Chapter Fifty-Four

Ethan's heart beat in his chest as he squinted into the obscurity, his beat uproarious in his ears. The quiet was choking, broken as it were by the black out, musical sound of dribbling water reverberating afar off. He had no sense of time or place, as it were the cold, onerous weight of the obscure squeezing in on him. Where was Lena? Fear undermined to surpass him, but he constrained it down, centering on his breathing.

*In… out…*

The darkness was absolute, but as Ethan strained his faculties, he started to notice faint signs of light, gloomy, blue-green shines that appeared to beat in and out of focus, like far off stars. As his eyes balanced, he saw that the light was coming from slim, luminescent fungi developing along the dividers of what showed up to be a cave.

Ethan stood slowly, his muscles stiff and aching from the fall. He reached out to touch the wall beside him, the stone cold and slick under his fingers. It was wet, likely from the same source as the dripping sound. He