Vessels

Chapter 11: Souls

"What is this place?" Rhea traces her hand against the wall of this large room we've entered. It looks as if it's made out of sand, and although I'm a little scared to touch it, it seems safe enough.

We all stop moving when I hear something crack beneath my feet; another bone. They are all over the ground of this place, and although I shut my eyes as quickly as I could, I'm sure I saw a skull. I'm sure Rhea and Nico saw it, too, but I'm happy no one wants to talk about it. No one tries to talk about the rotting smell, either.

I shriek when I feel a hand on my shoulder but calm down when I realise it's only Nico. Rhea rolls her eyes as she makes her way to us, kicking aside bones to create a path to reach us.

"There's nothing here," Nico says the words we've all been thinking.

There's nothing here but a pile of bones. I don't even see an exit, and it scares me to think these bones could be a result of people not being able to find their way out.

"We can't even see the end of the room." Rhea shoves her brother. "We can still find something if we keep going."

She walks ahead of us, and I chuckle before following her lead. I'm glad she's here. Surprisingly, she gives me the encouragement I need.

We walk further down this room, with Rhea and Nico occasionally kicking something aside. I, not having the heart to look down, step over everything and try to take my mind off of all the snapping and shattering I'm causing.

"Thanks for coming with me," I say.

Rhea looks back at me but says nothing. However, her facial expression is more welcoming than other times.

"Rhea wouldn't stay away. She's so desperate to help Vessels."

"Nicholas," Rhea scolds, but he laughs in return. For once, I don't feel the need to suppress my laugh to make Rhea less grumpy. "You're both irritating."

Rhea smirks as she continues walking ahead.

After a few minutes of walking and when I'm so close to asking to take a break, I notice three white pillars a few metres away from us. It looks like it's in the centre of the room.

"Amora!" Rhea runs ahead towards the pillars, and Nico and I follow.

We laugh as we race to it. Of course, pillars aren't much to look at, but it's better than the nothing we've been seeing ever since we entered this place.

Suddenly, we all hear a thud, and the sound seems to be coming from all directions. We stop in our tracks, with Rhea leading the way and Nico and I following closely behind her. Nobody moves, and I even have to remind myself to breathe.

When it seems like everything might be okay, holes suddenly appear in the ground; three next to each of us. I have to jump backwards to avoid slipping into it.

We all look scared, and the sound of something coming out of the holes doesn't help anyone feel better. As if we're reading each other's minds, we charge forward, ignoring whatever is going on around us, to reach the other end of this room. There must be an exit there.

However, the situation becomes worse when a wall, one also looking like it's made out of sand, starts to rise from the ground. I glance around and notice the wall is forming a circular shape, attempting to close us in.

"Amora!" Nico shouts, pulling my focus away from our surroundings and back to running. It's the only thing I should be thinking about anyway; getting out of here.

My legs start to hurt, but I push myself forward. We all run at a speed I'm sure wouldn't be possible in any other situation. We run to reach the new wall before it gets too high for us to jump over.