Follow || Sanders Sides

18. The Secret Room

Oh my god, I can't wait for this

TW: swearing, talk of war, fear, being locked in someplace, darkness,

________________________

Logan looked at the base of the shelf again, observing it and the shelves around it.

"If I'm right, it should just.." The door swung open, revealing darkness beyond it. "Bingo. Let's go."

"But it's dark in there," Patton said. "Shouldn't we get a light or something?"

"Patton, I don't know of any lights on this island anymore," Logan murmured. "There's nothing we can get. We have no choice. It's either we don't go in and forget about this, or we go in the dark."

"I... I guess we go in the dark then," Patton mumbled. "We just have to be careful not to fall. Who knows what's in there."

"It will be alright," Logan reassured him. "I'll go first. We can hold hands so we don't lose each other in the dark."

"Okay," Patton mumbled. Logan took his hand. It was warm in his own, and oddly comforting. They entered the darkness together, letting it surround them. It felt oddly thick, like the air was trying to suffocate them. There was a click behind them, and all of the light was gone. The door had shut.

"It looks like we'll have to figure out another way out," Logan said with a sigh. "I think it locked."

"How did it even close?" Patton asked. His voice didn't waver, but he squeezed Logan's hand tighter, showing his fear. "It didn't open that easily. Do you think someone locked us in?"

"I don't know," Logan said quietly. "But we should keep moving. I don't want to find out why that door closed."

They walked for what seemed like hours in the dark. It was eerily silent, and the darkness was oppressive and thick. If the air hadn't been dry, Logan would've blamed it on humidity. The air felt unusually dry, however, so it couldn't be that. His questions only grew when he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye, but then it was gone.

"Patton, did you see something just now?" Logan asked. He tried to keep his voice calm, not wanting to worry Patton.

"No," Patton said. "Why? Did you?"

"I'm sure it was nothing," Logan reassured him, though he was more so trying to reassure himself. It was so dark he couldn't even see Patton, so why would he be able to see something else? It made no sense.

"L-Logan," Patton said, his voice shaking. "I think I just saw something."

"What was it?" Logan asked. Before Patton could respond, they both saw it. There was a glowing light that seemed to swirl and spark. It created a soft glow, swirling around them and over them. "It's magic. That- that's magic."

"But how?" Patton reached out to touch it, but it moved away from his reach. "I thought the barrier keeps magic out of here."

"We have a little bit of magic here," Logan explained. "Just not much. This seems to be old magic though. Something that's been here since before the barrier was created. Maybe since even before the war."

"I wonder what it's doing here," Patton murmured.

"It seems to be good," Logan commented. "The room was almost oppressive before, but now it seems lighter. Maybe we should follow it and see where it takes us. After all, at least it gives us light. We don't know where we're going right now."

"Can we trust it?" Patton asked. "We don't know where it came from."

"Right now, I think it's the safest option." Logan sighed, looking at Patton in the soft light. The soft blue glow that the magic gave off was enough for them to see each other through the darkness. "Patton, if we don't make it out of here, I want you to know that.." Logan shook his head. "Forget it, we're going to make it out of here. The whole situation sounds hopeless when I word it like that. We'll make it out."

"I hope so."

The magic started moving through the dark, leading them down the tunnel. Logan noticed that at some point they had started going down, but he didn't understand why. What could possibly be under the ground? There was nothing that they could do but follow the light where it led them. Logan didn't want to know why the darkness felt so oppressive and dark.

Then the magic disappeared, leaving them alone in the dark. Logan went to say something, but suddenly light flashed before their eyes, and the world lit up around them. There was a pool of glowing water. The color was swirling in it, full of dark blue and purple. It was beautiful.

"What- what is this place?" Patton asked, his eyes wide in awe and fear. A soft, quiet voice spook from behind them.

"Welcome, travelers. I haven't had any visitors for a long time."

824 words.