Light

Death.

Degradation.

That stench never left me as I entered the mouth. My hands tremble while holding my M4. Into the darkness I go, it guides me—It puts me at ease. Somehow, it reminded me of the nightmares I’d been having. Most would turn back, but no, not me.

My footsteps echo throughout the widening chamber. The calamity outside became distant background noise as my beating heart overtook the jarring silence. All I saw was darkness, but my footsteps were certain.

The sudden crumbling of the ceiling didn’t stop me. No, I knew where I was going as I made my descent. I could barely make out the shapes of the rock formations.

How—Did we miss this?

I strained my eyes, finding nothing distinct at the other end.

Nothing, at first.

A single flick of a flame illuminated a small space. At first, I mistook it for an orb, but when I got closer, I could see Sam’s face. His lips were bloodied, swollen from the impact. He winced when he saw me approach. What the hell was going on?

“What are you doing all the way down here?” I asked.

Silence filled the air between us, all but his shallow breathing.

“I should be asking you that? He finally replied.

“What do you mean? I came down from the entrance—”

“There ain’t entrance.”

I gave pause to the thought. I already knew he was crazy. When I looked over to see the incline, there was nothing but a flat path. He even cast his bit of light to confirm what I saw. Turning toward him again, I saw a cold glance.

“So—What now?” he continued as I collected myself.

“What now?” I repeated. “We keep going?”

“I knew you were fucking crazy.”

“What are you on about?”

“I mean, I just told you there wasn’t a way out, but you wanna keep going?”

“We’re still on a mission—”

“With everyone gone?”

He raised his voice with hands trembling from anger. He eased his gaze, looking around the endless chamber. There wasn’t a breeze to be felt, strange considering I felt the breeze behind my back on my way down.

“And,” I spoke. “The others?”

“Striker and Jackson?” he cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen them… Not since I woke up here.”

“What do you remember?”

The illumination highlighted his unsettled eyes; a frown defined what he wanted to say, but his lips were sealed.

“Sam?” I said.

“Just the helicopter crashing,” he replied. “Then I found myself here. The hell else do you want me to say? We shouldn’t be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t think a crash like that shoulda killed us?”

I thought about it for a moment before conceding. It really didn’t matter anymore since looking for others took priority while finishing this mission.

“Let’s go wherever the hell you came from,” he suggested.

“I didn’t see anyone on the way down,” I reminded.

“Again. I didn’t see you come down from nothing. How do I know you ain’t lying?”

“Sam, I just came from watching the captain die. He gave me his dying words.”

He didn’t look at me as I gave my response.

“Tch,” he replied. “Old asshole probably had it coming. I heard he got a little handsy with some of the local girls around here.”

“W—what?”

“It don’t matter anymore. Besides, ain’t no Vietcong here either. Just some old cave system, maybe.”

“How long were you standing in the dark?”

He pulled the cigarette out his mouth, puffing a thin smoke. From the side of his eye, I could see his annoyance. What the hell was he thinking, or rather, what was he hiding?

“So—”

“The same reason you were walking through the dark. Just looking for shit.”

We made a torch from our shirts, wrapping it around one of our rifles. The cavern spanned the abyss while the path winded further ahead. We were silent for much of the time. I lost track of how many cigarettes he had; He was anxious like I was. Nothing made sense, not with what he explained. How did he even end up down here? A lot of things weren’t adding up, but the more time passed, the more comforted I was in his presence.

“Got anyone back at home?” I broke the silence.

“A girlfriend in Florida,” he replied. “You?”

“A wife and kid on the way.”

“Eh, lucky you. Got a name for the kiddo?”

“We were thinking if it was a boy, Ezekiel.”

“And a girl?”

“I’ll be honest, we both wanted a boy so we haven’t really thought on it too much.”

“I guess things are easier if it’s a boy. Less to worry about. Girls are fragile… And in this world, it’s easy to get caught up.”

“You expecting?”

“Hell naw. Me, a father? I’ll pass. The last thing I need is some little asshole to hate my guts when they’re older.”

I cracked a smile.

“Then what are you planning on doing when you get back?” I asked.

“Who knows?” he sighed. “I take it day-by-day. Besides, we still have to make it out of here.”

“You make it seem like we won’t.”

He didn’t answer. It was obvious enough as to why. We listened to our steps without a break. Oddly enough, this was the only clean path we’ve come across. I came to a stop, having shuddered from the sudden cold. I saw the look on his face, a distrustful one at that.

“What?” I uttered. “You ain’t cold?”

“Not at all.”

A strange bellow echoed throughout, not giving us an indicator of what it was. I pulled my pistol out, aiming it anywhere I thought it came from. When I looked toward him again, his eyebrow was raised.

“You all right?” he asked.

“You didn’t hear that?” I winced.

“The part where you’re shuffling everywhere? Yeah, I did.”

“That—Doesn’t make any sense.”

“What has, so far?”

Am I really losing it? Why now? I shook my head of these cluttering thoughts. His hand touched my shoulder as I collected myself. Looking over, his indifference masked his concern. He wanted out just as bad, but it seemed like we were going nowhere.

“Get it together now, Miller,” he spoke. “You gotta make it back for Zeke.”

I nodded, letting those words sink in. A charming smile crept along his greasy face, exasperated by the torch. He pressed forward, guiding me through. But after a few steps, I tripped forward. The last thing I remembered seeing was the distant light.

But I was close!

I fell… And kept falling until I blacked out.

When I woke up, I found myself in perpetually darkness. The ground beneath me was squishy with a putrid scent. I got on my feet quickly after the first waft. Where the hell was I?

The space felt as expansive as ever.

Footsteps echoed on the squishy surface. My gun, I didn’t have it on me! I took a few steps back, straining my eyes in vain.

“Who goes there?” My voice trembled.

“Miller,” they responded. “It’s me, Jackson.”

“Where are we?”

“Where we belong, I guess?”

A flashlight shone against me, probably the only warmth I felt since I entered the cave. I got a better look at his silhouette, he tossed a spare flashlight. When I turned the light toward him, he was covered in cuts and bruises, unlike Sam.

“Nice to see you made it out,” he continued.

“Same,” I nodded. “Have you seen the kid… and Sam?”

“No, I’ve been wandering in the dark.”

“You too?”

He looked over, piqued by what I said… Or rather the tone in which I said it.

“You’ve seen them?” he asked.

“Sam,” I replied.

“Where the hell did you see him at?”

“Wherever the hell I fell from.”

“Maybe. There’s something more to this.”

“It’s probably just a cave system.”

“Can’t be. Look on the ground.”

When I pointed my flashlight on the ground, I saw the red substance covering the floor. Was it flesh? I couldn’t tell, but its stench still lingered. He looked at me, equally as curious.

“This ain’t a cave system I’ve heard of,” he spoke. “It’s like we’re in the belly of a beast.”

“What?” My eyebrow jerked.

“Like Jonah and the Whale.”

“Eh, that’s a stretch, don’t you think?”

I had forgotten he was a religious man before seeing the glint of his cross. He gazed back with stern eyes as though withholding his anger. I can’t say what I was saying was too far-fetched though.

“If you take it literally then yeah, it sounds silly,” he agreed. “But the meaning behind everything that happened. The beast is just there for show.”

“I don’t follow.”

“God sent the whale to get Jonah. He was stuck in darkness for three days and three nights. He prayed at that time for help, repentance, and to praise him. Only then was he free from the shackles of the darkness within—”

“I can’t say others were afforded the opportunity. All this death for what?”

“But like me over here, you stayed even though you knew it was wrong.”

“Then why the hell did you stay?”

I heard a gun cocking, prompting my glance. His apathetic eyes, one of judgment gazed upon me. I took a few steps back, realizing he wasn’t messing around. After all, he never struck me as the type that would.

“H—hey, put it down,” I insisted.

“You don’t understand do you?” he asked.

“No, I don’t.”

“I am the whale.”


2 more chapters left!
The ending for this chapter was a bit rushed, but I'll get back to it soon!
I hope you enjoyed it though! Leave a like and comment!
nd... Feel free to check out By the Shores of Time if you liked this!