Rough ideas for my work-in-progress novel ‘Wanderer.’
The air was awfully shallow in the corridor. Their rapid footsteps bounced around indefinitely, waking up the darkness from its ancient silence. It was impossible to escape undetected here, but there were no other options. With a heavy breath, the boy lurched his arms forward and swung himself over the fallen column. He landed lower than he expected, stumbling on the stair step hidden behind the column and haphazardly clinging to the pillar’s grooves.
Glancing back, he saw the two girls considerably behind. Barely outlined by the ghostly blue light that seeped in from outside. Tokiwa held her silver carrying case to her chest, forcing her to awkwardly twist her body side to side to make up for the loss of arm swing. Her long, dark hair tossed all over the place as she ran. The younger girl was further behind, stumbling as she ran with waning strength. Their soft, terrified heaves were sharp and distinct in the dead corridor. Definitively feminine.
Kohaku patted the column, whispering. “Careful, down.”
Dropping the silver case to her side, Tokiwa grabbed the pillar with her free hand and swiftly swung herself over, swinging the case with her body. She landed in a crouch, then turned back. Yuriko had to stop in her tracks to scramble up the pillar. The boy reached out to help her down on the other side.
From the distance, a terrible screech pierced the air, rattling their heads. The children shuddered. Yuriko shrank down to the ground, hands on her ears, whimpering. “It’s close, it’s close!”
The older one backtracked, reaching down to the cowering girl.
“God dammit,” the boy gasped. “Why’d it have to be a bat?”
Yuriko lifted her slender face, her wide eyes peering out. “It’s not a—”
“Be glad it is,” Tokiwa hastily quipped. “‘Cause it won’t— It’s harder to navigate in here.”
He wasn’t convinced. “But it can hear us.”
“Save your breath,” she dismissively waved. “Everything here has a way to find us.” Nevertheless, she kept her voice low. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we running?” The young girl pushed her short, shaggy hair out of her eyes. Its faded lavender color made her stand out in the darkness. “I can’t… go much longer.”
“Little more.” Tokiwa put her hand behind the girl’s shoulders and urged her forward. Reluctantly, she got up and followed.
“We need a small room to fight from,” Kohaku panted. “One it can’t get in.”
“Are you crazy?!” Tokiwa flashed him a glare. “We need a small room to hide. We’re not fighting! I can’t concentrate, and you can hardly generate a fireball!”
He opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out. From the fear on his face, she knew even he wasn’t sure about fighting.
They eventually found a narrow, caved-in tunnel. They squeezed under the rubble and crouched there, waiting with bated breath, trying to suppress their heaving chests. It was a cramped little space, but their best option so far. Yuriko huddled close to the older girl, hands clinging to her arm. Tokiwa similarly held on tightly to her sib’s hands. The other hand thumbed the smooth metal handle of her case.
Kohaku shoved a piece of stone to block the entrance, leaning his back up against it. He peeped at the hallway through the small gap that was left. All they could do now was wait.
Tokiwa continued to rub the metal handle with her thumb. She distracted herself this way. Having the warm body of Yuriko pressed up against her was also comforting, gradually dropping her heartbeat.
Yuriko fumbled a hand up her chest to cover her mouth. She drew herself closer, practically smushing Tokiwa into the corner. Tokiwa felt her trembling uncontrollably. It must be really close, Tokiwa thought.
There was the sound of skittering nearby. The boy tensed, briskly retreating away from the gap. He stared at the two girls in the corner. This little pocket under the rubble. Seeing them huddled calmed him down some more. He wasn’t the only one scared. But his bravery was short lived as the noise grew louder.
Eventually, they heard it just outside their hiding spot. A shadow blocked out the remaining light and the skittering stopped. Their predator had stopped at the doorstep.
Kohaku didn’t dare to move. Yuriko’s face was buried into the older girl’s shoulder. Tokiwa forced herself to stare at the entrance. She had to know if they needed to switch their stance to fight.
Her expression transformed into a mix of defiance and sheer terror. She saw a hairy appendage of some sort bump up against the wall. It looked more in line with an insect’s leg than a mammal’s. The thick hair glistening blue. Kohaku felt this bump and froze. Although, seeing Tokiwa’s face, he too couldn’t help but take a glance, barely moving his head. One look was all he needed, and he shut his eyes tight.
However, the leg finally passed, and the pale light returned. It skittered some distance away, stopped again, then continued until it was no longer audible. The children relaxed, but still held their breath. They were afraid it would return.
Kohaku was the first relax enough to break the silence.
“Oh god!” he whispered. “It transformed into a spider!”
Tokiwa silently flailed a hand, glaring at him. Then she brought her finger up to her mouth, motioning him to stay silent. He said no more.
They waited for a while.
Finally, Yuriko lifted her head from Tokiwa’s shoulders and wiped her eyes. She had been crying. “It’s gone,” she sniffed.
“… Are you sure?” Tokiwa whispered. Her sib nodded.
Kohaku slumped, relaxing his shoulders and exhaling. His chest collapsing. “What a relief.” He looked up at the girls, wiping his forehead with a smile.
Tokiwa didn’t expect his attention and blushed. Then she smiled back, breathing. She never realized how beautiful his smile was.
Yuriko shifted uncomfortably, stretching out an open hand at the boy. “Don’t look at me.”
“Heh?”
“Don’t.” She blushed, lifting her hand higher. She curled up and shoved her face into Tokiwa’s shoulder once more.
“Yuri?” Tokiwa glanced down, worried. “What’s wrong?”
“I…” She didn’t continue.
The boy put a hand behind his head. “Don’t worry, I was really scared as well. We all were.”
Tokiwa lifted a hand to the girl’s shoulder but stopped half way. Looking down, she saw glistening pool under her feet. She gazed at it curiously, then relaxed. Her face easing. Tokiwa squeezed out of the corner and crawled over to the boy. Putting her arm on his shoulder, she turned him towards the entrance and pushed the stone out of the way.
“C’mon, let’s leave her alone for a bit to recover herself.”
“What? No…” Yuriko lifted her head. “Don’t leave me here alone! Just him…”
Kohaku was utterly confused. “What did I do?”
Tokiwa sighed, thinking for a moment. She didn’t want to hurt either of them. “Just… Girl stuff. Go, go! We’ll be out in a moment.”
She shoved him out. This piqued his interest. “What kind of girl stuff? I want to know!”
“Absolutely not!” Tokiwa grabbed the stone and covered up the tunnel, hiding them inside.
“But…” He glanced around the dark corridor. “I don’t want to be alone out here!”
“Take one peek and I’ll murder you!”