The Firmament Saga: Book I: The Rains of Sorrow

Chapter 18: Kindred Spirits

Chapter 18: Kindred Spirits (Eri)

Around 20 days after entering the tunnel

Eri saw it first. The tunnel, endless as it seemed, finally came to an end. It tapered down and up, like a horizontal funnel. While the tunnel itself was multicolored, the wall was made of pure grey steel. A few hundred feet ahead of her and Kane was an open doorway, just big enough to comfortably walk through.

"What is that?" Kane asked astonishedly. "What's beyond that door?"

"Hopefully food," Eri said, wistfully rubbing her stomach. It had been days since the fish and seaweed, and the pangs of hunger grew more and more intense with each passing day. "I'm starving."

"Me too," Kane replied. "So let's check it out."

"Yeah," Eri replied. She walked towards the doorway, Kane following close behind. A feeling of apprehension began to arise in her stomach as she crossed the threshold. She had a sinking feeling that another tribulation was about to begin.

Beyond the door was a long hallway that snaked off into the distance, twisting and turning. While it was lit by Lux lamps, the dark grey metal that it was made up of cast the area into dimness. The tunnel twisted and turned, and so did Eri's stomach as she advanced farther and farther into the unfamiliar environment.

The tunnel continued to twist and turn. Abruptly, it ended at a locked door.

"What's beyond there?" asked Kane.

His question was prematurely answered by the faint sounds of tense conversation coming from somewhere to the right.

"People," Eri gasped, shuddering as a wave of fear pulsed through her body. "Keep your voice down."

"Do you think they're with the Rain Caste?" whispered Kane.

"Maybe," Eri replied tensely. "Let's listen."

After a few minutes of listening, Eri could only make out two voices. One was an older man, the other was a younger one, around Eri and Kane's own age judging by the deep bass tone of his voice that nonetheless sometimes faintly cracked.

"I think we're fine," Eri said. "One of them sounds pretty dang old, and the other's around our age. Also, if they were Rain Caste, they'd probably be actively searching for us."

"Let's go greet them," Kane said. "Maybe they're friendly."

"I dunno," Eri answered. "Let's be cautious."

"To the sun with caution!" Kane exclaimed, kicking down the door. It crumpled and fell to the ground with a loud crashbangbumpboop. The sound was hollow and light due to the low quality of the door. Maybe it hadn't been designed with people breaking it down in mind.

"Sun dammit, Kane," Eri sighed, then stepped through the now-open doorway. In front of her, a hallway similar to the one she had just came through branched off to the left and right. The speaking stopped, but Eri remembered it coming from the right. And she had a hunch as to where - around 20 feet to the right was another door.

There was nothing but the sounds of her and Kane's boots as they clomped across the metal floor. Apprehension rose in her stomach, and she had to clear her throat to keep the feeling of bile from rising.

When he got to the door, Kane immediately kicked it open. "Hello!" he called as it fell to the ground.

The response was brutal. A multicolored blur sped out of the room and knocked Kane to the ground. He fell with a grunt of surprise. Alarm bells rung in Eri's mind as she stepped fluidly into a combat stance, prepared to punch her friend's assailant.