Existing (under editing)

Chapter 13*

The air was cool as it tickles at my bare neck. The pitch black caused me to be disorientated as I walked. Only Lucas's hand help me from being absorbed into the gloom and lost as I could barely see the light as the end of the tunnel as my eyes tried to adjust, my hand running along the chilly stone of the tunnel. The pack heavy on my back and the things inside shook with my steps. I heard Hunter's whimpering up ahead as Pepper egged him on to keep going. We all jumped when Pepper sneezed suddenly, causing the sound to magnify in this tunnel, echoing all around. Lucas had realised my fright and gave my hand a little squeeze. We kept moving. Slowly the tiny light grew in size when it appeared, what seemed like a mileometer by mileometer every second. When it was close enough to give a dull light allowing us to see in the dim, Hunter and Pepper raced ahead, barking and howling. Lucas began to speed up. Pulling me with him. As we reached the end. I went blind as the light enveloped me. I clasped my hands to my eyes rubbing them, waiting for my vision to return.

"Wow..." Lucas exclaimed besides me.

In front of us was a huge canyon, it was extraordinary and seemed to last forever. Great pillars of rock and sand formed and overshadowed us. The varied browns of the rock layers like art and a tree here and there was a pop of green on a sandy canvas. The land, dry from what seemed like years of drought. The sun beating down harshly, but in the horizon I saw green hills. What felt like miles away?

"There." Lucas pointed in the direction. "That's the hills before the city, I remember.

"How did you make it that far?" I asked, self-doubting.

"I have no idea."

Morin sailed in from above. Landing on my shoulder.

"What are you doing here Morin?" I asked.

I feel up to an adventure, you will need an eye in the sky. He chirped.

I looked towards Pepper, he sat staring ahead. Sneezing a little with the dust.

While Lucas was wondering around, inspecting the exit to the tunnel, Hunter was playing with a little skink. I went to sit with Pepper. Giving him a little pat and a scratch behind his ear.

"So, you ready." I asked as he shook nervously with the hair on his back standing up as he surveyed his new surroundings.

He continued to stare out. I was just... never mind.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! We all turned in the direction of the yelping. Hunter was rolling down the steep dip. The small pup spinning and yelping as dust trailed behind him in a duff like cloud.

"Hunter!" we yelled. All running after him, careful not to trip too. Morin beat us to him, flying ahead, meeting him at the bottom as he stopped. His fur brown with the dust. His ears flopped and his paws in the air. Lucas got to him before me. Inspecting the wolf's body.

Ooww, Hunter moaned as I run up. Dropping my pack to sit next to him.

"Hunter! Are you ok, are you hurt?" I asked then I saw red on his back. "He's cut!"

Hunter looked at me as if I was talking gibberish. His mind still not adapted quite right to understand human speech.

Wait! Pepper yelled. We all stepped back as he sniffed around him. Hunter laughed as his nose tickled at him, squirming in the sand. We all stared. He brought his nose up, the red on smeared on it. He wiped it away with his paw.

"Jam." Lucas said, rolling his eyes. Pepper nodded.

I looked around, trying to discover the source. Retracing the route up the hill. A could of meters up an open glass of jam. Almost empty, lying open, covered in dust.

Very peculiar, Morin pecked at the jam. It's old.

"It's mine... I think." Lucas, Hunter and Pepper came up behind me.

I turned it around in my hands tracing the symbol on the side. "Lucas. Are you wearing your shoes from when you first go here?" I asked.

"Yeah, one second." he dropped his pack and striped off one shoe, giving it to me.

I spun it around shaking the sand off before investigating its sole. The same symbol, branded to the bottom. "What does it mean?"

He leaned over my shoulder to look as well. "That's the mark of the people that made everything from where I come from. It's all over old posters and food labels, even a couple of the people in charge wear uniforms with it on them. They used to be the peace keepers but now it's like prison guard attire."

I frowned taking in the round symbol, trying to remember where I had seen it.

"Do you know what it's from?" Lucas asked as Hunter was shaking himself off behind him.

"No, but I have a feeling I should." I shrugged and dropped the jar back. Placing a couple of rocks around and over it so no one else or any animals hurt themselves on the glass. "Let's go."

Lucas put his shoe back on, we both picked up our bags and we kept on moving.