Time's Tragedies- The Books Of Beginning [2]

9. Destinies Collide

Eternity's immediate instinct was to get away from whatever monster - and it had to be a monster because she knew no human could make that sound - as far away as possible. She broke into a run. There was a hiding spot, a little place she had found on accident before and now used when she needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. She would be sheltered there. She just had to make it.

The secret spot in question has existed for over a century, maybe longer. During one of the expansions of the subway, a group attempted to build underneath the magical quarter on accident, because the necessary barriers didn't extend underground. Of course, when the magical world realized this, they put a quick stop to it, by extending the separation and erasing the memories. Abigail had personally lead a group of New York wizards to do it, and the project lay abandoned underground now.

It wasn't much, just some unfinished main tunnels and smaller construction tunnels (a surprising amount of progress was made before it was stopped) but it made a good hideaway. Eternity used it as a shortcut sometimes, since Abigail had revealed to her the location of the entrances. Such as the one hidden beneath the stairs leading to a below-ground apartment.

Eternity bolted down those stairs, and slipped into the entrance. No one saw her going and if they did, they wouldn't care. The owners of the apartment itself, a kindly middle aged wizard couple, had no interest in what teens got up to, as long as they kept it in the tunnels and not on their doorstep. 

It was dark in the abandon tunnels, but her eyes quickly adjusted to the incredibly dim area. She may have been a girl from a city that was always alive with lights, but she had spent enough time in a dark house when she was young to adapt quickly to the dark. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean she liked it, but it was better than the monster.

The chill pricking her arms went away as she made her way down the dark tunnel as fast as she could. It was cool down here, but not subjected to the elements so the wind could not touch her. 

Eternity had just rounded her first corner, taking extra care not to trip (a skinned knee at a time like this would just be the worst thing ever) when she heard the screech again. Only this time, it was closer, and Eternity had a horrific realization. The monster was in the tunnels with her.

Thinking it must have come in the same way she did, she ran further into the maze of construction areas. Her steps became more careless after that, especially once two more screams echoed behind her. That led to several near falls, including one almost-trip over a rusted crowbar. Still panicked, Eternity picked up the crowbar and decided to carry it with her for security.

Yet another scream, this one closer, vibrated all around, echoing so much she couldn't tell where it was coming from. She just had to pick a path and run with it. 

Eternity chose the leftmost past, the one that would take her to the main construction area where there was at least a bit of light, courtesy of the tweens who had previously attempted to make a clubhouse only to abandon it and their lightbulbs when they got older and bored. Her feet pounded as she tried to ignore the fear that unnatural scream brought out in her. She would not be afraid. She was brave, bold city girl Eternity Time. A sound would not reduce her to a cowardly puddle.

Eternity dashed down the rest of the tunnel and into the main site, the crowbar in her hand being gripped until her knuckles turned white. She hoped that for once her luck was good and she had picked the right path.

She hadn't.

The first thing the pink haired teen saw when she stared into the fully illuminated but still shadowy cavern was the monster. It was tall, much taller than her, and she wasn't a short girl. Black and moldering, like grave rot personified, it held no emotion in its large and dark eyes as it raised a massive sword. That was when Eternity realized it was advancing on someone attempting to hide in the shadows, trying to pry them from their hiding spot.