Trip To The Inferno [OLD VERSION]

Part 14

I woke up with a feeling as if someone was pushing me to the ground, my muscles were in pain and I felt like shit. A groan escaped my mouth and with a little struggle, I opened my eyes. Before my eyes was a stone ceiling that glowed faintly in orange colour.

I tried to move to my side, but my body refused to cooperate. I felt exhausted. Gathering my little left strength, I managed to turn to my right and lay on my stomach. Moving my body like that left me out of breath which confused me. What happened to me? Memories of the man biting into my shoulder came to my mind and I shivered. That man scared me. This place scared me. Everything was scary.

With my body bolted in place, I looked, as much as my eyes could, before me. I was in a right corner of the cave, on a pile of furs. The bed was on a pedestal that rose the furs away from the stone floor. Opposite of me were crates and boxes stacked in the corner with a few things thrown on them, but I wasn't able to figure out what they were. Looking down, I saw a roaring fire contained in a circle of stones in the middle of the room with fur plates around it and different size pots on the stones. Through the flames I could see a small entrance leading somewhere.

Unable to move my head any further to see the rest of the cave, I let out a sigh. A sigh was followed by tears.

Jack's bloody body with his intestines out appeared in my mind and I sobbed. Why did they kill him? Was it because he looked like an Alpha in our group? And Allan. Why was he with these savages? He didn't even flinch when Jack's screams ripped through the night.

I felt my head pound painfully from all the questions accompanied with a burning sensation from my bitten shoulder. A hiss came out of my mouth and I closed my eyes as the burning feeling spread towards my chest. The time when the man bit me, the burning was as if someone poured boiling water on my shoulder, this time it was more like a shower that is hotter than the usual water I use, but manageable. The feeling spread from chest to my stomach next and it cooled down to a warm and fuzzy feeling.

I was lulled by soft furs underneath me, crackling fire and a warm feeling inside me. Before I could imagine one sheep jumping over a fence, I drifted to sleep.

Next time I woke up what felt like days of sleeping. The fire in the room was already turned to embers that faintly glowed in the darkness, casting shadows of things around it. I felt someone breathing behind me and my mind registered the arm around my waist as well as my back being pressed to a warm chest. I blinked a few times as the sleepiness went away. I with, if I were to guess, the leader were covered by fur and his body heat made the moment very cozy. Closing my eyes, I was about to enjoy the warm and safe feeling I was cocooned in when my brains began working and reminded me that the man behind me forced me to kill my best friend. What if the man is not the one responsible for the killing and bitings? What if while I was out, I was sold to another one? My breathing increased as my body went stiff. I moved my body away from the man as carefully as I could, lifting his arm in super slow motion. My body slid away from his and placing the arm down on the fur, I turned around.

It was the leader.

A strained sigh left me. At least I wasn't sold or anything, but I was in a room with a killer and a savage.

After a quick thinking moment, I decided to investigate my surroundings and then begin the escape plan. Slowly standing up, I stealthily walked away from the pile of furs with the stranger on it.

I walked to the dying fireplace and looked around. The mysterious entrance was to my right and I decided to investigate it after looking around. To my left was a long stone block, reaching my waist and on top of it were weapons neatly placed next to each other. I saw a couple of bows, a set of twelve daggers all in different shape, a couple of swords and a spear. All of them were made out of dark stone and wood with handles secured with leather. All of them had carvings associated with a moon and a wheat, just like those statues of a woman and a man. They must be their Gods and these symbols hold some religious purpose.

Continuing looking, I saw a pile of firewood in the left corner and another alchemy table at the right corner. It didn't have all of those fancy flasks like the Herbalist had, but I could see a few crates full with herbs and a couple of bowls on the stone block/table.

Between the firewood and the alchemy table was a wide gap that lead outside. After a quick decision making, I decided to check the mysterious entrance first and then the outside.

I walked to the entrance when I heard a shuffling from behind me. Turning around I saw the leader changing his position in his sleep and laying on his back, dreaming away. With a small sigh of relief, I ducked into the entrance and walked into another part of the cave.

A huge underground spring opened up to me. The steam was lazily drifting over a pastel pink water while a small stream ran down into the pool at the very back corner of the cave. I walked up to the edge and crouched down, reaching for the water. It was warm and really inviting. As I walked around the perimeter of the pool I made a note to take a dip in there as soon as possible.

As the further left side of the pool was rammed into the wall, the other one had some space for preparation for the bath. Stone benches lined the wall with small square shaped holes above them. At the very end I saw another stone block/table with different bowls full with colourful mixture, a pile of cloth and brushes. The entire room was shrouded in darkness, but I was able to see a fireplace at the very back of the "preparation" side and by the entrance.

As I was leaving the room, I noticed yet another hole in the wall. Peeking in, I saw, well, toilet. Stone block with a hole.

What's with the square stone blocks? Tables, benches and even the toilet.

Not wanting to waste any more time staring at the toilet, I left the bathroom. My eyes instantly went to the sleeping figure of the leader and after I made sure he was dreaming away, I made my way to the entrance of this mini cave system.

Walking through the mouth of the cave, I walked out on an open balcony area. It was high above the ground and I began looking around. The left side of the balcony ended in a wall of the volcano while the right side had stairs leading down. In both, left and right, corners were metal bowls with fire crackling in them. I walked up to the edge and peered down. To my surprise, I saw the area where the killing and biting happened. I could see rows of tents, the bloody pedestal, thankfully without any bodies, and barely could see statues of animals visible from underneath me.

Okay, this man was definitely a leader.

I turned around and looked up to the volcano. From my angle I couldn't see the top of it, but it sure made me feel small.

Suddenly, a growl resonated through the air that was followed by my name.

'Lynea' the threatening voice reached me and I felt my blood freeze.

Looking down from the volcano and onto the mouth of the cave, my eyes met bright blue ones and out of fear that gripped my chest, I took a step back.