Vance pulled himself out of the water and turned back to help Major Reeves but he had already climbed out. Both stood dripping wet.
“You sure he went this way? There are no arrows here,” said Reeves.
Vance noticed wet tracks ahead of him on the ground and pointed, “I guarantee it.”
“All right, then, push on.”
Vance continued walking along the water’s edge and the tracks, passing a small bridge. He noticed the entire area becoming black with what looked like soot and stopped. He aimed his light around and then saw writing on the wall. He laughed, “Very funny, asshole.”
Reeves stepped up and read the writing out loud, “SMOKE SHOP AHEAD.” He stood back and asked, “You understand that?”
“It’s nothing but Al’s failed attempt at humor and my love for cigarettes.”
“Very well,” Reeves said, raising his light to illuminate more tracks through the soot.
Vance followed along the path and the many tracks, past a small bridge to an open book on the ground.
Reeves knelt down and examined the book briefly. “This is quite an unlikely find. It’s handwritten in German and has a map,” he said, standing up. “It’s a...”
Vance cut him off, “Very funny again, asshole.”
Reeves glanced up and read the writing on the wall, “BEER NEAR.” Below that was another arrow pointing ahead.
Vance had his light on a large arrow below the writing. He aimed his light ahead and said, “Shall we push on and find this smart ass.”
Reeves dropped the book and quickly led the way, shining his light on the corner of a large, square pool.
Vance saw another arrow on the wall indicating to go around the corner so he led the way and began making his way around the sides of the pool. He continued down the next side and came across more writing. He stopped and read it, “DO NOT LOOK UP!”
“Oh, bloody hell,” Reeves yelled with shock.
Vance quickly pivoted around and saw Reeves with his light aimed up and a disgusted look on his face.
His reaction surprised Vance who shone his light up. He immediately jumped into the water. He surfaced and choked out a few unintelligible words, “Holy shit, damn, what the hell is that?”
“Dear mother of God,” Major Reeves said, aiming his light around
the ceiling.
Vance gathered himself and climbed out of the water. “Talk about reflexes,” he said embarrassingly.
“No worries, mate, I almost did the same.”
Vance’s heart was beating rapidly and he did the best he could to calm himself. He stepped to the next corner and read more writing, “SEE, I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK UP! HA! HA!” That seemed to calm his nerves.
Reeves read it and chuckled for the first time. It was obvious he did not want to laugh but couldn’t control it. He asked, “Is he always like this?”
That question made Vance laugh again and replied in an obvious lie, “No never, that is so unlike him.”
Vance continued to the next corner where the water entered another tunnel and he saw the rope tied to a spike in the ground and more writing. “JOIN ME FOR A DRINK?”
Vance leaned around the edge and aimed his light. He saw the tight rope and said to Reeves, “He’s too far along, I can’t see him.” He then yelled out, “Hey, asshole, you in there?”
Al heard Vance’s voice echo through the area and he pulled himself over to the side. He reached up to grab the edge but missed, due to the water velocity splashing up against him. He tried again and got it. He yelled back, “Where the hell you been?”
Vance saw the rope lighten up a bit and heard Al’s reply.
Al gripped the edge as tight as he could, turned his head slightly so the rushing water would not fill up his lungs when he spoke. “Do you have the rope,” Al asked.
“Yeah,” Vance responded. He stuffed the light in his belt, reached down and gripped the rope with both hands. He lifted it, taking in the slack and was just about to pull when he smelled something strong.
Reeves immediately said, “I smell gas.”
“Gas,” Vance repeated.
Reeves looked around with his light, “Yes, it is.”
Vance paused when he heard a slight hissing sound. Immediately he knew something was not right. He repositioned his hands and turned to see what Reeves was looking at. His light was up at the ceiling and in the mouths of the demon faces was a very dim blue light.
Al continued gripping the edge as he waited for the rope to tighten, pulling him back. Nothing happened so he yelled back, “Any day now, darling.”
Keeping his right hand tight on the rope, Vance asked, “What’s going on?” Just then, the entire ceiling lit up with burning-hot orange fire shooting out of the demons’ mouths.
Vance stood stunned for a brief second before the fire burst out. The heat smothered him completely and he reluctantly let go of the rope, jumping into the water.
Al was pulling his leg up when he felt the rope go slack again. He felt a rush of heat coming from the tunnel. He turned his head to see a fiery inferno. Flames were shooting through the tunnel coming towards him like a blast furnace. He gripped the stone with all his strength, watching the fire stop halfway through the tunnel. The intense heat burned his wet shin. He then saw the burning rope rapidly float past him.
“Oh, my God,” he said, realizing what had just happened. Now he knew why the area back there was covered in black soot. He watched the rope go past him and then suddenly the weight of the long rope pulled heavily on him like an anchor. He desperately reached to grab onto anything, realizing that tying the rope onto his waist was another mistake. He slapped the surface as hard as he could with his open palm, but his efforts were useless. The rope pulled back into the rushing water and he knew he was done for.
Underwater, the turbulence whipped at Vance. He was disoriented and he frantically grabbed at where the stone edge of the pool would be. If he didn’t find it, he would be sucked into the tunnel. Kicking and twisting, he continued to reach for anything he could grab. The fire was bright overhead giving him a sense of orientation. He needed air to breathe, but he had to reach the stone first. He could now see the edge appearing under the bright fire. It was right in front of him, but could he reach it? He kicked and kicked but the powerful water pulled at him. He knew this was it as he felt the turbulence pull him in. He kicked with all his might and stretched out as far as he could in one last desperate attempt to save his life.
The tip of his fingers hit something solid. Got it! He kicked and reached for the edge with his other hand. With both hands solidly planted, he reached for the upper edge and grabbed the spike that held the rope and pulled his head up. His mouth reached the surface and he sucked in fiery hot air burning his face and lips. He dropped his head back down as the flowing water splashed over him, his fingers now burning raw, but he held on. He was in shock and his lungs were burning from sucking in fire. Suddenly the bright orange glow from above subsided and he pushed his head up and breathed deeply. It was painful but it was air. With his head above water, he continued to fight the water current and carefully pulled himself closer to the edge. If he pulled too hard, his fingers would slip off but they held tight.
The fire now engulfed only the ceiling and the demons like a suspended blanket of orange, red, and blue. The water felt like it was boiling him alive but he could take it. He stretched his head to the right to see Reeves but he was nowhere to be seen. His eyes looked right and left and as he searched for him, the light from the fire began to dim. He reached for the rope and it was not there. As the fire faded, the area again sank into darkness, so he reached for his light. He opened his mouth to yell out a profanity to Al and he felt the skin on the sides of his mouth tear. He tasted blood pouring from his burned skin and now realized that his gasp for air badly burned him. If that was not bad enough, he then tasted and smelled singed hair dripping down his face. He heard Reeves painfully utter, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Vance responded, trying not to move his mouth too much. He pulled himself over to the edge. “Oh, God,” he said, knowing that he should not have let go.
After a few seconds, waves of pain began to surge through his head and arms as his resistance to pain took a vertical plunge. He twisted to see Reeves and he was lying on the steps, his torso half into the water. He was badly burned and Vance knew it was now up to him to get them out.
Slowly but surely Vance assisted Reeves and they both limped away from the fire-breathing demons, through the castle and to the shaft. Vance tapped his mic and called down for help.
Once pulled up and as the medics began working on him, Vance punched in a message to Ed informing him that Al was fast flowing in the water channel. He hit the send button and passed out as the morphine kicked in.