My footsteps sound almost muffled in the huge, open space. Every time my boot kisses the hard stone it makes no more noise than leaves blowing over sand. Even more strange than my muffled footfalls is the fact that I can't seem to hear anyone else's footsteps at all.
I can see everyone ahead of me though, which brings some small feeling of relief. My relief is countered by the hushed atmosphere of the place. I swear I can hear whispering behind me, and every so often I swing my head around to scan our six o'clock. There's never anything out there.
Like all caverns, there's a distant echo of air pressures changing, and wind whipping against stone far and away. The darkness shrouding the rest of the stone outcroppings is oppressive, and it almost feels like it's reaching out at me. I'm able to swallow the uncomfortable lump in my throat and continue on the heels of Asher as she wends her way in front of me.
More than once we have to pause and make a long drop down to the next stone platform. At one point, there's a twelve-meter gap, with a twenty-meter drop between the two walkways. One by one we make the jump. First Vario, then Hayes, Skelter, Gideon, Keate, Fjenne, Asher and then myself. Nobody seems to have much difficulty crossing the distance, but if everyone feels the way I feel as I pass over the void below... well, its disconcerting to say the least.
We pass under a large dirt-and-stone arch, as the path leads us through. The arch itself looks as old as this place. I have a strange feeling that I could crumble the support column with my fingertips if I so chose. The thought sends shivers down my spine and mentally I step away from my L'appel du vide moment.
Our pathway seems to narrow as we grind closer and closer to a large stone wall on our right-hand side, and the drops become shorter but more frequent. Out to my left I have a much better view of the huge stone landing: it's filled with pillars, jagged edges, and in the center sits a big, Vex-like metallic arch, and on the farthest wall is another huge drum of a door. Somehow the pad looks to be lit, although I cannot distinguish a true light source. Maybe from the two huge metallic pillars, but it's hard to tell.
When our group finally reaches a flat space, we take a moment to regroup.
"We must have traveled down more than a few kilometers," Hayes says, looking around.
"Looks like we have to go down even further," Keate says, pointing toward the large rounded door in the center of the structure below "I'll be damned if the path doesn't continue down behind that."
"How do we get that one open?" Skelter asks. "I don't see any conductive pads down there. In fact, I don't see much of any-" his sentence is cut off by a loud synthetic warble, emanating from the stone landing below us. It's a menacing sound, not unlike the Praetorians we had fought earlier. It sounds deeper, though. Bigger. More ominous. Foreboding, almost.
A cloud of grey-black particles form at eye level with us, and I see electricity crackle in the center of the body. I recognize the TransMat teleportation sequence, and I rush to the ledge overlooking the stone surface below.
I look over to see what can only be a Vex conflux, and it's very clearly open. I have little experience with these, but the moment I see it I know that it needs to be shut immediately.
Without thinking twice, I leap down and shout into the fireteam channel: "Get down here, now!"
Checking my motion-activated radar shows me that Vario is right behind me, with Hayes and Keate close after. The others scramble to the edge and follow. When everyone is on the ground again, another deep, low, synthetic growl thunders across the stone well.
"What the hell is that?!" Gideon shouts, his voice doused in terror. He's pointing between the two towering metal pillars toward the gigantic door across the field. I follow his finger until my eyes find the object of Gideon's fear. Right in front of the large door sits a huge Vex platform.
YOU ARE READING
Only On Paper
FanfictionA Warlock sent as an intel scout rather than a scientist slowly begins to resent his leadership. After stumbling across an unlikely companion, he begins pushing his limitations, eventually catching some well-deserved attention. When he and a Crucibl...
