The Castle On The Hill

Part 4

Part-4

Parker walked up to the mouth of the tunnel and directed her torch into the tunnel. What the torch illuminated was not any straight path, instead the ground of the tunnel sloped upwards relatively steep like stairs of stones only without the steps. The path inside wasn't steep enough to warrant climbing but it definitely required hiking. A light was shining on the top of the path and it felt like manmade light to Parker. The ground inside the tunnel was narrow- barely spacious enough for two people to fit side by side. She flicked the torch upwards but didn't see anything. The ceiling was open and the light from her pencil torch didn't travel far enough and scattered before finding any resistance above.

Parker turned back to check on Sam and saw that he was standing right behind her, balancing himself by placing both his hands on the surrounding wall. She couldn't help but to ask seeing him struggling to stand up,

"You sure you can walk looking like that?"

She moved to one side, allowing him to see the road ahead.

Sam saw the steep road going upwards and his eyes darkened for a second before clearing up as he reassured her,

"Don't worry. I'll manage, somehow."

Parker still wasn't convinced. She looked at him, thoughts running in her mind. It's been almost two hours since they arrived at this hill. Although a bunch of staff happened, they were nowhere close to finding out about their initial objective, they were both worse for wear although it was more Sam than her and they were trapped. So, the road ahead was the only option for her. She examined the width of the slope and although it had barely any space but because both of them were on the thinner side, they could fit on it if they were to walk side by side. Deciding what to do next she started on the road but stopped after a few steps allowing Sam to catch up with her. She then grabbed his hand.

Sam was quite surprised by Parker's sudden action and the surprise reflected on his question,

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing- holding your hand. Don't think I didn't see you wobble on the way over here. You haven't recovered fully and I can't afford to worry about you falling down."

Sam stayed silent in response. What she said was true- he was having trouble balancing somewhat.

Parker was looking at him and saw that he wasn't arguing anymore. She turned her gaze forward after a few second and started walking- more accurately started hiking the slope.

Something had changed in Sam after he woke up- she thought. He didn't seem to be his usual chipper self. Because if he was, he would've made some smartass quip several times over already. Rather he seemed confused. But she forcefully put her idle thoughts to rest. She didn't know Sam well enough to make any judgement about him. So, she just focused on the road ahead.

For the next ten minutes Sam and Parker hiked the slope. Their speed was quite slow because of the rough terrain. The ground was soft and was made out of rocky granules and loose rocks so it was hard to get a footing. Sam had already slipped a few times and would've fallen down if not for the fact Parker was grabbing him tightly.

Sam observed Parker and saw that her face was solemn and it wasn't hard to guess that she was thinking about their situation and what to do next. Sam didn't want to disturb her so he didn't open his mouth. Instead, he looked up and saw that the light at the top was becoming brighter and clearer. Sam was now sure that it was a manmade light and was not coming from any natural source. He also got the feeling that if they reach that they would find out about not only the source of light but also about the mysterious sound.