The Eighth Sea

Chapter 20

Levi

Levi had been sitting silently throughout the conversation, his eyes fixed on Wren as he battled his inner demons. Levi could have sworn that Wren's hazy figure became more clear as time went on. He couldn't imagine what Wren was experiencing right now. Even for Levi, Hector had been a friend to him; a guiding light in his darkest hours, a source of strength and sarcasm that seemed irreplaceable.

Soon, the whole crew fell silent, only broken by a faint sound—similar to that of a purring cat—echoing through the damp walls. They carried an otherworldly quality that sent shivers down Levi's spine.

"Do you hear that?" Gerald asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Levi nodded and Francis spoke before he could say anything. "I don't think we should be here. This place is starting to feel hostile. We need to move now."

Just as they began to gather their supplies and make a speedy exit, the noises around them began to intensify, sending echoes flinging off the walls of the cave and shaking the ground. Levi lunged for the nearest rock formation, holding on tightly to balance himself.

"Get out!" Pierre yelled loudly, grabbing on to Levi's arm and guiding him to the exit. "It's not safe here anymore!"
Just as Pierre finished stating the obvious, the ground seemed to give out below Levi's feet with an ear-splitting crack, and Levi tumbled down into the unknown, Pierre still clinging on to his arm, screaming loudly the whole way. Around him, Levi could hear the rest of the crew falling down alongside him, each yelling at the top of their lungs.

Levi's heart raced as they plummeted through the darkness, his mind filled with a jumbled mix of fear and adrenaline. The cacophony of screams and shouts from the crew echoed in his ears, blending together in a disorienting symphony. He tightened his grip on Wren's leg, desperately clinging to the only source of stability in this chaotic descent.

The air rushed past him, whipping against his face as he descended further into the unknown depths. Had they triggered some sort of trap? Or was this the wrath of Scylla manifesting itself?

They must have been falling for a few seconds, although to Levi, it felt like hours before they finally hit the bottom. Thankfully, they landed on a bed of wet seaweed, which broke their fall a bit.

"Is everyone okay?" Francis rushed from person to person, helping them stand up. "At least we're all here."

"Where even is here?" Patricia demanded. "Does anyone have a light? I can't see for shit!"

"Welcome to my world," Levi said.

Gerald procured a box of matches from somewhere and lit a single match.

"One match is useless," Francis said. "We need a torch or something or we're never going to be able to find the way out of here."

"There's some driftwood over here," Pierre called out from wherever he was standing. "Once it dries we can start a pretty good fire!"

"That's no good," Francis returned. "We're not going to stand around waiting for a bunch of wood to dry."

"Wait!" Gerald interrupted. "I have a half-used candle in my bag! I must have grabbed it back on the Jolly Rancher."

"What would we do without your bag of supplies," Francis muttered as they grabbed the candle from Gerald. Before long, they had lit the candle and everyone gathered around, save Wren, who lingered in the background, standing in silence.

"I think we're in some sort of tunnel," Pierre said. "Do we just follow it?"

Patricia shrugged. "What choice do we have?"