CHAPTER 5 — THE ROAD BENEATH EARTH
1598 Words
The car waited silently beside the road.
Long.
Black.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Rihaya stood frozen for several seconds while cold wind brushed against her skin. The open back door looked less like an invitation and more like the mouth of something waiting to swallow her whole.
Her heartbeat pounded painfully.
This was it.
The point of no return.
If she entered that car—
everything would change.
A man stepped out from the driver’s side slowly.
He wore black gloves and a dark suit that looked far too expensive for the empty street around them. His expression remained completely emotionless.
“Rihaya?” he asked calmly.
Her throat felt dry.
“…Yes.”
The man nodded once.
“Get in.”
No greeting.
No explanation.
Just those two words.
Rihaya tightened her fingers around the small bag she carried.
Fear crawled through her chest violently.
For one brief second—
she almost ran.
But then Josh’s face appeared in her mind again.
Weak.
Pale.
Breathing through pain.
Rihaya slowly forced her feet forward.
The inside of the car smelled expensive.
Leather.
Smoke.
Something strangely sweet.
The moment she sat down, the door closed automatically behind her with a soft click.
And somehow—
that tiny sound felt final.
Like a prison locking shut.
Rihaya quickly looked toward the window, but the glass was too dark to see outside properly.
The driver returned to his seat without another word.
Then the car began moving.
Silence filled the vehicle immediately.
Rihaya sat stiffly with her bag resting on her lap.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
She tried calming herself down.
Maybe this was just a rich family.
Maybe she was overthinking things.
Maybe—
Her thoughts stopped abruptly.
That strange sweet smell in the car suddenly became stronger.
Too strong.
Rihaya frowned slightly.
What was that scent?
It smelled oddly comforting and unpleasant at the same time.
Her head began feeling light.
She blinked slowly.
The lights outside the window blurred strangely.
No.
Something was wrong.
Rihaya straightened slightly.
“Excuse me…”
The driver didn’t answer.
The sweetness in the air thickened further.
Rihaya’s heartbeat sped up instantly.
“W-What is this smell?”
Still no answer.
Fear shot through her chest violently now.
She grabbed the door handle quickly.
Locked.
Panic spread through her immediately.
“Stop the car!”
Her voice shook badly.
The driver remained silent.
Rihaya’s breathing became uneven as dizziness slammed into her harder.
The world tilted strangely.
No.
No no no.
She started pounding against the window weakly.
“STOP THE CAR!”
Her vision blurred heavily.
The lights outside stretched unnaturally.
Her body suddenly felt too heavy.
Like invisible hands were dragging her downward.
The last thing Rihaya saw before darkness swallowed her completely—
was the driver watching her through the mirror.
Smiling.
—
Cold.
That was the first thing she felt.
Cold air touching her skin.
Then came the silence.
A strange silence.
Not the kind from nighttime streets or empty rooms.
This silence felt deep.
Ancient.
Rihaya’s eyelids slowly fluttered open.
At first, everything looked blurry.
Golden lights.
Dark shadows.
Stone ceilings.
She blinked slowly.
Then froze.
This wasn’t the car.
Rihaya immediately sat upright in panic.
Her head spun painfully.
“What—”
The words died in her throat instantly.
She wasn’t alone.
Several young women sat around the enormous room looking just as terrified and confused as she felt.
Some were crying quietly.
Others stared around in shock.
One girl repeatedly whispered prayers under her breath.
Rihaya’s heart began pounding violently.
Where were they?
The room itself looked massive.
Far too massive.
The walls stretched unbelievably high, covered in ancient designs glowing faintly beneath golden lights.
Huge black pillars stood across the room like giant trees supporting the ceiling.
Everything looked luxurious.
But wrong somehow.
The air itself felt strange.
Heavy.
Almost unreal.
Rihaya slowly stood up on trembling legs.
“Where are we?”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
A girl nearby suddenly burst into tears.
“I want to go home…”
Another girl grabbed her own arms tightly.
“What is this place?!”
Rihaya’s breathing quickened.
The last thing she remembered was the car.
The smell.
Then darkness.
Fear crawled slowly through her stomach.
Had they been kidnapped?
Sold?
Her eyes darted around the room desperately.
There were no windows.
None.
Only massive stone walls illuminated by flickering golden flames.
Flames.
Not electric lights.
Actual fire.
Rihaya’s chest tightened.
This place didn’t feel modern at all.
It felt…
old.
Ancient.
A loud metallic sound suddenly echoed through the room.
CLANG.
Every girl flinched violently.
Then—
massive doors ahead slowly began opening.
The sound alone shook the floor beneath them.
Rihaya stared in horror.
The doors were gigantic.
Far bigger than any normal building should even have.
And beyond them—
darkness stretched endlessly.
Several figures finally emerged from the shadows.
Women.
Two older women wearing elegant dark robes walked forward calmly while several tall guards followed behind them.
The guards looked terrifying.
Their expressions were blank.
Their bodies unnaturally large.
And their eyes…
Their eyes glowed faintly.
Rihaya’s stomach dropped instantly.
No.
That couldn’t be real.
The older women finally stopped before the terrified group.
One of them smiled politely.
“Welcome.”
Her voice echoed strangely through the room.
The other woman stepped forward.
“My name is Flora.”
“And I am Sasa.”
Neither woman looked cruel.
But something about them felt deeply unsettling.
Like they were pretending to be gentle.
Flora calmly looked around the room.
“We understand your confusion.”
A girl immediately stood up crying.
“What is this place?!”
Another girl shouted angrily.
“Take us home!”
Several voices joined at once.
Panic spread quickly through the room.
But Flora simply waited patiently.
Then—
one of the guards growled.
The sound froze everyone instantly.
Rihaya’s blood ran cold.
That wasn’t human.
No human throat could make a sound like that.
Silence swallowed the room again.
Sasa finally spoke softly.
“You are safe here.”
Nobody believed her.
Flora continued calmly.
“You were selected carefully.”
Selected?
Rihaya’s chest tightened.
“For what?” someone whispered fearfully.
Flora smiled slightly.
“To serve.”
The word made unease crawl beneath Rihaya’s skin.
Serve who?
Before anyone could ask further questions, the guards suddenly motioned forward.
“You will follow us,” Sasa instructed.
No one moved at first.
Until one guard took a single threatening step forward.
That was enough.
Slowly, the terrified girls obeyed.
Rihaya followed behind the group carefully while her eyes wandered around the enormous palace-like structure.
And the farther they walked—
the more unreal everything became.
The hallways were enormous.
The ceilings impossibly high.
Massive chandeliers hung above them glowing with golden flames.
Ancient carvings covered the walls.
Some looked like wolves.
Others looked like demons.
And some…
Some looked far worse.
Rihaya tried not to stare too long.
The entire place felt alive somehow.
Like the walls themselves were watching them.
The girls were eventually led through another giant hallway before reaching a huge open balcony.
The moment Rihaya stepped outside—
she stopped breathing.
Her eyes widened completely.
Below them stretched an entire underground world.
Massive stone buildings.
Golden lights.
Bridges.
Dark rivers glowing faintly beneath strange blue flames.
Creatures moved through the streets far below—
but from this distance, she couldn’t tell what they were exactly.
The ceiling above the entire underground world stretched endlessly into darkness.
No sky.
No moon.
No stars.
No sun.
The realization hit Rihaya violently.
They were underground.
Deep underground.
Impossible.
A girl beside her suddenly started sobbing uncontrollably.
“This can’t be real…”
Rihaya honestly agreed.
Nothing about this place felt possible.
Flora continued walking calmly as if everything was normal.
“You will adapt soon.”
Adapt?
Rihaya’s heart pounded harder.
What kind of place required adaptation?
As they continued through the palace, Rihaya noticed something else.
People.
Servants moved quietly through the halls.
But none of them looked normal.
Some had unnatural eyes.
Others moved too strangely.
One servant briefly looked toward Rihaya—
and she nearly gasped.
His pupils weren’t human.
They looked almost animal-like.
The servant quickly lowered his head and walked away.
Rihaya’s breathing became shallow.
What were these people?
Or rather—
were they even people at all?
Eventually, the group reached another enormous chamber.
This one looked more like a waiting hall filled with long velvet couches and giant mirrors.
Flora turned toward them.
“You will remain here temporarily.”
A girl finally gathered enough courage to ask the question everyone feared.
“Who are you people?”
Silence filled the room.
Then Sasa smiled softly.
“That answer will come later.”
Not good enough.
Fear spread again among the girls.
Rihaya slowly stepped backward slightly.
Every instinct inside her screamed danger now.
Huge danger.
Suddenly—
a loud rumbling sound echoed through the palace.
The floor trembled violently beneath them.
Several girls screamed.
Rihaya grabbed the nearest pillar for balance.
“What was that?!”
Nobody answered immediately.
Then somewhere far behind them—
a gigantic metallic sound echoed thunderously through the underground world.
BOOOOOOM.
Rihaya quickly turned around.
Her eyes widened in horror.
The massive underground gates they had entered through—
were closing.
Slowly.
Heavily.
Completely.
The sound shook the entire palace as the enormous black gates sealed shut behind them like the end of the world itself.
And in that moment—
Rihaya realized something terrifying.
She wasn’t going home anymore.
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