Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 4: Lost Friend and Forgotten Family

Dew sparkled in the grass of the graveyard. Philip's gravestone sat silently, undisturbed by the faint, cold breeze blowing. Chirping and singing, little bush warblers and robins flitted about the forest and undergrowth. The short iron gate surrounding the graveyard stood twisted, as if the ground had shifted beneath the dark bars.

Cole stood silently at the gate, gazing at the name of his friend carved into the stone.

The last I saw of you, you and your sister were riding across a great field to Stiix. We told each other we might see each other again. I looked forward to that.

Because you were my friend. One of the only ones I had then. Now I will never see you again.

Could Philip see Cole where he was? Was he watching him? Cole bowed his head. When Day of the Departed comes again, I'll light a lantern for you. I will never forget you again.

He gripped one of the bars of the gate to steady himself. The more he thought of Philip, the more old memories returned; some of them fuzzy and silent images, but others were as vivid as what was happening now.

Tunnels. There were underground tunnels. Cole shut his eyes tight. They were trapped in those tunnels. It was raining, and the water was rising. Philip and Cole were separated from Liana and a fourth traveler. Philip had been wounded by some animal that had attacked them.

He could hear the water again. He could almost see the darkness in his head.

...Beside him, Philip breathed heavily and clutched his wounded shoulder. Cole couldn't see how bad the injury was in the dark, but from what he could tell from the painful gasps, it was pretty bad.

Cole glanced back to where the creature disappeared. "You remember that skeleton we found earlier? I think we know what attacked it now."

Philip chuckled bitterly. "That'll be us soon."

Cole whipped around and glared at him. "Would you quit talking about dying?! We are not going to die! There has to be a way out. There could be a hole in this wall, or a secret tunnel leading to safety, or we could find the river and let it carry us away!"

He froze. "We could find the river and let it carry us away," he repeated softly.

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Philip asked incredulously. "I thought you were trying to live, not drown sooner!"

"No, wait..." The wheels and gears turned rapidly in Cole's head. A corner of his mouth quirked up. "The river we saw... It must go somewhere, right? If it just stopped somewhere it would have flooded these tunnels long before we came along. So the river continues..." He couldn't help it; he began to smile. "And it could lead out of the mountain!"

He looked back up at Philip. It was too dark to tell for sure, but he could have sworn Philip was grinning.

"Wanna try it?" Cole asked.

"We're going to die if we stay, so we might as well try it, anyway."

"Let's go." The boys splashed away from the little cavern and entered one of the yawning tunnels, praying it would lead to the underground river. The gurgling water was rising up to their torsos; they had to move fast.

Hoping they wouldn't run into the predator again, they waded quickly down the corridor, trying to see through the stifling shadows. Behind him Cole could hear Philip gasping quietly in pain. It was a very long few minutes of trudging through the river, fighting the current threatening to drag them away into the dark river.