The Harvest of Souls

CHAPTER 34

ŠLUKNOV

11.01.846 - 10:58 PM

The small black car, only for two passengers, crossed in a few seconds the little town and started to make its way along the winding road that went up the mountain. The car drastically reduced speed to follow the path full of curves. There was snow, but not enough to stop the little car from passing. Fernand was glad he didn't have to walk up the mountain in the cold, and he hoped the road to the lookout was clear.

The darkness was complete, only a short stretch of road was visible through the car's headlights, and a particular fear and loneliness invaded Fernand. He wondered if he died there how long it would take to realize his disappearance. Shaking his head from side to side, he tried to push the thought away and picking up his MC, he selected a song to play, then started screaming out of tune inside the little car:

"I see a red door and I want it painted black."

Three songs later, the little car finally stopped in a flat space with a small enclosure. Fernand got out of the vehicle and the intensely cold air seemed to freeze his soul. As soon as he closed the car door, the car turned and started back down the road. With his MC in hand, Fernand turned on a flashlight that barely illuminated the place where he was. With a huff, he stuffed the MC back into his pocket, and then in total darkness, he pressed his palms together, and with his head bowed, he began to concentrate as if in prayer. In a few seconds, he began to spread his palms apart and a small sphere of fire appeared floating between them. As he extended his palms apart, the larger the globe became.

The heat began to comfort Fernand when the flaming sphere grew the size of his skull. With a musical gesture, he made it remain floating just inches from his chest. He turned his back to the lookout and walked towards the road, crossing it and entering through the trees, the fire sphere still floating and illuminating the white scenery filled with snow. Fernand followed a trail, covered in snow and unnoticeable to anyone who hadn't walked the same path a few times before, during the summer. However, a more experienced adventurer might be able to observe the lack of density of the larch, spruce, and pine trees along the way.

After a few minutes, the path became steeper, and the trail began to climb sideways up the mountain until a small pass appeared to Fernand's right. Fernand stopped right beside a small hole between two large rocks. He began to pat his hand over the snow, making it fall and reveal the remainder of the entrance to a cave. The flaming sphere remained floating beside him, melting some snowflakes thrown into the air while Fernand further opened the hole between two rocks.

After fully opening the path, Fernand guided back the sphere of fire in front of him and entered the narrow passage. The heat quickly intensified in the tight space, and Fernand, with a wave, made the sphere go even further in front of him. He walked for a few meters, bracing his hands on the walls to avoid any tripping on the uneven floor of the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, Fernand entered a vast open space, a second tunnel, much larger, with a domed roof, perpendicular to the first tunnel. The light generated by the sphere was not enough to illuminate the entire length of the tunnel, but Fernand knew that both ends led out of the mountain and were closed by automatic doors that opened on the approach of any aircraft.

Fernand knew that the aircraft sent by Lélia was untraceable, and therefore it would be necessary to open the underground runway doors manually. He checked his watch and noted that the plane was still about an hour and twenty minutes away. Anyway, he preferred to open the doors, worried if the amount of falling snow would disrupt the plane's landing and takeoff. With a wide wave of both hands, he heard a shrill roar. The cold invaded the underground track, and he concluded that the doors were opened.