Just as Zara was summoning the courage to
take a step forward, Aquilla let out another giant snort, blasting the
floor with an illuminated carpet of sparkling embers, scurrying towards her
feet. "AAAGGGHHH!" She lurched back into
the shadows. Hyperventilating, heart pounding, she was whimpering too now, expecting to be incinerated any moment, but once again Aquilla just
seemed to snort. Curiosity growing, Zara stood trembling in the alcove of the tunnel,
biting what was left of her nails, pondering her next move. As the embers of
his breath illuminated the cave she scanned the walls again for any other
way out, but there were no new revelations to be made, the well worn path
went through... The only way out was at the other side of the cave…
With
a deep breath she took another step forward, knowing deep down this was it. This was likely The End and she had no choice but to face it. Refusing to give up on the gamble of escaping from Hellias, she bravely stepped towards her fate,
this definitely wasn't how she had hoped to die... The thought of
being skinned by Aquilla was terrifying, she knew what to
expect... He would torch her, skin her, did it even matter if he ate
her?
She made another step, and another. Aquilla didn't move. Nervously she glanced back into the dark hole she had emerged from, questioning her move one last time, but the image of Orien's angelic face illuminated the
darkness for a brief moment, reminding her she couldn’t go back. Confident
thoughts began to war against fears; the truth was she had escaped a very real Hellias
already... Why could she not escape this one too? The image which was haunting
her gave her strength and courage, she wanted to find Orien again even if it
cost her life, she was willing to die
for that chance. Steadying, she visualized the magic string, she took a brave breath
and inched her foot forward, hands clinging to the well worn wall, never losing
contact with Aquilla’s eyes… Was he planning his attack?
One
foot after another she forced herself forward until soon she was half way
across the cave. Realizing how vulnerable she was now, feelings of panic engulfed. Fists clenched she tried to keep calm, she tried to smile at the beast, hoping
to come across as non-threatening. But as the exit tunnel inched closer, she
started losing control. Suddenly she lost it and bolted forward towards the
exit as fast as she could, barreling into the pitch black void on the other
side.
Instantly
she could feel Aquilla heaving behind her, his body pounding the
ground like drums as he chased her into the depths, his hot
breath flaming from behind made her scream in fear of her impending
incineration, she could hear his
saliva splashing, his jaws opening, ready to blast her to death, she
could feel his claws, reaching for her skin...
"AAAA-GGG-HHH!" She screamed as she
lost her footing and tripped, crashing hard to the rocky ground. Like the whip,
pain shot through her body as the rocks shredded her limbs, her head smacked
against the wall, then darkness.
Momentarily stunned, Zara woke up cold and stretched out her fingers... She was laying on the ground... She was in the Foreman's office... She was alive...
Then, shock almost stopped her heartbeat as she remembered where she really was and rolled over into a
fetal position, clutching her head, awaiting her inevitable demise... But there
was only silence around her. Only a drip, drip, drip in the distance could be
heard over the sounds of a wheezing monster, echoing throughout the dark
passage... She looked around, his glowing pulse periodically illuminating the way ahead... Aquilla wasn't chasing
her... Had she already died?
Bewildered,
she sat up and looked back towards the cave as the
reality of an unexpected outcome presented itself. The glow was still
flickering… She stood up quietly, pondering her
luck… Perhaps he had recently fed? Perhaps something so simple as timing had saved her life? Or perhaps
she was already dead and on her way to the Promised Land, finally...
Dirt in her mouth assured her she wasn't dead. There
was only one conclusion. "Thank You Medel!" Alive or
dead, she knew now that He had to have been watching over her. She
bowed her head in gratitude and clasped her hands in
prayer. Only Medel could have saved her like this. He really
did love her, He really did appreciate Orien, this was His
way of thanking her for his sacrifice! Feeling hopeful and filled with renewed
faith, she brushed herself off and straightened her clothes, adjusted her wig...
But it was gone!
Her
head hurt from the fresh blow, she scanned the path for her wig as the wheezing illuminated the path but it was nowhere in sight and she couldn't go back now. She studied the pitch black hole
ahead of her, daring to move forward once again. The dripping
spring ahead was a message of hope, she knew Medel was leading her now...
In spite of her renewed faith in being led to the Promised Land, the tunnel descended for miles, for ever it seemed to take her lower into the ground, so long she was considering a brand new conclusion. Hellias was deep inside the earth, that was why it was a Barren Wasteland, that was why it had an Eternal Winter, there was no sun!! In spite of her renewed faith, the dread of the Hellias she was headed to only grew stronger as she descended deeper into the earth, yet she soldiered on. She paused to rest, tortured by the additional injuries, her head was pounding worse than ever and she could barely feel her hands they were so numb with cold.
She
listened again for sounds of pursuit, still battling moments of disbelief. Had she really escaped? Had
she really passed through Aquila’s lair?
Was she in fact, dead?
There
were still no sounds or threats of any followers... Nothing. One thing was for
certain, there were no more options now. Now there was definitely no
going back! But now Doubt was setting in. Had she
really done the Right thing? Would anyone ever know if she died in here? Perhaps
she would have remembered
her sins? Perhaps she would indeed have
travelled safely through the TLS program like 'most' gens did?
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