Rosetta Dagotto and the Fight for the Underworld

Chapter Twenty: Baskerville, CO

Chapter 20: Baskerville, CO

Rosetta is both glad and somber they have arrived in Baskerville. They walk from the baseball field using the map to find Echidna's lair, where the portal lies. They encounter no problems except that said Echidna is also known to be a man-eating monster.

So far, every she has come across has wanted to eat her even though Rosetta is 99 percent sure she would taste awful.

Something weird happens as they get closer to the cave entrance. The sky gets darker, and the air gets colder, which doesn't make sense because it's May. Rosetta's breath mists. The only thing missing is snow, and it would just be Canada all over again.

A tickling sensation drifts onto her neck, and she rubs at it. It's like her body is sensing a dark evil nearby. Echidna's cave is hidden behind a group of trees. The birds aren't chirping, and any animals that might have been here are gone. It's like Echidna scared them all off.

"Does it feel weird to you too?" Nova whispers to her.

"Yeah, it feels evil," Rosetta agrees. "It reminds me of the energy Erebus was radiating."

"That's a bad sign," Nova states, biting his lip nervously, hand clenched on his sword at his waist.

"It'll be alright," Rosetta reassures him. "As long as we stay together, we'll be fine."

The inside of the cave is a massive maze-like cavern. The cave is dark and damp, and Rosetta can hear hissing from farther in the cave. Rosetta pulled the map out again and used the flashlight on her phone to read it. Now that they are in the cave, the map transforms. It's no longer a map of Baskerville; it's a map of Echidna's cave. There is a line showing which way they should go. And footprints on the map show exactly where Rosetta and Nova are located.

They start walking slowly but surely, using the flashlight to see ahead whenever they take a turn. They go left and right and then left again. They even climb some stairs made of dirt that bring them to a lower underground.

Besides the sound of hissing, the only sound Rosetta can hear is the sound of their footsteps and the sound of her breathing. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest. She can also smell something gross, and it smells potent and unpleasant to her nostrils. They see serpents coming out of the walls as they traverse another pathway.

They speed up, heading in the opposite direction of the snakes. Rosetta isn't a fan of snakes; the fangs and the hissing is just too creepy for her.

"Rosetta," Nova grunts. "We need to stop."

"Why would we do that?" Rosetta asks him. "We need to keep moving."

She turns as Nova leans against the dirt wall, clutching his leg, jaw clenched in pain.

She kneels quickly. "Nova, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," he tells her, smiling weakly. "I just need a break from walking."

"No, that's not true," she lectures. "You're gripping your leg, so it's bothering you. Let me take a look."

She moves to grasp his pant leg, but he pulls it away.

"It's fine, Rosetta," he pleads to her. "It just stings a little, but it'll be fine. I just need to sit for a bit, and then we can keep walking."

"Nova," she narrows her eyes at him, making her tone stern. "Let me look at your leg, or I will make you, and you don't want to see when I'm mad."

Nova hesitates but eventually agrees to let Rosetta take a look.

Rosetta carefully peels back the pant leg, which she only just notices is soaked with blood. The wrap is red with blood. She unwraps the ace bandage, ensuring she is as careful as possible. The bite marks the hellhound had made on Nova's leg ooze some black liquid. It doesn't look good, and the wound seems to be infected.