John Sneeden - The Hades Conspiracy

Her hand closed on a nearby rock. Finally . She lifted it and smashed it against the exposed knuckles. The creature roared and loosened its grip, allowing Carmen to wiggle free for a moment. As she tried to scramble to her feet, a fist came down on her leg, crushing her knee against the hard floor. She cried out in pain, but fortunately, the blow had been a glancing one. Had it been straight on, it would’ve turned her knee to jelly.

The pale hand groped around the space, looking for a leg, a foot, anything. Carmen pushed off the ground. Her knee throbbed, but she blocked it out. Even if her ligaments were snapped in two, she’d have to keep moving. Better to bear the horrific pain than die a horrible death.

Now on her feet, she took a brief moment to balance. Unfortunately, the lone second she waited was one second too long. The enormous fingers found her leg and pulled her off her feet. She slammed into the cave floor, knocking the breath out of her.

Sensing it had an advantage, the creature pulled with greater violence. It was like a bird yanking a worm from turf. Once her feet came out of the crevice, it would all be over. The creature would then be able to seize her with both hands.

As she slid along the floor, Carmen felt a familiar pinch against her hip.

The pistol. I have a pistol.

Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Despite the pain, she felt like screaming for joy. She was only a few feet from the opening. At most, she had a few seconds. Twisting, she yanked the gun out of her pocket. She knew she had four rounds left. Hopefully, she only needed one.

Maneuvering into position, she fired at the giant hand. With a loud roar, the creature released her. Carmen rose up on one leg. Her right knee couldn’t take much weight, forcing her to hop as fast as she could up the steep path.

Something moved behind her. She glanced back. A bloodied hand shot toward her. She fired a second time. For a second time, the creature roared, and the hand pulled back.

Now out of reach, Carmen stopped and cupped her hands. “Zane!”

There was no response. Surely, they were close enough to hear.

“Zane, can you hear me?”

The echo of her question died without an answer. At least for the time being, they were gone. As she started hopping again, she felt the rock underneath her shake. She pulled out her flashlight and aimed it back toward the crevice. At the edge of the light, she saw two hands holding a large rock that comprised one side of the opening. If somehow the creature could pull that down…

Carmen turned and continued up the path. She clenched her teeth, fighting off the burning pain that seared through her knee. It was almost unbearable, but she had to keep moving. If she didn’t, she would never get out of here alive.

As she pressed on, Carmen took in her surroundings. Strangely, she wasn’t traveling through one cave but a maze of crisscrossing caves. She’d only gone about twenty yards and had already seen three caves branching off to the right and the left. In one sense, that was good news. Even if the creature got through, she might still be able to lose it.

Carmen heard a thud behind her that was so powerful it shook the rock beneath her feet. Something had fallen over, and Carmen didn’t have to think hard to know what it was.

Turning, she pushed herself to go faster. She couldn’t worry about the creature right now. Instead, she needed to focus on covering as much ground as possible. She still had her gun, and she still had her wits. She would survive.

A few minutes later, a fork appeared in the tunnel. She stopped and directed her beam down each side. Both looked the same. Which should she take, the right or left?

Don’t worry about it. Just pick one and go.

She was right-handed, so she chose the right. That seemed like reason enough. She grimaced. Even her good leg was beginning to tire. All the hopping sapped her strength. Her mind was willing, but at some point, her body wouldn’t respond.

After hobbling another fifty yards, Carmen stopped and looked around. The cave suddenly looked different. She stood in a large, cavernous space. As best she could tell, it was about a hundred yards long.

She looked up, her gaze drawn to a bright glow overhead. A countless multitude of bioluminescent organisms covered the ceiling, giving off a rainbow of brilliant blue hues — azure, sapphire, cerulean, indigo. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything so breathtaking beautiful. It was a cathedral of color.

Her energy sapped completely, Carmen hobbled to the center of the cavern and collapsed. As she hit the ground, her flashlight rolled across the floor and disappeared from view. She rose up on an elbow, trying to figure out what happened. She could now see what she hadn’t noticed before — half of the cavern was a chasm. She hadn’t heard the flashlight hit bottom, so she wondered if it was as deep as the one in the temple.

Carmen let out a long sigh and lay back down. She needed time to catch her breath. Thankfully, her knee wasn’t throbbing as badly as before, which she hoped was a good sign. Maybe it was just sprained. Once she’d had time to rest, she’d hobble to the far end and call out again. Surely, Zane and the others were looking for her.

A faint noise reached her ears from somewhere outside the cavern. She rose up one elbow, her senses on alert. Were the others already here?

She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Zane?”

There was no response, but she thought she heard another noise, this time a bit closer.

“Zane, is that you?”

If the others were out there, she needed to make contact. Her voice would help them negotiate the maze of caves. With a groan, she sat up. Hearing a sound behind her, she looked toward the place where she’d come in.

As she waited, the shadows shifted.

Something had entered the cavern.

Zane saw Emily stop, bend over, and place her hands on her knees. The sharp ascent, coupled with the irregularities in the floor, made the climb through the caves challenging, even for someone as fit as he was. When he reached Emily, her father was already at her side, an arm looped around her waist.

Zane rested her hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She stood up straight. “Just needed to catch my breath for a moment.”

“You sure?” Richard asked.

She nodded. “Yep, I just need to walk slowly for a few minutes.”

Zane wanted to maintain a fast pace, but with everyone experiencing dehydration and exhaustion, he couldn’t push her. If she couldn’t run, she couldn’t run. They’d have to make do.

As Emily and her dad continued up the path, Zane looked back and frowned. Carmen hadn’t caught up yet. At one point, he’d heard her coming up behind. She should be here by now.

He cast aside any thought she might be too fatigued to keep up. She was an avid runner. In fact, she’d completed several marathons over the years. No, she wouldn’t lag due to any physical limitation. The only thing that might stop her was a twisted ankle. But if that were the case, why hadn’t she called him?

He lifted his hands to his mouth. “Carmen!”

No response.

He tried again. “Carmen, are you there?”

Silence.

Maybe she’d passed him when he stopped to help Emily. It didn’t seem possible. Then again, nothing else did either. He should at least make sure she hadn’t slipped. If she hadn’t, he’d need to organize a search. This place was a maze, and the longer they waited, the lower the odds of finding her.

He turned and ran up the path. The cave leveled off a few minutes later. Keiko and the others waited for him.

As he drew near, Keiko was talking to Amanda. “According to my positioning system, we’re now level with the city.”