Chapter Four

It's everywhere, covering nearly every inch of the room; the walls, the ceiling, everywhere except the floor. The extreme heat hits my body all at once and I have to squint my eyes to keep smoke out. Why exactly was Ajax excited about this?

There's a group of people in cloaks walking around a pit of fire. They must be burning in those things. They each held a long stick with some sort of rock or gem tied to the end of it. They're chanting something, although I can't understand what they're saying because the crackling of flames is so loud.

"Is this some kind of cult?" Misto says.

"I don't know but isn't it cool?" Ajax says, wanting a response as enthusiastic as he is about this.

"Well I wouldn't say cool," Melina says fanning herself. Her hair is completely dry now.

"Look up there!" Dylis points to something above the fire pit. All our eyes look and see something dangling from a chain about fifteen feet over the fire. At first I can't make out what it is, until the chain begins to lower it down closer to the fire. Then I realize that it's a person.

He looks lifeless, but his facial expression looks like he's crying. He's been stripped of his clothing, and his body is covered with dirt. He looks like he's in his mid-twenties. The chains continue to send him towards the fire, which suddenly burns higher and brighter than before, like it's excited that it will soon be able to eat.

The people wearing the cloaks stop walking and stick the rock at the end of they're sticks into the fire, making it glow an electrifying green. The man begins kicking his feet around frantically, but his arms are chained to his sides. When he's only a couple feet above the fire, the chains stop lowering him. For a second, he looks relieved. I sigh for him. I'm about to suggest that we get out of here, when the chain disappears; sending the man screaming to his doom. The fire shoots up a firework of flames in gold and green, exploding with enormous light.

We all scream. Even Ajax. The cloaked people whip they're heads towards us. We stare for a period of a few seconds, until Misto screams, "RUN!!!"

We turn around and book it. But five kids running through a narrow muddy tunnel just isn't the best idea. Most of us eat it face down in the mud, scrambling to get up. The members of the cloak cult are gaining on us, they're hoods somehow still shadowing their faces.

We reach the pond again, back to the arches. Misto, who happens to be in the lead, picks a random arch fives arches over and dashes through it. The rest of us have no choice but to follow. We're in another tunnel, and someone behind me flat tires me, and I lose my other shoe. This tunnel leads to a room that resembles a small bedroom- and there's someone in it.

A boy who had been sitting on a stool next to the bed gasps and stands up, eyes wide. He blinks his eyes once and I hear a door slam behind us. I spin around. Was there a door there before?

The boy takes a good look at us. I can't tell if he looks confused or scared. He must have been sleeping before, because he doesn't have a shirt on and is just in his boxers. He chuckles. "Let me guess, you came with this guy?" He motions to his bed, where Velotz is asleep.

"Velotz!" Ajax goes over to the bed. "How...Where..?"

The boy laughs again, letting his dark hair fall into his eyes. "Your friend there fell into Despair's Lake. Luckily he got himself out of there, usually once someone steps foot near the lake they never come back. I found him passed out next to it. He's alive, but he hasn't woken up yet." He sits back down on his stool and folds his hands in his lap. There's a harsh knocking on the door.

"It's the cult!" Melina whispers.

"The what- oh you must be talking about the Supplists. I guess you could say they're in a cult of some sort," the boy says. "I'll handle this." He walks over to a closet and pulls out a silvery blue sword. He twirls it around, clearly trying to show off. "Get back." We don't ask questions. He blinks forcefully again and the door swings open, revealing the cloaked cult members. The boy leaps at them, sword flying. He fights with great skill, it's very impressive. He stabs each member in the chest, and they turn into smoke and fade away.

He finishes off the last of them with an epic flip and slice of his sword. He stands up straight and walks back into the room looking very proud. "You're welcome," he says tossing the sword to Misto. He fumbles to catch it. "Thanks, umm, what's your name?" Misto says, throwing it back into the closet.

"It's Calix. Who're all you guys? And where exactly did you come from?" he says walking closer towards us.

"I'm Ajax, and let me be the first to say that what you just did there was awesome," Ajax says, walking up to Calix to shake his hand.

"I'm Dylis, and this is Melina," she says tucking her hair behind her ear. Aw, that's cute, Dylis likes him. He is pretty attractive. He has floppy jet black hair that hangs down in front of his eyes. Not the goth kind of hair that are like side bangs, but thick and slightly wavy. I have an urge to sweep it out of his face; so I could look into his eyes...

Dylis elbows me, shoot I was staring! "I'm Liliya," I involuntarily giggle. Calix chuckles. Darn now he must think I'm stupid.

"I'm Misto," he mumbles.

"We're from... above. From the surface. Where's here?" Dylis says.

"Ah, from above ground. That's restricted for us down here. Right now you're in my room, which happens to be connected to the lake, which is the center of our little underground city. So basically this is the worst place to have a home. But this whole place-" he waves his arms in circles- "is called Alcibus. Named after our very own Tyran Alcibus. The city we're in is called Helix, named after...someone... But anyways, how old are you guys?"

"Fourteen," Dylis and I say simultaneously- and a bit awkwardly.

Calix chuckles again. "Great, me too! What a coincidence. So do you guys plan on staying?"

We all look at each other. We had to get back some time, maybe not today because Security is probably giving punishments left and right, trying to figure out who or what triggered the alarm; but they'd probably take note of who's absent tomorrow, because we can't leave the school unless we're outside the school's bubble. Then they'd come looking, and find the pit...

"Not for a long time, in fact we should probably leave soon," Misto says quickly. Well someone's eager to leave.

"Soon? What a shame. I could show you guys around, get settled somewhere, you have to at least stay for one night!" Calix pleads. Maybe he just wants a friend. We can't leave him here then, right?

"Maybe one night wouldn't hurt, we might get caught if we go back now," I say. I wouldn't mind staying. It's not like the surface had anything to offer me anyway. Besides, Calix seems really friendly, maybe we could stay down here for a while.

Misto looks at me funny. Then at Calix. "Can we have a group meeting, in private please?" he says a little too sternly.

Calix shrugs. "Sure. I'll be outside." He walks into the tunnel, and a the door swings shut behind him, without anyone touching it.

"I don't trust him," Misto says.

"What? Why? He saved us!" Dylis questions him.

"And Velotz!" Ajax points out.

"He made a door appear out of thin air and is begging us to stay; that doesn't seem suspicious to anybody else?!" Misto yells.

Melina speaks up. "Maybe that's what the people can do down here! We don't know anything about this place, let alone how to get out. He can help us! Why do you care so much? It's not like anything worse would happen to us up there than down here!"

"Let's take a vote," I say, begging them to stop arguing. "All in favor of staying, raise your hand."

Ajax, Dylis, Melina and I raise our hands. Misto grunts. "Ugh! Fine, but when everything goes wrong and we end up like that guy who got burned, don't say I didn't warn you!" He turns away.

I groan. Why is he so mad? I let it go. It doesn't mean anything to me. I open the door, where I see Calix fiddling with a leaf. He drops it as soon as he sees me. "So, are you staying?" he says with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, I am. I mean- we are," I say.

He smirks. Then looks at my filthy shirt. "You have to tell me what you've been through, it looks like you've got some good stories."

I giggle. I must look like a wreck. My hair is completely matted, my clothes are all muddy, and I have no shoes. "Well, that might take a while."

He walks closer to me. "We have plenty of time," he says, flipping the hair out of his eyes. His eyes are beautiful. They're a deep aqua green, as vivid as the sea. They look so pure, so real. Like all of his emotions are swirling inside those little green gems and they're sitting right in front of me, nested in a beautiful face. I get lost just looking at them. I smile.

Someone yanks on the back of my shirt and pulls me back into the room. It's Misto. He just won't get out of this mood, will he? Calix walks back in his room and smiles. "Well, if I'm gonna show you guys around I'm gonna need to put some clothes on. So, just wait for me outside, 'kay?"

We nod, or I nod at least. We leave him to get dressed and wait for the tour to begin.