Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 8: The Dark Sleep

The first thing Kai was aware of was that he was lying on an icy, hard surface, and that he was cold. He blinked his eyes open blearily to find himself in a small, dark room. The only light came from a narrow shaft high, high above him, where faint, moonlight filtered down.

He tried to move, but found his hands tied behind his back, leaving him lying uncomfortably on the stone floor. He shifted and realized that his whole body was sore, as if he had been dragged across the ground for miles. His head and face throbbed, and he licked his dry, chapped lips, where a gash throbbed. He tasted blood.

With a low grunt, he forced himself into a sitting position, which made his head swim. Surveying his surroundings, he saw that the dark room was more like a cave. The rough walls stretched high and the floor was uneven, and sandy. An iron door stood off to one side. It looked odd in the bare, underground setting.

"What... happened?" he murmured. For a minute he sat there, trying to regain his strength. Then he began scooting across the sand. His sore muscles protested, but he made his way achingly slow to the door and collapsed at its side. He pressed his ear against it and tried to hear if anyone was coming.

Naturally that was when someone opened the door, hitting the side of his head and sending him reeling.

"Ouch!" Indignantly shaking his throbbing head, he looked up and inspected the two men who entered.

They both were barefoot and wore ragged animal skins, though one man's torso was bare, showing off strong pectoral muscles. He had long brown, scraggly hair that fell to his shoulder blades, sharp cheek bones, and a hard-faced expression. The other fellow looked a few years younger than him, with wild, shorter blond hair. Something that looked disturbingly like a horse's tail was braided into a belt around his waist, holding up a tunic-like covering for the legs.

"Watch it, bozos!" Kai snapped.

Neither man responded. Instead, they grabbed him by the arms, forced him to his feet, and began dragging him out of the cave.

"Hey!" Kai protested and wriggled in their iron-grips. "Let go of me! What's going on?"

Still his captors were silent. Into a dark, narrow tunnel they dragged him. Several torches lit the way, attached crudely to the walls. The air felt heavy and musty, and the silence made the setting feel alien and unnerving.

Kai flexed his stiff fingers and tried to make fire, but to his dismay, all he could produce were feeble sparks. He realized his body felt drained of energy; every limb felt numb and heavy. His captors—whoever they were—must have done something to him to prevent him from using his powers.

As he was forced down the passage, he was aware of passing by other caves and tunnels leading elsewhere into darkness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.

He turned his head and, with a start, realized that they were being followed by several cats. They seemed to have come out of nowhere, eerily watching the group as they padded through the shadows. He couldn't get a good look at them, but he thought it was really creepy how the felines followed without a sound.

"Where are we going?" he demanded.

Still no response.

Further and further down they went, following the dark, winding passage. Only several minutes passed by, but to Kai it felt like hours. Waiting to see what would happen to him was tormenting, and the cats following them in the shadows weren't helping ease the tension. There was a foreboding air of menace in the tunnels; it emanated from the people dragging him, the cats, and even the underground network itself. It felt as if there was an enemy hiding behind every corner, every cave they passed.