Cave of Dreams

Yalador

Chapter 7 - Yalador

“So where do we go now?” Asked Wes. He looked down at the man’s dead body. “The Yaladins didn’t leave any trail.” He was right. There didn’t appear to be any way of knowing which way they went.

“Well, uh, what’s that thing?” Marcus said, pointing at a small black orb hovering in the center of the room. Nedra and Wes gave each other looks that appeared to mean, “How didn’t we see that?”

“That’s an entrance into the tunnel. It looks like that’s where the Yaladins went. We still have time to chase after them. Marcus, you’ll need one of these.” She handed him a small gun-like device. “It uses light as ammunition. You can use it to attack the Yaladins. This one’s already loaded.”

“You’ll need these too”, Wes said as he pulled some sort of goggles from the dead man’s utility belt. “They let you see in pitch darkness.”

“Well it looks like we’re all set.” Nedra said with a nod. Marcus didn’t necessarily agree, but he didn’t think she would care. She pulled out another device that looked something like a grappling hook. “This is a Dimensionoid”, she said sensing Marcus’s curiosity. “We all have to be touching it to get transported.” Wes and Marcus grabbed onto the Dimensionoid. Suddenly the grappling hook shot out and latched onto the black orb. “Well here goes nothing”, Nedra said as she pressed a button.

Marcus’s vision began stretching and twisting as he entered the fifth-dimensional tunnel. The world around him appeared to shrink down to a single sphere, as though he were seeing at it through a looking glass. The sphere continued to quickly shrink until it became a single point in the distance.

Slowly the new universe came into focus. They appeared to be in a complex cave system. Huge stalactites reached down from the ceiling. Everything appeared to be in black and white, the effect of the goggles. “Everyone keep your voices low. Try not to speak if you can. Everything you say echoes.” Nedra said in an extremely quiet voice. She led them deeper into the cave.

“W-w-what the hell is that thing.” Marcus tried his best to whisper as he pointed at an enormous spider creature crawling on a far wall. The spider didn’t have any eyes. Instead it had a large pulsing dome on it’s back.

“Yaladin”, Wes whispered to Marcus. Nedra motioned with her head that they needed to keep moving. Marcus pulled his eyes away from the spider creature and followed after Nedra. After continuing into the cave for a few minutes, they neared the top of a steep hill. Nedra turned around and put a finger to her lips. She began moving much slower, and Wes and Marcus followed her lead.

When they reached the top of the hill, it became obvious what Nedra was trying to tell them. A humongous centipede was blocking their path. She looked at Marcus and Wes and gave them a slight nod. Marcus knew what this meant, and he didn’t like it. It meant they would have to kill the centipede.

Nedra moved slowly toward the creature, trying to get the best shot possible. As they approached, the centipede’s huge fangs became visible. When Nedra felt like they were close enough, she put her hand up in the air, signaling to stop. She pointed her gun at the centipede, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

A bright beam of light shot out from the gun, hitting one of the centipede’s legs. The creature began squirming in pain, but it wasn’t dead. Suddenly the creature began rushing toward them, it’s many legs scuttling along the floor. Wes and Nedra fired shot after shot at the vicious beast, but Marcus stood frozen in fear. Suddenly everything around him appeared to pause in time.

“Hello Marcus”, he heard a familiar voice say beside him. He turned around to see none other than Sean standing beside him. He had a smirk on his face, as though he knew his presence would confuse Marcus.

“What? How are you…? What are you doing here?” Marcus managed to get out. He looked back at the centipede, frozen in an attack position over Wes.

“I’m here to help you, just like I always have.” He patted Marcus on the back. “Now take that gun you’re holding and point it at the centipede.” Marcus had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he did as Sean said. “Good! Now aim right at the head.” Marcus closed one eye and adjusted the gun. “No, no, no. Marcus, that’s going to go way too high!”

“Well why don’t you just do it then?” Marcus said, handing over the gun to Sean. Sean looked at him and sighed.

“I’m sorry Marcus, but we both know I can’t do that. Now get your head back in the game. Point your gun at that centipede.” Marcus took a deep breath and aimed the gun. “That’s perfect! Now hold your breath and pull the trigger, nice and slow.”

Marcus’s hands were shaking nervously, but he tried to control it.  Slowly, he pulled back the trigger. A beam of light shot out from the barrel. All at once, the centipede toppled onto the ground, dead. Marcus looked for Sean, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Whoa nice shot Marcus!” Nedra said in an excited whisper. “What are you looking for?”

“Oh…nothing. I thought I dropped something.” Marcus wasn’t used to lying, but somehow it felt empowering.

4 days ago – 

“You’re right, I’m just nervous. Well then, better get going while I still have daylight.” He began walking down the path only a few steps before turning back around to put in one last word. “Thank you Sean. For everything.” Sean gave a slight nod.

As Marcus continued down the path he began getting hungry. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a bag of trail mix. He sat down on a nearby log and began eating. He enjoyed the sounds of nature and the fresh air.

Another backpacker approached him, coming down the trail in the opposite direction. “Beautiful day for a hike isn’t it?” The man was well built and looked like an experienced hiker.

“Yeah, it’s nice out.” Marcus said, stuffing another handful of trail mix into his mouth. Much to Marcus’s chagrin, the man sat down beside him and tried to get a conversation going. Marcus tried to avoid eye contact in an attempt to get the man to leave him alone.

“I come hike here once a month to get my mind off of things. I like being alone in nature. It’s refreshing. How about you?”

“What?”

“What brings you here? Hiking?”

“Oh. Yeah same, getting my mind off things.”

“That’s great! It’s always good to see other people enjoying the great outdoors as much as I do. Is this your first time on a backpacking trip?”

“Well I went on some training hikes. It’s my first time alone though.”

“Oh got it. I just thought I should let you know that you should clip this buckle around your waist, it makes everything a lot easier.” The man gave a friendly smile to Marcus.

“Oh. Thanks.” Marcus returned an uncomfortable smile. He never liked these encounters with random people.

“Well I guess I ought to be on my way. What’s your name?”

“Marcus.”

“Well I’m Wes. Maybe we’ll see each other again some day.”

“Yeah…maybe.”