by Kyle West
I waited a moment, feeling my nervousness rise.
“One. Two. Three.”
We jumped and were swallowed by the pink liquid. The warmth engulfed me, and for a moment, we floated beneath the surface. Before we even had the chance to move, the pool sucked us down.
I held Anna tightly as we sunk deeper and deeper. We lurched through twists and turns, my lungs burning for air. When I felt I couldn’t hold my breath much longer, we began to ascend.
A moment later, we broke the surface. I gasped for air as the ichor pushed us onto a bed of fungus.
After we lay there for a moment, catching our breath, I struggled to my feet and helped Anna up. The ichor receded from my body and clothing, retreating into the glowing pool from which we had emerged. The shape of this pool was exactly the same as the one we had jumped in – a perfect circle.
“You alright?” I asked.
Anna nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”
“Let’s keep moving.”
We walked ahead, the tunnel curving and seemingly coming to a dead end. But as we neared, I could see the path had merely narrowed to a thin crack in the wall, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
I decided to go first. I turned myself sideways, wriggling myself between the two walls. At the narrowest point, it became so tight that I had to release all the air in my lungs just to squeeze through. I fell to the other side, landing on the fungus. I scrambled up and peered back through the crack.
Only, it had completely closed.
“Anna!”
No sound came through that wall. If she was yelling, too, I had no way of hearing it.
I dug my fingers into the fungus covering the wall, where the opening had once been, trying to rip it apart. It was no use; the fungus held firm.
Alex?
I heard Anna’s voice in my mind.
Anna...are you there? Are you alright?
I’m stuck over here. It just...closed.
I didn’t know it was going to close like that. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone through.
She was waiting for this, for the chance to separate us.
No. We’re not separated. We’ll find a way. We have to get this wall open.
Let me try to cut my way through. The walls themselves didn’t close. The fungus just grew between them.
I stared uncertainly at the wall. I didn’t think that would work, but it was better than trying nothing.
I waited another moment, staring at the wall and willing it to open. Of course, it wasn’t going to obey me. The fungus was controlled by the Radaskim version of the xenovirus.
I wondered, though...could I perhaps convert it? If the Elekai version dominated the Radaskim version, then if I could somehow infect this fungus, I could command it to open. I didn’t even know if such a thing was possible, but if it was, how exactly would I do that?
It was worth a shot. I had nothing else to go on.
I reached out and touched the fungus lining the wall. I closed my eyes, feeling the soft, spongy substance beneath my fingers. It was warm, at first, but felt strangely cool as my hand kept contact. Soon, my fingers began to feel numb. I did not remove them, willing the fungus to change, emptying my mind and trying to establish contact.
Then, my fingers began to burn.
I gritted my teeth and kept my hand there. I could only hope that something was working. I cleared my mind, finding the void in my consciousness, the place where I could distance myself from pain and watch it from afar. Stabs of pain from the fungus continued to enter my hand, spreading through my arm and chest.
I connected to the Radaskim xenofungal network, and at every moment, more of it entered my awareness. I knew Askala might be able to find me, so I needed to work quickly.
I saw immediately that it would take a lot of my strength to permanently convert the fungus surrounding the crevice, but it would take significantly less if I only temporarily took control. That was what I opted to do.
Change, I thought. I just need ten seconds.
Nothing happened at first, but slowly, feeling returned to my hand, warmth outspreading from my fingers. A wave of brightness radiated outward from my fingers on the fungal surface. It began to glow brightly and hum.
I’d done it. It only awaited my command.
Open. Now.
The fungus unfolded, revealing Anna at the other end of the crevice, hacking with her katana. Her eyes widened upon seeing me.
“Run!” I shouted.
She ran into the crevice, turning her body to squeeze through the narrow bit. The fungus now fought back against my mind, wanting to crush Anna in the crevice. The attack on my mind came suddenly, and my control nearly slipped – it was as if the fungus knew how vulnerable Anna’s position was. I fought with everything I had, my mind straining with the effort. Just as I was about to black out, she dove to the other side. I allowed the opening to seal shut. I collapsed to the ground next to Anna, my vision dimming.
“Alex?” Anna asked. “Alex, get up. No, don’t close your eyes. Please! Get up.”
My eyes had closed – I didn’t remember when, or how, I had lost consciousness. I forced my eyes open. Anna’s face above me swam in waves. All I could do was breathe, one slow lungful after another. For one brief moment, I had been a part of the Radaskim collective consciousness, and its energy was like poison.
Anna knelt beside me, talking, but I couldn’t understand her words. My hearing had somehow been affected, and all I could feel was my heart beating, my pulse pounding in my ears.
Then, water splashed on my face. With that sensation, my paralysis seemed to melt. I sat up, and Anna handed me her canteen. I took a couple swallows.
“You alright?”
I nodded, pushing the canteen away. I held Anna close, both of us on the ground.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” I said.
“How did you open it?”
“I connected to the Radaskim consciousness, somehow,” I said. “I didn’t even know if it would be possible.”
“It fought back?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Like hell. It almost closed on you, but I held it open, just long enough. It burned my hand.”
I looked at my right hand. It didn’t appear hurt or any different than usual, but it might as well have been on fire touching that fungus.
“If controlling the fungus is this hard, I can’t even imagine controlling Askala.”
“Don’t think about that,” Anna said. “What matters is we made it.”
Anna helped me up, and we continued down the tunnel. There were no more obstacles for now, only an oppressive watchfulness that seemed to mark our every move.
We were getting close. I felt it. If Askala didn’t know where we were before, she definitely knew now, and so far, things had not gone according to her plan.
I knew that she would have plenty of opportunities to change that, all too soon.
***
We entered a new cavern, so large that it was like an entirely new world. The glittering ceiling rose at least a thousand feet above, from which glowing stalactites hung. Stalagmites rose from the ground, covered by xenofungus. Ichor dripped from the ceiling, forming pools among the rock formations. There were no tunnels, no doors – just this vast maze.
We climbed a large stand of rocks, putting ourselves above the cavern floor. In every direction, shining pools, twisted rocks, and earthen pillars spread for miles. This vast, underground realm seemed to be empty of Radaskim life. On one side of the cavern, a lake of magma glowed red in the distance. In the opposite direction, through twisting tunnels and jagged rock walls, stretched a flat expanse filled with small pools, boulders, and rock formations. A similar underground landscape spread in the other two directions.
“Lava Lake,” Anna said, “or the Endless Plain of Icky Ichor?”
“Both sound like lovely options.”
I sat down on a flattened boulder, staring at the magma lake. Through all the twists and turns on the cavern floor, getting there would b
e tricky. Not that I had a mind to go that way.
“I think that might be the bottom of the abyss,” I said. “If it is, that probably isn’t the right way.”
Anna oriented herself as if she had come from that direction. “We can rule out the right, because we came from that way. Which leaves straight, or left.”
We were thinking in terms of the four directions, but really, there were much more down here. The entire cavern was gigantic, and its directions weren’t limited to the four points of the compass. For all we knew, we could have missed our turn already.
Anna turned in the direction of the magma lake. Her eyes widened.
“Down!”
I dropped to the ground while Anna fell behind a boulder. I crawled until I was hidden with her. I heard the flap of wings, enough of a reason to keep my face and body to the ground. A moment later, the dragon swooped overhead. I only dared to look when it had gone a good distance.
The dragon was huge, already obscured by shadow. It continued beating its wings and gaining distance. It flew in a direct line, never turning.
I realized what we had to do.
“We need to follow it.’
Anna nodded, understanding. “You think it’s going to her?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I think so.”
I looked in the direction of the magma lake to make sure no more dragons were coming. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I stepped from the safety of the boulder, facing the direction the dragon had flown. By now, it had been completely swallowed by the darkness.
“A straight line in this place is going to be hard,” I said.
“We’ll have to climb some rocks every now and then to make sure we’re going the right way,” Anna said. “We can look back to this formation to orient ourselves. It’s the tallest thing around.”
“And after that?” I asked.
“We’ll figure it out as we go.”
We made our way down the outcrop, taking care not to fall. Even so, the descent was difficult. I placed my right foot down on a hold. It fractured, and I slipped, falling toward the edge. Anna grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me back to the rock wall.
“Careful,” she said.
From then on, I tested each and every step, not letting myself relax until we were on the cavern floor. We began walking in the direction the dragon had flown.
“The trouble will be staying on track,” Anna said.
“Easy,” I said. “Every fifteen minutes, we can climb something to reorient ourselves.”
“You mean I can climb,” Anna said. “No more climbing for you.”
“You could fall just as easily as me.”
“Yeah,” Anna said, looking at me pointedly. “My life isn’t as valuable, though.”
“That’s not true.”
She shook her head. “No use arguing. Besides, I’m lighter on my feet than you.”
I knew she had me there.
We navigated the twists and turns of a jagged canyon. The rock was porous and black, but there were areas where surfaces glinted, with edges as sharp as a blade.
“Obsidian,” I said. “Watch where you step.”
Anna nodded.
Five minutes later, we took our first break. Anna climbed a promising rock formation, only going halfway before peering into the distance.
“We’re still good,” she said. “Keep going.”
“You see anything different over there?”
“Much the same. There’s an entire world under here.”
“The Underworld,” I said.
“I guess that’s fitting.”
Anna climbed down and we continued on, entering a chasm that cut between two rising plateaus. Somewhere in this place, Askala lurked. Quietus had said she was at the meeting of the Two Seas, wherever that was. I hadn’t seen anything down here resembling a sea, except maybe the magma lake, and it was a stretch to call that a sea of any sort. We just had to keep following the line the dragon made.
I was just grateful this place was empty, because there was evidence of its once being full of life. We passed molted chitin shells and dark burrows carved into the rocks. This must have been where the Radaskim swarm had laired.
“This entire place was filled with them,” Anna said. “What did they eat?”
That question was answered as soon as the chasm ended, placing us before a large pool glowing with ichor. Along the banks of the pool grew a thick layer of xenofungus.
“Here,” I said.
“It’s hard to imagine those nasty monsters being vegans,” Anna said.
“They’ll eat anything they can get nutrition from. The fungus is their main source of food, but they wouldn’t shy away from a kill, either.”
“Gross.”
We walked past the pool, patches of fungus, empty barrows, and jagged spires. Occasionally, Anna would climb on top of a large rock or plateau and straighten our course. Checking my watch, I was surprised to see that it was evening. We’d been up all day, all night, and all through the day again. I thought we would have found Askala by now, but this place was far larger than I had ever imagined.
We stopped again, and I decided that we needed to take a rest. We hadn’t slept the previous night, and there was no way we could face Askala in such a state. Even Anna was moving lethargically. She stopped halfway up her climb, staring into the distance. She stayed there longer than usual.
“What is it?” I asked.
“There’s something over there,” she said. “Like a long, pink line on the horizon. The rocks end there.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll have to face it tomorrow. You’re going to fall asleep on your feet.”
She climbed down, sliding down the last twenty feet. Once she’d reached the cavern floor, she dusted herself off.
“Let’s find someplace safe to lie low,” I said.
We looked along the side of the cliffs, finding an empty hole that had probably been a burrow for crawlers, not so long ago. We walked by several of the holes, taking a pass because most of them smelled horrible. Hopefully, we’d be able to find a burrow that hadn’t been used.
After another minute, we were in luck. We found a small burrow, slightly hidden behind a stand of rocks, and the best part was that it had no smell.
We ducked inside, settling into the corner farthest from the opening. We set down our packs, digging out what little food we had: basically just some fruit we had picked from the grove. It didn’t take us long to eat it.
“Should one of us keep watch?” I asked.
Anna shook her head. “We didn’t sleep last night. If either of us goes without, it will be bad. This place is empty, so I think we’ll be fine.”
I didn’t have a mind to argue, especially now that I had sat down for a few minutes. I closed my eyes, and it wasn’t long before sleep took me.
Chapter 22
When I awoke, I could barely bring myself to move, I was so tired. I drained what was left of my canteen before closing my eyes again.
Anna’s breathing was even. I wrapped my arms around her, but she didn’t stir. I drifted off again.
It was some time before I heard her voice.
“Alex.”
I opened my eyes, still heavy with exhaustion. She was already standing, pack on her shoulders.
I checked my watch. It was 05:30, which meant we had gotten eight hours of sleep. It felt nowhere near enough.
“We’ll have to conserve our energy,” she said. “There’s no more food, and before long, no more water.”
“I’m out,” I said.
“I know. I still have a container left, so we’ll have to be sparing.”
A couple of minutes later, we were walking through the canyon. The thick, jagged walls leaned on either side, the paths branching at random angles between the cliffs. Anna repeated her routine of climbing the rocks from time to time.
“We’re off course,” she said. “Head right.”
As we continued, the chasms narrowed and
the plateaus on either side grew taller. The overhanging tops almost formed a tunnel, blocking out most of the light of the bioluminescent ceiling. We came to a fork, finding the right completely submerged in pink, bubbling ichor. It was the direction we needed to go, yet we had no choice but to head down the left path.
Anna climbed again at our next juncture. The cliffs were climbable in places, but they were higher than they had been, and it made me nervous to watch her climb.
“A lot of them are flooded,” she said from above, standing on the precipice. “And it only gets worse the further we go. Probably because...” She paused. “Well, maybe you should see this for yourself.”
I scrambled up the rocks, my right foot slipping on a non-secure foothold. A rain of rock showered into the chasm below, but I quickly shifted my right foot to another hold to avoid falling. Anna looked down at me, her face tense.
“I’m only ten feet up,” I said. “It’s okay.”
“Even ten feet can kill you if you land wrong. Take it slowly.”
I wanted to point out that she hadn’t taken it slowly, but then again, she was better at climbing than me.
“Stretch your right leg, and put it on that hold, there...”
Anna instructed me the rest of the way up. After another couple of minutes of patient climbing, I reached the top. Anna pulled me onto the flat expanse on the plateau. I made myself stand, and I surveyed the level area that made up this plateau. It stretched in all directions, before being cut off by a narrow chasm a hundred feet away. A series of mesas, rock towers, and plateaus rose above the cracks.
I stood, looking in the direction we were heading. I could see what Anna was talking about: the fissures glowed pink from being flooded with ichor. But what caught my attention lay beyond the plateaus and mesas.
The pink line Anna had mentioned yesterday had revealed itself as a vast, underground sea of pink ichor. It was probably two miles away, spreading seemingly forever toward the glowing line on the horizon. The collective light of that sea bathed our skin and the surrounding rocks. This had to be one of the Two Seas Quietus had mentioned. But where was the other one?
“That’s where our buddy was headed,” Anna said. “I’m sure of it.”
“Quietus said Askala was at the meeting of the Two Seas,” I said. “I’m only seeing one.”