Taken in Lies

13

Chapter 13

We make it to the campsite where everyone is assembling in front of Adriel just in time. He turns to scan us over, huffs, and continues with the plan.

"We will enter the ravine in two minutes. We will walk to the bottom and find the realm of monsters when the moon is at its highest peak. Go grab what you need and meet me at the ravine's edge." He releases us then, keeping a hard eye on me, which makes me squirm uncomfortably.

Zyair and I walk to our tent and change into new clothes, wiggling into them as quickly as we can. We grab water canteens, snacks, and emergency blankets, stuffing them into a small backpack Zyair places over his shoulder. We head from our tent and start to slowly walk towards the ravine. The others catch up to us pretty quickly and match our pace. At some point, Alicona runs up to walk next to us, out of breath. We all shy away, the memory of Evergreen's dead body still fresh. Xe sighs.

"I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be. What I did was wrong but you need to understand I have no choice but to follow my fathers orders! It's either their life or mine and I can't help but be selfish." Xe glances at Oreno for a split second then turns back to the rest of us. "I will respect whatever you all wish."

"Look Alicona, you fucked up, okay? We listen to your father, but to a point. We protect each other. Stand up to him, but only to a point." Sae replies.

"Look, we can't be friends. You lied to me after I told you sensitive information, and I don't even know if any of the secrets you shared are true! Keep your perfidious ass away from me." Oreno sneers.

"I understand, both of you. I've never had friends before and I'm sorry I already screwed it up."

"Good enough. Now join us, we have a little walk to the rav-" Verdasani starts. "Nevermind."

When I look up I see the ravine is only a few feet in front of us. The steep walls stretch upward, and the descent is high.

"That was fast." I mention, staring down into the deep trench. My heart gets stuck in my throat.

"It was but we were caught up talking." Max steps in.

"That's true." Jasmin agrees.

I smile at them all, swallowing back my fear, and look at our decreasing but large family. Once Adrial arrives, he passes out flashlights to everyone. Of course, he doesn't give us weapons, though I was hopeful.

"Everyone! We will start our descent on the designated trail leading down, I can assure you it is not as deep as it looks. We will arrive by 11:55 if we leave now, so let's get moving."

Adriel starts to walk down the path with his flashlight shining ahead like an arrow pointing us which direction to go. We follow his lead, the tension between us and the future growing. My skin prickles and I bite my tongue in frustration. Whatever this realm of nightmares is, it is getting to all of us. The eeriness of this pathway with the dark clay and moon shining above strikes fear into all of us. The only sound we hear is the sound of our feet scraping against the ground and our deep breaths at every movement. Our flashlights shine in front of us but we can't help what is behind us.

A twig behind me snaps and I jump and immediately turn. I shine my flashlight and see that Max has stepped on a brittle branch.

"Ramia, Max! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry but you should have seen your face." She laughs and mimics what she thought I looked like. Her face controls into one of fear, laughter, and axe murderer-esque.

"Oh, stop that. It's creepy."

"Why? Are you afraid of this?" She recreates the face, this time crossing her eyes. Max then starts to walk towards me like some hurt stray. I back away but she lunges and nimbly grabs my arm. I scream and she lets out a howl for a laugh.

Everyone around me begins to laugh, but Adriel, ever the downer, turns and eyes us all.

"Stop messing around! We have work to do, and you're only slowing us down." He growls.

We quickly stop playing and return to an uncomfortable silence. I was starting to feel at peace but now the fear is right back. We cannot get congenial, we are in danger and never out of it. I have to remember that.

***

Our hike continues for a while, but we eventually make it to the bottom of the ravine. A chill runs up my spine as I look around the dusty bottom covered in cobbs and bones. The smell is putrid and reminds me of vomit. I cover my nose and shine my flashlight ahead. The beam lands on a wooden door in the rock.

"Guys."

They all turn to me and see what my flashlight is pointing at.

"Good job, Six." Adriel praises.

His appraisal grosses me out. He does not have the right to say anything to me, especially when his tone raises in that sickeningly pleasant way. It reminds me of how he spoke to Harlow, and I do not want to end up like her; a pet to be put down.

We slowly approach the wooden door covered in dirt and mold. Adriel places his hands on it and knocks. As he does, a dozen arrows shoot out of the door and try to strike us. We all jump to the floor. There's a noise like a rubber band being plucked. We wait for a few seconds; I am the first to rise and when nothing happens the others follow, all except for Max.

"Max! Max, are you okay!"

I run over to her and flip her over gently. That's when I see an arrow lodged into her shoulder. Blood seeps from the wound and tears pour from eyes.

"Oh my Ramia! Guys! Help, over here!"

They all run over and see what has happened to Max.

"Oh my Goddess!" They shriek at the same time.

Adriel just tuts and grabs his gun. He points it at Max, ready to pull the trigger when Alicona jumps in.

"Father, no!"

"She's a lost cause!"

"No, we can save her! We still have fifteen minutes! Please, she's my friend. I killed one of my friends for you, so spare one for me!"

"You have fifteen minutes to get her functional. Saetinia, Verdasani, and Jasmin, you will take her back up or I will kill her. Got it?"

"Yes. Thank you!" Alicona cries.

Alicona then runs over to me and Max and crouches down.

"This is going to be ugly, I'm gonna have to pull the arrow out-"

"No!" I jump in, pushing xer hands away. "The arrowhead is the only thing keeping blood in, if you pull it out then she could lose enough to die. If it's going to be pulled out, it needs to be done back at camp." I look over to Max, putting my hands on the arrow. She flinches, and I look at her for confirmation. "I'm going to snap the wood, so it won't be sticking so far out. Is that okay?" She nods, and I quickly snap the arrow in half. She lets out a shriek of pain, and I wince sympathetically.

"Come here, Maxima." Saetina walks over, extending her arms. Sae grabs onto Max and picks her up, careful to make sure the injured shoulder is facing outward. Max sniffles, going limp. We just nod to Jasmin, Verdasani, and Sae as they start their way back up the ravine.

Adriel then turns to us and nods toward the door. We all get down and I try to catch my breath. Things are happening non-stop.

Adriel knocks and nothing happens. He then slowly opens the door and an axe is thrown out, as if someone had been waiting to throw it. It lands beside me on the ground and I jump. This place is incredibly and skillfully trapped. This is bad.

"Everyone up! We have ten minutes left."

We rise but don't move. No one wants to go into the cave.

"Come on! Move now!" Adriel yells. We do as we are told and advance towards the door. All of us are hesitant to go first.

"Stop being babies and go!" Adriel practically screams and pushes Oreno in. He stumbles but catches himself and walks inside with faked confidence. We each follow him one by one, and I enter last. I can only pray that we all come out alive and not as dismembered corpses whose names will be forgotten like the sand in the wind.