Soul Arts

Chapter Ten

"We can't leave them behind," Kalia exclaims. "We've gotta go back!"

"Absolutely not." Minotauria's voice is fiery and determined. She sounds as if she is irritated. "No more turning back. We have no time for this."

The widening fissure appears to have opened from the middle of the floor, slithers up the center of the left wall, and finally separates the ceiling into two as it makes its way down the right side. Heat flowing in through the giant crack is overwhelming; The air is charged and suffocating. Kalia feels the vessel rumbling slightly beneath Minotauria's feet.

"Sing-Sing and Maya are our friends. Antagonis has to show me how to operate the train, and if they go down, we don't make it to the Rift and I don't get to go home! We can't leave them behind!"

Kalia is kicking and squirming trying to release herself from Minotauria's relentlessly strong grip. She throws her right leg out in a valiant effort to kick the button on the wall that will open the door, but she simply cannot manage to reach it.

"Antagonis said he would catch up to us. We need to keep moving forward, there is no time to turn back again!"

"Then you keep moving forward! Let me down."

Kalia continues to jerk and twist her body away from Minotauria. She wonders how much it would hurt if Minotauria simply dropped her from so high up. No matter, she is determined to go back for the others. If anything, Antagonis is her one and only ticket back to Earth. If the train breaks in half and he were to fall into the Pit, Ringer wins.

She tries once again to reach the button with the tip of her right shoe. She swings her body forward against Minotauria's hold, strenuously stretching her right leg as hard and as far as her body will allow. She barely grazes the button.

The door, however, suddenly slides open.

"Hi," says Antagonis after a moment of awkward staring and silence. Maya is on his right, and Sing-Sing is on his left, standing, on her own two feet. Kalia, taking a deep breath of this blazing stale air, is amazingly relieved; Relieved not only by the fact that the rest of the group managed to catch up, but also because Sing-Sing is still standing, breathing. She's alright.

A smile starts to creep across Kalia's face which abruptly dies when she notices Sing-Sing is suspiciously concealing the entire right side of her head with her arm and hand.

"What happened?" asks Kalia softly. Then she remembers Greiis Ringer happened.

"Your toy is breaking in half," Minotauria cuts over Kalia, speaking to Antagonis. She cradles the girl over her left shoulder and points to the glowing fissure with her right hand.

Antagonis steps into the vestibule and maneuvers around Minotauria to get a better view of the crack. He does not look the least bit surprised.

Maya lets out an earsplitting shriek and everyone redirects their attention. Sing-Sing slowly lowers her hand. Shimmering golden dust particles are rapidly flowing out of a gaping hole in the beautiful young woman's hollow head, and into the crack. Maya throws her hands over Sing-Sing's injury to help block the particles. Kalia cannot stomach to watch this infernal vessel repair itself using Sing-Sing's body. Instead, she glares at Antagonis, seething with hate and distain.

"We've got to get out of here," Antagonis calls out. The hellishly glowing fissure is repairing itself slowly but surely, feeding on Sing-Sing's damaged body the more and the longer they stay. One by one, everyone carefully steps across the fissure to get to the next door; Minotauria with Kalia first, then Maya, and then Maya and Antagonis carefully help Sing-Sing hop over, and finally Antagonis makes it over.