FORSAKEN II - Eternal Dawn

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The Je'daii emerged through the floor of yet another vast cubic space.

"How long are we going to keep doing this?" Elynn said.

"I don't know," Syrran said. "Where are you Vi?"

"On my way." Virra had climbed atop the Box and managed to locate the air vent Menndo had told her about. She zeroed in on the closest one to the non-Force sensitive group of sentient beings she felt. Virra pressed her limbs against the sides of a narrow passage to control her descent. Reaching a horizontal duct, she squeezed her body inside, crawling toward her objective—a slow and arduous process.

In the Box's test chamber, the floor by the wall to the Je'daii's left side rose two meters high. Water began to flood the chamber from holes that opened around the room. Not knowing what was happening—and fearing the liquid could be something other than water—the Je'daii ran to the platform as the water reached their waists. The water kept surging, but the platform began to rise faster, until it reached two thirds of the chamber's height. The water stopped a meter below the edge of the stage. The exposed section of the walls beeped before turning back into screens.

"To reach your next challenge, you must show your ability to compromise," Moralo said. "Down below there is a passage, leading out of this room. All you need to do is figure out the lock and swim to safety. There's a caveat, though—"

Part of the wall behind the platform came out, forming a cabinet. Its right side opened, revealing four small breathing devices hanging inside.

"—There are only three breathing masks. Each contains enough air for a single person to complete the required task. And to help you choose who gets a chance to survive to the next evolution—"

The left side of the cabinet opened, offering a vibroblade.

"—these should be able to make things easier." Moralo cackled. "Oh, before I forget. Whatever decision you arrive to, you better do it fast—"

The section of ceiling over the water came down, covering everything but a small pool in front of the platform. Then, a buzz above the group made them look up. A red ray shield formed on the ceiling and began to descend.

"—You only have fifteen minutes to make your decision. Have fun." The screens beeped off.

Syrran looked down the water, the Force enhanced his sight to spot a small hatch at the bottom of the opposite wall, and its peculiar locking mechanism. "There are about twelve meters to the bottom, plus another twelve to reach the hatch," he said. "The lock on the hatch seems to be some kind of puzzle, but we don't know if the passage is also flooded."

"It is." Jarriss' farsight showed him what awaited. "The duct goes on for about ten meters and then starts twisting around for another ten... there are some clusters of strings stretched along the way."

Gorin made a quick calculation and said, "Based on the distance of the ones we had traversed between trials; we could be looking at another thirty-five feet until we reach safety."

"These air cannisters can't hold more than five minutes of air." Elynn picked one up to study it. "It barely gives us enough time to reach the other end, the Force willing we clear all the obstacles on the first try and without trouble."

"Should we start stabbing each other?" Addia said.

"We can control our breathing and share the air in pairs," Syrran picked up a mask. "I've done it before."

"What about opening the hatch?" Addia said. "That's going to take up time."

"I'll go first to figure it out and then the rest of you can go through."