Hiding

Tonight was a dreamless night. Since Fesha and I have gotten that dragon tooth from Dente, it seemed like I have been dreaming more frequently, but not tonight. Tonight was nothing but silent darkness. From the darkness I began to hear strange murmurs. I thought I had not been dreaming, to which I still found to be true. My eyes were still shut as I awoke, my face muscles refusing to open them. We have been very sleep deprived since entering these blackened layers, as it became way harder to find clear places to sleep, let alone comfortable. Still, with my eyes closed, I still heard those murmurs, the sound of soft crying and a familiar voice. I decided to open my eyes despite my tiredness to find what that sound was. In front of me I saw Fesha sitting up, her head tucked in between her knees as she held them tight with her arms. A soft sniffling came from the cocoon she had formed for herself. I got up and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, you good?" I asked with genuine concern.

She looked up from her knees at me, her eyes red from crying and gentle streams still falling down her face. "Ah, don't mind me, just another dream." She said trying not to worry me.

"Want to talk about it?" I nudged her.

"To be honest, I can't tell thee why I cry, for I cannot remember myself. My dream was far too hazy now, but the feeling felt so real." Fesha said as she clutched the dragon tooth. "Apologies, just giveth me a moment."

I got up from my spot and walked a bit away. She buried her head back into her knees and continued to murmur. I was a little too far to make out everything, but I was able to make out one phrase: "dearest friend."

After some time, Fesha found it in herself to stop crying. She uncurled herself and got up from the ground. As we continued on our travel, I began to realize just how much our surroundings have changed when compared to levels we have past. Ignoring the abundance of grotesque darkness around us now, I noticed that the buildings up here were in far more ruin than those we have passed. From the broken skeletons of these buildings, they also seemed to be far bigger and more grandiose than those of lower levels. Many of these buildings had large, broken double doors, collapsed pillars at their front entrances, and rundown terraces. I scanned the area around me more, focusing on the blackened structures, until my focus began to shift. At some point, I began focusing not on the buildings, but the dark spaces between them. From the wide road we traveled on, many smaller roads branched out from it, creating small avenues between the buildings. Gazing down each alley provided me with nothing but dread. It was impossibly dark as the streets went further between buildings. I knew Caelum was enclosed by walls, hence the infinite darkness when I faced away from the sky light, yet for some reason I felt like there was more to this dark.

Suddenly, Fesha stopped walking. I looked ahead to see what halted her to find that the wide road we were on had ended. Ahead were towering buildings and small shaded avenues in between. The thing I was beginning to fear had now become the only way for us to continue. I braced myself and followed Fesha into the small street closest to the light. Though the glorious beams of light were only a building away from us, the towering structures on both of our sides blocked all of its golden hue. It was dark and damp down every road, our footsteps echoed down the twisting blocks. The only plus side was that there was hardly any of the growth on these narrow roads. As we passed various intersections, I found myself constantly looking down the dark ends of each alley. It felt insane to think, but I swear something was watching us from the dark. The familiarity of the situation suddenly struck me and I became more cautious. Fesha seemed to feel the same way as me as I watched her darting her sight back and forth between alleys. It felt like we were kids that never got over their fear of the dark, but in our current situation, that fear was well warranted. Out of the corner of my eye, the dark began shifting. When I looked down the alley, the dark stopped moving.

I signaled Fesha that we had to move faster and so our pace quickened. We wandered hastily along each street, trying to find our way back into the light. As we paced through this stone jungle, I glanced around, making sure we were not being followed. Of the many alleys I look into, the darkness felt alive in several of them. Then we had reached a dead end. We looked back through the dim avenue we had traversed. It seemed more menacing when we looked back at it, as if the dark had closed in on us. Then, out of the dimness of the alley, something gray emerged. It was a man, naked except the loincloth around his waste. His skin was tight around his bones, showing off the shape of his rib cage and joints. He was so frail I thought he would fall over from just a sneeze. As he slowly stepped out, his face was revealed, showing his extreme deformity. He had teeth missing, a bony face, and a scarred crater where his eyes were suppose to be. The sight of him startled us and we prepared to fight, but then he spoke in the weakest voice imaginable.

"Hello, is someone there?" He asked.

I spoke up. "Who are you?"

He jumped back a little at my voice. "Ah! I mean no harm! I am Dux. If thou seeketh a way out of this labyrinth, I am more than happy to help!" He said overly excited, as if trying to show us that he is friendly.

I looked at Fesha who seemed skeptical, but what other choice did we have? With that, we trusted Dux to be our guide and lead us back to the light. Still, something irked me, like Dux was not the only one in this city watching us.