The Land of Dragons

Chapter 13

After Max and Carlos set off to find Pierre

As he and Max walked in the dark tunnel, Carlos' mind was working furiously, trying to find a reason for Pierre's disappearance. There's no way there were Devils so near to us and we didn't hear it, is there? he thought, a tiny doubt remaining in his mind.

"Pierre! Where are you?" Max shouted. Carlos winced at the sudden sound.

"Shh! Don't be that loud! Whatever took him can easily take us as well." Carlos told him.

"Then you keep quiet and they will think it's only me." Max whispered. "Pierre! Can you hear me?" he continued shouting.

Carlos decided it's the worst option to stop for bickering so he went with Max's idea.

"Max!" he said.

"What do you want?" Max replied, stopping in his tracks.

"Keep your hands on the left-side wall. I will keep mine on the right. That way, we will know if there's something hidden there."

"Okay." Max said and Carlos heard him moving away.

They continued walking, with Max's shouts constantly ringing through the walls. At once, Carlos felt the wall turn under his hand. He moved carefully and realised he nearly turned back the way they'd come.

"Max! Come here!" he called.

"What did you find?" Max asked as he came closer.

Carlos told him about the curve in the wall.

"The other one turns slightly in the opposite direction," Max replied. "That's strange."

Carlos moved away from the curve, finding another wall, opposite to the one Max had been following.

"Hey! There's another wall!" he called and realisation hit him. "You know what? This is a fork! Remember when we kept at the right-side wall when the tunnel widened?"

"Yes! And Pierre surely kept to the left and we didn't even notice he's not at the front anymore!" Max finished.

"Then let's go find him." Carlos said and they set off again.

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Pierre's head throbbed painfully as he walked along the tunnel. After a time, he began feeling dizzy again, so he decided to stop. He sat down, his back to the wall and felt for the bump that was forming on the top of his head.

Without his footsteps echoing around, he became aware of a distant noise in the silence. He listened eagerly, his hopes rising. The noise seemed to get closer to him and soon he thought he could make out the words "Pierre" and "Where".

"I'm here! Who are you?" he shouted back. It didn't do any good to his headache but it was worth the pain if it helped anyone find him. As he listened, he heard the reply.

"Is that really you? Or are you a Devil?"

"Yes, I am a Devil!" Pierre shouted, thinking no Devil would do it.

In the distance, Max smiled when he heard the reply.

"That's definitely Pierre!" he said and they quickened their pace.

"Okay, we're coming!" he shouted.

Pierre heard it and smiled.

Some time later he felt the sounds of the footsteps closing in on him.

"Hey guys," he said.

"Oh, you're here?" he heard Max reply, taken by surprise.

"Yes. Where are the others?" Pierre asked.