A Fox's Rescue

by Varnell, Brandon

***

  Lilian woke up with a start. Shooting upright like a coiled spring, the young vixen frantically turned her head around, searching out the source of her unease. Upon seeing nothing but the room that she’d been confined in since her kidnapping, she relaxed—or she tried to. Something kept her from fully relaxing. It wasn’t her location, or even the horrid company. What bothered her could not be placed into words. It was an indescribable fear, an uneasy feeling that settled in her gut like a lead weight and refused to leave.

  Realizing that she wouldn’t be going back to bed any time soon, Lilian stood up. She stretched out her stiff muscles, nearly hissing as she realized how sore they were. Because she’d been sleeping on the floor ever since her arrival at The Bodhisattva’s Citadel of Light, her body had been in dire straits. She had kinks in her neck, her back felt like it had been sleeping on a bed of rocks, and even her legs were beginning to feel the strain.

  Casting a glance around the room revealed nothing unusual, no source that might explain why her stomach was twisted into knots. She then looked at Jiāoào, who remained inert, save for his eyes, which she noticed had moved to look at her.

  “What are you looking at?” She scowled at him, instinctively covering her body with the blanket she’d nabbed from his bed. Even though she was fully clothed, she didn’t like him seeing her in the outfit she had on.

  Grumbling about inconsiderate little brats, Lilian walked over to the window and looked out.

  The moon shone brightly that night; it was a large circle in the middle of a dark sea surrounded by twinkling lights. As she looked up at the ocean of stars, her mind automatically went to the one person she wanted to see the most.

  “Kevin, I hope you’re safe.”

  ***

  Like a man dying from oxygen deprivation, Kevin woke up with a startled gasp. He sat bolt upright, which in hindsight, really wasn’t a good idea. The moment he sat up, his muscles screamed in protest. He gritted his teeth, doing everything humanly possible not to scream. Leg muscles cramped, his back groaned, and his chest tightened as if an anaconda was crushing it.

  “I see that you’re finally awake,” a familiar female voice spoke up.

  He looked up to see her, the familiar figure. Her clothes were in tatters, blood dripped down the left side of her head, and she was favoring her left leg as she stared down at him. Despite this, she appeared untroubled by her injuries and lack of modesty.

  “Polydora,” Kevin muttered as he looked up at the woman, hiding his wince. It seemed that even talking hurt.

  “Kevin Swift,” Polydora greeted curtly. Kevin noticed the steel in her tone, but he ignored it for the moment in favor of trying to figure out what had happened. When he couldn’t because his mind kept drawing a blank, he cast his gaze back to the yama uba.

  “What happened?”

  “You do not remember?” Polydora raised an eyebrow. “We were attacked by those tentacles again after abandoning the ship. They crushed our lifeboat and cast us into the sea.”

  Kevin held a hand to his head and groaned. “Right, I remember that part. I meant: what happened after that?”

  Polydora’s face became perplexed. It tightened for a second, and he could sense her uncertainty.

  “I… do not know. The last thing that I remember was being thrown from the lifeboat and several tentacles latching onto me. I can recall nothing beyond that point.”

  “I see.” Kevin really didn’t see. It was just a saying. He had nothing.

  Casting his gaze around the place they found themselves, Kevin soon noticed the inky blackness that had engulfed them. His hands felt the ground underneath them, cold and completely unyielding. The sound of dripping water reached his ears, a steady plink-plink, plink-plink that made his ears twitch. He raised his hands and felt around his body, sighing in relief when he found the case still attached to him. He set the case in his lap and undid the latches before hurriedly pulling out one of his guns and a flashlight.

  After closing the case and strapping it to his shoulder, he flicked the flashlight on and stood up, trying not to show how much the simple act of standing hurt. His legs were beyond aching. The pain seeped into his very bones, dull and throbbing.

  Moving the flashlight around revealed the space they were standing in; it was a giant cavern of some kind. Everything was the same stone gray, with very little variation in tone. Uneven surfaces covered everything. Stalagmites jutted from the ground like spears set to skewer the unwary. Shooting out from the ceiling, giant stalactites dripped with water, the liquid glistening in the light of his flashlight. Behind him, Kevin could see dark, murky water, unfathomably black, like it was ink instead of H2O.

  “That must be where we came from,” Kevin theorized to himself. “This is probably one of those underground caverns that you can often find on the seabed of oceans, though that still doesn’t tell us how we got here.”

  “I cannot answer that, as I do not know how we came to be here either,” Polydora sounded pained, as if she were admitting to some great weakness. Kevin nodded noncommittally as he studied the many tunnels that led to places unknown.

  “I suppose the hows don’t really matter right now.” Kevin closed his eyes in thought. “If we’re here, then there’s a chance that Iris, Phoebe, and the others are here as well. Caverns like this often have more than one entrance.”

  “Then we should make haste and find them.” Polydora started to move, only to hiss in pain as her right leg gave out. She began to fall, but Kevin quickly caught her before she could hit the ground.

  “Easy,” he said. “It looks like you injured your leg. You shouldn’t put any weight on it right now.”

  “Get off me.” Polydora shoved him away.

  Kevin frowned. “The heck is your problem? I’m trying to help you.”

  “I don’t need your help,” she informed him, her tone biting. She tried taking another step but fell to a knee when her right leg gave out entirely.

  “I told you, you shouldn’t be walking on your leg.” Kevin tried to sound patient, though some sarcasm must have leaked through because Polydora glared at him. Sighing, he ignored the woman’s protests (not like she had the strength to push him away anymore) and shoved the flashlight into her hand. “Hold this.” He then grabbed her other hand and threw her arm around his shoulder, using it to haul her up, and then forcing her to lean on him for support. When the woman continued struggling against him, he spoke again, his tone containing steel. “If you don’t stop struggling, I am going to knock you out and carry you.”

  That got her to stop, though she did send him a nasty look. He ignored it and, half-carrying the injured woman, Kevin journeyed into one of the many tunnels.

  ***

  Many years ago, when he was around six or seven, Kevin remembered taking a field trip up to Coconino National Forest. There he and his class were allowed to explore the Lava River Cave, a tube-like cave approximately .75 miles long. Even though it had been back when he was still in kindergarten, he still remembered the experience.

  The cave that he found himself walking through now reminded him a great deal of that cave. There were differences, of course. This cave was far wider. The ground, eroded by water instead of lava, was much smoother. Stalactites and stalagmites covered both ground and ceiling. Those hadn’t been in the lava cave. These differences, however, were miniscule compared to the familiar claustrophobic feeling he got from being inside.

  Kevin ignored his own discomfort, pushing it to the side. He couldn’t afford to panic. Not if he wanted to find the others and get out of this.

  A hiss from his side alerted him to Polydora’s suffering.

  “You okay?”

  “I am fine,” the woman muttered, only to hiss again as she tried putting more weight on her right leg.

  “Let’s stop for a moment so I can take a look at your injury,” Kevin suggested.

  Polydora shook her head. “I am fine. Let’s keep going.”

  “You’re clearly not fine.�
�� Kevin’s adamant remark was followed by him forcing her to sit on a lump of stone rising from the ground. Polydora had no strength to resist him. “Let me see your leg.”

  “I told you that I am—”

  The scowl that Polydora had been giving Kevin was wiped from her face when she saw his expression. Hard eyes of cobalt glared at her from underneath a curtain of blond bangs. He stared at the woman, his expression reflecting his inner thoughts, mirroring his unyielding will, gained through blood and lost innocence, perfectly.

  “Show me your leg.” It was not a request.

  Polydora hesitantly let Kevin look at her leg. He gingerly grabbed her ankle and placed her foot on his knee, freeing one of his hands so he could hold up his flashlight for a better look.

  The flesh was swollen. Ugly purple covered much of her skin. It wasn’t bleeding, which he supposed was a good thing, but just from looking at it, he could tell this was no ordinary injury.

  “Your leg is broken,” he declared. “Your leg must have smashed into something while you were unconscious. You won’t be walking on that anytime soon.”

  “Then what should I do?” Polydora’s scowl was back in place. Kevin didn’t think it was directed at him this time, but at herself instead. She was probably angry at allowing herself to get injured, even though this was clearly not her fault.

  He pondered her question for a moment, then sighed when he realized what he had to do.

  “Looks like we have no other choice.” He turned around, his back now to her, and made several hand gestures. “Get on. I’ll carry you on my back.”

  “W-w-what?” Polydora gasped. “C-carry—I think not! I am perfectly capable of—”

  “Haven’t we already been through this?” Kevin sighed tiredly. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, the urgency, or maybe the lack of sleep, but he was feeling rather snappish. “Look, we don’t have time to argue. Just shut up and get on.”

  Moments passed. The silence was almost deafening in its absolution. Kevin counted to three in his head. If this woman didn’t get on, then he was going to pick her up like a sack of flour and carry her.

  Fortunately for Polydora’s sense of shame, she did decide to eventually climb onto his back. As her arms wove around his neck, Kevin placed his hands underneath her bottom, grabbing a handful of her flesh to keep her from falling off.

  It was a little awkward, since one of his guns were strapped to his thighs and the other locked inside his case, and Polydora hissed when the cold steel touched the bare skin of her legs, but he didn’t let it get to him. Nor did he let their new closeness bother him. He’d been in so many compromising situations already that he had practically become immune.

  “Thank you,” Polydora mumbled. She sounded reluctant.

  “You’re welcome,” Kevin said. “Now, let’s get moving. I don’t want to be in this place any longer than I have to.”

  They began moving again. Polydora held the flashlight since his hands were now occupied with her rear end. She shined the light in front of him, illuminating his way and allowing him to avoid the dips and cracks in the floor.

  It wasn’t long after they started walking that Kevin realized they were being followed. He didn’t know what was following them. He only knew what he heard, the sound of something moving along the surface, a strange clicking noise that made his teeth vibrate. It was not a natural sound—certainly it wasn’t something he expected to hear inside of a tunnel.

  “What is that noise?” Polydora lifted her head from his shoulder and looked around.

  “I don’t know,” Kevin whispered, “but I’m honestly not sure I want to find out.”

  As they continued walking, the clicking sound increased in both volume and quantity, almost as if whatever was following them had been joined by its brethren.

  Moments like these were some of the worst, Kevin reflected. He knew that he couldn’t very well leave this alone. If something was following him, then ignoring it would avail him with nothing, except maybe a quick death. If something wasn’t following him… well, clearly there were several somethings behind him, so the idea was pretty much a moot point.

  Kevin stopped walking long enough to turn his head. Darkness filled most of his vision, but he could still make out what seemed like several glowing red eyes staring at him. And, while he couldn’t be sure because of how dark it was, he could have sworn he saw pincers flashing in the small lights that emitted from the glowing red circles.

  “Kabutops?” he wondered.

  “What is a kabutops?” asked Polydora.

  Kevin shook his head. “Never mind. I was just thinking out loud. Do you know if there are any yōkai crabs?”

  “Of course,” was the answer he received. “There are several different kinds of yōkai crabs that I know of. Most like to live in caverns or damp, dark… places… that… oh…”

  “Yes, ‘oh.’” Kevin tried not to panic. Adrenaline began pumping through his veins. His breathing became unstable and quick. His body jittered as energy coursed through it. “Get that flashlight ready. I’m making a run for it and I need you to light my way.”

  Polydora didn’t argue. She just did as told. The flashlight in her hand came to bear, illuminating the path in front of him once more.

  Kevin didn’t bother asking if she was ready. He just blasted off like a Gundam launching from a docking station.

  The clacking followed them, loud and somehow frightening. Kevin tried blocking the noise out, but the task proved difficult. Sweat began forming on his brow. It dripped into his eyes, stinging them and making him blink. He almost slipped when his left foot stepped on a spot that was dripping wet. Ignoring the surprised shriek that Polydora let out, he regained his balance and kept running.

  The tunnel, Kevin soon found out, branched off several times, creating what must have been some kind of interconnected series of passageways. He took these turns seemingly at random, hoping that by doing so, he would lose their pursuers. It didn’t seem to work, as he could still hear the click-clack! of what seemed like a thousand spindly, shell-encased legs behind him, but at least he tried.

  “Do you even know where we’re going?!” Polydora’s question was shrieked into his ear as he took another random turn.

  “Of course not!” Kevin shouted back. “I don’t even know where we are!”

  “Then we should stop running!” she yelled back, and Kevin felt like his eardrums would explode if she shouted any louder.

  “Do you want to die?!”

  “If this is to be my death, then I would rather it be a glorious death than one of ignominious cowardice.”

  “Is that so? Well, I’d rather live, and since I’m the one carrying you, we’re doing what I want.”

  “That is completely unfair!”

  “Life’s unfair! Now be quiet and shine that light!”

  Leg muscles strained as they were put into overdrive. Kevin was grateful for the many long hours of torturous training that Kiara had forced him to suffer through. His legs burned, but he felt that he could keep going. Each breath stabbed his lungs but breathing still came easily. He was stronger now than he used to be. Good thing, too, as that strength was being put to the test.

  “That does it! Put me down, you insufferable man! If you’re too cowardly to face your fate head on, then that’s your business, but I won’t let myself be cowed by any force arrayed against me!”

  “Not happening! Putting you down would take time, time that I don’t have!”

  “Like I care about that! Just put me down!”

  “No!”

  “If you don’t put me down right now, I will drop this flashlight!”

  “Drop that flashlight, and I’ll spank you with my gun!”

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “Just try me!”

  Perhaps it was the sound of their argument that captured its attention. It could have also simply been the sound of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of yōkai crabs clacking about. All Kevin knew was that a blur blew p
ast him while he was running. The displacement of air was so great that he almost tripped. Only instincts honed from over half a year of training kept him from losing his balance.

  Kevin spun around as pained squeals erupted behind him. Drawn by her own curiosity, Polydora raised the flashlight. What they saw would be forever carved upon their souls.

  It appeared to be some kind of woman, or maybe a man with really long black hair. Dressed in simple hakama pants and a haori of some kind, it wielded sharp claws that tore into the yōkai crabs’ shells like paper. It was an amazing sight to see; a being who could only be some kind of yōkai ripped through hundreds of giant crabs with ease.

  The being, for that’s all Kevin could think of to describe the creature before him, moved with an elegance that defied description. Every move was a choreographed dance that enhanced its elegance to awe-inspiring levels. Each swing of its sharper-than-steel claws sliced through hardened shell and sprayed gore along the ground. Crab yōkai dropped in droves. It didn’t take the being long to dispose of all the yōkai that had been chasing him and Polydora.

  “Woah…” Kevin muttered in shocked awe.

  “Now that is a man worthy of bearing a yama uba’s children,” Polydora said. Kevin got the feeling that she was insulting him.

  The figure turned to them. Kevin studied their androgynous features, which appeared neither male nor female. Dark eyes were set on a pale face. Long black hair hung freely from their head. The white haori they wore over their bandage-covered chest revealed nothing about them.

  “You there!” it said, its voice distinctly female.

  “A man worthy of bearing your children, huh?” Kevin asked, his tone dry like sandpaper.

  “Do not mock me.” Polydora sounded angry, probably because he’d just thrown her words in her face. Ha. Like he cared.

  “What are you two doing in this cave? Answer me quickly!” the woman said.

  “We’re not sure,” Kevin answered her posthaste. “We were actually on a ship that was attacked and sunk. We blacked out afterwards, and when we woke up, we were here.”

  Penetrated by the stare from the being before them, Kevin felt as if his body was being stripped away and his soul laid bare. There was a weight pushing down on his mind, as if the being before him could see everything. Images flashed through his head, one after the other. Images of what happened on the ship, of his time at the Pnév̱ma Clan’s ancestral home, of his friends, his family, and of Lilian. Kevin didn’t know what was happening, had no clue how or why these visions were flying through his head, but he gritted his teeth and struggled against them. He tried shoving them into the farthest recesses of his mind.