Page 44 of Truth
“This is going to be slippery as fuck.” Sterling groaned.
“Would you have rather drowned?” Michelle countered.
He Ignored her, “I’ll go first.”
“Michelle, follow Sterling. Liberty, you go after her. I’ll close in the back.” Oak instructed.
Sterling climbed up the stairs, not slipping once despite his previous complaint. He pushed his body through and disappeared. When we could no longer see him, Michelle followed. I waited as long as possible to go until Oak nudged me and promised he would be right behind me.
I pulled my body from the water, my clothes wet and heavy against me, nearly pulling me back down from the weight. My insides burning with pain as lightening struck through my center. But I had to keep moving. I placed my foot in the first foot hole, then the next, and I continued until I was halfway up and Oak was close behind me. The tunnel was a tight fit, causing me to be claustrophobic, making me breathe heavier and fight against the feeling of the walls caving in. Just when I thought I might not make it through, Sterling reached down, helping me out before wrapping his arms around me.
We waited for Oak to climb out before we braved a look around. “It’s – it’s almost like a dungeon up here.”
Whereas below us were rough rocks and natural formations, up here were cobble stoned floors and perfectly arched doorways. We were definitely in a designated room, but designated for what? Well, I didn’t want to spend the extra time here to find out. I grabbed the closest hand to me for strength, then walked through the arch.
Each step we took echoed through the deserted hallway, every pound of our foot on the stone announced our arrival, yet nothing came. As we blindly walked through the unknown, not a single thing came after us, looked for us, attacked us. We continued walking, avoiding the spider webs and clusters of insects.
Michelle stepped a little closer to me, “This place is eerie.”
I seconded that, feeling the eeriness rub against my skin. The air was heavy with it, making each step feel like walking through sludge and each breath nearly stifling. But past all of that, I felt it. I felt the soft vibration of magic, trying to go unnoticed, the soft breath of it against the back of my neck. I stopped, listening to its call just like Lenin had taught me.
“There is something here.” I announced.
Everyone stopped, turning around and looked, before Oak stated, “I feel it. A little bit of a hum.”
Another shock went through my core, causing my eyes to water. Shit, I really should have sat this adventure out. I knew it, but I also knew that I wouldn’t allow them to go on without me. I had to prioritize others before myself, even if doing so was becoming physically painful.
Sterling watched me, “We need to get the fuck out of here, soon.”
I knew they knew exactly what was happening. Even if they hadn’t addressed it with me. Maybe that was why they kept Justice in the States and sent Ellis with Lenin. Justice wouldn’t be able to resist, and Ellis, with his ability to sense feelings, probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. Still, I couldn’t agree more. We needed to get out. Soon.
“How much time do we have?”
Oak looked at his watch, “Twenty-four minutes.”
Only twenty-four minutes? Where had the time gone? Hadn’t we just gotten down here? Though I knew we lost a lot of time actually traveling and getting to the location, and then roaming through the caves, I hadn’t thought we lost that much time. It felt like only twenty minutes had passed, not three hours.
“This place is warping our time.” I mumbled.
“What?” Oak and Sterling both looked at me, confusion apparent.
“We have twenty-four minutes. We started with hours on the clock. That’s the magic that she plans to defeat us with! If time gets warped, we get turned around. We may never leave; we may never escape this place.”
“I think you’re right. We need to find the people and get out of here. Stick together and do not get separated.”
Like I would separate myself from these three. Fuck no. I wasn’t going over five feet from the fire in Michelle’s hand. “We need to find the force of magic and break it.”
It wasn’t like finding it would be particularly hard in theory. We are in a hall, no windows, no doors. Just archways. And dirt. And cobblestones. Nothing but earth around us. Moss. Bugs. Webs. I did my best and prayed that this round there were no bats and massive spiders.
Taking my palm, I ran it along the wall as we walked down the endless hallway. The magic hummed under my fingers, but there was nothing great enough to scream at me to stop and listen. Nothing that told me the well of all magic was coming from that point, and that point alone. Nothing to stop the time from ticking away and breaking the moments that were being stolen from us.
“How much time?” I asked.
“Nine minutes.” Oak’s voice sounded strangled.
How? How had fifteen minutes gone by in what felt like two?
“I don’t think we are going to make it.” I admitted, and it broke my heart to say it out loud, but it was true. I knew that as a unit, we would be fine. We would make it out through the portal that Oak’s necklace opened and be back home within the hour. But for the people trapped down here? How much time did they have? How much of their lives had already been wasted with no one searching for them?