Page 7 of Forging Bonds: Part Two

“Alright, Az. I’m going to need you to be super sharp, but not cut me. I need you to cut my hair,” I explain, and he buzzes.

I flick my braid over my shoulder and then put my face against the wall, using my thumb to hold the end of it tightly. I awkwardly move my head to slice some of it off. I only need a few strands. Asael cuts through my hair with ease, and I soon have a small clump in my hand. It’s probably more than I need but I’m not about to get fucking picky with it, I don’t have the fucking time.

I make Asael disappear again so that I can grip the wall properly, and then once I have ensured that I have a strong enough grip with one of my hands, I let go with the other and launch the hair at the tentacle thing.

The writhing pauses, the motion of the tentacle that was starting to come toward me stops, and I hold my breath. There’s a weird, almost purr that freaks me out more than a growl would, and then just as suddenly as the floor disappeared, it’s back, and looking like nothing happened to it. Even the walls where the tentacle hit are back to normal.

I don’t waste any time, and keeping my hand on the wall just in case the floor decides to give way again, I run as fast as I can to the door. Standing onthe threshold, I see that beyond the door appears to be a roughly hewn tunnel, clearly part of a cave system. I call Asael back to me in his two-sword form and then step through the door.

Immediately, I am engulfed in darkness, and even when I turn around, I can’t see any light. I walk a few steps backward, and I’m unsurprised when I meet a solid wall with absolutely no door in sight, or rather, feel. I can’t see anything. I am in complete darkness. Being surrounded by darkness isn’t a new thing for me, after all, I go to the Darkness Friend, but whereas that feels comforting, this darkness does not.

It feels threatening.

The voices are muttering in warning, and I know that I am not alone in these tunnels, I can feel it. I can sense the others who are here with me, and I also sense that they are a threat to me.

How the hell am I supposed to get to the door through this maze of tunnels? When I glanced through the door, I saw the offshoots, so I know that it’s not a singular tunnel, but then again, that would be pretty easy to deduce anyway, because that would be far too easy.

My tracking gift.

If I can get the map up in my mind like it usually appears, and ask it to stay there, so I don’t give away the unusual gift, then I should be able to follow it out of here. It has worked the last couple of times that I have called on it, and I am really hoping that it’s going to work this time as well. I need to be really careful, though. I want to keep as much as I can to myself and therefore remain uninteresting, so I am really hoping that it’s going to cooperate and only show up in my head.

I have learned that it’s far safer that way.

Of course, there isn’t another way that I can think of to get out of here quickly, or even just to escape, so that I don’t end up dying down in these tunnels and being eaten by whatever it is that stalks them.

There’s a skittering sound to my left, and I know that I need to move asap, I do not want to find out what is making that sound, especially since it sounds suspiciously bug-like.

Yuk. I am not good with bugs.

Calling on my magic, I tell it what I want it to do, and I am so incredibly grateful that it does exactly what I’ve asked, and that the tracking gift that was once incredibly unreliable has now come when I have asked it to once again. The mental map shows a warren of caves, and it appears to stretch for miles. The good news is that it appears that while the route to the caves is complicated, it’s not very long, and my map is lighting it up clearly.

The bad news is that I can assume that the route is short because the danger is very real.

“Duck,”the voices warn.

Immediately, I do as they say, there’s not even any hesitation or surprise that they are actually talking to me. I don’t question it because they have always had my best interests at heart. I duck down, swinging my sword up in an arc. Asael hits resistance for a mere second before it slices through whatever the fuck it is like butter. There’s a squealing sound of pain that suddenly cuts off, and I wince as I get coated in warm liquid that I’m assuming is blood. I roll out of the way and only just make it before I hear something thud against the floor.

Within moments, I’m back on my feet as I take off running. My eyes are closed, and I am putting my trust in my magic mental map. There’s no point keeping my eyes open because I can’t even see my hand in front of my face. I do know that the death of one of the creatures is going to call to the others and piss them off.

I need to move.

Using Asael in his two-sword form, I fully trust my instincts, and it’s a mix of them, the voices, and even warning buzzes from Asael, that help me to slicethrough the creatures that attack me, and there are a lot of them. I’m covered in blood and grossness, and I keep having to refocus and reorient myself in the tunnels so that I’m not getting myself lost. I’m moving quickly though, and the creatures seem to know that I’m within feet of the exit into the third and final level because they suddenly double down on their attack.

I get a sudden and very quick image of the creatures coming at me from all angles, but the door is just behind the one that’s coming at me from the floor. Taking a gamble, I dive roll over the one on the floor just as my fingers hit the gap that is the door out of this fucking level, something scrapes my leg, and a searing pain shoots up it, but whatever was trying to grasp my leg doesn’t manage to fully get hold of it, so I try to put the pain out of my mind as I focus on propelling the rest of my body through the door and rolling out of it.

Popping back up on my feet on the other side of the door, the momentary relief that I felt at getting through the door leaves me in a rush.

No, no, no, no, no.

I can’t be back here, anywhere but here.

Spinning around the pain in my leg is not even a blip on my radar. I bang on the wall of the cell behind me.

“Let me out!” I scream.

I want to go back, I want to fight the creatures, I’ll lose the Choosing, I don’t care, but not in here.

I can’t be here.

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