Alligator Eyes

Chapter 11

He wakes up alone on the floor of the throne room with a massive headache. It's nearly pitch black, with only a few streaks of moon light to go by. He knows the amulets are gone before he even checks, but he still looks and then touches just to make sure, but of course he's right. He kneels by the throne, tears slipping down his cheeks. And not from the pain in his head. They're all gone, the friends he thought he had made, the amulets that were suppose to save his people, everything.

He finds his crown on the other side of the throne, a large tear under the left row of teeth, and puts it back on, feeling around on the floor for his bag. It's still there too, but the only things inside it are his, gloves, and the string of beads, they took his food and water, and kava. His hunting knife is on the floor, kicked away from him.

He puts his bag on his back and starts towards the stairs. It's much brighter outside, the full moon shining down on the golden temple. He wishes he had time to appreciate it but he has to find water, and he doesn't even know where to begin with that: he assumes the river meets up in the temple at some point but where is leaving him questioning. He has no way of boiling it to make it safe, anyway.

Nobody is in the courtyard, not that he thought there was, and he isn't sure he should risk going back the way they came. Maybe he should wait until morning when he has light to go by. Then again, if he can't catch up with and wring their stupid necks—

No, there is another way, he can find it, they must have found it. He goes to the left side of the courtyard, where they never explored and finds a few open archways full of mold and rocks. But no indication that he could get out this way, so he goes to the right, finding a similar area. But this one has a doorway, like all the others and jammed. He rests his head against it in frustration, if anyone else was here, if he had anything, he could unjam it.

"Why? Why why why why why" He hits at the door, beating out all his frustrations on it. "Open you stupid fucking door!"

As if he had said the magic words, the door shifts inward, giving a little. Mark takes the chance, throwing his weight against it until it comes unstuck, sliding away. Mark runs down the steps, through the tunnel, it's exactly like the tunnels him and Jinyoung got trapped in. His excitement of finding a potential way out made him run, but he slows down to a walk realizing that he'll have to conserve his energy until he can find some food.

The tunnel is light but hazy. Mark can't tell what's lighting it, and it's starting to freak him out. Actually Mark has always had decent night vision, but nothing like this, without the moon and the stars to help out, he's at a loss. The tunnel splits up ahead and he is cursed with decision making. He picks right, believing it to be facing west, the direction of his home.

After a while, he comes to another door, this one has the same mechanism on the floor and opens smoothly, but for the first time in a long time. Jinyoung did not come this way, he had to have found another way. The door lets out at the wall of the fortress, lower than the entrance facing the lake. But at least now he knows where he is, and he knows which way they came from.

He walks quickly, trying to keep himself from running, as he goes back into the jungle, eager to see if he can catch them. They would have had to make camp somewhere in the jungle and he was confident he could find them if they had stuck to a similar path going out that they had coming in.

After hours of walking though the jungle, he sees the light of a fire and knows it must be Jinyoung, gratifying images of strangling him flash through his mind at the sight. He approaches it slowly, making as little noise as possible. When he gets closer he sees some tents, and realizes he was wrong.

He creeps around the edges of the camp, trying to spot anyone without being spotted himself. There are five tents, all circling the huge fire in the center of the camp. Except for a gap facing north, where there is a row of horses tied up. Finally he manages to angle himself correctly and sees a few people talking that he doesn't know, but he stops to listen to them.