Underground
1904 Words
Cold air embraced us as we ventured through the stony path. Torches lined up the walls, which gave us a faint light. Everything was silent once again except for our footsteps.
“Can we rest here for a while?” I gestured towards the nearest wall.
“Sure, but we can’t stay here for long,” she warned.
I stared at the brick wall for a long moment. My mind wandered around the general and the people of this place. I grabbed my shaking shoulders as the cold air pulled me back to reality. Girly helped me embrace myself.
“What are you doing?” I pulled away from her grip.
“I thought you needed more body heat, it’s the least that I can do for saving me back there,” she explained.
“I’m fine,” I declined. “You should save some for yourself.”
“At least take my cape to cover your shoulder.”
“Fine, happy now?”
“I never knew that you were so crabby.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Anyway, I just want you to know that I am also here for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, do you want to do something fun? It might help increase our body temperature and our ability to think.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t want any part of it.”
“Do you want to do it, anyway?”
The question put me off guard. I never thought she could be this upfront with me, but I cannot take advantage of the situation or was she taking advantage of me? My heart rattled like maracas as her body got closer to me.
My mind became blank, and I went for it. Her lips were as soft as marshmallows and her face was as gentle as the morning sun. I felt her hand roaming all over my place. Instantly, I pulled myself away from her. My body automatically reacted, and I clumsily stood.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” I struggled to regain my footing.
“It’s okay, maybe some other time then?” Girly looked dazed.
I ignored her reply and continued walking ahead. Suddenly, she crept up behind me, then grabbed my arm. I sighed and my body reacted on its own again. I pulled myself away from her and kept a safe distance. What has gotten into her? I rejected my innate thoughts as I tried to focus on the path.
Silence was my better companion as we walked along the straight path. I heard footsteps sluggishly follow behind me. Finally, we reached a room lined with pipes and valves. I think this is where the cold air was coming from.
“Sorry for reacting earlier, but I have nothing against you,” I finally spoke.
“I understand. Don’t worry about it,” she went on ahead of me.
Ouch, said my heart. I ignored my inner demons and followed her. Suddenly, the pipes creaked loudly around us. They hissed like snakes in pain before letting go of their interconnected bonds. Cold air blasted against the walls, and it froze them solid.
Girly grabbed my hand and pulled me to the next room. After closing the door shut, dark blue icicles formed on the its surface. This room that we ran to had a fireplace with recently lit fire. Books lined up the walls along with miscellaneous stuff.
“Someone must have been living here. Hello?” Girly called out.
“Are you seriously trying to kill us?” I hissed at her.
“I think that maybe someone could give us directions out of here.”
“Great. What if this person leads us back to the general?”
“We’ll be fine. Besides, if someone tries something, our weapons will do the talking.”
I deeply sighed as we waited for the owner of the room. Moments later, an elderly woman appeared behind one of the bookshelves. She wore thick animal rags on her body and boar tusks as a crown. Her face looked vicious and ready to kill.
“What brings you here, children?” A sweet voice came out of her mouth.
“U-uhmmm… Well, y-you see…” I stuttered.
“We are lost. Can you help us find a way out of here?” Girly took over.
“Certainly, I am glad to help. Let’s see… Where did I put it?” Her hands searched the room.
“Let us help. It would be faster that way.”
“Thank you, deary.”
“What are we looking for, exactly?” I asked, avoiding eye contact.
“I know that I have hidden it here somewhere. It is inside a thick book. I think it is as old as little old me. Please help me find it,” she let out a cringy smile.
“Your room is so full of it, how will we know which one it is?” I still avoided eye contact with her.
I got no response. Instead, a new message appeared, notifying us of our quest. Great, another ambiguous one. I could really use a cheat code on this one. The once small room suddenly expanded. With little to go on, I picked up the books at random.
“Any luck?” Girly scooted over to me.
“Nope, even if we ask that old hag, we will get the same response,” I flipped some books. “How about we check the upper shelves? I will give you a boost.”
She nodded, then I became a human footstool. She would direct me across the room when she finished searching one area.
“Hey, I think this is it,” she hopped off.
“What are you waiting for? Give it to the old hag,” I urged her.
She happily obliged as she handed to it her.
“Ahh, it is this one. Thank you for finding it for me. My back is aching from all the searching. Let’s take a seat, shall we?” She sluggishly walked to her seat.
“You have successfully completed this quest. You have received some experience points and Garnets,” a message appeared.
She told us a story, “Forgive my poor manners, my name is Mirana. I have been a faithful servant to the kingdom since its fiftieth founding anniversary. When the monsters invaded the place, I hid inside this room. I barely made it with my remaining magic.
“I cannot look myself in the mirror after sealing this place. You see, when someone loses their powers, the user loses his or her life. But I saved myself somehow. I have created some herbal medicines to keep me going.
“But lately, the ingredients for making this were getting harder and harder to acquire. If you could bring me six Dried Poisonous Leaves from Ivory Flowers and six Yellow Rooted Gingers found in Royal Gardens, I will give you something that might help you get out of here. The east bookshelves will lead you there.”
Suddenly, the east wall tremored. It led the way to a garden full of monsters. The once lively flowers were the creatures wrecking havoc. They were decaying and emitted black poisonous spores. They were very aggressive and agitated.
Girly launched a missile at one of them, but it got eaten. I was waiting for the explosion, but no sound came out. I tried slicing some of its leaves, but I only ended up tickling it. A single slap from them was enough to make us unconscious.
We retreated to Mirana’s room to recover ourselves. I attempted to pull one of the books, but they were just paintings now. The icicles from the door were getting longer as time passed. I broke some of them, then walked out of the room.
“What are you going to do with those?” Girly asked.
“I want to try something. Come with me,” I gestured her to the garden.
We hid behind the bushes. I waited for the plants to open their mouths before throwing the icicles at them. It froze them in place while some of them vomited deadly spores. It was our time to strike. We launched our attacks, and they broke easily. We got half of what we needed.
Finding the gingers has proven difficult. It got suddenly dark after beating the monsters. We split up in search of them. Then, I heard sudden movements beneath the ground. They would stop momentarily, then move again.
“Hey Girly, do you hear that?” I whispered to her.
“Hear what?” she focused for a moment, “Oh, that…”
“Ready your missiles. I will give you a signal when the sounds stop,” I placed my ear to the ground.
“Okay.”
Seconds later, the movements stopped. I pointed Girly to the north part of the garden. She aimed her attack at the direction I pointed, then ginger creatures came jumping out. Before they could return to their burrows, I activated my second skill, Cross s***h.
Crescent green shock waves blasted at them. The monsters dropped yellow five-pointed gingers. We have completed the list of ingredients and returned to Mirana. She happily accepted them. Then another message surfaced, testifying to our achievement.
“Thank you for gathering them for me. Now, I have a lifetime supply of youth! As promised, here is a map that will help you get out of this place. I hope you make it out of here safely,” she waved us goodbye.
The west wall gave way, and it was the starting point according to the map. It closed as soon as we went through. Suddenly, a bone-chilling scream erupted from the room. I stabbed the closed wall, but I got repelled. Girly shot her missiles, but the wall stood firm.
“I never got to say thank you,” Girly was downcast.
“She can handle herself. Besides, she has survived through the years. I know it,” I assured her.
“If I only knew this would happen, I could have dragged her with us”
“Look, there is nothing that we can do for her. Even if we can take her with us, we will only expose her to more dangers.”
“You may be right, but still…”
“Enough of this. According to the map, I think we are fairly close to the exit. We have to make a couple of turns, then we are out of here.”
“What if the general catches up to us?”
“If he catches us, we must do whatever we can to beat him. Can you promise me that?”
“Yes. I trust whatever you decide Keith because—“
“Shhh… you can tell me about that later,” I placed my finger to her lip. “Let’s get to our feet.”
A room waited for us on the right. I acquired some health and mana supplies hidden among the crates. I grabbed some of them with me. At the corner, a steel sword caught my eye. I tried waving it around and it was surprisingly light to the touch. Next to it was a bomb launcher which I enthusiastically gave to Girly.
“I don’t need that,” she declined.
“But it boosts your attack speed and mana regeneration,” I persisted.
“Fine, I will take it because it’s you.”
“Shall we continue?”
We followed the directions to the map until it led us to the last room. The ceiling rumbled, then something fell from it. The general has caught up to us. This time, he had a bigger body and his eyes were those of darkness.
“He has completely become one of them,” my knees buckled.
“A promise is a promise,” Girly sighed.
“Wait a minute. You wouldn’t hit the old lady, would you?” He threw Mirana’s corpse across the floor.
“How could you? She is one of your people!” I scowled at him.
“Don’t give in. He is just taunting you,” Girly held me back.
“Step aside Girly, I won’t let this bastard play with us anymore.”
“Come to papa, children. You would not make me wait. We have a lot of catching up to do,” he cracked his fists.
“Get ready, here he comes!” Girly shouted.
“I will start with the girl,” he forced a shock wave out of his body.
“Girly, watch out! Get out of the way!” I pushed her body as the attack was coming at her.
The blast shocked the farthest wall wide open. I enveloped my body around her to an armadillo.
- Writer
