Water city part 4

"Okay, we are definitely going back now," Says Gorge as he looks at the barely visible lighter.


"Yeah, losing the light here would be pretty dangerous." Agrees Periphirilia

They keep walking through a dimly lit corridor that resembles a tunnel.

"Ahhhh," screams Gorge as he trips on something again. He drops the lighter, and now they are in pitch darkness.

Why is it always me?


"Gorge, are you okay?"


"I don't know; I can't see anything."


"Try searching for the lighter."


"Haha, I found your hand. Hey, have you found the lighter? It feels like you are holding something cold."


"Gorge..."


"What?"

"You are not holding my hand..."


"Ahhhhh!" Gorge screams again. He lets go of the hand he was holding and starts to kick and punch randomly in complete darkness as he continues screaming.

"Calm down, George. In such situations, it's important to remain calm and think rationally."


"It's here!!! We thought this place was empty, but there is something here!"


"Calm down; we don't know if what's here is dangerous. Heck, we don't even know what it was. Maybe you have touched the skeleton again. You've tripped over one previously. Understandably, you couldn't see in such poor lighting.

As Gorge continues kicking and punching, he hears something metallic hit the ground and picks it up.


"I found it; it's the lighter. Haha, we have a light yet again."


Gorge lights up the lighter, and there is nothing there. A concerned-looking Periphirilia hugs him.


"It's going to be okay."


"But there is nothing here; you said that I tripped on a skeleton. Where is it? Are you trying to say that the skeleton left?"


"Gorge..."


"Whatever it was, it was its most likely following us, waiting for us to run out of light. Wait, that time... Was it also trying to find the lighter?
We must leave right now; no, we should have left long ago."

"Maybe we should look for a shortcut?" Suggests Periphirilia


"No way. We might end up lost, and with something following us, that something also should know its way around this place. We can't take the risk and go into the unknown right now. We must stick to the path that we know."


"But Gorge, I don't think that the lighter will last much longer; what will we do if it runs out? Even if nothing is following us, we will be forever lost in this pitch-dark maze."


I know it won't last much longer, but what should I do about it? Gorge thinks to himself as he's losing all hope.


"Well, if we could find the shortcut and return to the balcony before the light runs out, we could go back by going through the same corridor. Remember last time we went straightforward? Even if there are different branches of the tunnel, all we have to do is go forward. The only problem is that something is following us."


"Let's run. If we run really fast, we might reach the balcony, but running fast will reduce the light and make the lighter go out faster. I think it's less risky than searching for a shortcut. And when we reach the tunnel, we could run straight forward; we might outrun that thing even in complete darkness."


"Running in lighting this dim and then in complete darkness is crazy; not only would we have a high chance of getting lost, but did you even think about safety? There are a whole bunch of things lying down on the floor all over the place; we can't just run like we are on track."


"You got better ideas? We don't have time to argue; let's decide right now."


Gorge and Periphirilia are staring at each other in silence.


"Okay, you were right; your plan is a bit less risky." Relents Periphirilia


"Let's hold hands so we don't get separated."

"Oh, you think you can keep up with my running speed?" Periphirilia smiles

"Hey, you are supposed to match the pace."


"Okay, let's go."


The skeletons and their shadows dance on the walls as they run past them and head for the stairs.


Hmmm, these look beautiful too. Can Scarry things be beautiful as well? I can't believe how much I am learning on this journey.
Gorge gets distracted by the sight of shadows and trips again, but this time, Periphirilia catches him before he drops to the floor.


"Hey, pay attention!"


"Sorry... Look, it's the stairs over there!"

The light has now almost completely disappeared.


"I can't even see it anymore; the light is nearly completely out; we must hurry!"


"Run faster!" Gorge screams as he runs for his life.


"Careful, we have reached the stairs already. Let's not run up the stairs. It's too dangerous to have poor lighting. We should walk very carefully."


"Do not let go of my hand." Gorge is looking at the diminishing light, completely terrified.

Please don't go; we need you, not now. You can go out once we find the exit.

However, Gorges' feelings are ignored, and the light goes out as they are in the middle of a staircase. They halt.

Seriously? Not even the balcony?


"Now, let's move very slowly and carefully; watch each step closely."


"Were we supposed to run as fast as possible so that that thing doesn't catch us?"


"Whether the creature pursues us or not won't matter if we try to run, trip, or fall off. Furthermore, we don't understand much of what is out there; we have no idea what it is trying to accomplish or even if it exists. It could have been that you imagined things. On the other hand, falling down these stairs in the dark is practically a death sentence."


Gorge replies with annoyance, "I did not imagine it."


"It doesn't matter; we must walk slowly towards the balcony, one step at a time."


Both of them climb the stairs slowly. Their breathing is getting quicker and irregular. They can't help but think that some monster might be after them as they ascend in total darkness.


"How are you holding?" Asks Periphirilia concerned


"I'm fine. Let's keep going."

Gorge loses his footing, slips, and falls.

Seriously? Again? Why does this have to happen to me?
Well, I guess this is it for me. I wish I could have at least seen the golden carp before I died.


Fortunately, Periphirilia could grab his hand and lift him up quickly.


"Gorge, are you okay?!" She screams.


"Yeah, thanks to you, nice save. You keep saving me wherever we go. Haha." Gorge laughs it off now as he finally manages to calm himself.


"Gorge...Im above you..."


"Ahhhhhhh, get away from me!" Im not edible!" He screams while struggling to free himself from whoever is holding him.


Gorge is completely pulled up the stairs by the mysterious being.


"You must climb the tower if you want to discover the true nature of this world. Good luck," a kind and gentle voice says.


"Who is this?"


"Gorge, are you okay?!"


"I'm fine. Did you hear it? Someone was speaking here."


"Yes, I did. Did that person save you?"


''I think so. That tower thing seems to be even more suspicious now. Do you think it's related to this place?"


"Most likely, if we manage to get out of here alive first, then we can decide whether to climb it."


"You know, now that I think about it, it's a little bit less scary now. Hey, whoever's out there, I'm sorry for being afraid of you. Thanks for all the help! Now that I think about it, where are you trying to help us with the lighter too? , thanks a lot. !"

After reaching the balcony, Gorge and Periphirilia go down the hallway.

A mysterious creature is joyfully grinning in the complete darkness as they leave the building; it appears to be relieved to finally meet someone else down here.