Between Gates (The Gate Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 24: Staring At Death

Nari gasped, scalding tears running down her pale cheeks into her tangled, wet auburn hair as she lay in the dark bowels of East Base. Her heart had never been wounded so badly. She couldn’t contact Andrew, couldn’t see anyone. She was all alone.

Her body heaved as her cheek pressed against the cold, damp stone. Algae and lichen grew in the cracks, and she could feel the slime against her bare arms and cheek. Darkness covered her, and she could see nothing.

No light anywhere.

Hopelessness her only companion.

Her thoughts were so bleak, so dark.

She was frozen. Where was she?

What time was it?

She turned and turned in her mind, trying to find her bearings, to find any sliver of light. But there wasn’t any. Everything was inky black. Was she still alive even? Was she dead? Was this hell? If so, where were the flames? She felt as though she was burning up, but the fire itself was missing.

A door banged open somewhere. Echoic steps rang through the dungeon from far away. It was everywhere. Her ears were ringing. Everywhere? This wasn’t right. What was going on?

A few moments later, someone knelt beside her, and a brilliant, eye-searing light struck her face. She blinked, gasping in pain, eyes watering.

A hand rubbed her back, and a voice floated to her ears. She flinched away from the hand, pain lancing through her as previously ignored cuts flared into life. Was she feverish? Why? What had happened? She couldn’t figure this out.

“Have they even been feeding you? What happened?”

It all seemed like it was a dream. It was reaching her ears, but in fuzzy waves. She couldn’t see who it was. Their face wasn’t quite in focus. She just stared at them, trying to make out who it was. Her head spun in pain, and her vision was blurry. The person before her looked like a big blob.

“What?” She whispered, her voice cracking from lack of water.

How long had she been down here? She’d grown desperate for water a long time ago, and started drinking from the stagnant pools formed from water dripping down the walls. Was she sick?

“Nari?”

The light was making her head throb even worse. She tried to lift herself up into a sitting position, but her arms weren’t obeying. Tears were streaming down her face as she squinted in the light.

“Oh, Nari... What did they do to you?”

“What?” It seemed like the only word she knew how to say now.

Everything else just fled out of her mind.

She tried to collect herself, force her mind to work, but it wasn’t where it normally was. She was so cold, and she couldn’t think. Was she shivering? Yes. Something wasn’t right.

She managed to find a few words, stringing them together to try to make sense. “Who are you?”

“You don’t recognize me?” The blob seemed worried, its expression looking vaguely disturbed.

“Who?” She was so tired.

She wanted so badly for the light to go away and just leave her be. Let me die in peace. Wait. Was she dying? Maybe? She couldn’t figure it out.

The blob’s hand rested against her forehead for a moment or two. “You’re burning up.” Words jumbled in a confused mess.

She couldn’t make sense of them. Burning up? She was sick. Was that it? She didn’t feel good at all. She just stayed there, lying in the damp mess on the floor.