Walking In The Shadows

Chapter 18

King Eli

Instinctively, my men swarmed in the room creating a barrier that separated the intruders from us. Among the invaders was my cousin Luka. Throughout my younger years, he had been the one to be better than me at everything. I swore that one day I would beat him. However, today was not the day as I needed to focus on the task at hand. While it was in my best interest to wait and make sure that Ariyah had completely submitted herself to a dead state, I knew that I needed to continue this operation, or else I would fail due to Luka's cunning mind.

With ease, I picked up the lifeless lump that was laying on the floor and took off down the hall. Along this path, I encountered a series of turns and codes before coming upon a shaft that would take me to an elevator. While there were other ways to make it to my destination, this was the fastest and currently time was not my friend. Taking the vent off of the wall, I placed Ariayh's body on the solid walls that were square shaped. I pushed her forward and crawled in after her. Due to the dark grey color, it was difficult to see and the dust that piled up after centuries of being abandoned aggravated my lungs. It was filthy beyond imagination, but we were almost out and turning back was out of the question. The walls caved in as we got closer to the vent, but there was still enough room for me to maneuver our bodies so that I could kick the vent out. Over and over again I kicked, but the metal bars imprisoning us made it difficult to break. Nothing was budging and I was running out of time. However, in the left hand corner the screw was loose and after a couple kicks, I managed to knock the brace off.

When I got us out and picked her body up again, my eyes landed on the elevator that I was searching for. Quickly, I loaded her on and sat her in the corner before returning to the panel to punch the buttons that would lead us to our destination in the basement. The basement used to be a bunker for humans during the war to escape the harsh clutches of mystical creatures. The old lights gave off a yellowish tint that could not reach the corners, leaving them dark.

I have to help her. This is my only chance.

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The beautiful melody that hovered in the air and wrapped around my body with warmth escaped her luscious lips as they moved to produce the words. I sat on the green blades beside her laying form as she sang. Listening and watching her fade along with the song as it progressed to an end.

"Don't forget me Eli." Her words were weaker as her chest began to slow its motion.

As a few traitorous tears escaped and sunk down my cheeks, I felt the slightest brush of her hand as it wiped them away. "I promise." The lightest touch alone was enough to bring me happiness and to forget the situation. However, it did not last long enough. "I'll save you."

"I love you." She barely managed. Her voice fading in the wind as it blew a warm breeze along her skin, which failed to compare to the chilling cold that took over her body. Even the pale white showed her leaving as the blushing red was no longer there. Before my thoughts could handle another second, her hand went limp, only suspended by my own.

"I love you too, my darling."

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Beep! The elevator beeped to signal that it was time to depart from our ride. Disturbed from my thoughts, I found that we had made it to our destination and went to lift Ariyah off of the ground bridal style. As we ventured deeper into the hearts of my experiment, I watched as arms extended trying to latch onto me. However, I made enough trips down here to know the distance to keep in order to come out unscathed. Upon entering the room, I saw Bryan had escaped as well as he began to set the equipment up. As I laid Ariyah's body on the silver slate that was long enough to hold her up waist level, I told Bryan to prepare the machine. "Soon my dear." Soothingly, I brushed the hair off of her face and bent over to kiss her forehead. This room was entirely designed to fit Ariyah's structure. The walls were constructed with elements to restrict her full potential and leave both her mind and body weak.