Awakened Book One: Fire

Chapter 12. Embark

"Julia, where are you?" Carter shouted into the darkness. His voice sounded hollow as it echoed around the walls. He had reached the bottom of the makeshift ladder, it was impossible to see down here.

He focused his energy into his hands and they were glowing brightly once more. Carter could see empty cells on either side of him, their doors open and rusted.

"Julia, please, this place is freaking me out!" he cried out again, still receiving no response. It was truly eerie down here. It looked like a place where those ghost finders came for their t.v. shows. Carter didn't know if he believed in ghosts, nonetheless it freaked him out. 

He began to walk forward, cautiously at first, then at a normal pace as he became more comfortable. The stone hallway seemed boring, all of the cells looked the same. Carter made sure to keep track of every turn he made so he wouldn't get lost down here.

The cell door on his right opened, slamming into the wall with a clang and causing Carter to jump in surprise. Carter screamed and tripped on himself as he tried to run away.

"Boo!" Julia jumped out and shouted.

"Ahh! Geez, Julia! Not funny!" Carter said as he picked himself up off the floor. He brushed his hand up against the wall, it was full of holes.

"Got you good Stephens! You screamed like a little girl. That was great!" She was laughing, the laughter echoed back eerily.  

"Look at this. They look like bullet holes, right?" Carter asked Julia, brushing more dust out of the holes.

She walked over and brushed her fingers over the spot he had pointed out. 

"Yeah, that's what they are for sure. Looks like an automatic weapon fired them. I wonder what happened down here. What is it Aakriti wants us to get out of this place?"

"I don't know, I guess we should just keep looking around." Carter replied.

"Yeah, I'll lead. Follow me, keep your light on." Julia said as she continued forward.

"You're pretty brave you know. This place really freaks me out. I'm glad you are willing to take the lead." Carter said. 

"Yeah well, someone's got to do it. If I let you lead I think we would be headed back up the ladder. Honestly, I'd rather face whatever is down here then tell Aakriti we didn't even look."

The two of them walked for a while, looking for anything unusual but only seeing more and more of the same old cells.

"This ones got a door." Carter said as he kicked an old rusty soda can. He could faintly tell it was a root beer can, though the label had nearly faded completely. There was a small table and some chairs against the wall as well. He blew the dust from an old keypad, pressing the buttons a few times just for fun. Turning the handle, the door didnt open.

"Dead end. Just a door that wont open." He said frustrated. 

"This place is depressing. Maybe we should just leave, I think we've seen enough." Julia said with boredom.

They walked back into the hallway, following it for a while longer. Carter wasn't that scared anymore because nothing was happening.

They heard shuffling and squeaking, coming right for them. 

"Hey, watch out!" Carter shouted as a pack of rats appeared, rounding the corner in front of them. They ran into the nearest cell as the rats went by. One of them stopped and wandered into the cell, sniffing the air and squeaking at them. Carter used his powers to pick it up and put it back with the rest.