Shurak, book 2

Chapter 3

I crouch towards the dark hallway and stop at the intersection. I look on all sides, listen for any sounds, and take the route I know.

"Keep up doomseed," I whisper and jog through the halls, only checking once that he's behind me.

Something flashes out front, and I stop, but the lumbering Zohra barrels on my back, almost making me fall flat on my face.

Blasters flash, and their sound echoes in the hallway, so I push my back on the man and whisper, "Don't move."

I ready up the blaster, but it's so dark I can barely make out the pins in the gun. I pull out the empty-looking one and throw it out. The pins hold seven plasma bullets, and there are four more of them.

I aim towards the hallway where the sounds and flashes came from, but it's suddenly quiet.

Unfortunately, the way back to the eat-your-intestines elevator is where the combat noise was coming from.

I take a deep breath and poke my head on the branching hallway. It's either a 50/50 to the elevator, or choose your adventure.

"Awesome, awesome, awe—some," I sing as another round of blaster zaps comes from the way I want to go.

I guess I'm choosing my own goddamn adventure.

I pat the Zohra behind me and start moving to the unknown hallway. It's pitchblack and it's fucking freezing. Hopefully the breeze of icy cold means there's a way out. How else would there be wind?

I keep my right hand on the wall and shuffle through the darkness.

"Oh, awesome," I whine sarcastically as I feel another opening on the wall. It's another branching way. I stare wide-eyed into the darkness, hoping to spot even a little speck of light anywhere, but nope. It's all black and gloomy.

"You don't happen to have some amazing night vision?" I ask, but I wouldn't even know his answer 'cause he's fucking mute. "Now would be the perfect time to inform me of your spider senses, or that you're the tramp who managed to be a Prince thanks to the magic lamp that grants wishes."

No answer, obviously. "Oh, don't worry, doomseed. If we get lost we will freeze first. I heard it's better than starving," I say and turn to check that he's actually still behind me, I slap his slimy warm flesh.

"Well, I'll be freezing to death, you have to starve if you're still this warm. Grab my belt." I turn and try to direct his hand on the belt on my coat. He grabs my hair and I wince.

"Lower," I hiss and slap his arm. "Stop ripping my hair, it's under it. Fuck."

He manages to grip the belt and I shake my head in disbelief. "Definitely no night vision and the spider senses aren't tingling either," I mutter and keep going straight, luckily he's able to keep up and I don't have to drag his big ass along.

"If you have a genie in a bottle, whip it out," I whisper as I feel another opening, which has even colder air coming out of it. "Cause I don't have a clue where we at."

A menacing growl echoes from the cold hallway and I stiffen, one big-ass, glowing, green eye opens and flashes me with its bloom.

They have a fucking Unitaur here. We call them that because they have one horn and one eye, and they kinda look like the mythological minotaurs. Not that I can see it now, but that's the big googly eye of one.

It's absolutely fantastic news. Not.

"Time to run like your life depends on it!" I yelp and start shooting at it, the place grows black for a moment, leaving the ghost of his glowing eye teasing my eyeballs in the darkness. It's like staring at the sun too long.