Before I could even think about it, my feet were moving. The first thing I noticed was how much darker it was inside the tunnel, and colder. Running down the narrow, grey tunnel behind the others, I could hear the heavy sound of rushing water somewhere further ahead.
I checked my map, watching the little dot of myself inching along the passageway. The map showed water ahead, and sure enough, as we rounded a sharp twisting corner, the floor opened wide into another cavern. The crisp, gleaming water was abruptly before me, roaring past my feet with such force that I stepped hurriedly away from the edge.
“This way,” Brazin urged, leading us on to the next tunnel. The air felt even thinner and I fought the urge to panic. I officially hated caves, the sensation of the walls pressing in, and the endless darkness hiding imagined evils. Except in this case, they were not imagined. If I ever got out alive, I would literally kiss the desert sands and never step foot underground again.
I stopped for a moment to draw in a breath, my chest tight, while the others raced ahead. That was when the walls around me exploded suddenly inwards. I dove backwards, hitting the hard ground with a force that knocked the wind out of me. My hands covered my face, my ears ringing from the sound of stone hitting stone. When the sound of falling rubble ceased, I clambered shakily to me feet, staring at the tunnel in dismay. The tunnel had closed over with debris, blocking me from the others.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I choked in disbelief. I scrabbled uselessly at the debris. There was a gap at the top where it was possible I might be able to squeeze through, but I didn’t know if I could climb up there, or how stable it was. Honestly, why me? “Hello?” I called hoarsely, afraid to call too loudly in the echoing darkness. No one hollered back, not one syllable in the eerie silence. The lights on my side of the tunnel flickered uncertainly; giving me a brief taste of how pitch black it would be if they stopped working. “Don’t you dare,” I threatened the lighting. I would literally die of fright if they went out. I just knew it.
Then things got rapidly worse. I stared in horror as thick acrid clouds of white began rolling out along the ground, coming fast towards me. My nostrils flared at the stinging smoke and I recoiled, throwing my arm over my mouth as I backed away. It seemed to be coming from every direction, climbing the walls, reaching out to touch me. A sound behind me made me freeze. Slowly I turned my head and there, out of nowhere, stood a figure. A ghostly, white, pointed face stared at me from behind some sort of protective mask. It sprayed another plume of white smoke, its grey clothing almost identical to the colour of the cavern walls. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I realized we’d probably just ran right past him without noticing.
Black, narrow eyes observed me in an empty soulless way that terrified me more than the fact that he was descending on me. Fast. I stood frozen with fear, my mind chugging slowly and uselessly for some plan of escape. At the same time, the clouds of powder hit me. Gasping, I drew in a lungful and doubled over choking. My need for air paralysed me. I watched though streaming eyes, my heart thumping in fright as the Abwarzian moved towards me. Fast. I turned away from him, frantically pushing with all my energy at the rubble. Nothing. I coughed violently now, not daring to look behind me as I pushed harder at the wall. I felt a whoosh of air behind me as the Abwarzian reached out to grab me. My powers kicked in instinctively, a hot flare of power before my mind could catch up, or even think about using the gun. The rock rose off the ground, hovering in front of his startled face for a moment before I slammed it into his skull. He fell promptly to the cavern floor, his eyes rolling back into his head. Trembling, I lowered the rock to the ground then crouched down beside him, my heart banging around like it was about to jump out of my throat and make a run for it.
Hesitantly, I reached out and touched him. His skin felt just like mine. Feeling for his pulse I was relieved to feel it still beating, slower than a Comian pulse, but beating all the same.
His mask had slipped and I stared transfixed at his face, curiosity getting the better of me. His hair was dark and long, tied in a knot that fell down his back. With a shock, I realized he looked about the same age as me. In a state of unconsciousness, he didn’t look so threatening. His features were strained with fatigue, his young body malnourished and bony. I struggled to unite the depictions of Abwarzians we’d learned about at school, with the young man lying in front of me now. Yet I had to restrain him. He was here, after all, mapping out our source of survival for his world to plunder. That was just not okay. Pulling his skinny wrists together, I secured them with a pair of shackles pulled from my belt.
Something grabbed me from behind. Before I could even scream, I felt myself being lifted high into the air, above the fallen wall, through the gap, then rapidly descended down onto the other side. I hit the ground with a thud, rolling before I came to a stop. Flipping over, I came face to face with Mekai. A scream escaped me before I could stop myself. His eyes were closed, his leg twisted in a strange angle beneath him.
“Mekai!” I cried, scrambling over to him. Relief flooded me as his eyes fluttered open.
“M’okay,” his voice slurred as he tried to sit up. Groaning he fell back down. “My leg... Twell, you have to watch out, something’s not right...the trainer...” his voice twisted in fear, his eyes were glazed over in pain.
“What happened to you?” I was horrified. How had he managed to help me with a mangled leg?
“Thrown,” he murmured. His skin drained paler white as I watched his face. He grabbed my wrist, his features taut with distress.
“Where are the others?” I tried to stifle the panic from my voice, as I glanced around us for signs of life.
“I don’t know,” he moaned, his eyes glazed with agony. “The tunnels collapsed, and we got separated, but he found me. You have to get out of here...I think it’s you... you’re in danger...” he struggled to sit up again, then cried out in agony, his eyes rolling back in his head. I didn’t know what he was talking about. We were all in danger, but I knew he needed help and fast. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and it was clear his leg was broken.
“It’s okay Mekai, I’ll get help.” I reached for his necklace and squeezed the pendant. I don’t know what I expected, but there was no sound, no indication it had alerted anyone anywhere. I kind of wished we’d checked them out first before heading off into mortal peril and all that. Mekai sighed, letting his head loll back. I felt for his pulse. It was weak but steady.
“You have to get to the others...to safety,” he urged, barely audible.
“Definitely not! I’ll stay with you until someone comes,” I insisted squeezing his hand.
“No...it’s not safe, please go Twell...please go. I’ll be okay.” I hesitated. I was really worried for him, but help was coming, and the longer I stayed here the more likely it was that an Abwarzian might pop up, and I didn’t know if I could defend us both. I stood up and thought for a second. There was a clump of fallen cave wall where I thought I might be able to prop Mekai, concealing him from anyone he didn’t want to find him. Mekai was unable to stifle a cry of pain as I lifted him with my powers, carefully stashing him behind the rocks.
“Stay there and I’ll find the others,” I ordered as if he was going to crawl off somewhere. Giving him one reluctant last glance I crept away in what I hoped was the right direction. Pulling the laser gun from the holster, I held it shakily in front of me with two hands as I walked. My rapid breathing gave away my fear, and I wondered what I was more afraid of, the weapon itself, or the person behind it.
I’d gone no more than twenty lengths, rounding a sharp corner, when I found myself face to face with another alien. We both froze, gawking at each other in shock. The girl’s eyes held a fearful uncertainty that mirrored my own, her chest heaving for breath as tears streaked down her cheeks. She was dirty and banged up, her long dark hair falling out of its plait, hanging wildly around her bruised narrow face. Opening her mouth, she poured a torrent of frantic babble that was as confusing as her frightened expression. I took a step backwards from her, unable to comprehend that she, too, was the barbaric, bloodthirsty threat I’d been preparing for. She stepped towards me, her eyes growing wider in desperation. I backed up in total panic, unsure what to do. She looked my age as well, but her eyes held a hopelessness that was more foreign than her appearance. She waved her hands about as she shrieked at me. In one fist, she was clutching a weapon I didn’t recognize, but scared the wits out of me anyway. In the other hand, she held a device with a small screen. It was either a communication or mapping device. Either way, it was trouble. Using my powers, I yanked her weapon and the device from her startled hands, into my own.
She stopped babbling, her mouth falling open in shock. Falling to her knees, she cowered before me, her hands held up as she shook with surrender. Meanwhile, I was trying to work out how to bind her wrists without a fight. I couldn’t hurt her, she was as scared as I was, misery etched over her small sharp features. She didn’t want to be here either. I couldn’t blame her, the décor sucked. Shuddering slightly, I levitated her weapon high up to the roof of the tunnel, wedging it in a crevice, way out of reach. Or at least I hoped it was, who knew how climbey they could be. I levitated the other device into the air. The girl gave a short scream, her hands flying up in horror as I dashed it into the cavern wall, smashing it to smithereens. My heart thumped uncertainly as I unclipped another pair of shackles and grabbed her wrists.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her uncomprehending ears as her eyes widened with fear. Reluctantly I pulled out my gun and pointed it at her, indicating for her to stand.
She clambered to her feet, eying me mistrustfully as I pushed her in front of me, down the next tunnel. Her breathing was frantic, her whimpering soft, filling me with inexplicable guilt. Suddenly I heard shouting, both Comian and foreign, towards the end of the tunnel ahead. I pushed the girl again. “Stay,” I commanded, hoping my tone conveyed my meaning. I didn’t want to drag her into more trouble than she was already in. Moving cautiously to the edge of the tunnel, I peeked around the corner.
Mira stood in the centre of a wide opening of cavern before me. She was fighting not one, but two Abwarzians, somehow managing to fend them both off while screaming and cussing her lungs out at the same time. The girl was fast becoming my hero, I mean, her hair wasn’t even messed up, how did she do that? They were much older than us, maybe the leaders. Their faces were harder, colder than the younger generation, and they were not afraid. Their narrow eyes glittered with the hatred we’d been assured they possessed, the black, or the white of the truth. I watched, my heart racing, as the oldest looking one shot at Mira with some sort of energy similar to Mira’s powers, nimbly dodging the furious blasts of electricity she was throwing at them. The other one was just getting up from the ground, clearly recovering from one of her electric shocks. I watched in horror as he advanced behind her. She couldn’t see him coming, I realized.
Without hesitating, I ran into the battle. Throwing my powers out, I hit the man as hard as I could. The force knocked his legs right out from under him, and he hit the ground with a resounding smack as the air whooshed from his lungs. He gasped for air, momentarily incapacitated. What was I supposed to do next? Did I need to knock him out? Maim him? I hesitated, for a brief second until the sight of the furious Abwarzian climbing back to his feet snapped me into action. Reeling my powers outwards I felt them take hold of him, jerking him off his feet, throwing him with force against the hard cavern wall. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch, bouncing off and landing heavily at my feet. I jumped back in trepidation, but his form was still. Tentatively I moved over him, noting in relief that his chest still rose up and down.
“Twell!” Mira screamed as the other Abwarzian danced dangerously close to her, “Keep going! I’ve got it from here.” I had a very bad feeling I knew what her idea of taking it from here meant, and it didn’t involve mercy.
“No, we stick together!” I shouted back, running to her side despite her furious expression. Her eyes flickered to me for a second before they whipped back to the Abwarzian, continuing to fend him off, her hair flying as she tried to predict his moves, deflecting his blasts with her own hands. “Keep doing that while I try something,” I whispered. She nodded slightly while keeping her eyes firmly on the Abwarzian. His expression was frighteningly blank as he edged persistently closer, waiting for an opportunity to slip through her bolts of power. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to focus on him as he circled and danced around us. It was much harder to grasp an object that wouldn’t keep still. With all my might, I threw my powers a little ahead of the man as he dashed in towards us, once again feeling them wrap around him. He bellowed in surprise.
“Now, Mira!” I shrieked as I pulled with my powers. He came hurtling at us. Mira threw herself at him with a piercing yell. Colliding mid-air, they went crashing to the ground, my heart leaping in my throat as Mira landed heavily. The Abwarzian moved on top of her in a flash, his features suddenly awakening with a chilling viciousness that left no doubt of his intentions. Mira let out a furious roar of retaliation as she placed both hands on his chest. The level of energy she shot into him lifted him straight off her, throwing him a good distance before he collapsed in a heap. Mira raced at him, hands ready, but it was unnecessary. He laid unmoving, eyes closed. A darker blood than our own seeped out from his head. For one moment I was terrified she’d killed him, until I heard him emit a faint groan. Mira turned back to me, her chest heaving, her expression victorious.
“Twell, thank you.” She actually smiled, the first smile I’d seen her attempt since Chaz had died. I tried not to read too much into it as I grinned shakily back.
“Let’s go find the others,” I suggested, looking around me all the while, my senses in overdrive.
“No, you go,” Mira said immediately. “I’ll stay here with the prisoners.”
“Mira...,” I began, my voice hesitant.
“I won’t kill them, okay.” Mira read the uncertainty in my eyes. “Unless I have to.”
“Okay.” I gave in. Then I remembered the girl. “I have another prisoner.” I ran back to the tunnel, to the place I’d left her. She was gone. Oops. I ran, faster than I’d ever run in my life, the muscles in my legs burning like never before. My hair came loose, flying out around my face and into my eyes, but still I ran on without stopping. I’d stuffed up badly and I had to find her. I was pretty sure I’d gone back exactly the way we’d come, but the cavern walls were indistinguishable, pressing in on me in my panicked mind. After a while, I felt hopelessly lost and increasingly frustrated. Where had she gone? The lights were barely glowing in this cavern, and I struggled to see very far ahead of me. I slowed to a trot, struggling to catch my breath, looking at my wristband to try and work out where I was.
Around the corner, on my screen, was a dot matching my own. It moved steadily towards me, one of us. Breathing a sigh of relief, I rounded the corner, running smack bang into someone tall and broad. My instincts that I was in danger kicked in a fraction too late.
I tried to cry out, but my voice stuck in my throat. I stood frozen, rooted to the spot in fear, unable to see his face in the dark. It seemed like I watched in slow motion as he drew back his fist and punched me full in the face. My neck snapped back, the force throwing me backwards against the tunnel wall. I heard a sickening crunch, and was vaguely aware that it was my own head splitting open as I slid down the wall. Stunned, I glanced dazedly up as the huge, black figure crouched down in front of me, his face level with mine. I watched in horror as the dim light hit his features, and I met the eyes of my enemy.