Emerged In Darkness

Chapter 15

The next time Saran opened her eyes, she felt refreshed.

Her mind was clear and her body felt better than it had in a while. With a small yawn, she sat up and looked around.

Objects lay scattered around the floor. The doors of the cabinet were thrown open and the white sheet was haphazardly thrown to the floor.

Lucas must have ransacked the place looking for her.

Carefully, she stood up.

The clothes on her body were no longer completely soaked but they were still damp. Her shoes squelched when she took steps over to the door.

Saran threw it open and walked back out.

The sky was still as dark as ever. Not even the moon was showing to give her some light to walk back the way she came.

Carefully, she made sure to keep to the middle of the old wooden bridge and began walking. The occasional flickering yellow light illuminated her way, making it a tad bit easier to walk through the inky darkness. And slowly but surely, Saran found herself back at the thin bridge she'd run across, trying to escape the room she'd been in with Lucas.

Except, the bridge wasn't there anymore.

There was a large gap between her and the platform with the door. Dark, murky water quietly waved and splashed underneath her hauntingly.

A sigh left her mouth as she began to pace back and forth and her teeth gnawed at the soft skin of her lip until she tasted blood in her mouth.

How was she supposed to get back now? What about Ethan? What if he was in trouble or Lucas had sent him to another trap or-

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened up.

Saran stopped in her tracks, tense.

A body swung around the door and she caught a flash of blonde hair and white shirt.

Ethan.

Her body filled with relief and the tension melted away.

"Ethan! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She called out to him.

His head shot up until his blue eyes found her and his body relaxed just the tiniest bit.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Are you okay?" He asked back, searching her body for any visible injuries.

Saran gave a tiny little smile at the worry and concern that Ethan was showing before she responded.

"I'm fine, just a little wet."

To prove her point, Saran raised her arms and wiggled the damp fabric of her blue button down shirt.

He only shook his head with the tiniest bit of amusement. But Saran could tell there was something wrong. He didn't seem like his usual self. She frowned.

But before she could think any more on it, he spoke up again.

"Any particular reason why you're wet?"

She hesitated, glancing between Ethan and her feet.

"Well, it's sort of a long story. And we don't have time for long stories so..." she drawled out.

Ethan let out a sigh before he walked back through the door and keep back out with his stuff, her things, and a wooden crank.

He pulled on his bag and shouldered her own before inserting the wooden crank into a device beside him and turning it.

A deep rumbling sounded up and she watched as the bridge she'd run over earlier rose from the dark water.

It clicked into place on her platform and stopped moving. Ethan grabbed the crank from its place and walked over to her. She smiled in thanks at him as she took her things.