Shooting Star // Eternalian Chronicles Book 1

7) .The Decision Below.

(Edited)

.The Beast Below.

~Catherine Wood~

Amelia and I tried to stay back far enough from Mandy so she wouldn't catch sight of us, hiding behind barrels and boxes to keep hidden, but by the way she kept jerking her head in our direction suddenly, I knew she realized we were following her. She led us down levels till we got into a basement like place that was musty and very grimy. The air was think with dust and it was almost hard to breath. Noticing this, Amelia placed a delicate hand on my arm reassuringly. Then she jerked me to a stop. Mandy had froze.

"I know you're following me," she said without turning around. "I saw you watching me in the market place." 

I stood up out of my hiding place. 

Mandy had a hard look, but when she saw me, it softened. "Oh. I didn't know it was you." She smiled a bit. 

From behind our hiding place, I pulled Amelia up, exposing her. Mandy's smile dropped, hardening again. She looked between the both of us, silently asking if we were together. I slowly nodded and rolled my eyes telling her that I didn't really want to be at the moment. Mandy chuckled. Amelia, standing next to me, looking very confused.

It had always been a gift of mine to understand other people perfectly in ways that others wouldn't be able to comprehend. Like with the TARDIS, it was like the world told me it's secrets. I had never understood why growing up, but I guessed it must have been something about being born in the big bang, or whatever came with being an Eternl.

Amy held Mandy's wallet out to her. "You dropped this," she told her.

"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me," Mandy contradicted.

I laughed. So she had noticed. Mandy truly was a smart one. Mandy took the wallet and turned around to continue walking, Amelia right at her heals leaving me to reluctantly follow behind. I wasn't sure what The Doctor was telling us to do was right, pestering a little girl like we were doing, but at the rate Amelia was going chasing Mandy around like a lost puppy, there was no way that we'd get away quickly any time soon. Many suddenly stopped again. I looked up, wondering why.

"What's that?" I asked, looking at a circus-like tent.

"There's a hole. We have to go back." 

I turned happily, and so did Mandy, but Amy stayed put.

"A what?" she questioned. "A hole?"

"Are you stupid?" Mandy answered back. "There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way. There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps." 

Amy moved towards the tent and I took a step back, feeling a big pain of fear. There was also something else, something that I knew wasn't my own feelings. There was pain, loneliness, and mostly pity. I wondered what could possibly be giving me those feelings. I knew that it couldn't be Amelia nor Mandy, so what was it?

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh, don't mind me," she said simply. "You know I never could resist a keep out sign. What's through there?" 

Mandy looked at me, the same fear on her face as I held. 

"What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?" 

She gulped. "No one knows. We aren't aloud to talk about it."

"About what?"

"Below." She shivered. There must have been something truly nasty down there that scared her. Or perhaps it was the threats above that scared her of ever going down...