A Second Chance // Thorki

Chapter twenty nine

Loki was so very glad he knew so much seidr.

Now that he'd been awake for a while and his head was generally clear, he cast a simple sort of night vision spell, granting himself good enough vision to see exactly where he was going in the pitch-black cave.

It was a tight cave, the tunnels barely big enough for Loki to stand in, having to duck to go past several roots that hung down from the ceiling.

Another blood-curdling scream. This time, he was able to tell who exactly it was- Banner.

So he was still alive after all.

He started to pick up the pace then, jogging lightly despite the fact his burning lungs begged him to not, jumping over roots and rocks, ducking under overhead roots and such.

Deeper and deeper he went, the temperature dropping significantly once the dirt turned to a darker, more clay-like material.

There was a fork in the road, one path slightly inclined, leading up somewhere, while the left went deeper into the earth.

And he heard another scream, this time not that of Banner's. It was Thor's.

He chose the left, and began to sprint.

Loki's heart was pounding against his ribs as if his chest was about to burst, blood rushing in his ears as he ran just as fast as he could down tunnel after tunnel after tunnel, going against every self-preserving instinct he had as he raced down deeper and deeper into the dark, cold ground. His lungs burnt from his heavy breathing and his entire body felt weak and useless, legs numb as he used every ounce of strength he had to race to the rescue.

His mind was racing almost as much as his heart, thoughts flying as he wondered just what had happened to his brother and the others, if anyone had been seriously injured. If anyone was dead.

Had they given up hope? Or were they fighting for their lives, against the beast who lived in such a dark, horrible place?

His heart felt cold and empty, pure dread filling him as he slowed to a stop.

There was light. It was faint, but it was there, flickering down deep, around a bend. It was a fire, or a candle, or something that was giving off a gentle, somewhat unsteady light.

And then there was yet another scream.  It was Thor's once again, and it sounded as close as ever, less of a pained scream and more of an enraged shout.

Loki was running again, sprinting towards the light and towards his love, heavy footfalls echoing, breathing a heavy pant.

He turned the corner, gasping loudly and gaining even more speed, before his foot was caught, there was an audible crack, and he was slammed into the ground, a shooting pain sent up his leg from his ankle and his vision blurring even worse from having hit his head.

"Loki!" Thor practically gasped, pure relief flooding his systems, "Brother, you-"

Loki gave a very audible groan, forcing himself up on to his hands and knees, touching his head as he glanced back at his leg. His foot had been snagged on a root, and he'd been running fast enough that doing so had broken his ankle, his foot now twisted at a very wrong angle. "Ugh..."

He unhooked his foot as gently as he could, gritting his teeth from the pain, his vision swaying before him as he struggled back on to one foot at least, somewhat hopping towards where the voices had come from, vision swaying dangerously as the beings in front of him doubled, and then tripled, and strong arms caught him around the chest as he fell forward.

The familiar warmth of the body he knew so well was beyond comforting, and his rather weak arms held on to him desperately, clinging as if his life depended on it. "Thor," he practically whimpered, "Where did you all go, why did you- you left me, and I- I thought you were all dead. I thought you were dead, do you understand how terrifying that is?"