Code of Shadows

Chapter 22: Run

The stairs went on for hours. I was hungry and tired, but there was nothing I could do to change that at the moment. I didn't have any food, and I couldn't stop and take a nap. Each step made me more and more tired. I could feel Belle's exhaustion too. It was just too bad that our exhaustion and magic level were connected.

..................

At the very end of the twisty and winding staircase there was a long tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, I could just make out the door that was leading to the outside. I was just about to start walking down the tunnel when Aala put a hand out in front of me.

"Stop, there are traps ahead, we need to be careful."

"They really don't want people to leave the cities and transport lines do they," I responded.

Aala nodded. "They don't like loosing their precious citizens," Aala paused. "It is going to take a while for me to bring down some of the defenses and figure a way around others. You can rest if you want while I do this." The last sentence was what I wanted to here. I didn't wait to see what Aala was doing, I just slid to the floor, then realized that my dress was still on. I quickly undid the back, and slid the dress off. I then put on all the prepared clothing that Kasima had brought me. I then relaxed, and rested just as she said.

..............

It felt like I had only closed my eyes for a minute when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.

"Hey, Cait, the defenses are down for only a few minutes, we need to go."

I groaned, and sat up. "I wish that I could sleep just a little longer."

"Well if you slept longer, then you and I would be in deep trouble." I groaned.

"I know," I grouched. I stood up, and felt all my aches, scratches, and bruises. My body was completely fried, but I had to keep going. "Lead the way."

The next few minutes were filled with a strenuous workout as we jumped, crawled, ducked, slid, and dived through the tunnel. I saw none of the traps, and I was glad that I didn't. For if I did, it meant that I had set one of, but I knew they were there. there was a hum in the air, and an occasional click that set my nerves on edge.

When we finally made it to the door, I was sweating and gasping for breath. Aala wasn't doing much better though.

"Wow, I am out of shape," I said. Aala didn't respond. Instead she slapped a blank card on the wall, then turned a series of levers and yanked the handle down. The door squealed open, then the darkness came. Aala and I tried to let our eyes adjust, but as soon as the door had completely opened an alarm went off. Aala jumped and start sprinting. I couldn't see anything for a moment. Then it all became clear.

We were on the edge of a extremely large lake, I could barely see the tunnel we had come through. Everything looked different than it had from the vessel we had come from. I looked up to see the tunnel I had supposably seen through. All I saw was a long, large, solid tunnel that gave you no view of the outside. That was when I realized that I had never actually, truly seen the outside world. The government had shown pictures and video's, but those were all fake. Now that I was out here, in the wild, I started to notice the small, but now rather large details that those pictures and video's didn't have.

I turned around and looked at the city I had just exited. I gaped. The city was several hundred feet of the ground or should I say lake, and it was 'floating.' I then let my gaze drift upward. It slid over a solid wall, then it same across a shimmering boundary. I watched as a bird flew into the bubble. It shook and the bird bounced. A ripple effect happened on the force field, then the shield went still.