Straws

Chapter 5

One step after the next, like a group of chickens following the bucket closely for feeding time, we walk in a cluster, following a path that seems to be taking us to the most light. We have no indication of where we are going and no guidance on what we are doing. All we have is the sound of each other's shoes padding across the ground and our heavy breathing to keep us moving. That tablet that Ignus and Ocean took back from me sounds good right about now for some more light in this tunnel. Based on the trickery that brought us here, I doubt that I'll ever see that tablet again and I'm starting to highly doubt I'll see anybody else but the other nine people surrounding me. We all keep a moderate pace and no one speaks. It's like we all forgot how to speak and our brains forgot how to walk. All we are is a glob walking towards some light.

I look beside me and I can just barely make out Winnie's silhouette as we enter another darker part of what seems to be this never ending tunnel. The girl I remember as Arizona and the boy I remember as Landon walk in front of me, almost like a shield from anything horrid ahead. I believe Dakari is behind me and the girl named Ingrid. With Winnie on one side and Soren on the other, I feel boxed in and for a moment I find a slight hope of some form of comfort. If anything were to jump, I would have protection from all sides. The thought is kind of selfish, but I can't help but make it the only thing keeping me sane as we walk into the unknown. The longer we walk, the stranger it gets to strike up any kind of a conversation. At some point someone has to break the silence, but the question is who and the bigger one at play: why?

On my train ride over to Crepidine and during the ceremony dinner, colorful lights appealed to me. They made me feel excited and cheerful. They gave off a good energy that was satisfying in a way. The red lights appearing from Centra and the bright lights as the piano played all resonated with peace. Right now, the last thing I want to see is colored light. The green lights haunts me and the feeling of being a secret underground party has quickly been deserted and converted to a death sentence. All colors of light have been trained. No color is safe.

After another five minutes of walking towards the biggest section of white light, the first round of silence is broken and a shriek erupts in the air.

"Get it off me!" After a second of shock, there is another distressed yelp and a plea,"Get off me!"I have no idea which girl it is, but it causes a spark of chaos among us. A wave of yelling, sceaming, and crying soon follows. I stand there dumbfounded and concerned. They weren't kidding about testing our fight or flight because that is what everyone does. Some people scream as well and others freeze in their tracks. Me? What do I do? I stand there and try to locate the source. By now my happy box has been removed and I stand distanced. Just as I am about to ask what is going on, my arm feels a sudden brush. I reject it for a moment until the feeling continues all the way down my arm before another one starts down my back. I let out a scream of terror when I got to swat the feeling away and I feel something the size of a gumball crawling back up my arm and towards my neck. By this time we are all screaming in hysteria.

Spiders.

Suddenly, as if a switch went off in all our heads. We all started running faster and out of the vicinity of the green light. Ahead of lies some sort of white light that we all make a run for. As I run, I swat and as I swat another one joins. Some people run ahead of me while others fall a little behind. The screams echo through the tunnel, igniting a surge of urgency to get to the white light faster. I don't know what the justification is. Do we think the spiders will just disappear? Or maybe it's the idea of being able to see them, we can plan on our next steps.

"What is happening?"A voice I recognize as Soren shouts.

"I don't know, but I don't like it!"Another voice I can't quite pinpoint calls out.