The Jewels; Mother of Pearl (#ABA2017)

Chapter Thirty Eight

Annika stopped when she realised Lola wasn't there, but by then she had run some way away from Lola. She turned around and looked down the dark hallway, hoping her logic was wrong. But Lola wasn't behind her.

She cursed as she swung an arm out, a Dark Angel fell to the ground, groaning as she held her nose.

Annika was about to walk after Lola when the cave started to collapse again, she cursed as she slowly walked backwards. She glanced at her watch, there wasn't much time left.

"Lola!" she called, "if you can hear me! Just run down the tunnel! There's only one way! And you'll get out of the tunnel!"

Her voice echoed down the hallway and she waited for some sort of reply.

Before she could get anything, her sensitive hearing was attacked by the crashing of rocks and the trembling of the earth beneath her. A rock threatened to crack her skull as it bounced off her head and sent her staggering. She went wide eyed as she shook it off and started running, outrunning the rocks behind her.

There was a door at the end of the tunnel, she could see the light from the outside illuminating it.

Annika's ears started to twitch again as she heard the Dark Angels 'running' through the tunnels. She cursed as she noticed one go past her. She started running normally as the tunnel seemed to go into some sort of earthquake.

She started running backwards as she pulled out a gun, entirely black, as she looked coldly down the tunnel. The tremors ceased, but she could detect several Dark Angels running about, their vibrations bouncing off the walls until they got to her ears.

She fired and a Dark Angel fell to the ground, their momentum sending them forwards several more steps.

Annika watched as it laid motionless on the ground, she looked to her watch and growled.

0:28. 17 in counting.

"That's enough time for Lola to get to this exit..." she mumbled as she shot another bullet, it sliced through the air and made the body of a Dark Angel appear from nothing, she took a couple of steps back in response, "but just enough for others to leave as well."

She fired again.

*

Lola went wide eyed as she continued running as fast as she could go. This part of the tunnels didn't seem to have to many other ways to go. All other ways to go would either not exist in the first place or was caved it already.

Lola could feel many breezes blowing past her, and every few seconds there would be a loud bang that echoed throughout the tunnels.

Lola would scream every time she heard that bang.

Lola continued to run unsteadily as the ground continued to shake and the walls continued to collapse, sometimes even on her. She'd narrowly outrun it or have to stop and climb over it.

"Of all the things in the world to choose as a weapon, Annika had to pick explosives," Lola breathed as she jumped from a pile of rubber and forward rolled on the ground.

She didn't stop for a breather as she ran on.

The bangs were getting louder the more she walked, and she was tempted to turn around and find a different way out.

Lola finally had to stop; she leaned on her knees in an attempt to ease the tension in her lower back and feet. It was no good of course.

Lola felt a shiver down her spine as she felt a new breeze fall upon her. She started running again when the breezes deserved the name weak wind.