Descent into Darkness (Major Spoilers for House of Ashes)

Chapter Seven

Gabrielle had no idea where in the temple she was now. Only when she had a moment to take a breath was when she'd noticed that Salim lost the gun during the prior fight, the man still carrying the metal spike with him.

Neither one said anything, the pair just wordlessly walking down the dimly lit corridor, Salim now using his lighter to light the way. They didn't even get far before they noticed a humanoid silhouette at the other end of the corridor. He unsheathed his makeshift weapon, squinting into the distance.

He decided to be civil with whoever it was and confront them, not wanting to start yet another fight. "I come in peace!" Salim called out to the figure, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm.

The moment the other person stepped into the light, Gabrielle felt so relieved to see that it was Jason she and Salim had come across. "Don't you fucking move!" Jason just demanded, keeping his gun trained on Salim, not having noticed her yet. She immediately stepped in between the two, just in case it turned into another situation that needed defusing. "Jason..." She started to say, just happy to find out he was still alive after all. "Glad to see you made it, Gabby." He addressed her first before including Salim in the conversation. "Did anyone else make it? Or is it just you two?"

"It all happened too fast. I think it's just the three of us." Salim answered honestly, unsure about the status of the rest of the group. "We're stuck with you huh? Well isn't that just fucking great..." Jason trailed off, clearly not happy with the thought of that. 

Gabrielle, knowing him as well as she did, was surprised that the conversation had managed to stay somewhat civil, but she still stayed alert, not trusting it to stay that way. "I don't mean you, or Gabrielle, any harm. I swear." Salim insisted, still trying his best to avoid getting into another fight.

Jason just kept his gun aimed at the man. "No shit. Gabby and I are the ones with the guns." 

She decided to intervine, worried that Jason was going to actually shoot him. "Jason, please put the gun away..." She tried to ask, though he didn't seem to be listening. 

"Look, we don't have to be friends, but we can be allies." Salim reasoned calmly.

That seemed to get through to Jason. "That's something I can get on board with." Jason agreed, the pair lowering their weapons. She was grateful that it hadn't escalated and they'd been able to come to an agreement. Once that talk was out the way, the trio continued onwards down the corridor. As either staircase was blocked off by more debris, they jumped down the middle.

They then continued walking, both men staying quiet for a moment. "If I think for one second you're trying to cross us, best believe me, the following second you're dead." Jason spoke up, still not letting go of the surface conflict and struggling to bury the hatchet. "I kill vampires, you think I'm afraid of a jarhead?" Salim pointed out.

The next room they found themselves in was a lot smaller, an unusual looking gate at the other end, some more statues dotting the area.

Though what she had focused on during the exchange was what he'd called the creatures. "You think they really are vampires?" She asked him, feeling like they still didn't know enough about them to fully commit to that assessment quite yet. "Well, they do feed on blood and burn in the sunlight. What other explanation is there?" Had been his response. She supposed that made some kind of sense when she properly thought it over.

Their next course of action was to head over to the gate. "That looks like our best way through." Jason admitted, Gabrielle nodding in agreement. "One of us holds up the gate, and the others can slip through." Salim also agreed, the trio immediately going to push and hold the gate up as high as they could. Which had been a struggle because of how heavy it turned out to be.