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 Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:47 pm
Sessrumnir was alone in the cave for five seconds, ten. Twenty.
There was a rush of sound, like whispers, and they came rushing towards him in the darkness.
Thirty.
The sash suddenly pulled tightly, like Alastor was yanking on it, and then he emerged from the water with a sharp inhale and a gasp that was strangely shuddery for him. He didn’t have his flashlight, and the light of the Core seemed to have faded from him, but his face was steely and his eyes were full of–
Panic? He was shaking his head and coughed–coughed again, and grabbed onto Sessrumnir while he stabilized himself. The water was rushing faster now, and it had risen nearly two inches since he’d been gone. “No, not that way,” he said quickly. His nails bit into Sessrumnir’s arm as he tried to regain his footing. He was inhaling quickly and shook his head again. “The gap’s too small, there’s no way we can fit through. I tried to knock the rocks loose, but part of that tunnel’s collapsed already. The water’s moving too quickly, there has to be another way through. How far back was the last path?”
The air smelled of blood; Alastor had a fresh injury by his head, and it looked like his shoulder was staining rapidly. His voice was uncertain, and the whispers in the darkness behind them seemed to quiet, just a bit. Unseen eyes watched them from the darkness. Something scratched sharp talons along the rocky wall, just out of sight.
The rushing water drowned out so much of the outside world, but in the distance, someone screamed. Their echo was lost to the water.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:01 pm
“Hey, deep breaths,” Sessrumnir instructed as he quickly grabbed Alastor’s elbow to keep him stabilized and pulled back to the surface. He wouldn’t admit that he’d been holding his breath out loud, but even if he was frustrated that they would have to find another way, he was relieved that Alastor was okay and that he made it back out.
The scream made him freeze, and he looked around as though trying to determine if it was real or just the Chaos trying to get to him. There was no one else down in the caves, so it must have been just something the Chaos was doing to throw him off.
But his eyes were soon back on Alastor, as were his hands, trying to get a good look at the injuries he’d sustained. It seemed as though the bandages didn’t hold for his shoulder.
Sessrumnir cursed under his breath. Despite his planning, this would be a very bad place to try and open his subspace pocket. He wasn’t sure if he could manipulate it enough to not have water rushing in.
“Looks like you hit your head pretty bad. Let’s take a short break,” he suggested, trying to stay calm, but he hated knowing that Alastor had been injured, and that his own patch job hadn’t been good enough to keep his shoulder intact.
“A minute or two, I think,” he said of the other path, glancing over his shoulder as he tried to use his flashlight to see how bad Alastor’s injuries were.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:12 pm
“What?” Alastor winced when the flashlight was on him, but it seemed almost like he might have accidentally looked into it. He was still making a face when he looked at Sessrumnir, and he held the look for a moment as if he needed all that time to process what he’d even just said. Finally, he shook his head–regretted it, and raised a hand to his temple. He winced, and when he drew it away he could see the blood on it. “Oh. I'm sorry, I’ve got water in my ears.”
He tried to take a deep breath, but it rattled in him, and whatever resolve Alastor had built up seemed to have crumbled somewhat. He wasn’t just out of breath, he was cold.
“I know I didn’t just hear you say we should take a break. It’s just a bump, I’ve had plenty before. We can’t stay here anyway, the water’s only going to keep pouring in. If we have to backtrack, it’s going to be against the current. I’ll take a break when we get there. Hopefully the water won’t be up to our chests by then. Are you okay? Did anything happen while I was gone?”
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:26 pm
Sessrumnir frowned, and adjusted the flashlight so he wasn’t angling it into Alastor’s eyes, but still enough so he could see the wound.
“I did just say we should take a break. I’ll carry you if I have to,” he said, wishing he had something to actually hold against the head wound, but everything was already soaked through.
“Alright, but stay in front of me so I can catch you if you lose your balance. No, nothing happened while you were gone, just… the same as we’ve been experiencing.” Being up to their chest in water, the looming shadows, things just under the water…
“Looks like the water finally washed off that light you had on you. Shame, it was pretty on you,” he said, trying to keep the conversation light, trying to keep them both from working up a panic.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:34 pm
“Did it?” he asked, and looked down at himself. He didn’t seem surprised not to see it. “Damn. I hope that’s not a sign something’s going wrong at the Core. Your necklace is still bright, though. You don’t have to carry me. Yet. I might take you up on that, let me get back to you when we get there.”
He walked in front of Sessrumnir, at a slightly slower pace than before. The water was beating against him, and by now his teeth were chattering. The sound of rushing water was louder, more disruptive. Sometimes, the cave seemed to shake. Sometimes, rocks clattered around them and splashed into the water.
Alastor moved closer to Sessrumnir each time, until he was nearly pressed against him.
“Maybe we should find a weak spot in the wall and try to put a hole in it. If this water keeps coming in faster than it’s flowing out, we’re never going to make it any deeper.”
He trudged back the way they came, slowly, but deliberately. The shadows scurried on the ceiling again, only this time when a rock fell it seemed like it was deliberately trying to break rocks loose.
Deliberately trying to block the waterway Alastor had come back from.
The water was rising too quickly already; any dam would only exacerbate their situation. Alastor seemed all too ready to backtrack if it meant avoiding the rising water.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:42 pm
Sessrumnir glanced back to where the water was flowing out, but held up his hand to place against Devyn’s back as he moved closer and closer to him.
“Are you cold?” he asked, maybe a bit surprised… But should he be? It wasn’t like they weren’t surrounded by water, so it was likely to lower Alastor’s temperature quickly. Sessrumnir wasn’t too bothered by the water, but…
He shoved Alastor out of the way when more rocks came falling loose, and again it was strange that the path might be blocked when they already couldn’t get through. Why did the Chaos care? Or was he just being paranoid?
“Maybe I should try to knock the rocks loose before we head back. I can probably hold my breath longer than you, and I’ll know what I’m looking for. We might not even be able to find another way to get close, especially if the water keeps rising.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:46 pm
Alastor caught himself when he was pushed out of the way, but he seemed like he was losing strength rapidly. He pulled himself back together, and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. The blood was still falling from his head, but it looked like he might have let his hair down to cover it up.
He gritted his teeth and almost seemed as though he was trying to stop the chattering.
“I’m fine. I don’t think you should go back that way to try and knock anything loose. We’re going to waste time and energy trying to move the rocks if you have to go under water to try and move things. And if it’s already unstable, I don’t want to risk you getting pinned under there. We should hug the wall and see if there’s any other current. I’d rather look for blocked openings that don’t require you to go underwater. Wait, don’t go so far.” He reached out to take his hand. He was icy, and the grip was firm, if not a little desperate.
“I’m having a hard time seeing. Everything’s blurring together a little bit. Just. Don’t go far, I don’t want to wind up under the water. Please.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:51 pm
The iciness of Alastor’s hand was alarming. The water wasn’t that cold. Was he losing blood that fast? Should they call this whole thing off and try again some other time? Or would that just allow the Chaos enough time to recover and grow and move farther away so they wouldn’t be able to track it again?
This might be their only shot at trying to rid Alastor’s world of the Chaos. If they failed… they might not have enough time or resources to attempt it again.
The desperation from Alastor pulled at Sessrumnir’s heart. He wanted to get this finished and have the Chaos destroyed quickly so he could make sure his wounds were tended to.
“I can carry you,” he said, stepping closer to Devyn so he could put an arm around his back, holding up the flashlight as he did so. “Could you hold this and point the way then? I won’t carry you completely, but you should reserve your strength. We’ve still got miles to go.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 4:25 pm
Alastor debated for a second and then finally relented. “...All right,” he agreed. He didn’t put up much resistance after that point, and accepted the flashlight as he wrapped his arm around Sessrumnir. He leaned against him and shuddered once more, but he held on firmly.
He shined the flashlight in front of them, illuminating the ceiling, the walls, and then the path they’d come from. “Let me hold the GPS. I might let you carry me completely if this water keeps up. If you want to. I can’t get good footing anymore.”
He sounded strained, but seemed like he was making an effort to push against the current so they could keep moving. “We should have asked if he had some way to map this out. It would be so much easier. I should have mapped this place out. Percy and I should have come back. I was too stupid to visit this place again. I should have known better, I’m sorry.”
Alastor made a strained noise suddenly before he jerked downwards, like something had tried to yank him down again. He held onto Sessrumnir tightly, until his fingers nearly bruised him, and pulled himself back up. He hissed, like he’d been hurt, but didn’t say anything. “Sorry,” he said again, quickly, and took another step forward–almost stumbled–and barely caught himself before hovering in place as if he needed a moment before proceeding.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 4:57 pm
Sessrumnir was grateful that Alastor was being so willing to accept help but… maybe he was being paranoid. After everything they’d talked about and gone through, and how important it was to get to the source of the Chaos so they could destroy it, it seemed a little counter productive to be moving away from it.
And there was something strange about Alastor’s resignation to be helped. Hiding his injuries and pretending like they were nothing wasn’t that surprising, but apologizing and blaming himself for not being further prepared…?
“Careful,” Sessrumnir warned as he pulled Alastor back out of the water. He didn’t care that Alastor was gripping so tightly it bruised him, as long as Alastor was okay.
“You had no idea you would ever have to come back here,” he reminded him. “And so much of the cave probably changed since then that a map would have been useless. Here, hold onto the GPS then. It’ll be easy to carry you in the water,” he shrugged as he passed the device over.
“But I think I should take you back to the entrance. I’ll come back and finish up here while you rest.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 5:05 pm
Alastor sighed heavily, and for a moment it seemed like he might have been preparing a protest. Instead, he just said, “No, not the entrance. But if you can help me get back to the last bend we were at, we might be able to find a new path.”
He took the GPS and held it tightly; for a moment he carefully managed it and the flashlight so he could have a good grip on it, and then he maneuvered into Sessrumnir’s arms. The water had risen enough that he weighed very little, and he kept one arm hooked behind Sessrumnir’s neck. He held the GPS there, just over the Knight’s shoulder; he held the flashlight in his left arm and shined it in front of them.
This time, no shadows scurried away; they seemed to be hiding altogether.
“You can carry me there, but nowhere else. I’m not leaving you down here. It’s too dangerous, and–”
Thunder again, loud. Deafening. The rocks fell from the ceiling, and the river grew in volume. Not just the flood of water they were in, but something above them rumbled. Seethed. Frothed.
Large streams of water began to pour out from above them, licking the walls as it came down.
But, that wasn’t the worst of it.
Something grabbed Sessrumnir’s ankles. Something grabbed his elbow. Water surged past them, and the shadows dragged him under.
Even while completely submerged, Alastor held on tightly, but the flashlight spun out of his grip and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Silt stung as it shot past them, like tiny little bullets pummeled every inch of them.
The GPS was whisked out of Alastor’s hand.
The chain on Sessrumnir’s necklace broke, and the water stole that, too.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 5:37 pm
It might have been a good thing that Alastor held onto him, even when Sessrumnir was pulled under the water. At least if they got whisked away by the current, they would be together.
He held his breath, and had to close his eyes to avoid damage being done to them, and kicked as hard as he could at whatever shadows or thing was grabbing at his ankles and elbow.
His heart felt like it stopped when he felt the chain around his neck break and then-- the familiar weight was gone. He opened his eyes then, desperate to search through the water for the glow, but with the water pouring from above them and Alastor holding onto him so tightly, it was impossible to see anything.
Realistically, he knew it was a necklace and, despite being a piece of Alastor’s Core, was only a piece of the Core. He assumed it hadn’t hurt it when the piece was taken before, and he knew that Alastor would care more about his safety than the necklace, but…
It felt as though he was losing an ancient treasure that he’d been entrusted with.
With his eyes shut again -- because it was too painful to keep them open -- he tried using one of his hands to grab onto the wall while still holding tightly to Alastor. He tried digging his feet into the ground and break free and… he hoped they’d have a safe place to surface for air soon.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 5:57 pm
The moment Alastor’s head was above water, he was sputtering, choking. He shifted in Sessrumnir’s arms, desperately clinging to him in the darkness.
The absolute, endless darkness. Thunder roared outside, loud enough that the lightning must have struck nearby.
There was no flash.
The GPS was gone. The flashlight was gone. The necklace was gone.
They had only each other, in a cavern full of shadows, and a rapidly rising waterline.
Alastor called Michael’s name and tried to shift in his arms, maybe to get better footing. Maybe because he was panicking.
The water was beating against them with such force that it was difficult to move, and with Alastor as he was they were practically pinned against the wall by the force of the river.
“We have to move,” he said; he found Sessrumnir’s wrist and tried to pull him forward, against the current.
And then, Alastor’s energy signature disappeared.
Despite the sudden lack of an energy signature, the hand around Sessrumnir’s wrist pulled him forward with all the strength of a Senshi.
His grip was firm, and icy.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 6:13 pm
Sessrumnir was coughing and sputtering too once his head was above the surface, but he wasn’t panicking. A little frustrated that Alastor was making it so difficult for him to get a good grip on him and get them both to safety, but he wasn’t frustrated at Alastor, just the situation they were in. It was terrifying, and he didn’t blame him! It was just… odd… for Alastor to get so worked up like this. They’d never been in a serious situation like this before, and Alastor did likely have a concussion or something that could be affecting him, but…
It wasn’t the first time something felt strange.
And then the energy signature was gone, and Sessrumnir’s blood felt like it had frozen over as icily as Alastor’s hand around his wrist, pulling him desperately forward. Away from where the water was rushing --
On his finger was still Alastor’s ring, glowing faintly in the darkness, but enough that he could still see that it was Alastor…
Or was it?
“Let go,” he growled lowly, trying to twist his wrist away. And then -- “Devyn!” he called out, hoping it would be loud enough to be heard through the stone.
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 4:49 pm
Sessrumnir’s voice echoed in the cave like it was mocking him. It called back, ‘Devyn’ several times, loud enough that it must have been the shadows playing a trick on him. Instead of the rumble of thunder, there was the quiet whisper of laughter.
Alastor didn’t release Sessrumnir’s wrist. He didn’t let him twist away.
He pulled Sessrumnir’s hand below the water again, as if he could drown out the light from the ring if he pulled it low enough. The shadows stretched from the bottom of the cave, curling around Sessrumnir’s hand, twisting up his arm.
“Michael,” Alastor said, with quiet, calm delivery. “Don’t let go.” It was commanding, almost condescending. “If you lose your footing, you might fall. I don’t know if you can get up again if you go under. You’ll probably drown. But I think if we stay together we might be able to make it somewhere safe.”
He took another step forward, and tugged Sessrumnir with him.
An energy signature manifested again on his radar.
Just, not close enough to have been from the figure in front of him.
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