Aetherworld

In The Dark - Chapter 1

It hurt to sit up. I couldn't tell how long I was unconscious for, but it was long enough that a blanket of dust had settled on me. Around me it was pitch black and silent, aside from the pounding of my heart. I held my breath trying to ascertain where I was but after a moment, it became clear there wasn't enough light for my eyes to adjust. Panic began to grip my chest and it took all I had not to succumb. A stream of profanities escaped me, many of which were directed towards that damned king who sent me here.

On my knees I searched for my pack, waving my hands blindly in front of me. A finger grazed the edge of the netting and I hissed as pain shot through me. My hands were badly burned. With any luck most of my things would still be intact after that fall though I was down my wrist guards. They'd saved my life by allowing me to wedge myself between the walls of the tunnel slowing my descent. Without them the friction would've torn through my hands; instead it superheated the metal supports inside the guards burning me in the process and raining down sparks. My soccer injury ended up being a blessing in disguise it would seem. The trap door led at least a few stories down and above was the throne room and that poser of a king I'd never heard of.

My breath hissed as I pulled the pack closer to me; the burns sent a jolt of pain up my arm. I need to bandage these. Bracing against the pain I ran my fingers along the netting looking for the lamp attached to it. With any luck it hadn't broken beyond use and as it were, luck was on my side today. Sort of. It was still there, and the cool plastic felt almost soothing too my burning palms. The crank lamp had a cheap solar panel on top of it to charge it and a folding crank arm tucked on the bottom of it for nighttime. It held four hours of power and while it wasn't the most efficient charging system it worked in a pinch. I had a proper solar panel packed safely in my pack that I normally used to charge my things, but I'd already drained it this morning charging the lamp and my phone. Easing the lamp off I blindly fumbled with it searching for the light. It blazed to life with a satisfactory click. Never had I loved it more than in that moment.

The room laughably resembled what you'd imagine a trap door in the king's court would lead to, adding a comical amount of credence to his claims. Thing is, there are no castles in Canada and his blatant refusal to seriously tell me where I was... I cursed him again by name.

The walls were made of slate grey cobblestone and were in a serious state of disrepair. Whatever mortar they used to bind them together had long since crumbled away and blanketed the floor. Signs of activity was painted in the dust; swaths of it had been wiped aside. Almost like someone's been crawling through it... Dark stains littered the floor as well, old and dry, but one trail was still wet. The trail looked like someone had been flailing and the crimson trail lead all the way to...

Something moved in the dark beyond the doorway. The trail snaked around the corner disappearing into the dark. I blinked trying to figure out if I'd just imagined it, while the sound of my rushing blood drowned out anything else. If there was something there looking to kill me right now, I was easy prey. Like a typical horror heroine. When my wits finally returned, I shook my head chaffed at my reaction. I'd just sat there waiting for anything to kill me.

Glancing around the room again, it was obvious I was no longer in Squamish. Someone parading as a king had already tried to murder me, leaving me trapped in an unfamiliar dungeon. There was blood everywhere, likely from other poor souls who hadn't been so lucky, and something large enough to drag a human away. Maybe on that last part.

Taking a deep shaky breath, I fought back the shock threatening to shut me down, to inspect the room- It was big, circular with three total exits. Two of the exits had rusted iron bars guarding them; one looked like it was blown into the room by something strong enough to bend the inch and a half thick bars; while the other stood vigil, only slightly ajar. Both doors were well rusted adding a metallic smell to the musty stale air.