I've done a bit | An SVA stori

Chapter 21.u57up1d: Starless

They lowered themselves into an opening (of a chapter). It was a tunnel with thin tracks running down it and a bumper at their end.
Their three phones showed the dripping walls and low arched ceiling.
"What do we do?" Asked Tom.
"We walk." Said Ire.
So they did.

"I think that's the first seal I've ever seen." Tom told.
"O!" Rowan thought, "Yea I've seen that seal before. It was around here actually. It watched me like it watched us then."
"...you think it knows something?" Ire asked.
"No- well yea, but..."
"But what?"
"What if it's not a seal?"
"Oh my god like a selkie?" Tom asked with stars in her eyes.
"Yea!" He agreed, "What if it wanted to show me that place? We should find it again!"
"You know what that means?" She asked.
"What?"
"I've still never seen a seal."

Ten minutes had past.
They had time so Ire went through the pictures she took of the papers.
The first showed designs resembling a space suit and labeled with numbers. 'Zazus' was printed at the bottom of the page.
The next showed a large circle with percentages and statistics in watts and megajoules none of which they were taught about or understood. Printed 'Zazus' as well.
The third page continued with numbers. Charts going up in fives with results and scatter graphs. Again 'Zazus' was printed at the bottom.
The next showed illustrations of a figure being struck by lightning and it bouncing off. The only paper with 'Zazus' absent.
The last paper seemed like workings out. Equations they might've known if the school actually taught them instead of wasting time pretending to be an academy. Hidden underneath that page was another showing the fingertips of the glove that was on the wall, but it was too late to go back and see it all.

It had been twenty minutes now.
Rowan and Ire couldn't understand the papers, but at least they knew where to start when they made it out: Zazus.

Well over half an hour had gone since they began walking and everyone began to feel it. Rowan and Ire busied themselves with the papers but the other two weren't so optimistic. Wolf had to drag herself and Tom clung to Ires coat to walk.
Rowan took off his boots and offered them to either girl. Wolf insisted Tom take them so she began floating along side the others.
It hurt Rowan to walk on wet rocks with no shoes but he didn't let the other see.

"It's been fifty minutes." Ire checked her phone.
"What are we even looking for?" Wolf complained.
"A station?" Rowan said, "A ladder or... I guess just a ladder."
Tom came down to her feet with a splash. The boots had ran out of fuel.
"Oh." She giggled, "Oops."
"No, my fault, I didn't fill it before we came." Rowan said.

They took a break. Plywood didn't make good seats and the wall was as uncomfortable as it looked, but everyone needed a rest.
"Next thing we do remind me to bring food." Ire said.
"Yea I could kill for food." Rowan sighed.
"Same." Tom said.

"Rowan." Wolf began, "You don't know how big this is no?"
"The sky?" He asked, "No. Why?"
"What if... like people catch on to us? -like you touching the sky and that?"
"Like men in suits coming to get us?"
"...yea."
"I don't know." He shrugged, "At that point, I guess we'd- I don't even know."
"It's like The Matrix yea." Ire said.
"That's like, really old." Rowan laughed.
"Ryan's obsessed with it."
"Uggggh." Wolf moaned.
"C'mon!" Ire shot up, "Can't be much further. Where'd you think we are?"
"Uhh- shi- T-bay?" Rowan sighed.

So they carried on walking. Rowan got his boots back but his socks were still wet.
"How long is this tunnel!" Wolf complained.
"There is no tunnel." Rowan said like an Australian.
"Th- you've seen it!" Ire laughed.

After well over an hour of walking in total they saw something different. Light seeped through the top showing a ladder to the side.
"See." Rowan smiled.
"Shut up." Wolf sighed, hiding her smile.
It opened eventually and the four climbed out, instantly Ire knew where they were.
"Falli?" She said.
They were just outside Falli, on the abandoned railroad. A rusted freight train cast them in shadow and Rowans hairs stood on end.
"We walked to Falli?" Tom asked.
"I'll phone Sue to come get us." Ire said, doing so.
"Rowan?" Wolf asked, seeing him far away.
He was scanning the hills like a meerkat.
"Rowan?" Wolf shook him.
He didn't tell because he didn't want to scare her, but the eyes had come back.