𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀 | ❝ long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light. ❞
━ A book in which at the close of the Iraq War, a military unit searching for chemical weapons unearth something far deadlier. In the ruins of a buried...
Eventually, after moving through the caverns, Jason Kolchek and Salim Othman find themselves in some large caves with waterfalls, after which they descend with ropes. When reaching the lower platform, Jason searches the perimeter before looking over his shoulder where he sees Salim standing dangerously close to the edge. Intrigued, Lieutenant Kolchek neared the Iraqi and saw that Salim held onto a wallet. He stared at the photo within, reflective, but one of his thumbs covered one figure but left the woman out in the open. "That your wife?" Jason assumed.
"Is funny how you can know someone for years and never really know them," Salim said about his former captain. "I had no idea my Captain was married." He added and finally met Jason's gaze.
"That the asshole you were with earlier?"
Salim paused, blinking with surprise, before replying, "He didn't make it." He stated. "Works for me. One less bad guy to deal with." Jason didn't spare any sympathy for the Iraqi's untimely demise.
"A time will come when you'll deeply regret this manner." Salim retorted. "I don't carry regrets," Jason responded, matter-of-factly, even though this was far from the truth. He just wanted to win their banter.
Without another word, Salim throws the wallet into the waterfall and moves on with Jason further into the caves.
After successfully managing to get out of the caves, the two soldiers find a huge hole leading deep into the ground and emitting an ominous green light. There were plenty of man-made structures in this area, including a small fence which acted as a safety precaution and an elevator cable. Jason was right after all about the archaeologists. "Well, this place is a jack in the box!" The southern man exclaimed.
"Allah..." Salim trailed off, praying, as he looked down to see that the crevasse seemed to never end.
"What do you make of it?" Jason tilted his head to the side, gesturing to the pit. "It's like nothing I've ever seen," Salim confessed.
"You see that elevator cable?" Jason points to the piece of machinery as he and Salim neared the far left-hand side of the expanse of the cave. "The explorers must have gone down." He added.
"I don't think they made it back up," Salim said but Jason ignored his warning. Instead, the American points up before uttering, "That winch still looks functional."
"No."
At his refusal to use the elevator to go downstairs, Jason's eyebrows furrowed together. "No?" He repeated, almost threateningly.
"We are not going down there! The archaeologists didn't make it out," Salim intuitively speculates. "What does that tell you?" He asks, rhetorically.
"We're not archaeologists," Jason replies, smug. "Our world is up here, not down below," Salim comments that their home is up on the surface which further frustrates the lieutenant.
"Well, there's an army of monsters between us and the world above," he adds before the two men guys hear the roar of approaching vampires. "They're close. Fire it up." Jason instructs Salim to get the elevator running quickly.
"Are you crazy?" Salim harshly whispers at the notion. "If those vampires come from anywhere, it's down there. You really want to fight them in their own home?" He didn't feel safe or comfortable when it came to entering the vampire's territory.
"It's what I've been doing since I set foot in this country," Jason glared back. "Get that elevator working!" He repeats himself as he and Salim moved forward. Jason held up his gun to act as a line of defence whilst Salim starts the generator and — after a few moments — the elevator rises from the pit.
At the sound of the chains whirring from the movement, Salim and Jason moved to the bridge where they impatiently watched for the elevator while the shrieks of the vampires drew closer. Finally, their way of escape jolted and bounced when it reached the top of the pit. Not having a moment to hesitate or back down, Jason and Salim enter the elevator.
As the vampires almost get to the guys, Jason pulls down a rusty lever which causes the elevator to instantly descend back down into the green cavity.
//////
a small chapter but that's alright! have a gif of jason to make it worthwhile:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
