We walked for hours in the dark. I held onto Lucas' arm so that way I wouldn't fall like I had an hour earlier. In the dark, I could barely see the backs of Kiel, Teotwawki, and Damien. Teotwawki kept walking ahead. I couldn't tell if his movements were like he was under some kind of spell or if he was just walking like one would walk through a memory. I held onto Lucas' arm tighter and felt him place one of his hands over mine.
"Don't worry, you won't fall. I'll catch you." Lucas promised. I believe him, I believe everything he says.
We walked a few more miles before Teotwawki came to a sudden stop. I saw Kiel's silhouette look at Teotwawki's silhouette. "We're here. It's right down there." I heard Teotwawki say. In a second, Teotwawki's silhouette moved forward before disappearing into the ground. Lucas and I ran over to where Teotwawki had disappeared. I lost my footing and fell into the hole, hitting some jagged rocks on my way down before landing on my side. A painful sting ran up and down the right side of my body and I groaned in pain, my head was spinning from the wind being knocked out of me and the fact that the fall also made me hit my head when I landed.
"Adelina! Adelina, are you okay?" I heard Lucas' frantic voice say somewhere above me. When I was finally able to breathe again, I slowly sat up and rubbed my right shoulder. "I-I'm okay, just be careful on your way down." I said and I got a response from Kiel: "You don't gotta tell us twice, I don't think any of us wanna take a tumble like you did, pup." I scoffed to myself and looked around to see nothing but darkness. I stood up, ignoring the pain I felt.
"Teotwawki? Where are you?" I called out. I took careful steps around, listening for anything to tell me where Teotwawki was. But I heard nothing but distant drips of water. A couple of minutes later, I heard something land in the cave several feet away from me. Then something else. And one more thing entered the cave. "Guys? Is that you?" I asked the darkness. "It's us, don't worry yourself." Kiel said.
"Yeah, we're not some kind of random cave monster," Damien joked, to which I heard a skin to skin contact - a light slap, I think. "Don't joke about that, we live in a world full of monsters. That could very well be what's down here," Lucas said. I reached out with my good arm and waved it around a bit before I felt something warm.
"Um, Adelina? That's my face." Damien said before moving my hand away from him and to another warm area. I felt a hand gently grab my outstretched hand and I knew it was Lucas. "You okay, babes?" Lucas asked me. I stepped closer to him, "So much for not letting me fall, huh?" I joked. I heard Lucas give a short chuckle, "I said nothing about holes in the ground." Then, I felt him kiss my cheek.
"Teotwawki?" Kiel called out. After a few seconds, a bright light blinded us. I covered my eyes and blinked a bit, trying to get my eyes to adjust. "There you four are! I was looking for this flashlight that I left here the first time I found this place. Follow me," Teotwawki instructed. He turned around and walked deeper into the cave, his flashlight showing different carvings and illustrations on the walls. We followed close behind him.
"Woah, look at all of those carvings! They're so detailed." Lucas' voice echoed through the cave. I looked at the cave walls, then at him. "Oi, keep it down. We still don't know if we're the only ones down here," Kiel demanded. "Sorry," Lucas smiled a sheepish and apologetic smile. It made me laugh a bit. Teotwawki didn't say anything, he just kept walking ahead, moving the flashlight around slightly to look at everything on the walls. Finally, we came to a large opening that was blocked by what looked like a heavy iron door. Except, it didn't have the same color as iron. It was a different kind of metal. "Look around, there's a switch around here somewhere." Teotwawki said as he put the flashlight on the ground and walked to the left side of the doorway. I walked to a wall near the door and felt around the wall. Damien, Kiel, and Lucas looked at the walls and on the ground.
"I don't feel anything, do you know what the switch looked like?" Damien asked. I looked at him as his hand slid across one of the various wall carvings. The carving sank into the wall as the giant door opened with a deep rumble. We all looked at the door and felt the air inside hit us with a cold breeze. Teotwawki picked up the flashlight and aimed it into the darkness. The flashlight illuminated something incredible.
On the other side of the door, there was a large stone statue of an Angel, Demon, Vampire, and Lycanthrope all in their true forms. It was completely untouched and looked like it had just been carved not even a day ago. The Angel had their wings and arms outstretched at the very top of the statue. Slightly underneath the Angel was a Demon with their hands held out in an offering. To the left of the Demon was a Vampire who had their fangs bared and poised to protect - it didn't look like how Ginger and her Vampires did when they had attacked us. At the very bottom of the statue was a large wolf on all four paws, wearing an angry snarl and with a protective, strong stance. Teotwawki walked into the room and we all followed.
The flashlight's light scanned over the walls and I saw inscriptions of Naos helping what looked like villagers. Lycanthropes were protecting them and their village from wild animals. Vampires were eating peacefully along side the villagers. Angels blessed these villagers with gifts such as water, sunlight, fire, and wind. Demons were giving the villagers what looked to be like seeds and farm animals.
"Wait, you mean Ingans weren't afraid of Naos?" Lucas asked. Kiel looked at Lucas and responded, "No, once we all used to live in peace and we all benefited each other. Ingans gave us shelter and purpose, we gave them what they needed for survival." I looked around more before my eyes landed back on the statue. I walked over to it and carefully touched the snout of the Lyncanthrope at the bottom of the large statue. "If they weren't afraid of Naos, then what happened to make them ignore our existence?" I looked up at the statue and looked over every detail. Each one was carved with precision and admiration.
"The Nao classes were worshipped by Ingans for many millenniums. It was like this until the battle between Michael and Lucifer happened 4,000 years ago. Their battle nearly tore the world apart. Since each class is closely related to one of the two brothers, Ingans saw us as destructive beings that could not be killed. They feared and hated us as the brothers fought. But, Naos had sworn to never harm any Ingan or each other. Naos wanted peace with every living thing, but it wasn't meant to be. Our peaceful life with them had ended and they shunned us from their lives in an attempt to protect themselves from what was happening." Teotwawki answered before continuing.
"The battle ended when Michael banished Lucifer to Hell. After that, Ingans attacked Naos. They slaughtered so many when Naos had nothing to do with their battle. The leaders of each class agreed that it would be safer for the Nao world and the Ingan world to remain separated, so Naos went into hiding. Ingans never truly forgot Naos, however. Down the line, Ingans started shaping Naos out to be monsters - people with supernatural abilities that were sent to oppress the Ingan race." He looked at us with a disappointed expression. "Ingans know about our world, they just choose to ignore it until one of their own is killed by a Fallen. Naos are blamed and incarcerated or sentenced to death for a crime they didn't commit. Even if we're ignored, we still have to avoid Hunters that want to sell us on the black market. We say that our world is hidden from them, even though it never really was. We were just looked down upon because of Michael and Lucifer."
When Teotwawki finished, the energy in the room shifted to one of underlying anger and guilt. Naos couldn't stop Lucifer or Michael, and they couldn't stop the Ingans from hurting their own either. 'They couldn't do anything, they were caught in a bad situation...' I thought to myself. 'Sadly, what happened centuries ago still affects the Naos of today...' the voice in my head said with a sorrowful tone. Whosever voice is speaking to me in my head must be of someone that went through a lot in their life. Teotwawki shook his head.
"Our history isn't the only reason we're here," Teotwawki said as he walked over to a wall and aimed his flashlight at it. There on the wall was a very extensive mural of the Naos fighting what looked like carvings of the Fallen. I gasped, "We've fought the Fallen directly?"
"Yes, because we had an advantage against them," Teotwawki started. Kiel stepped up and looked over the mural. "We had four unique stones, each one was powered by the strength of the Nao that held it. These stones were called the Light Bijous. Each one had the power to restore the light of Heaven or Hell inside of a Fallen," Kiel finished as Teotwawki nodded his head. "What did these stones look like?" Damien asked as he walked to stand next to me and Lucas.
"Well, they look like what Ingans call birthstones. The Vampire Bijou is a garnet gemstone," Kiel explained. "The Angel Bijou is a turquoise gemstone," Teotwawki said. "The Demon Bijou is a yellow topaz gemstone," Kiel turned to face us. "And the Lycanthrope Bijou is the peridot," Teotwawki finished and looked right at me.
"Wait, so any of these gems can have the same power as the original stones?" Lucas asked. "These inscriptions say that after the Fallen were conquered, the Light Bijous broke into millions of little shards and buried themselves into the earth until they were needed again," Teotwawki answered.
"Well, that's just great. How are we supposed to use these stones if they don't even hold the same strength they did thousands of years ago?" Damien asked, irritated. Kiel shook his head, "Just because the stones have broken apart doesn't mean the shards don't hold any power within them. The shards found in jewelry hold very little power, only enough to keep the Fallen away from the Nao wearer of the stone. But if we can manage to find a decently sized chunk of any of the Light Bijous, it should be enough to restore a Fallen."
"Which will be enough to purify Ginger's army of Fallen!" I said rather loudly, my voice echoing throughout the room. Kiel smiled his mischievous smile, "Exactly."
Using the Light Bijous against Ginger will definitely give us an advantage! All we had to do was find a big enough piece. "Where are we gonna find a stone big enough to purify each and every Fallen Ginger has in her army?" I asked. Instead of a response, Teotwawki just looked back at the wall and aimed his flashlight's beam at the Naos that were fighting in the carvings. As I looked closer, a glimmer had caught my eye. I stepped closer to the wall and saw a bright yellow topaz stone. If I saw this, everyone else has seen it too.
"The stones are here, we just need to pry them from the carvings," Kiel stated. I looked at the carving more and saw a brilliant peridot stone in the mouth of a wolf, a sulfur yellow topaz stone being used by a Demon, a beautiful turquoise stone in the outstretched hand of an Angel, and a dark red garnet being held by a Vampire. "Pry them? I don't know... This is giving me some Indiana Jones vibes," Lucas said with an anxious and nervous tone. "Oh don't be a scaredy cat, man. It's not like this place is booby trapped." Damien said. "Just you wait, something's gonna happen when we grab those stones. Be prepared to eat your words," Lucas retorted.
They continued their conversation, but I wasn't paying attention. I walked over to the peridot stone and looked over it's shiny, but dusty surface. I brushed my hand over it to clear away some of the dust when it started to glow at my touch. I pulled my hand back and the light in the gem faded. I remembered what Teotwawki and Kiel had said about the stones reacting to a Nao's strength. I touched the peridot gem again to see the same light come back. I held my hand there longer as the light got brighter. I was basked in a beautiful green light that made small green refractions on the floors, the carvings - everywhere. Everyone stopped their conversation as they looked at me.
"The stones work!" Damien said. I could tell he was smiling without even looking at them. I could tell all of them were smiling. We had hope and it was coming from this light. As I looked into the light, I felt a nostalgic feeling of power and confidence - but they were not my nostalgic feelings. I think I was feeling the feelings of the past. I felt drawn to this stone. "C'mon guys, let's get these stones. We only need the Lycanthrope and Demon Bijous, right?" I asked.
"We do, so let's get them out," Kiel responded before walking over to the Demon in the carving and reaching up towards the topaz gemstone. "I still have a bad feeling about this," Lucas complained before walking to my side. Lucas and I placed both hands on the peridot stone and began to try and pry it out. Kiel was able to reach the topaz stone as it gave off the same light as the peridot did. After multiple attempts at trying to pry it out of the wall, we managed to pop both of the stones out.
I held the peridot in my hands and looked over it in it's full glory. "Lucas, stop bracing," Damien said. I looked at them to see Damien roll his eyes. Lucas glared at him, "Well, excuse me for not wanting to be flattened into a pancake by a giant rolling rock." I smiled a bit. "You watch way too many movies," Kiel stated. Lucas made a hurt expression and I kissed his cheek, "Don't listen to them, it's better to be safe than sorry." I smiled at Lucas, and he smiled back at me. "See? No booby traps, let's get out of here," Damien said. Lucas quietly mocked him and I laughed.
"Come along, kiddies. Back to the surface," Kiel said as he held Teotwawki's hand. In the yellow light from the topaz gemstone, I could see Teotwawki and Kiel smiling at each other. They seemed perfect for each other. I hope they last forever. Kiel and Teotwawki lead the way back to the opening. "I kinda wish something Indiana Jones had happened though," Lucas said in a sarcastic tone. "Well, maybe next time you'll be lucky," Damien said with his famous smirk.
At that moment, it felt almost normal to be with them. Almost like how it was earlier when it was just Lucas, Chase, and me. It was different, but it felt almost the same. I miss the old days of jokes and hang outs. I climbed out of the hole after everyone else. Lucas helped me to my feet as I held the peridot stone close to my chest. Teotwawki looked at both stones and said, "Can I see the stones for the rest of the night? I have an idea about how we can use them easier." Kiel and I looked at each other, knowing well that neither of us were gonna tell him 'no.' We gave Teotwawki both stones and he looked them over. "I think I can make these into necklaces. If the pieces of these stones are still close to one another, the power should be the same."
"Are you sure now is a good time to be experimenting with the only advantage we have?" Damien crossed his arms and quirked one of his eyebrows. "I know, I know. But if we carry these how they are now, we won't be able to purify all of the Fallen before they tear us apart," Teotwawki argued. He had a valid point. I sighed lightly, "Okay, do what you need to do. We trust you."
We said our goodbyes for the night and Lucas and I walked back to my house. "I wonder what he's gonna do with those stones," Lucas said. I nodded, "I wonder if his idea will work. I hope it does, for our sake and the rest of the city's sake. We need these stones to stop a Fallen apocalypse from hitting everyone in the state." I kissed Lucas goodnight and watched as he walked back towards his house. When he was out of sight, I climbed up the tree outside of my home and through my bedroom window.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translation -
Naos - supernatural beings
Ingans - humans (mortals, normal people, etc.)