Depthless: Under The Library

Chapter Twenty-Two// Skye

Skye’s POV

The mysterious girl shades my view as she does something to the section of the wall. The same one which had ignited just moments before. I could hear her mutter intangible words under her breath, placing her hands at different parts on the wall. Finally, she is finished with her ‘ritual’, and takes a step back.

I wait. Forcing a laugh, I say, “What--- that wall really moves? Like a secret passage?”

She doesn’t say anything, but keeps on staring at the blank wall.

“Open sesame!” I command, half-joking. This time, she shoots around, and stares daggers at me. “Do you mind?” She says aggressively. I gulp. “Fine. Go on.”

I push myself from the floor with the palms of my hands. For a moment, I lean against the cool wall, shivering from the atmospheric temperature and from the brutal pain of my wound. “How do I walk?” I attempt a step to the front. At once, pain like I never felt before shoots up my leg, and I collapse under my weight.

Blonde  girl makes a move towards me, then sighs. “You can’t walk yet, obviously.” She sizes me up. I’m on the floor, clutching my bad leg, moaning softly while tears stream simultaneously down my cheeks.

Blonde starts saying something, but her voice is immediately drowned by a distinct grating noise. She steps away from the wall, giving me a full view of the wall in front. Which isn’t the correct thing to say. There is no wall. Well, a section of the wall is removed--- it seems to have disappeared, leaving a gaping hole straight into darkness.

I gulp. “You are taking me in there?”

She gives me a strange look. “I’d love to see you scale up the wall in this condition.” She scoffs, hitching up the long sleeves of the blue blouse draped over her shoulders. “So… of course we’re going in there.”

She pauses while I stare in mild fascination at the hole. “What is beyond?” I speak up. “How did you discover this? Why doesn’t anyone else know?” Bewildered, I crawl excruciatingly towards the opening.

A hand shoots out and grasps my shoulder firmly. “Oh no. You aren’t going in there now.” She says, her face straight.

I huff and open my mouth to argue, but she stops me with a glare. “You aren’t doing any exploring until you get that wound of your treated.”

I stare dumbfounded up at her. “How? Are you a doctor?” I say suspiciously.

She rolls her eyes towards the sky. “Do I have to own medical qualifications to give you medicine?”

“Why should I trust you?” I’m instantly alerted to defense. True, I’d just met her. She must’ve somehow known I’m here, or she stumbled upon me by sheer mistake. Either way, I hadn’t developed much of a trust towards this stranger, whom had refused to tell me anything important.

“You don’t have a choice.” Her gaze doesn’t soften as she speaks. “After all, your life is in jeopardy at the moment. How big a threat is a girl like me to you?”

I roll my eyes. “Oh, taking into consideration of my unfortunate injury, your advantage of the routes around the underground… “

She waves me off. “We’re stalling time. There’s not much to waste now.” She turns her head and stares hard into the hole, thinking. Then, seeming to come to a decision, she snaps back and looks at me. “You have to wait here. I’ll go retrieve… whatever… to heal your wounds.”

With that, she dashes towards the opening. Hastily, I push myself across the hard floor with my hands. “Are you sure?” I called to her, my voice ripped with uncertainty.