27. Trapped

If I could convince Miriam that Hiram’s death wasn’t my…

When the Gem awakens to call a Hero, the world is ill prepared...and its fate is placed in the hands of a 17 year old boy, named Wendell. 

Some will say this is nothing but a tale of fiction.
Let them think as they may. 

After all...I can't fix stupid.

Previously: After Hiram’s death and the loss of Miriam’s trust, Wendell and his party encountered an odd band of fighters who assisted them in bypassing the horde through a secret tunnel.

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All it took was one step into that darkness, and I was alone…again. 

Evan had his own pain and anguish to deal with. Miriam blamed me for the death of her son. These people helping us were complete strangers…yet something felt oddly familiar about them. Then there was Livi. A kind, sweet, quiet little girl who hadn’t spoken a word since her father died.

…who screamed aloud at the death of her brother.

Maybe it was better this way. To deal with my own problems, which seemed to grow without the help of Chuck, Dax, and Alhannah. The voice had stopped, but I could still feel something odd. Something strong and encroaching on me.

An excitement,…even giddiness surrounding me.

The last thing I wanted to do was let t slip that I was hearing voices. And yet...there were moments, as we struggled to navigate the dank, dark tunnel, that I became convinced I heard giggling. Very similar to when I first met King Robert III at Tämä-Un.

It was unsettling.

As the second to last down into the tunnel, I flinched as the lid clicked shut on the hollowed trunk above, sealing us in darkness. It was unusually warm, considering we were underground. A musty smell overlaid with a powerful scent of soil. It made me choke, and I coughed.

The party moved slowly down the narrow incline, which seemed to go on forever. Small fingers reached out from the walls, brushing against and tugging at my jeans. It was startling, having things grab at you, suddenly, in the darkness. My sneakers had a talent for finding stray roots poking up from the floor. It forced me to reach out and run my hand along the wall to steady myself. 

“That’s far enough,” Animal said from behind me. “Let’s have a bit of light, Doc.”