Legend of Kataria (Draft Version)

Chapter 25

"Stay close," Greeny whispered, clinging to the slick wall and searching for a sturdy foothold amid the muddy, murky dirt. "The ground here is extremely uneven."

"No kidding," Pinky hissed back as she tripped over a crack and nearly pitched forward into him. "I would never have guessed!"

Greeny ignored her snarks, brushing them off as nerves. They had long since left the beach and had been traveling progressively downward ever since. The tunnel sloped away from the surface and they were forced to journey on with only the light from Pinky's phone to guide them. More than once, Greeny had caught himself questioning the sanity of this entire mission. His father wouldn't have hidden the weapon from Morto unless its effects were truly devastating, and he couldn't help but wonder, if Zarron were here now, would he approve of what Greeny was trying to do? Or would he think it was too risky? He didn't know anything about his father, other than that he wasn't dead, and he was the king of Tapush, which made Greeny the prince. A prince of an entire planet. He still hadn't stopped to process that. He could be the future ruler of the Tapushian culture, a world he knew very little about. Could he have siblings? An older brother or sister that could teach him the ropes? Could they be like Red; careless and free? Or more like Pinky; tough and hardcore? (He would have said ruthless, but he wasn't sure about that anymore). Would they be as obsessed with science and technology as he was? Did Tapush have the same kind of technology or were things far more advanced than he could ever fathom? How much would he have to learn to be accepted as one of them?

"Careful!" Pinky warned suddenly. "The roof drops just ahead." She shone her light past his head to reveal several stalactites dangling haphazardly from the ceiling, low enough that Greeny could have easily hit his head if she hadn't alerted him. Pinky ducked and hurried to stay close. Greeny could feel her against him and he forced down an unexpected flush.

His hand brushed something squishy clinging to the wall and he retraced it immediately, repulsed. Pinky noticed his disgust and laughed, waving her light over the wall. "It's just wet moss, you fraidy cat. This isn't a cartoon. It's not going to jump out and attack you."

"I know that!" Greeny protested. "It just felt weird, that's all!"

"Mmhmm." She didn't sound convinced. "Sure. How much further?"

Greeny tried to think about anything else except how close the two of them were standing, and he strained his ears, listening. For a place rumored to be filled with booby-traps, he thought, it was a little odd that they hadn't come across any. "A little further," he answered. "It's close. I can feel it."

"I can feel it too," Pinky quipped. "It's called air pressure. There's a storm coming. This cave could flood."

"Well, then, we'd better hurry, hadn't we?" Without thinking, he reached back in the dark and took her hand. He felt her jump and he squeezed encouragingly. To his surprise, she returned the action, even though she was shaking. "You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?" he realized. Silence was his only response, but yet, it spoke in resounding volumes. "Come on. Stay close. It's okay." Near his ear, Pinky sucked in her breath, and Greeny could almost hear her heart thumping. She was terrified. She was afraid of the stillness, just like he was with heights. Just another sign that she was human after all.

"Um...random question, but, how deep does one of these caves typically go?" There was an unusual tremor to the girl's words.

"It depends," Greeny replied calmly, hoping his tone would help soothe her anxiety. "Some underground caves like these can go on for hundreds of miles and can have thousands of diverse corridors, a little like a maze." He winced, realizing that probably didn't help.