CHAPTER NINE

The world’s shards of reality slowly formed back its shape, and the series of blurred images and muted sounds began to filter through the pain and confusion of my mind.

I blinked a multitude of times in the hopes to clear the haze of my vision, but despite my best efforts, everything was still spinning. The ground did not stop rotating and it made me feel nauseous. My body felt heavy,and every shroud of effort I made trying to move sent spikes of agony through all muscles and bones.

For a moment, I could not place a finger at where exactly I was, and I could barely piece together the events that had transpired to the moment I got here.

But then, slowly but surely, it all rushed back— the fight with Sebastian, the blinding flash of light, Olivia’s terrified face as he gripped her by the throat.

I could feel my heart skip a beat due to the intensity of the mirage of memories striking my consciousness all at once. I guess it caused a slight wave of panic.

Olivia… Where the hell was she? What happened to her?

I tried to focus, I fought the pain and confusion but it was like trying to swim through thick mud. My thinking was slow, my body unresponsive to the inputs of my brain.

I had to go, I had to track her down and make sure she was okay, but I couldn't even get my balance. Everything was slowing, and a hard, cold reality was being felt that I was lying on. Stone. Damp earth and moldy leaves assaulted my nostrils, mixing with the copper scent of blood – my own.

I forced my eyes to open, sending waves of pain crashing through my head as I did so, and saw myself lying in what looked like some kind of underground chamber with walls lined in ancient stone blocks and thickly twisted roots.

The air was dense, suffocatingly so, and it seemed as though a heavy weight of the world itself lay over my body from above.

There was a feeble light emanating from the faint torches that lined our way, and shadows crept in to waltz along with us as they flickered hesitantly.

I fell, so I tried to push myself up on my arm, but it gave out under me, and left me lying back across the cold stone floor with a murmur of pain.

My body was still sore, every nerve alive and on fire, but I forced myself to breathe; one thing at a time. First things first, I needed to work out where the hell I was. The next thing was to locate Olivia.

I refused to let my mind go there and contemplate what could have happened, and wouldn't think about her fate in fear of dooming me. Not yet. I had to stay focused. I had to be strong.

It took a monumental effort, and even after I managed to roll onto my side, the motion made me dizzy. I glanced around the room, attempting to figure out where I was.

The low ceiling made the space even closer than it really was, and as I stood in the middle of this tiny room, the walls were close enough to touch if my own hand reached out.

On the other side, a thick wooden door that was obviously quite old also caught my eye; with large iron hinges that looked dusty and unused.

Dread settled in my stomach as I stared at the door, feeling deep down that it was locked, and whoever had ordered me to re-enter hadn't meant for me to leave.

But I wasn't going to let this stop me. I had to find Olivia. Sucking a scream of agony back in my throat, I pushed myself up and onto shaky hands and knees.

I thought I would probably black out, my sight starting to darken at the edges, so that only a few feet surrounded me in white light even though there was still plenty of space around.

It was passion, struggle, and empowerment felt in every ounce of distance gained for each stride I placed before me without any sign to put on a halt. I couldn’t stop.

It must have been an eternity before I finally reached the door. I slid against it, face forward to the grain of wood gasping for air.

I felt my chest rise and fall, but it was muffled except for the beat that echoed loud enough to thrum between my ears as I pulled back. It didn’t budge.

"Shit,” I ghost-spoke in a croak. I made another attempt in a squirming movement, using what little strength I had left to wrestle, but it was no good.

I was just that weak, and the door had been locked. Hairline cracks appeared in my already shattered wall of control as frustration and fear tore through me.

I couldn’t stay here. I had to get out. I had to find Olivia before it was too late.

But no matter how hard I tried, the door wouldn’t give. I pounded on it weakly, my fists making little more than a dull thud against the thick wood. “Olivia!” I shouted, my voice cracking with desperation. “Olivia, can you hear me?!”

I had no answer to this question, and the chamber felt heavier than it ever had in all my life. A sob rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down—not once was I going to let the despair inside of me take over.

I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t lose her. Just as I leaned back against the door, about to collapse with all my remaining strength, then—it—A sound so slight it was nearly a whisper. I fell silent, listening so hard I hoped it was just me.

“J-Jaydon…” The voice was weak and tremulous with panic, but it was her. Olivia. My stricken heart jumped into life as a surge of adrenaline told me to straighten, put my ear against the door and hear.

“Olivia,” I gasped, my voice unsteady with relief. “I’m here. Where are you?”

There was a pause, and for the most gut-wrenching second of my life, I thought she had dropped it. But then she spoke again, louder this time, in a way that made her voice transmit both horror and, at the very same instant, steely resolve.

“I’m… I’m outside. I… I can't….get inside.”

Whichever rendered her safe for the moment if she were outside of it. But how in the world had she gotten away from Sebastian? And how had she found me?

“Locked,” I growled in frustration. “I can’t get out.”

“Then… Then I will find a way, too,” she said, her voice shaky but firm. “Just hold on, Jaydon. I’m not leaving you.”

Her words brought to me an almost tearful feeling of relief. She was alive. She was safe. And she was coming for me.

However, as much as I hoped for the best-case scenario, my gut told me otherwise. Not with a snake like Sebastian stalking us. He was bound to find her if Olivia were out there.

“Olivia,” I whispered, it was the most urgent tone she had ever heard me use. “You need to get out of here. Sebastian—”

“No!” Her voice turned fierce when she cut me off. “I’m not leaving you, Jaydon. Not again.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the head as my mind played back our final encounter with Sebastian. I had shut her out, put distance between us trying to keep her safe, and it was almost what killed both of us. I couldn’t do that again. I couldn't leave her to face this by herself.

I gasped, tears forming in my throat. "Alright," I said quietly. “Okay. But you have to be careful. He will… he won’t just let us go silently."

“I know," she said, and though her voice was calm, I knew that behind the composure must exist huge wells of terror. “But we’ll get through this. Together.”

I shut my eyes, absorbing the power in her words and our connection. The force of her will burned through me with a raw power that even my own matched now. I couldn’t afford to be weak. Not now.

“Do you see anything?” Trying to center myself on the tangible, in-the-moment task before me, I asked.

“Uhh, there’s a… lock,” she said, and I heard her jostling around something over the line. “It looks old. I... I will try to break it."

The heavy grumble of her working the lock open—groan, if only. Every second was dragging, my entire body tense in anticipation as I waited for her to get the lock open; a hopeful sentiment of: please let it be soon. Then, a slow, hollow click—and the door screeched open at last.

A wave of light poured into the chamber, washing out all but a blinding white that forced me to shield against it.

“Jaydon!” Olivia rushed to my side, sounding so relieved, her hands warm and gentle as she got me on my feet. The pain still writhed within my chest, but I set the twinge away from me and concentrated on the heat of her fingers brushing against my skin—on Olivia herself. She was here. She had found me. Then, we would meet the inevitable next play in life as a team.

I slipped out the door, trying to walk in a straight line with Olivia's arm around my waist, helping me along.

“We have to go—before—”

Her words were drowned by an incredible roar, a terrible shudder that ran beneath my feet. The ground shook beneath me, and I stumbled, almost falling before Olivia grabbed hold of my arm and held fast as the world itself around us began to rattle. It just had to sink in me now that I was scared: “He's right there. We have to move. Now.”

Dazed, we stumbled out of the chamber and into a series of narrow, poorly illuminated hallways. The walls were lined with old stones, and there was a pervasive stench of rot in the air. Never had the weight of the earth held such a crushing heaviness, as our graven walls seemed to crumble inwards.

Olivia took the lead, holding my arm in a firm grip as we twined through maze-like hallways. I could hear our footsteps reverberating off the walls and mixing with a distant hollow growl, which sounded as if it bellowed from inside the earth.

“Where are we?” My voice was rough, and I struggled to keep up with her.

"I don't know,” she replied, her voice tight with fear. “But we have to keep moving. There has to be a way out.”

We rounded a bend, and the hallway opened up into an immense cavern. Darkness cloaked the high ceiling, and weird symbols that glowed a sickly pulse lined the walls. At the center of the chamber was a grand door, inlaid with complex carvings on its surface that appeared to dance and wriggle as we drew near. They were old, ancient even—far surpassing us now as we believed ourselves to be back then by our cavemen ancestors—and exuded an aura of might that made the hair on my neck stand on end.

“This is the way,” Olivia announced assertively as she neared the door. “We need to—”

A deep, menacing growl reverberated through the room, sending a shiver down my spine. We both stilled, turning to face the door again.

“Jaydon…” Olivia whispered, her voice trembling. “What is that?”

I never got the chance to answer, as the door exploded outward in a cacophony before slowly swinging open to reveal a massive hulking figure staring down at us with ice-cold hate glowing from what could only be described as pits within his skull.

Sebastian.

He smiled, a cruel touch of madness entering his expression as he did so, and I shivered in terror.

“Going somewhere?” he mocked, evilness oozing from his voice.

The realization of how much danger we were in sent chills down my spine. It was no longer about me. This was about Olivia. In that moment, I knew I would do anything to keep her alive. Even if it meant going straight at the demon himself to cut through his black heart.