was her hometown. She smiled. The excitement of finally going on an expedition down into the newly found Freskan Caves was enough that she didn¡¯t want to waste time planning things. But as she busied herself with anchoring the package that was lowering to the floor of the cavern, she recited the massive lecture the Chief of Expedition ¡ªher dad¡ª had given them all. And not once, but three times. It wasn¡¯t useless information by a long shot, but three times had been pushing it. Nevertheless, Chief Bert had an endearing quality about him that he could make any lecture sound thrilling. It helped in remembering the details. A whistle blew from the bottom, startling her slightly. She almost jumped up and down realising that everything was finished. It was time! Without wasting a second, she hooked herself into the rig and started the decent down. The fact that she was hanging in the middle of nowhere in huge cavern only from two ropes as thick as her thumb, worked on her nerves. She had hoped it got better after experiencing it the first time, but it never did get any better¡­ Yet it was exhilarating nonetheless. She swung slightly as the bottom came closer. The tents were all over the place and the small army of people busying themselves were scattered all around with all kinds of gadgets for taking measurements. She couldn¡¯t remember all their names. Luckily she didn¡¯t have to, as the group was split into four teams from all over the world. Each with their own set of goals and amount of time spent down there. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Emma sighed, quite happy that her team would be going first on the four-day trek into the cave system. The idea of waiting another day to go explore it would drive her up the walls. Just then, her feet touched the floor and Hiro Hayashi was the first to greet her as he helped her find even footing on the rocks. He was born Japanese but grew up in the U.K. Everybody called him Forest. At first, it confused her, but to her delight, Hiro told her the story that his name and last name together meant ¡®Abundant Forest¡¯. It was as amazing as it was back when she heard it first. ¡°Thanks Forest,¡± She said happily, glad that her expedition team wasn¡¯t filled with strange people. ¡°How is it going down here. I only arrived about an hour ago up top.¡± He straightened at her response and then asked, ¡°So you don¡¯t know?¡± The surprise in Forest¡¯s voice caught her by surprise. Enough so that a chill ran down her back as she asked, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Uh, look, Emma. Don¡¯t freak out. Your sister and Yandr¨¦ still aren¡¯t back from the scouting trip.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± She shouted, not even attempting to keep her feelings restrained. ¡°Keep it down. Everything echoes down here!¡± Emma strode down the rock and grabbed Forest¡¯s arm forcefully and demanded. ¡°*What happened?¡± The Asian man sighed and said, ¡°It just *had to be me telling you first¡­ Right. Maybe it¡¯s nothing. You know them as well as I do. But we still hadn¡¯t heard from them. The walkies are only spitting out noise. We found a rig just a bit ago, going down a waterfall. Your father was just about to rally the search party when you showe¡ª¡° ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Emma stated flatly and Forest looked at her like she was mad. ¡°What are you going on about? The search party is already established!¡± Emma didn¡¯t want to hear it, even if he was a friend. She pushed Forest aside and marched to the main tent in the cavern. As she reached it, there were several men and women talking, probably discussing the search mission. Emma bristled. Her dad hadn¡¯t told her a thing, while her sister and Yandr¨¦ could be in danger! The heat in her face was not the temperature, in fact, it was nice and cool down there considering the top. No, she had a thing or two she wanted to yell, not caring who heard. She glared at her dad as she marched towards him, and when he looked her way, panic settled there. Good. ¡°Now Emma, please liste¡ª¡° ¡°No!¡± She growled. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me, Dad? I am as much part of this family and the expedition to have the right to know.¡± Her dad surprised her when he took her into his bulky strong arms. And she always treasured his big bear hugs, the anger in her made her squirm to get out. But before she could slip out. ¡°I was just trying to protect you.¡± Emma stopped squirming as she looked up questioningly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked softly. The anger buried. Bert smiled softly at her and it melted her mood further. ¡°Knowing you, what have happened if I told you before you got down here? Would you have thought of all the safety precautions while you tried getting here?¡± Denial sprang up in her mind. ¡°Yes!¡± She said immediately before the truth of the question made her look away and admit it with a shake of her head. ¡°And that is why.¡± Frustration bubbled up in her even though he was right. So she changed the subject. ¡°I¡¯m going with the search team.¡± Instead of him demanding her to stay, she was surprised when her Dad said, ¡°Thought this might happen¡­ I don¡¯t like it, mind you. But I already got things ready for you, me and four others. I told Jennifer to take up the position of Chief of Expedition while we are gone.¡± Emma beamed! Her dad was awesome. ¡°Okay, so when do we go?¡± Her dad chuckled and patted her head. ¡°In ten minutes. Go get Forest, he¡¯ll sort out the others.¡± She spun around and swept out of the tent to go organise the search party. ~ Five hours later~ ~Emma Taylin, (Eria¡¯s sister)~ The teams had split up. No reasons were needed except for the one Emma was crouching over. The skeletal remains of a two-metre human that had slash marks going all the through the armour. Emma watched as her father and Charles left through the right cave with knives in their hands. This scenario wasn¡¯t ideal. But the fact remained. The claw marks in the armoured called for desperate measures. Emma dragged her hand through those gauged out marks and new worry sprouted all over inside her. What if what did this was still in these caves¡­ She shook her head. Thinking like that never helped anybody. As she studied the skeleton, she realised that there was sword like gap in the dust next to the armour. Her fingers scraped over it and it became apparent the object had been removed not long ago. The small marble like gems had also been disturbed. She picked up two of them, a green one a purple one and was immediately surprised that they tingled against her skin. About to drop them, a call from the left side cave startled her. ¡°Hey, Ems! I found a camera!¡± Hope and fear surged inside her as she bolted through the passage to find Forest standing close to the edge of the open aired cavern that looked out over the sea. There was no sign of her sister and Yandr¨¦. Her heart sank. But seeing Forest pick up the tripod on the ground brought her back from dwelling on those things. She ran to him and watched as he fumbled with the screen of the camera. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can check the thing for clues.¡± She stayed silent as she peered at the screen. In seconds it flashed alive and a row of photos started appearing. Eria and Yandr¨¦ were joking around in the one photo. But the next few sent waves of confusion and panic through her. ¡°What is that!?!¡± She shouted. A liquid silver wall showed right behind the two on the screen. Then the next Eria was halfway inside with Yandr¨¦ anxiously pulling at something. Then the following photo there was nothing. No silver wall, no Eria or Yandr¨¦. It was enough. Emma gulped in air as her lungs heaved. What¡­ What¡­ Where¡­ Why¡­ Too many things ran through her head. But everything was filled with confusion. Even Forest was full of fear. His faced screamed it. It did not help. Where was her sister! Where was Yandr¨¦! What was that wall! Emma held her head in her hands. Her breathing came in shorter bursts until dizziness took her as she fainted¡­ ? Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved.
I have a question. Sometimes when I edit my chapter after I post it, it does weird things like putting certain sentences in bold. And also I can''t seem to change the size of the text while in RoyalRoadL''s editor. It shows that I can, but it doesn''t... If you guys know anything please give me a heads up. ;) Chapter 5: What needs to be done... Hey! Thank you for reading my story. Hope you are enjoying it. As always, please feel free to point out things that could enhance the story or a post¡¯s grammar. With how things are going in my life, I don¡¯t have much time to spend on proofreading. So I try to write it as best as I can the first time out. I am, however, a little uncertain how next week is going to go time wise. So at the very least I¡¯ll add a chapter by the weekend and if I feel particularly motivated or there is real demand for more than one chapter this week, I¡¯ll be happy to try and get more than one out. Chapter 5: What needs to be done¡­ ~Yandr¨¦~ The cave was dark. There was no light as Yandr¨¦ snuck with deliberate movement through the tunnel. Long since he switched off his headlamp for fear of alerting what was so close by. Since climbing down from the safety of the scar, he had to stop constantly to take deep breaths to stop the shaking in his limbs, the memory of the huge creature charging at him too fresh in his mind. It was hard not to yawn with the little sleep his body had. The nightmares had kept him up even though he was so tired. Yandr¨¦ stopped briefly just listening, hoping with everything that the quilled beast had finally moved on. Silence followed for a minute and hoped surged for a moment, but then the low growling started again. Two hundred metres, maybe. A sigh escaped him. All he wanted to do was go back to Haven¡¯s Scar, the name Eria had given the place that was their safe house. But there was no way he could go back without trying to find water. They had been low to start with before everything went to chaos. Nevertheless, the anxiety just kept mounting minute by minute. He didn¡¯t ever want a repeat of the chase of earlier. As he slipped around another bend, he paused briefly flashed his headlight to mark a few loose stones. With forced patience, he meticulously placed stones in arrow back towards haven, making sure it was outside the most used route through the tunnel. He finished with a scrape on the wall, quick and with as little noise as possible. It pointed his way back. Reluctantly he switched his light off again and was immediately assaulted by darkness as his eyes adjusted. In the midst of frantically running away from danger with Eria in tow, neither of them had even started to consider making mental maps that would lead back to that initial cavern, which complicated matters quite a bit. Especially when they had sat down earlier to try and draw their route back to the cavern they had woken up in. It had failed quite spectacularly since all their ideas of how to get back had ended up with him coming out in different caverns and or unknown hubs that split into multiple directions, not unlike the one he faced right then as he entered the space and flashed his light, five distinct tunnels led out of the open space. It wasn¡¯t the way to that cavern either. To top it off there was no sign of water. Frustration bubbled up in Yandr¨¦. If only he could find the route which they took, then the chances of finding water would increase. There had been a waterfall not far away. Loud noises echoed suddenly from the closest tunnel entrance and the sure sounds of growling filled the air. Yandr¨¦ stiffened and without wasting any time, he retreated back the way he came as quick but as stealthily as possible. Hardly able to see anything in the dark, he desperately listened if it would come closer. But long minutes later his fears proved unfounded and hurriedly moved away from the area. It took a while to get back to the now familiar fork in the one cave and he paused to draw the new section of the cave before starting his process again. There were two more routes that could lead back to that first cavern closest to the waterfall. It was hard not to want to rush into it. But each time so far that he moved too fast the distant growling and clattering would come closer. The creature was still searching¡­ Yandr¨¦ flashed his light for a brief period before setting off into next passage. Soon enough, the sound of what sounded like water filtered in. His heart surged as he moved faster, abandoning the slower pace. Though, instead of opening up into the cavern he wanted, it revealed something he never expected. The sides of the passage disappeared off into the dark, but before he could activate his headlight, rows of crystal veins started to light up like a domino effect. Some had a blue glow and others green, and purple. But what it did was add a myriad of lighting effects on the huge subterranean area that had to stretch three football fields, at the very least. Massive rock arches and pillars were scattered over the space supporting the ceiling that was four stories high. Most surprising, however, were the many trees and bushes, alive and well, growing underground. Yandr¨¦ stared. But before he could really appreciate the enormity of the discovery, a small shadow darted between a tree and a rock. Yandr¨¦ froze and tensed his muscles, ready to run. Then a little fur covered creature with big ears popped out the other side, chasing what looked like a rat. Yandr¨¦ stayed still. This was amazing. If there were these kinds of animals, then it meant food. As the furry animal jumped, the rat didn¡¯t stand a chance as it quickly disabled its prey before starting to eat the rat. Yandr¨¦ smiled and softly approached the furry creature. Each step taking half a minute, just to be sure, but quickly enough he was within striking distance. It was almost as long as his forearm in length and quite cute. But knowing their food supplies were low, it was either eat what you find or die. He steadied himself to jump the creature and as he tensed his muscles, a noise from the closest bush startled the thing. And with a jerk, it sat up, alert. Yandr¨¦ didn¡¯t wait and lunged forward. The furry creature, however, looked straight at him. And before he could grab the thing, it opened its fox-like mouth and an immense screech lanced through the air. So loud, that he fell next to it holding his ears in pain. It pulsed in waves against him and the clarity of what was around him turned into a haze. Just as fast as it started everything went silent. Yandr¨¦ shakingly turned to see where the animal was, but only a half eaten rat remained at the spot. He shook his head trying to rid himself of the ringing in it. That was intense! Luckily, his hearing turned to normal a few minutes later. He sat there rubbing at his ears when the first sounds other than ringing filled his ears, ones that sent fear pumping through his veins. He slowly turned to see the quilled beast with his sword in its back entering the cavern. No more than thirty metres from him. His heart beat started to thunder in his chest. If it spotted him now, with its speed and strength, there¡¯d be no place to hide. Yandr¨¦ did the first thing he could think of. Slide as slowly as possible into the bush closest to him, no sooner than the lumbering hulk of a monster trudged closer. The earth shook slightly at its heavy steps. But Yandr¨¦ was certain it hadn¡¯t seen him yet as it moved like it was searching. He almost ran for it when the thing approached his area, but fear of being caught before reaching the closest cave exit, kept him rooted, paralysing his muscles. Then it bent down and Yandr¨¦ pulled back even more into the foliage. The sound of scraping caught him off guard. Then the sound of crunching sounded. The beast had picked up what was left of the big rat and the bones which were crunching between its teeth. Yandr¨¦ cringed each time the sound came. He tried his hardest to keep the shiver out of his limbs. He could not afford one mistake. Half his body would fit into the monster¡¯s great jaws. If it saw him now¡­ Lumbering steps echoed through the cavern as it moved away from him. Yandr¨¦ breathed in deeply, having held it for quite a bit. He stayed in the bush for the longest time still reeling from coming so close to it again. After what felt like hours, he peeked out over the light filled cavern, the crystal veins shining out over the life filled patch of forest. He got up slowly and moved towards the exit he came from, glancing every which way for his adversary. Within a few minutes, he reached the passage and was about to leave when he spotted another one of those long-eared, fox-like creatures. Though it was not aggressive, horror filled him as it turned his way. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. He dived into the tunnel entrance without regard to his body. Even as he landed quite heavily, the first thing he did while panting was covering his ears, waiting. No sound came. Yandr¨¦ slumped onto the ground in relief, before he got up and swiftly ran back to Haven¡¯s Scar. For now, abandoning his investigation into the possible water source, it was too dangerous to stay in the area at that moment. But he had another reason. A determination filled him¡­ He was going to plan a way to get back his sword and if they were to survive in this cave. That quilled beast has to die¡­ (Watch this space, there is good chance I¡¯ll write this part when I get back today.) ---------------------- ~Emma Taylin~ Emma woke up groggily. Not quite remembering why she was sleeping on something so hard. She groaned and sat up frustrated at her hip digging into what felt like stone. As she opened her eyes there were only cave around her. Oh. I fainted. The nervousness of the reason started to bubble up in her. She couldn¡¯t remember that she had ever fainted before, but¡­ seeing her sister being sucked up by that weird silver wall just was too much. Voices arguing shook her away from those thoughts as she turned around. Her own father stood there with Forest and his cousin Yuki, who was always looked like a sleek panther with her raven hair and graceful stride. ¡°¡ª just check, the video of the cave show that there was at least fifty-metres more walking space to the cave than there is now. I can¡¯t explain it, after I moved Emma, when I turned back that area where we just stood was gone!¡± ¡°Let me see that! It¡¯s not physically possible. We would have heard the crash if a portion broke away and fell into the sea.¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t any crash. That is what I¡¯m trying to tell you. There was just nothing. But yeah watch the video, the area was there with Eria and Yandr¨¦. The photos don¡¯t make sense though.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Some murmuring started that Emma couldn¡¯t make out. ¡°¡­ See! I told you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s confusing to say the least,¡± Emma¡¯s father Bert said, ¡°This kind of thing is another big mystery on top of a whole list of mysteries of Breakwater Isle.¡± ¡°You got that right,¡± Yuki said, ¡°Everything of this island is all weird. Although¡­ that is the reason we moved here in the first place, right Forest?¡± Emma watched as Forest nervously scratched his head, clearly embarrassed to admit to such a reason even though she knew it was true. Though not admitting anything, Forest asked, ¡°But Chief, what does it mean for Eria and Yandr¨¦?¡± Emma stood up and moved closer as her dad paused with worry in his face before he took a breath. ¡°It means that there is something dangerous going on here. And even if we are on a search mission, we should proceed with utmost caution.¡± Emma fumed, cautiously proceed wasn¡¯t going to explain what happened to her sister. There needed to be more. An explanation to that silver wall and maybe to the issue they had raised over a part of the cave disappearing. She moved to Forest and asked from the side if she could have the camera just as her father said, ¡°Forest, I need you to set up a forward base in the previous cavern. Then we need to radio in. What to say though¡­ that is going to interesting¡ª¡± Emma ignored the rest as she moved off to sit on a rock. She let the video run and watched as Yandr¨¦ and Eria moved from the skeleton to the current location. And just as Forest had noted the floor had been in tact up to where the tripod had stood. Even in the photos, nothing happened to the cave except for the silver wall. But now¡­ she looked to where the area where the camera had stood was just air. No ground. Was it different events? Emma wasn¡¯t sure. And that scared her. Things were not normal. Even having heard some of the history of the island, that it had popped up from nowhere out of the Atlantic ocean with a full grown forest on it, a few hundred years back and no sign of the ocean ever touching that forest, was confusing in and of itself. But seeing the mysteries for herself ¡­ It left a cold feeling. Science couldn¡¯t explain it, and it was certain science wouldn¡¯t be able to explain this either. ¡°Where did you guys go?¡± She asked softly into empty air. Hoping an answer would present itself. ----------- ~Yandr¨¦ Skai~ ¡°You sure it¡¯s going to work?¡± Eria asked nervously. Yandr¨¦ had been drilled intensely on the danger of going out to look for water. And now his idea of taking the monster had spiralled into an hour long argument/ debate with her. He had almost given up purely out of frustration of arguing with her. It was like arguing with a brick wall! But when he had told her that their situation was dire already and having a creature like that hunting around the caves all the while trying to gather food and find water was almost impossible. Add to that those Screeching Foxes and it was a bleak outlook. With that she had changed her perspective of the matter. He fumbled the rope in his hand and said, ¡°As I made clear, this thing can handle at least a ton. If we can trip the thing then our chances increase quite a bit.¡± ¡°But you know how fast it is, how are you going to stop it from getting at you once you go for the sword?¡± Yandr¨¦ paused and chuckled slightly and said, ¡°Well¡­ I haven¡¯t figured it out that far yet¡­¡± Eria punched him in the arm and he wanted to protest, but then again. She had a point. ¡°Humour me then,¡± She said, ¡°Let¡¯s say you somehow get the sword out while the monster is still incapacitated, what then?¡± ¡°I stab it again?¡± ¡°Yandr¨¦! This is serious!¡± Eria exclaimed and he cringed before he dragged a hand through his hair. ¡°Okay, fine, we¡¯ll plan for that too then, that alright with you?¡± She nodded and Yandr¨¦ breathed a sigh of relief. Though¡­ she was right. If he had been alone, he would have winged it hoping for the best. And considering what they were up against¡­ well, it was probably smart to plan out ahead. So he fished out his updated map and started planning the mission with Eria. One thing was for sure. This was going to be most dangerous thing he ever did in his life. ---- Hope you all enjoyed it. I¡¯m still super curious to see what names you all come up with. Have a nice evening ;) (I''m looking for an epic name for the giant quilled beast. I would love to see the names you come up with. ;D) ? Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 6: The flawed plan * Chapter 6: The flawed plan ¡°This is stupid. This is stupid. This is so stupid.¡± Yandr¨¦ muttered softly, ¡°Agh! Why did I even think of doing this¡­¡± But everything he started thinking of dropping the plan, the fact would pop up. All of their food was gone. Their water supply too. The clock was on the move. Something had to change. Yandr¨¦ took a deep breath. ¡°Okay¡­ Let¡¯s do this,¡± He said loudly. ¡°Did you say something?¡± A voice called from up top. ¡°Shhh! It¡¯s bad enough trying this, never mind the idea of it coming early. So please be quiet, Eria.¡± He shook his head as the woman apologetically stared down. With a shrug, he continued to fasten the sturdy rope to the foundation of the column Eria was situated on. Luckily they had come prepared before this all started. Yandr¨¦ tugged at the knot and hoped the thing would be able to hold, even after adding another line and twisting it for strength. But it would have to do. There just wasn¡¯t time for systematically sneaking around trying to find food and water with the knowledge that just one misstep could cost them their lives¡­ No, this had to happen. Yandr¨¦ pulled at the second knot and signalled up to Eria that it was sturdy. The two ropes were strung taut between the columns. Now came the scary part. Yandr¨¦ slapped his cheeks a couple of time before he looked up to Eria, where she was preparing the other part of the plan. They exchanged a lingering glance and then he was off, to go lure the monster. His hand slid over the smooth rock as he slowly slipped around a bend. The growls of the quilled beast were all too present throughout the tunnels. But was worrisome, was the fact that there were periods of silence. Too long to be sure that it had not come closer too fast. It only made the tension in the air worse. If he bumped into the monster without knowing it was there, he was done for. It was way too fast to outrun without obstacles hindering its passage. And the closer Yandr¨¦ got, the worse those silent periods became. It was almost maddening. The fact that his headlight was more off than on, was grating his nerves raw. He slid around the corner and squinted into the dark, trying desperately to see if anything was there. His heart beat lifted up a notch. The seconds ticked by slowly and no movement shifted in the dark. After a minute, Yandr¨¦ relaxed somewhat, though, the terrifying moments that he faced around every corner was waging war on his mind. He slowly let his breath go and moved on to the next corner about twenty metres away. As he approached the corner to again start his sequence, a distant roar sounded. Yandr¨¦ jerked. It sounded at least a kilometre away! What, how? There was just no way¡­ No way that it could have moved that distance so fast. Yandr¨¦ almost groaned. If it was that far, it clearly moved far enough out of their area to breathe a little. But still, he wanted that sword! An audible groan finally slipped out of his mouth. Then from around the bend that horrifying clattering of quills echoed. Crap! Yandr¨¦ swiftly plastered himself to the cave wall and froze. The beast was right there. The sounds of its breathing stirred the air. The thought of having been heard drummed against his skull. If it came now¡­ Yandr¨¦ assessed his chances, thinking back on his trek through the specific tunnel. It only caused his heart hammer in his chest. There was no side passage for at least three hundred metres! Wet drops of sweat slipped down the side of his face, even though it wasn¡¯t warm at all. He had made a mistake¡­ All he could do was hope it didn¡¯t sense his presence. With as little movement as possible, he inched backwards, careful to test each step before making it. A minute passed and no movement. Yandr¨¦ slid back a few more metres. Still, nothing came. The next foot bumped a pebble and it scraped on the rock. Yandr¨¦¡¯s muscles pulled taut as he prepared to run. The cave remained silent and he moved around the bend. Within seconds, he moved as quick and silent as possible to get some distance between him and the monster. For a moment he considered luring the quilled beast right then, but one thing was certain, the tunnel had too little options. He needed to be closer to the intersection before he set in motion the next plan. A few minutes later the small hub came into view, it held only two alternative passages, but Yandr¨¦ didn¡¯t take either. He paused looking back into thetunnel he came from. From there on, it would be winging it for the most part. There would be no second chances if something were to go wrong. He took several deep gulps of breaths and cringed as he started to deliberately bang two metal clips against each other loudly. Okay, here goes¡­ Within seconds he could hear the roar and the clattering of the monster¡¯s quills as thundering footsteps resounded out of the tunnel. Yandr¨¦ flicked on his headlamp and ran down the closest passage, leading back to the place where Eria was waiting with the traps. His panting breaths came in quicker as he stormed down the path. He didn¡¯t even look back or worry about the monster not losing him. Instead, a gnawing worry was settling in him that it would catch up to him before he reached the trap. The reality of it was slowly creeping its way into his mind. Yandr¨¦ growled and pushed his body harder than he ever had. His arms flung in sequence as he powered himself forward. But still¡­ The almost deafening noise that the monster made, with its mad dash, came closer each step of the way. Yet just as the grunting breaths of thecreature were within metres of him, the familiar small passage that led to the crystal cavern came into view. He screamed into it as he ran. ¡°ERIA! Get ready!¡± At first, no reply came, and fear flared up inside him, but then a moment later Eria shouted back. ¡°RIGHT! GOT IT!¡± Relief washed briefly over himbut fled as he pushed himself to get to the trap before the creature got him. His legs were long since burning with the effort. A few seconds later the glowing cave came into view and he spotted Eria standing ready up top on the column, rope in hand. ¡°This better work!¡± He yelled at her. ¡°Duck!¡± Eria shouted and Yandr¨¦ desperately ducked as the air whooshed over him with a swipe of a claw from the creature. Off balance, Yandr¨¦ scrambled to get back up right, he glanced back and his eyes got wide as the monster slammed both of its powerful three metre long arms down at him. Instinct drove him to side step and he watched the rippling muscles of the monster¡¯s arms swing past him, crashing into thefloor with a loud bang. Yandr¨¦ didn¡¯t wait around. He ran for the trap at full speed and the lumbering steps of the creature right behind him. He jumped over the rope, hoping beyond all hopes it would work. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As he landed on the other side, he threw his head around just as the creature lifted its arm for another swipe at him. Then, the twin ropes hit the legs of the monster. Yandr¨¦ drew in a massive breath. The scene almost seemed slow. It was the adrenalin, he was sure. Creature lost its balance and Yandr¨¦ almost cheered when the first rope snapped. It whipped around with immense force and struck him in the side, sending him flying a few metres to the ground. Dazed and winded, Yandr¨¦ sat up coughing, trying to catch his breath. But fear quickly overpowered him. The rope had snapped! He flung his gaze over to the columns and to his relief the second rope had held and the monster hurtled down onto the rock floor with a loud boom that shook the ground. Yet it seemed only confused as it tried to prop itself up. Eria had been right. This fight was far from over. Yandr¨¦ gritted his teeth and got up. He was sure he had a cracked rib. But that was the least of his worries. In his head, he had planned to jump over the rope and as the thing tripped he would jump on its back to retrieve the sword. But the rope snapping had thrown all that out of the window. Eria¡¯s plan came into action now, though if it would work was the real question. He glanced up just as she pulled at the two knots that held the stalactite in place. It had taken hours to secure the ropes around it alongside using counter weights to make sure it would break off. He held his breath as Eria broke the hold of the counterweights¡ªtwo rocks¡ª and they immediately dropped. Nothing happened. Then the stalactite broke off from its base and in seconds fell down on the monster, just as it had gotten onto its knees. The sharp rock pierced the side of it, slicing into those powerful muscles like it was nothing. A piercing roar burst forth from the monster as it collapsed on the floor again. And with a few shudders and groans, it stopped moving. Yandr¨¦ hobbled over to it and eyed it nervously, the monster had haunted him since the first time he saw it. With more than a little reluctance, he approached it and finally tried to get onto the thing, but his broken rib was sending painful jabs inside his body, slowing his ascent to a crawl. Still, he climbed, even though Eria swung down from her perch and was already on the monster¡¯s back. Yandr¨¦ considered just stopping, letting Eria yank the sword, but the thing stuck fast and she grunted. ¡°Ahg¡­uumf, I can¡¯t¡­get it¡­out!¡± Yandr¨¦ groaned and finished climbing up the huge body of the quilled beast. He fought through the pain and approached Eria at the sword. Surprisingly, it looked as if the wound where he had stabbed the monster had healed completely except for where the blade was stuck in the flesh. The monster truly was an insane piece of work. It was fast, it was extremely powerful and it healed remarkably quickly. He shook his head and took the hilt of the sword in hand from Eria. But the moment, he yanked, a large amount of pain surged in his chest, and he dropped to his one knee gasping for breath. ¡°You¡¯re hurt¡­¡± Eria said, deep concern breaking through in her voice. He waved at her and coughed. ¡°I¡¯ll live, but damn¡­ that hurt.¡± ¡°What about the sword?¡± Yandr¨¦ eyed her immediately and said, ¡°After all that?! There is no way I¡¯m leaving the sword. You pull and I¡¯ll help as much as I can, okay?¡± He looked at where the entry point was, and an idea popped up. He pulled out a small utility knife and pressed some of the quills on the creature¡¯s back to the side, and dropped his knee onto it, to keep it from getting in the way. A paused a moment deciding where to begin and started cutting at tough skin that had healed. It was like cutting through bark. But he persisted until finally the knife slid through and he got to working it around the sword. It took longer than he expected, but a few minutes later Eria was able to yank the sword out, huffing at the effort. Yandr¨¦ eyed the huge monster, and chewed at his lip. He then made up his mind and asked, ¡°Give me the sword for a minute¡­ I just need to make sure.¡± Understanding washed over Eria as she nodded anxiously and handed him the sword. Yandr¨¦ walked over to where the broad neck of the thing was and shoved the sword into its skull. It took more effort than he expected, but it drove in after a few seconds. The impact sent another jolt of pain through him, but he soldiered through it. He turned to Eria, who was pulling out a few spines. She had the right idea. In such a situation, you got to use every tool available to you. He smiled briefly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we pulled it off.¡± ¡°I know right. Still, we need to be more careful¡­¡± She said while glancing at the broken rope and where he was holding his ribs. Yandr¨¦ wanted to make a joke, but he stopped, thinking of laughing with a broken rib. But he did say, ¡°I guess meat is on the menu?¡± Eria smiled warmly at him. ¡°Yeah, I guess it is. I¡¯ll get some dry twigs from the trees. How insane is this place¡­ Monsters and trees in caves. I can¡¯t wrap my head around it¡­¡± Yandr¨¦ nodded soberly as he eyed the crystalline cavern with its own little ecosystem. As Eria moved towards the closest brush, panic popped up in and he shouted after her. ¡°Oi! Eria! Whatever you do, do not piss off those fox-like fur balls with the long ears. They make insane amounts of noise.¡± The woman spun back, eyeing with curiosity, but he just shook his head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t really want to know. But I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± Yandr¨¦ dropped to his knees and started cutting out slabs of monster meat. He looked at the flesh and was glad to see it was red. Meat was meat. And in a survival situation, you can¡¯t always guarantee the next source of food. So he sliced away, taking enough for a few days. He stopped himself from chuckling as he realised that the thing could feed a small army. And in the case of the three-metre monster, it was absolutely true. Ten minutes later, as he sat back and pulled the sword out of the creature, a sudden ring filled the air. It wasn¡¯t loud in the truest sense, but it was high pitched, hurting slightly. He glanced at Eria to see if she could hear it too, and sure enough, she was holding her ears looking around anxiously. It was then that the light from the crystals started pulsing in constant beats. The ringing got a bit louder, but not dangerously so. Warmth enveloped his right hand and looked down immediately; only to see the blade of the sword start glowing and small mist-like particles pulsed away from the sword in a certain direction. He turned to sword away and still the particles flowed in only one direction. ¡°What is happening?¡± Eria asked from the side, having made her way over. Yandr¨¦ looked around and shook his head uncertainly. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. But I think we better grab everything and get back to Haven¡¯s Scar quickly.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Eria said, looking at the strange events. ¡°Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not something bad.¡± ------ Hi! Hope you enjoyed the read, I have some time this weekend, so the possibility of another chapter is there. But if not, I will add one again by Friday next week. And seriously, if someone wants to help proofread the stuff, I''d be so grateful. I''m busy working with my publisher to get my bigger story published, so it is kind of difficult at the moment. But anyhow, thanks for reading and thank you so much for taking the time to for it. Means a lot for me. As always, please feel free to provide feedback. With it, I can make the story even better. I''ll keep you updated on my main project. I''m super stoked! Have an awesome weekend everyone. P.S. Can anyone tell me why when I copy paste my post from a word document, that it throws it out in bold when I post it. Even when I try to unbold it in the edit, it throws it out as bold sometimes... It''s confusing, to say the least. Any suggestions how to fix this? ?Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 7: The Riddles of the deep Chapter 7: The riddles of the deep ~Emma Taylin~ ¡°Chief!¡± Yuki¡¯s distinctive yell echoed through the cave. Startled, Emma fell from her small tripod chair with a grunt. ¡°Chief!¡± The yell came again. Emma got up and looked to the tunnel the shouts were coming from. A frantic looking Yuki came running from the passage. Seeing her like that, made Emma take notice. Something was afoot. As the girl strode past her, Emma grabbed her arm and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yuki jerked as if she only then realized someone else was in the area. Her eyes were wild. ¡°Calm down, Yuki,¡± Emma tried again. The girl took a couple of breaths, her eyes closed briefly as Emma waited patiently. After a few moments, Yuki¡¯s eyes flashed open and she said, ¡°All the crystals in that cavern are sparking with light all of a sudden. It sounds like an electrical storm in there. All our equipment is going haywire. I need to tell your father!¡± Emma threw her gaze back to the tunnel that led to the cavern Yuki referred to. What¡¯s going on? Without looking at Yuki, Emma barked, ¡°His second in command is through the second tunnel to the right. Alan or maybe Selia might know where my dad is. If you see Forest, send him my way.¡± ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am,¡± Yuki stammered and ran off. A sigh escaped Emma. Sure she was the Chief¡¯s daughter, but ma¡¯am? That was a bit too much. She shook it off and grabbed her knapsack and set off to go investigate. There was no time for panic. Every minute counted. A hundred metres away from the crystal cavern, flashing lights filled the passage and loud popping noises reverberated through her. So much so that she had to steady herself against the wall. Unease settled on her. There was no training for this kind of situation¡­ But still, she moved forward. Rounding the corner she was met with chaos. Sparks flew all over the place. The crystal veins in the rock walls were lighting up like little suns, obscuring the view of the sea. Her hand flew up to shield her eyes as the closest crystal started flaring up. A sudden tremor sent her sprawling to the ground, her one hand digging painfully into the ground. A yelp escaped her lips at the impact. ¡°Emma! You alright?¡± A shout came from the passage behind her. She grunted and said loudly, ¡°Yeah.¡± It hurt getting up, but as she found her feet, Forest came jogging from behind, he stopped dead in his tracks as he took in the scene. But Emma cut it short. ¡°Forest, we need to get out of here. I have a bad feelin¡ª¡° The earth shook violently sending them both to the ground. What was worse, the lights from the crystals became so intense that they had to cover their heads while trying to brace for any debris as rocks came falling down, beating against them. The rocks lessened suddenly as she felt Forest move over her. All she could do was bite her lip. She knew Forest was taking the brunt of the damage and she could do nothing! Yet the shaking continued for minutes. Loud crashing bangs sounded all around them. The fear of being struck was real. Sobs escaped her as the tension in Forest¡¯s muscles lessened bit by bit, until finally, he dropped limply onto her, no sign of movement. ¡°FOREST!¡± She screamed in horror. Then there was silence. A pressing silence¡­ Further into the cave. ~Yandr¨¦ Skai~ ¡°It¡¯s no use!¡± Yandr¨¦ grunted in frustration. It just hurt too much to make the climb up to Haven¡¯s Scar so quickly. His ribs were sending all kinds of pain through him. Just breathing too deeply hurt. He eyed the entrance to the safe zone a ways up from him and sighed. Worry was painted all over Eria¡¯s face, who was hovering over him like a mother hen. But he waved her off and said, ¡°I know there are more of those quilled beasts out there, I¡¯ve heard their growls, and we only have so much rope¡­ But they weren¡¯t as close as the one we killed, so relax a little, we have time.¡± ¡°I hope you are right¡­¡± Eria said as she eyed him, ¡°If not, then we are in trouble.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait and see if my rib is just cracked or broken and hope that it¡¯ll hurt less if I have to get up there. I¡¯ll go search for water while I¡¯m stuck down here.¡± Eria stiffened and Yandr¨¦ lifted his hand in question, but the girl stayed quiet. It dawned on him then what she was nervous about and he smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. You know me, and if I hear anything out of sort then I¡¯ll come back.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Eria exclaimed, ¡°After all the narrow escapes the last two days, how can you be so certain you can run in that condition if something happens?¡± Her shoulders were squared and her stare was pointing daggers. Yandr¨¦ had been hoping to avoid that specific subject, but he just gave her an aloof shrug and said, ¡°It¡¯s me, so stop worrying. Do you need my lighter to get the fire started?¡± Eria shook her head. Stolen story; please report.¡°I have my own¡­ ugh, just be careful, okay?¡± He grinned at that, but Eria got an accusing stare before pointing at him as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t where your confidence in this is coming from, but get going.¡± She tossed him her two-litre water bottle. It was quite sturdy for a water bottle, but that¡¯s to be expected from the equipment needed in cave expeditions. Yandr¨¦ winked at her and was off to find water. It took a while longer to reach the chamber where he had heard the sounds of water. It didn¡¯t help that each unnatural sound that came every now and then, set him on edge. There was no way of knowing what else was out there. He just hoped that the predators of the deep were few and far between. As he reached the crystal cavern, the welcoming light was quite a relief to the dark tunnels where only his headlamp lit the way. The fear of never knowing when the quilled beast would show was somewhat gone and Yandr¨¦ was happy to be able to explore a bit. The love of caves had been hidden under layers of panic and fear the entirety of the last two days, but now bits of it started bubbling to the surface. He closed his eyes and listened. Many noises filled the air. After a few seconds, the sure sound of Banshee Foxes running close by became apparent. He shivered, every aspect of those nasty critters were etched into his brain, the look, the sounds of their movement and their horrifying screeches. If he didn¡¯t run into one again for the rest of his life, it would be too soon. He quickly cast his thoughts away from the foxes and listened what else might be deeper into the mysterious cavern. But nothing too loud came that was remarkable, so he set off into the underground forest. His initial estimate of the cave was off by quite a margin as it was more like three large caverns that converged into a big main one. Well, it was hard to make good judgements when constantly being hunted by a monster. It expanded out in the different directions, each section almost as large as the main crystal cavern. A shuffling noise startled him and a large cave rat came scurrying past. The thing would have quite a bit of meat on it. Though before Yandr¨¦ could fully inspect the thing he froze as a Banshee Fox came charging out of the brush. He hurriedly checked for any hiding places if the fox should see him and screech. But it was focused on the rat and soon disappeared. Yandr¨¦ grabbed at his heart as he let a whoosh of air. To think such a small cute creature could get him so worked up. He shook his head. It was madness. He opted for the exact opposite direction of the Banshee Fox and searched deeper in the trees. The sound of water seemed to come from the left expansion of the crystal cavern. His footsteps made little noise, though he wasn¡¯t as worried to catch something by surprise, but still, caution was absolutelynecessary in this cave. He lifted his waterproof digital watch and it was four in the afternoon. Which was quite jarring, time had gone by so slowly, yet Eria had been right, two days were almost done and dusted. As he explored, the sound of falling water became louder by the second, and as he turned around a pillar a big crystal stuck out of the ground, he jerked as movement flickered through his peripheral vision. But when he looked, his reflection was clear in the crystal. It looked almost like a mirror. Yandr¨¦ laughed at jumping at his own reflection. Though his laughing ebbed away the moment he walked around a massive pillar. There was a waterfall. Yandr¨¦ beamed wildly. Water! He ran as fast as he could and stuck a hand into the icy water. As he brought it to his nose and mouth, it smelled fine and he tested it with his tongue. Without waiting a second longer, he started gulping down fresh water with abandon. It tasted amazing and he sighed in delight. After drinking his fill, he set his sword on the ground and started filling up the two water bottles. It was a good find. If they had food and water there was a chance to find a way out. He used some water to clean his bruises and the few cuts he had. It was tedious and it stung, but that was to be expected. It had been a brutal couple of days. Grunts escaped him as he pulled his shirt back on, but gritted through it. The more he moved, the more it was clear it wasn¡¯t a broken rib, but maybe a cracked one. Still, it was going to take a while to heal. He hoped beyond hoped the other quilled beasts ¡ªout in the distant caves¡ª wouldn¡¯t come anytime soon. He couldn¡¯t run flat out with his rib in the shape it was. As he picked up the water bottles, a soft noise tickled at his ears. It was close by. But he didn¡¯t mind it too much, it didn¡¯t sound big. The twin two-litre bottles weighed him down a bit, though. And the grumbles in his stomach did little to distract him from his hunger. The thought of getting back to Eria flitted through him, monster meat or not, he was excited to chomp down on the meat she was preparing. His mouth watered. And as he decided it was time to head back, the noise came again. Yandr¨¦ turned and there stood a figure in pitch black armour with green lines between the layers. A mask covered everything below the eyes and a dark hood completed the look of the stranger. Shock lanced through Yandr¨¦ and he spun around to pick up his sword. He gripped the handle and swung it around in the general direction of the intruder. But no one was there. Breathing heavily and ignoring the pain that came with it, Yandr¨¦ cast his gaze to and fro looking for the stranger. But no sign was there that anybody had been there, except for a set of boot marks in the dust. Yet no footprints led away from that one single pair. A chill ran up his spine. This wasn¡¯t good. He needed to get back to Eria. * ?Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 8: A great stillness... Chapter 8 A great stillness¡­ ~Emma Taylin~ The chaos of the rocks ended in a deafening silence, one that bit at her ears. Emma coughed through the sobs that were wracking her body. Her shoulders heaved uncontrollably up and down. She couldn¡¯t see through the tears, but still she tried to see Forest. To see if he was alive¡­ Everything in her body shook at the raw fear of him having died saving her, it made getting out from under his limp body all the harder. But she managed. She spun around trying to see him, but it was all a blur. So her trembling hands slowly moved to where she last felt him. As her almost numb fingers touched him, there was no movement. Her breathing got haggard as she desperately tried to get the stones lying on top of his back off. The more she swiped, the more she realized what he had saved her from. It was too much. Her mind screamed that no one could have survived that. But her heart couldn¡¯t bear that reality. Not for a second¡­ She wiped at her tears, yet it only added dust to the wet streaks. It got worse, so she grabbed the collar of her shirt finally and wiped at her face. However, her tears didn¡¯t stop. There were no sounds. Not one apart from her sobs. Emma wailed into the cave, her keen piercing through that weight of silence. As desperately tried her best to ease the weight off of Forest¡­ her friend¡­ Hiro¡­ ¡°H-H-HELP¡­ please¡­ please¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± She shouted, still fearfully trying to get all the rocks and gravel off of him. Then a hand clapped over her mouth. Emma stiffened. It wasn¡¯t Forest. But instead of fearing for her own safety, she pulled forward and hugged herself to Forest, protecting his limp body. ¡°Get awaaay¡­ GET AWAY!¡± Yet a moment later, a familiar voice stopped her line of thought. ¡°Emma, lower your voice!¡± ¡°Yandr¨¦?¡± She asked loudly. A hand moved over her mouth and he said, ¡°Shhh. It¡¯s dangerous Ems. Wait¡­ is that Fores¡ª¡± Emma began to cry again, but kept her voice as low as she could through her sobs. ¡°Yandr¨¦, you have to help, I can¡¯t see if he is okay!¡± Everything got quiet as she heard rustling and a couple of noises she couldn¡¯t place. After a few seconds, a single word sprung out. ¡°Dammit.¡± Horrified, Emma almost shouted, ¡°What?!¡± A blurry hand drifted to her shoulder and settled on it. ¡°No.¡± Emma blurted. ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± ¡°Ems, quiet down. He is breathin¡ª¡° ¡°Is-Is he okay?¡± ¡°Let me speak will you?¡± Yandr¨¦ said exasperated, but a seriousness slipped into his voice. ¡°He¡¯s in bad shape Emma¡­ I don¡¯t know if we can save him.¡± ¡°We have to try!¡± Emma sobbed but did her best to keep her voice down. A cloth then dabbed at her face, getting the most of her tears and the dust. As she opened her eyes again, her vision had cleared. Yandr¨¦¡¯s face was close to hers, his eyes were intense, but with a warmth in them. Finally, Yandr¨¦ said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best Ems, remember, he¡¯s my friend too.¡± Emma just nodded, trying to be brave in the situation. She had always been borderline fearless. But the moment Forest¡¯s body went limp above her ¡ªin the rock shower¡ª it broke open doors she held closed for years. ¡°But listen, Emma,¡± Yandr¨¦ said sternly, ¡°Things are different this side, we are in danger.¡± Emma wiped at a stray tear, but then clarity of the situation started coming back. She looked up at the closed off cavern. ¡°Where is the sea?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ But Emma listen, we need to move him. We can¡¯t stay here.¡± Emma nodded, she didn¡¯t understand, but she was familiar with emergency protocols. So she blew out a deep breath and steeled herself. ¡°Okay,¡± She said, ¡°We have a forward base¡ª¡° Yandr¨¦¡¯s look silenced her, as he stare over her shoulder. ¡°This wasn¡¯t here when we came here. Maybe¡­ Emma, how far was the forward base? Tell me quickly.¡± ¡°A few hundred meters that way¡­ But what¡¯s going on Yandr¨¦?¡± She asked nervously, the way he kept glancing in all directions unnerved her. ¡°I can¡¯t explain here, Emma, trust me on this, we don¡¯t have that luxury. The base¡ª¡± A noise in a side cave made Yandr¨¦ jerk, Emma couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on. Yandr¨¦ gritted his teeth. ¡°We can¡¯t stay her¡ª Quiet!¡± He hissed as the noise became louder. It sounded like footsteps. Emma¡¯s eyes were wide when he hurriedly grabbed her flashlight and shut it off before pushing her down onto the ground and dropped down flat himself. She could hardly keep the fear down as he silently pointed to the other direction of the cave. Past the strewn about rocks from the earthquake, or whatever it was, two darkly clad figures ran through the massive cavern, only to pause to glance around, searching. Yandr¨¦¡¯s hand signals were frantic for her to stay quiet and down. It only brought panic to the situation. Emma blinked and looked back to the two people, but they were just gone. Her breathing intensified. Yandr¨¦ had made it clear they were in danger¡­ What was going on? His gaze drifted towards her, and she glared her questions into him. But instead of saying anything, he pressed his index finger to his lips. She could just nod. Slowly he got up and motioned that she stay down. Her first reaction was to get up, but the urgency in his eyes made her stay. She shifted over to Forest as Yandr¨¦ moved off silently. This was the first time she got to look at Forest since¡­ She shivered. The image was imprinted in her mind, him going limp above her. But the slight movement of his chest was enough to shine a sliver of hope. She bit her lip and tried to see where he was hurt. There was blood all over his shirt, hinting at what was underneath. Emma took a shuddering breath to keep off the tears that threatened to spill¡­ Be okay Forest¡­just be okay¡­ ~Yandr¨¦ Skai~ The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Yandr¨¦ held his hand to his chest. The aching had gotten worst since he had run to warn Eria of the stranger. But before he could reach the area which led up to Haven¡¯s Scar, a piercing wail filled the air. It sounded like a girl in great pain. The thought of Eria being in danger was enough to make him push his body harder to reach her. He didn¡¯t care about his ribs at that moment. But then within a minute it became clear, the wail came from a different passage. Yandr¨¦ had followed it to find the original cavern, the one he had not yet been able to get back to and there was Emma sitting over Forest. Yet now he was stalking in the direction of the now two strangers in their weird armor. Yandr¨¦¡¯s heart beat irregularly in his chest. It was as scary or even scarier than the quilled beast, if they were hostile. People were cunning¡­ they solved problems, where monsters couldn¡¯t. Although, he couldn¡¯t be sure as to if they were hostile yet. Yandr¨¦ tried his best not to grunt with pain as his muscles tensed the next moment when a voice filtered through the passage. -¡°Sam¨¦, where was that noise from?¡± -¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it stopped before I could get to you.¡± Yandr¨¦ held his breath as he leaned softly against the rock wall. -¡°You should have gone to scout immediately Sam¨¦.¡± There was a pause before the female voice said, ¡°I was distracted¡­¡± A questioning grunt followed. -¡°Fine, I saw a male at the waterfall, I was still deciding what to do¡­¡± -¡°Sam¨¦! YOU KNOW THE RULES!¡± A nervous whimper flitted through the passage. -¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Then the noise of hurrying footsteps disappeared further down the passage. Yandr¨¦ breathed in deeply. It sounded as if they were heading away at a speed. But¡­ what was worrying, was the fact that the female, Sam¨¦, had not followed the rules. The real fear of it being attacked on sight was not far from his mind. For a moment Yandr¨¦ wanted to follow them, but Forest being in the state that he was¡­ every second counted. He hurried back through the passage and within a few minutes found the cavern. As he reached Emma and Forest, he again looked at the now completely blood soaked right side of Forest. He grimaced, this was not good. The only chance Forest had was the forward scouting base Emma had talked of. His eyes darted back to the cavern and first glanced at the one the strangers disappeared through and then the one that led the complex of caves that led to Eria. She was probably freaking out by now. He had been gone too long. But with a sigh, he leaned down and said, ¡°Help me get Forest onto my back. We need to hurry.¡± Emma sat up startled at his sudden presencebut nodded a moment later. With her help the limp body of Forest was dragged up onto his back, the man¡¯s arms around his neck. Yandr¨¦ grunted as he forced himself up with the added weight of Forest. His legs burned on the upward press, but the real pain was in his side as the added tension was pressing against his ribs. The pain was horrible, but Forest was his friend and so he endured. ¡°Do you need help?¡± Emma asked the next moment. But Yandr¨¦ forced the words out. ¡°Just show the way.¡± * As Yandr¨¦ rounded the corner of a passage, the forward scouting came into view. It was more a row of smaller tents and two larger ones marked as housing emergency medical supplies, than a base. But Yandr¨¦ took what he got. He hurried into the closest medical tent and dropped Forest on the portable stretcher there and grunted holding his side. With a push to the side, he shoved a worried Emma a little back and grabbed a pairof scissors and cut Forest¡¯s shirt off of his back. The blood made it stick to wounds and Yandr¨¦ worried that they won¡¯t be able to tend to Forest¡¯s wounds. But with a little help from Emma, the shirt came off. The sheer amount of cuts and bruises stunned both of them into silent. Yandr¨¦ noted Emma trying to still the trembling that threatened to burst forth. His first instinct was to comfort her, but there were no two ways about it. Forest was in a bad shape. With a groan, he dragged his hand through his hair. But when he eyed Emma and Forest again, he set off to start treating the man as best as he could. It helped that everyone that signed up for the expedition had to be trained in CPR and field wound treatment. But even so, his nerves were taking a beating as he meticulously cleaned the worst of the open wounds. At least there were only two bigger than five centimeters. Though, that was a worry onto itself. They were bleeding away Forest¡¯s lifeblood. At least Forest¡¯s shirt had kept most of the dust and dirt of the event out. As he cleaned, he tasked Emma with dabbing the smaller wounds with disinfectant. The minutes passed slowly and the open wounds glared at them. Finally done with cleaning the wounds, Yandr¨¦ turned to Emma and asked, ¡°How steady are your hands at the moment?¡± Her gaze dropped to her hands and he held out his own. A frown formed on her forehead and finally she shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ yours look steadier Yandr¨¦.¡± A sigh escaped him. Emma was more precise than him in a normal situation. But it can¡¯t be helped. He steeled himself and took hold of the thread and needle. His hands threatened to shake as he brought it Forest¡¯s skin, but he quickly recovered and started closing the wound one bit a time. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it would prevent the worst of the scarring. Al his nervousness funneled into his foot as it tapped on the ground at a brisk pace. He feared for Forest¡­ but there was a real and pressing danger of what was moving around in these caves. If something came through that passage¡­ He shuddered and shook his head clear, his hands had started shaking. But with a deep breath, it steadied again. He eyed Emma to the side and she was already busy getting the stash of bandages and antiseptics from the sidewhen suddenly the tent flew open and figure entered. Yandr¨¦ spun around and grabbed the sword he had placed on the field table. Within seconds, he leveled it at the newcomer. Emma gasped and so did Selia who was standing in the door, but they were both staring at him wielding the sword. ¡°Whoa! Yandr¨¦, relax!¡± Selai uttered, raising her hands in a calming gesture. Yandr¨¦ breath whooshed out of him as he lowered the sword and placed it back on the table. As he glanced to the side, Emma had clearly been surprised by his reaction. He shrugged, there was no use telling them of the monsters yet¡­ He leveled his gaze at Selia and asked, ¡°Where are the others?¡± Selia¡¯s head jerked up from staring at the wounded Forest, a bewildered look on her features. ¡°Wait, where did you come from? We have beensearching everywhere for you and Eria! And what on earth happened to Forest?¡± Emma started sniffing to the side and then said, ¡°F-Forest saved me¡­ the earthquake¡­ r-rocks fell everywhere!¡± Her speech was broken through her tears. But the girl composed herself somewhat when she said, ¡°Yandr¨¦ found us afterward.¡± Selia was in thought for a second, but she looked to him and said, ¡°Forest and Emma aside, where have you been?¡± Yandr¨¦ didn¡¯t himself. It had been a puzzle from moment one. So he shrugged and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know myself. But as much as catching up is important, there just isn¡¯t time. We need to get Forest stable, and then we need to get to safety.¡± Selia looked poised to say something else when a growl from a quilled beast echoed in the distant. It sounded closer than last time. Yandr¨¦ eyed Emma. The girl¡¯s wail could cause some real big trouble. ¡°What was that?¡± Emma hissed. Their reactions to the chilling sound clearly warranted his immediate attention. Another sigh escaped him. He had hoped to leave this conversation off to when they were safe. ¡°Listen to me¡ª¡° ¡°It sounded like...¡± ¡°Oi! Listen, you two.¡± In a moment they spun back to him, to his relief. ¡°I¡¯ve been up against one those things that growled just now, and let me say this; If we don¡¯t hurry and get Forest patched up and move somewhere safe¡­ Falling rocks would be the very least of our troubles.¡± Emma hugged an arm around her middle as she glanced outside. ¡°What is out there, Yandr¨¦?¡± Selia leveled seriously the next moment. ¡°A monster.¡± Silence followed and Yandr¨¦ regarded the two before he went on the wrap bandages around Forest¡¯s entire torso. On the one turn, he turned to Emma and Selia and said, ¡°You two grab all the medical supplies you can find and stuff it in a rucksack. Get your sleeping gear, but keep it light weight. Everything luxury wise can stay for now. Oh and Selia, who assisted you in the coordination effort?¡± Selia paused, startled before she stammered, ¡°I uh it was Alan.¡± That was good. Maybe they would lucky. ¡°Did he bring his garlic in raw form like usual?¡± ¡°Yes, um why?¡± Yandr¨¦ sighed in relief. If they were to help Forest, they would all the field supplies they could get. Garlic happened to be a great antiseptic. He just hoped they could get it to grow in one of the light crystal caverns. Forest¡¯s healing was not going to be fast and the last thing he wanted to worry about was infections. The meager supply of antiseptic wouldn¡¯t have cut it. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± He said a few seconds later, ¡°But for now get that and get ready for leaving.¡± ¡°But what the others? Alan, Yuki, Emma¡¯s father? Shouldn¡¯t we get them?¡± Yandr¨¦ groaned, if they had to search for the others, the risk would just get bigger and bigger¡­ and he feared Eria too. Still, he nodded and said, ¡°Where were they last?¡± Selia got a confused look and said, ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know¡­ The passage they left through was in the direction of the waterfall, but I tried going there, but there is just a rock wall now. I don¡¯t understand how it happened? There should have been a big noise with that kind of cave in. But nothing¡­¡± Yandr¨¦ wiped a hand over his forehead, so it happened again. ¡°It was the same with me and Eria,¡± He said, ¡°One moment we were standing at the edge of the cliff looking at the camera and the next it was a rock wall and the other half of that cavern¡­ Can¡¯t explain it. But if what you said was true, then they are in different cave set than ours. There¡¯s no way we can get through to them from here if the tunnel to thewaterfall is blocked off.¡± His statement clearly lanced into the two girls as they started babbling. But there was no time to waste on trying to figure anything out, so he barked, ¡°Hey! Get ready! We¡¯ll figure all this out somewhere that is safe¡­ okay, Emma? Okay, Selia?¡± They stopped and both looked at him with uncertainty, before Emma nodded silently and moved off. Selia stayed a moment longer before she moved off as well. * Outside the tent, Yandr¨¦ dropped to one knee next to the skeleton with the armor. Without even the slightest hesitation, he picked up the scabbard for the sword he had. It was dangerous enough to have the thing, never mind having to carry it around without a holster. He fumbled with the belt and with a little pull, got it loose. It was a shame the armor itself was too big for any of them. Maybe with some time and the right kind of tools it could have been resized, but it wasn¡¯t to be today. After checking the tunnel to the others of the search team, it was indeed blocked off. He just hoped they got stuck on the right side of this madness. With a grunt, he got ready for the next part of the trip. At least with Selia and the portable stretcher, they could carry Forest together, unlike the previous go. He held his side. It was never his intention to push himself so hard after he had been struck. But things changed, and the presence of those two strangers complicated matters big time. He lifted the flap of the tent and inside stood Emma and Selia both with rucksacks on their backs. Emma even had an extra knapsack. The two had started to protest earlier about going away from the forward scouting base, but he then went on to the describe the monster that was roaring in the distance. The size was what silenced both of them. He hadn¡¯t wanted to scare them, but it was necessary at the time. Now they stood ready and he grabbed the one side of the stretcher with Forest on it and asked, ¡°You ready for this?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± But they took hold of the stretcher on both sides and he smiled weakly. It was better than nothing. The trek to Haven¡¯s Scar began. ?Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 9: New dangers Chapter 9 New dangers ~Yandr¨¦ Skai~ The weight of Forest on Yandr¨¦¡¯s shoulders and the accompanied pain of his chest made sweat pour over his body by the time they reached the edge of the first cavern. But his senses were trained elsewhere. And though Selia could be heard behind him and Emma in front, he rather listened for footsteps other than his companions, and he listened for monsters. It was clear that any great noise in these caves drew attention to the predators lurking in the shadows. It couldn¡¯t be helped, but it created a problem. They had to get back to Haven¡¯s scar in one piece, and only the girls were in a state where they could run if something attacked them. Even without Forest on his back, Yandr¨¦ had not allusions that he could run from anything at that moment. His chest hurt like crazy and each breath was laboured. Still he was glad. Glad that he and Eria wouldn¡¯t be alone in these caves. It was a little selfish, but the fact that more hands and eyes meant a better chance at survival was a welcome one in some strange way. What worried him though, was the fact that, that strange thing had happened again. It had expanded all the way from that cavern past the forward scouting base¡­ what it meant, Yandr¨¦ couldn¡¯t figure out. But he hoped within a hope that no more people would get stuck this side¡­ The tunnel opened up and drew Yandr¨¦ out of his thoughts. Emma moved around a pillar, but then she skidded back around it looking shocked. Yandr¨¦ steeled his features. They weren¡¯t alone. He softly padded closer and Emma looked out of breath, her eyes wide. Clearly what had scared her wasn¡¯t human. He nodded to her and peeked around the corner. Noises filled the air then. Crunching sounds. A frown settled over him as the thing came into view. It wasn¡¯t a quilled beast or a Banshee Fox and that was troubling to the extreme. Whatever it was, it was ripping large pieces out of the corpse of the quilled beast Yandr¨¦ and Eria had downed with great difficulty. It was almost the height of a black bear standing on all fours, but twice as long. And its sleek coppery muscles didn¡¯t look built for pure strength, rather for speed, which showed in the manner it was tearing at the dead quilled beast. The next moment it stopped with a jerk and swung its head to the side, hissing with menace as its lips drew back to reveal bloody teeth that looked wicked sharp. Yet what was most striking was the lack of any eyes. Yandr¨¦ pulled back. ¡°By all that is good¡­¡± He muttered while shifting Forest into a better position. A glance to the side revealed his scared companions looking to him with fear. It was their first encounter with something out of a nightmare. But he hardly knew what to say. His instincts were screaming for him to run. To get away. Even though it was impossible for him to outrun anything right then. With a grimace, he moved closer to the two. Selia spoke up first as she whispered. ¡°What is that? ¡± He shook his head.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ First time I see one of those. But¡­ I have a sinking feeling it has a great deal better hearing than the other types I have seen. So keep all sounds down to a minimum.¡± Emma nodded with her lip firmly between her teeth as she chewed at it. The problem was¡­ they had to get past that thing to almost the other side of the cavern to get to the tunnel they needed to take to Haven¡¯s Scar. ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Emma asked finally. He paused, wracking his brain for ideas that didn¡¯t involve having to move within a hundred metres of that monster. But the only thing they could do was try and get around it. The part that really got him though, was that Emma or Selia would possibly have to go first, to test the water, they had the agility to respond to a situation, whereas he¡­ He sighed, shifting Forest again. Nevertheless, he steeled himself to go first. But before he could take two steps to the right Emma¡¯s hand on his arm made him stop. He eyed her and immediately saw the resolve in her eyes. It wasn¡¯t ideal¡­ but he nodded after a slight hesitation. With a few measured steps Emma eased out in the open, and in the light of the crystal veins, her eyes were clearly shaking as she treaded the fifty metres towards the next pillar. The crunching from the carcass didn¡¯t lessen as Yandr¨¦ held his breath, before letting out as she reached the first cover. Selia went next without any urging from him, but he didn¡¯t mind, he¡¯d rather have them reach safety in the current situation. It was then that the crunching stopped. Emma frantically motioned for Selia to stay completely still as she stood in the middle of the clearing. All three of them looked out over to the eyeless beast. Its head was tilted to side as its human-head-sized ear stood up and twitched to the left to the right. However, with a moment of brilliance Emma picked up a rock and chucked it towards the opposite side of the crystal cavern. It clattered loudly against the wall, before coming to stop. Then, sounds like a blade cutting through grass erupted out of the creature and with a blistering move that frightened the party; it jumped twenty metres from the corpse in a single bound and ran the next thirty in five seconds. Yandr¨¦ stared in horror. There was no way¡­ just simply no way any of them could outrun that thing. It was at least twice as fast as the quilled beasts. And the quilled beast had been faster than them. He shuddered in thought of trying to outrun that thing¡­ The eyeless creature stood by the rock that Emma had thrown, its ears twitched in all directions as it listened for movement. The girls stared wide eyed at him, with Selia still out in the open. Their chances of getting through the cavern had dropped. But Yandr¨¦ tried to stay relatively calm for them. They needed to think every move out clearly from now on. Though, just before he could slowly make his way over to Selia, loud footfalls echoed through the one cave to the right. ¡°What now?...¡±Yandr¨¦ breathed softly. The day simply couldn¡¯t get worse. Out of that cave, a coppery blur burst out and landed close to the corpse. It was a second creature, the same as the one in the cavern. Panic filled him and he almost dropped Forest as his arms lost some strength. But a moment later, the first creature stormed the corpse, clearly aware of the other beast. It struck the one at the corpse with a great loud thud and they hissed and growled as the momentum sent them rolling into a pillar. They nipped at each other like they were not out to kill the other, but Yandr¨¦ didn¡¯t stay still to observe. He seized the opportunity immediately and through the noise dashed towards Selia, who realized his intention and ran towards Emma. They hardly looked back as they moved as fast as they dared while the two monsters rolled around the ground around the meat. As they reached the cave that led to Haven¡¯s scar, Yandr¨¦ looked back over to the monsters. His heart raced even though relief washed over him that they had stayed at the quilled beast¡¯s corpse. The weight of Forest on his back was no more than a slight hindrance now, the situation had changed now, and Yandr¨¦ bitterly admitted, it had gotten worse now. If they couldn¡¯t figure a way out or a way to get away from the monsters that lurked in these caves the chances of survival was going to be borderline impossible. He grunted, ignoring the stinging pain in his chest as he took the lead back towards Haven¡¯s Scar. Fifteen minutes later and out of breath, Yandr¨¦ rounded the corner to the dead end. In an instant, he dropped Forest to the ground as the last of the strength in his legs gave out. Emma was the first to run up to him and ask. ¡°Yandr¨¦!? Are you okay?¡± He panted, but managed a nod even though he kept his eyes closed. He fumbled with his one water bottle and took a deep drink. The cold water from the waterfall welcome as it slid down his throat. A minute later he opened his eyes and said, ¡°Up there¡­ Eria is up there. But don¡¯t call out¡­ It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± Emma looked to where he was pointing and nodded her understanding and to his surprise immediately started the climb up to find Eria. Yandr¨¦ sagged down, the day finally taking its toll. End of Arc One for the Side story.