Gifted Ones

Chapter 35 Amber

We entered the cavern at five o'clock, and then time stood still. No electronics worked down here, not even the watches. And Flying was out of the question. They found that out by losing two men to the grid of energy over the walls. I watched as their bodies were instantly burnt to hollow shells and they fell to the labyrinth below, their deaths too quick for them to ever scream. I heard a couple of people relay this information through their headsets, and then we were moving. No one entered the maze yet. We remained in the boarder between the entrance and the cave wall. It was big enough for the whole army, so space was never an issue. They lined up in blocks two paces apart and stood at attention as more and more people came into the cave. I began to think we'd run out of room when the exodus finally stopped and they were told to be at ease. Tents were erected across the bare stone floor, large ones that housed a whole division per unit. There was one tent that was smaller than the rest, positioned in the center of camp, and the whole time I watched it I didn't see one person go in or out. Fires were started using the wood we brought along with us. Meals were cooked as well, and everyone ate as the odd sun-Like object disappeared and the stars came out. It was weird, unearthly, and I didn't like it at all.

I don't think I slept at all that night, although I had a mini tent to myself that was placed under guard. All I know was that at some point I came out of the tent and the light had come back, blazing above our heads and giving us heat once more. They packed up the tents quickly and efficiently, and that was when the first men went into the maze. Six divisions were dispatched while the rest waited outside. We waited and waited for what seemed like forever, and then the ground started to shake. I was sitting on the outcropping in front of the tunnel that took us there, and so I saw it all with my own eyes. Far off in the maze, a giant crack split through the walls and cut through them, creating a wide open canyon. A few minutes later I heard Harry cursing and was able to piece together that all six divisions were wiped out due to mass panic when the ground started to shake. The few Flyers they had were weighed down with too many people and they passed out, dropping all of them into the rift. I guess the maze was more dangerous than I thought.

An hour later two more divisions were dispatched. I didn't see anything happen to them, but I guess it was something bad cause Harry began cursing again. They're out of their element here, being forced to bend to rules set by someone else, and it makes them livid, I can tell. Many divisions spent the past couple hours attacking the walls, despite the fruitlessness of the endeavor. I think I saw a couple Mages pass out and not get up again. People surrounded them for a while before a stretcher carried them off. I don't think they survived. And it was so pointless. If you come across a brick wall you don't throw yourself at it until you break every bone in your body.

I guess that some superior officer ordered them to stop, cause after a while they left the walls alone and rejoined the rest of the group.

Not too long after, a group of people began to gather in front of the small tent, the one that no one had gone into or cone out. They all talked into earpieces, but I couldn't hear any words. Then, after the group's numbers reached twenty four, they all moved to go inside, closing the flap behind them and placing get two guards outside. I watched them for a while before growing bored and moving on.

Nothing happened for a very long time. I watched the Shifts spar from my place on the overhang, and waited. We were all waiting, holding our breath. Despite all of the preparation and the mass exodus to this island from all over the world, everything had gone still and no one was doing anything of importance. I didn't know what to think.

The people finally leave the small tent at sometime around noon, I think. They start to make their way to the front of the group, and I notice that there's an extra person that wasn't there before. I can't see anyone's face clearly, though, so it's a mystery as to who it is. But I see that, with every tent they pass, the whole company stiffens and gets very quiet. They're all staring at the small group, and I feel realization dawn on me as the soldiers sink down into a deep bow directed towards the man in front. I focus on his face specifically, and hatred settles in my stomach. It's him, their leader, the rebel himself, Gabriel Anderson.