The voice again. Kre drew Kitalia just a bit closer to him, whether for her peace of mind or for his, he wasn’t sure, but if he was hearing voices, he knew that he wanted her close by. Judging by where the last door latch was, his hand quickly found this one. A tug at the back of his mind gave him pause though. “Wait for what?” he muttered to himself.
The scratching sound from the opposite door grew louder, becoming more like angry slashes of claws against the door. “Blast it,” Kitalia muttered, brushing her free hand against her leg. “The crystal is gone.”
“What crystal?”
“Never mind,” she snapped. “I am far too tired to explain. We should go though, before whatever that is finds a way into this tunnel.”
‘Wait…’
“No,” Kre said, “we need to wait.” He wasn’t sure, but he felt like the voice only he could hear was trying to help them.
“Kre,” Kitalia said, still somewhat out of breath from her mental ordeal with the crystal, “there is no time. We need to find shelter before worse things than that come. Things that I cannot delay with my trinkets and charms.”
‘Now… Run.’
A wave of courage and determination swept over Kre. Without a thought as to his actions, he clicked the latch, shoved the door open, and pulled a very surprised Kitalia along at a break-neck pace. He could tell that she was trying to get him to slow down, but he knew that slowing down wouldn’t be a smart thing to do.
He ran without really knowing where he was going. Running blind, with another thankful prayer to whoever designed these roads to be so straight and flat that he had no reason to fear stumbling.
Kitalia, on the other hand, found herself running unsteadily as she was being pulled. Once she managed to get her balance though, she caught up beside Kre easily with her faster pace.
She was just about to chastise him when he suddenly turned to the left, nearly ripping her arm out of socket as he did so. Again, it was only her strong sense of balance that saved her from falling over and being dragged by the madman she had shackled herself to.
For Kre, there was no doubt as to the path they needed to take. He could feel Kitalia pulling at his arm, trying to get him to slow down, but he knew that slowing down wasn’t an option. Another flash of blue off to his right was his indication that they needed to turn.
This time, instead of making a sharp turn which would have caused him to barrel right into Kitalia, Kre came to a sudden stop and let Kitalia’s momentum carry her another step or two past him. A quick pull on her hand brought her spinning towards him and, after he released her hand, he sprung forward with his arms out, scooping her up and darting off in the direction they needed to go in.
He could feel how furious she was with him. To be carried like a child being taken to bed… that was embarrassing. He didn’t care though. He knew, with confidence brimming over, that this is what needed to happen.
He made five more sharp turns, each one predicated by the same flash of blue light. He could also start to hear… things. Things moving around him. He knew that Kitalia could hear them too as her body tensed up every time his blood ran cold from the presence of something nearby. For once, he was thankful for the darkness, for not being able to see the dangers that lurked just outside of reach.
Up ahead, Kre could see blue light outlining three sides of a doorway, top and sides. He pushed harder, feeling the fear melt away to be replaced by determination and exhilaration at coming close to their goal. Instinctively, he took the last few steps at a leap, clearing five low steps that he couldn’t see and letting their momentum carry them through the open doorway.
Thwack!
Slam!