Contraptions

Chapter 5- New Worlds

Lilah-

The stench of the sewers almost seemed to rot my brain, and I felt like I was going to burst full of guck and slime, ooze squirting out of me until I'm nothing but a part of the sewer itself. Well, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but you get my point. 

Like a whole new world, I stepped down from the last step of the ladder, my shoes touching the lime green water, as it swiftly flowed down the drains. I saw Blaire above me, covering her nose and mouth, making gagging like sounds. 

She steps down and shakes the bad nerves off of her, examining her surroundings while whining, "Eek! This is the most disgusting, horrible, disturbing thing I have ever done! I blame you for this Lilah." 

She points at me with a glare in her eyes, one I'm quite used to as a matter of fact. She is probably used to my returned deadpan stare. In fact, if there was one picture to describe this , I guess friendship, a picture at this moment would cover it. 

"Hey, I'm not the one in fault here. When we find Connor, you can yell at him all you want. Go crazy." She slowly lowers her finger and ponders that for a bit, eventually coming to the realization that yelling at Connor would be quite a good time. 

"Ok... But let me ask one question. Why are we in the sewers, what is your lead, and most importantly... What is your plan!?" She squealed extremely loud, as we started walking down the sewer, against the flow of the water. At least, I hope its water. I rub my ears, and it feels like I just got yelled at by my mother. To reiterate, it's not the best feeling.

 "First of all, that was more than one question. Second, we heard the music and rumbling, so if we follow that, it could point us in the direction of Connor." 

Blaire cupped her ears and looked forward, squinting. "Uhhh I don't hear anything." I look at her and roll my eyes, "I did, until you permanently damaged my eardrums." 

She scoffs and continues forward on the path. We walk side by side, looking at our surroundings. The sewers were dark and gloomy, wet and gunk all around. Things hanging from the ceiling, and chunks of stuff floating in the "water" and along the walls. Don't even ask me what those are, I would never want to know.

"Why would people even want to be down here?" Blaire asked trudging in the green goo, her face sweating and her mascara slightly running down her face. Suddenly, I heard the music stop.

 I put my hand out to stop Blaire from walking any more, and step forward to listen. I heard trudging, growls, sounds one would only ever hear in nightmares.

 I look over at a concerned Blaire, slowly stepping backward, "Who said they were people?"

Blaire-

Ever since I was a little girl, I had always wanted a puppy. A cute little pug, that was the dream. So when Lilah suggested the thing running at us could be dogs or animals, my first thought was, "How cool!!"

But dreams are never reality. And so once again, my dream of having a little puppy is crushed. And replaced, with a herd of terrifying dog-like creatures running towards me and Lilah at high speed. For a second, I thought I was for sure dead. So I just watched them come forward, closer and closer. 

I'm not sure what I was doing. I saw their sharp teeth, claws, their snarl. And yet, I stayed. Until Lilah tugged my arm and screamed, "Blaire! We gotta go, right now!!"

 I snap back into reality, and follow her as she ran the opposite way down the sewer. The dogs were fast, they trudged behind us with their barks echoing loudly through the sewer tunnel. I try my best not to slip, but everything is such a blur. 

My mind barely has time to process the questions, why are these dogs even here? Who is keeping them? Are they wild? My mind runs rapidly, but an even bigger worry comes to mind, could they have done something with Connor?

I just keep going, following Lilah through twist and turn, trusting her with my life. My head is spinning frantically, I cannot even process what is happening. But the dogs don't stop. They keep running, and so do I. 

Lilah gestures for me to hurry, and I increase my speed until I am no longer steps behind her, but rather running at her pace. "The bag" she pants and looks ahead. I give her a look of confusion, and then she points to the bag on her back. 

"Oh!" I squeal as I grab it from her, examining the materials inside. Pencils, papers, notebooks, what exactly was I looking for? Lilah snatches the bag from me, both of us still running, and breathing very heavy.

 I mean seriously, if I would have known this would happen, I would have accepted the offer to compete on the track team. She digs for a while, and pulls of a small lighter, shiny and red. Then, she shoves it into my hand, as she pulls out a small purple notebook. 

Light the notebook with the lighter. When we come to the next turn, throw the book straight, and we will turn the other way into a different tunnel. The dogs will follow the smoke and the light, hopefully." 

I don't say anything out loud, but rather think. Could this even work? I mean, what are the odds they would fall for it? Then again, they are dogs, how much can they even know? Gosh, I'm overthinking again! 

I shake the questions burning in my brain off of me, and the only thing I can bring myself to do is nod. I grab the lighter and turn on the switch, the small flame lighting up my eyes. Then Lilah holds the notebook out in front of me. 

I look ahead to see the upcoming turn, to the right, a tunnel lays. I take a deep breath and focus. I have to pay attention. If I mess this up, I will die. Lilah will die. We cannot run them out forever, and I won't die being eaten by a dog, something I have wanted my whole life.

 I look at Lilah, take in a deep breath, and hold the flame to the book, wincing. The book immediately lights up in flames, the whole cover turning brown as the orange and red hue engulfs it. Lilah holds the book from the bottom, trying her best to avoid the fire. 

We come to the turn and as we shift, Lilah forcefully throws the book covered in flames forward as we quickly dash to the right. When we turn, Lilah yells in pain, and she falls to the floor crying with her hand covering her mouth. 

I cover her with my own self, and hold my breath as I hear the stampedes feet come louder and louder. I turn and see all I hoped for, they are all running forward. I hear the dogs barks as I hide Lilah and I under my coat.

There must have been hundreds of angry dogs that passed. After a few seconds, I build up the courage to peek around the tunnel, and they are out of sight. 

I feel so much relief, but all the fear that was inside me spews out with uncontrollable tears, which only get worse when I discover Lilah's burn on the back of her hand. It was raw and looked  extremely painful.

 Lilah squealed and cried in agony, and I didn't know what to do. My friend was in pain, so much pain. And there was nothing I could do, except find Connor. Or the source of the music. Either would work.

 I helped Lilah up and reassured her that the dogs continued forward, and that everything was going to be ok. With a hand pressed against her back, I help her up from the floor and we walk towards where the dogs came from, hoping to find someone who would be willing to help two lost and wounded girls.

But in the end, it's all up to chance.

Hey ya'll! Thanks for all the support! Lmk how you like this chapter in the comments!