Bound To The Earth (Open Novella Contest 2020)

Underground

"Great," I cursed, stepping back from my friend that I had slammed into the previous door. "We're stuck underground, with no way out and no one knowing we're here." Being underground was one of my least favourite spots, probably due to the fact that I loved the freedom of the sky. I always found that being underground made me feel trapped and stressed.

Slowly, my eyes started to adjust to the darkness. Once again, I was thankful for my dragon senses. Along with a longer range of sight, we also had incredible night vision, which was perfect for the situation that Volkun and I now faced.

"My nose is going to be bruised," Volkun mumbled as he turned around, gingerly rubbing his nose. "You slammed me into the wall!"

"That's seriously what's running through your head right now?"

"No, but I'm trying to take my mind off the fact that we're stuck underground with no clear way out, and neither one of us have an idea on what lies ahead. I'm trying really hard to keep the inevitable panic at bay, so thanks for reminding me of our circumstance."

"Well, at least now I know you realize what has happened, and not all focused on your nose." I signalled to Volkun to follow me deeper into the dark tunnel, which he did without any more comments. "And for the record, you suddenly stopped."

"To save myself from being squished in the door!" He looked at me, and in even the utter darkness I could see the playful shock and disbelief he had on his face. "You could at least apologize for smacking me into a stone wall."

"I'm sorry for hurting your little nose. Next time we are in an underground tunnel that is shutting us off from the world, I'll watch myself and not run into you." I said, a hint of mockery in my voice.

"I don't really plan for this to happen a second time." Volkun grumbled. Like that, both of our playful moods vanished, replaced with silence. It was probably for the better, since we were in unknown territory.

The path was dark, but fortunately it wasn't hard for either one of us to see. Even though this tunnel had been here for centuries, the roof didn't look like it was on the brink of collapsing, and the walls didn't have the crumbly look about them, but were rather completely smooth, not a single flaw in them. It was in surprisingly good condition.

"Light!" Volkun exclaimed happily.

""Where?" I looked around, and couldn't see the light in which Volkun had mentioned. I saw him burst forward, towards a torch hanging on the wall. It wasn't lit, so I didn't know why he said light.

He grabbed the torch off of the wall, shedding some dust onto the slanted floor.

"We can't light it," I pointed out.

"Or can we?" Out of his jean pocket he pulled a lighter, holding it triumphantly in the air.

"Seriously? You just happen to carry a lighter around?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"You never know when it'll come in handy." The torch flared up as soon as the lighter's flame touched it, brightening the room up in a quick second. "See?"

I shook my head at Volkun. I had seen him carrying a lighter around in his pocket a few times, but I didn't know he had started carrying it around all the time. Whenever he wasn't feeling the best, he would pull it out and watch the flame flicker and dance with an intense look. Like how I felt attached to the sky, Volkun was attached to his magic, more specifically, his fire. I could totally understand how he felt.

"Well, now I won't mistake you for one of the High Dragon's allies and attack you," I joked, being able to see clearly again.

"Seriously?" Volkun raised his eyebrow as we continued to walk down the corridor, the torch lighting our path.