The tunnel is dark and is only getting darker. They both know this means they are going deeper into the caves, but neither one of them wants to turn back.
"You know I blame you, right?" Slyonia says as they cross their arms over their chest and roll their eyes.
"Yeah, I know." Benji replies nervously, rubbing his arm. "But in my defense there wasn't supposed to be anybody here." He adds in after thinking for a few seconds.
Slyonia scoffs, walking faster and creating a distance between Benji and themself.
Benji doesn't try to catch up with them knowing they need their space at times like these. It's not a rare occurrence considering Slyonia tends to blame him for everything that goes wrong. They both know there is no way anyone could have predicted any of this, but that will not stop Slyonia from blaming Benji, so they both walk in silence as they wonder and try to find their way out of this old cave.
They both abruptly stop when light appears in front of them. For a second, relief washes over them both. They're free!
Benji starts to walk again first, but is abruptly stopped by an arm being placed in front of him suddenly. He looks up to see Slyonia squinting, staring intensely at the light. He peels his eyes from them and focuses on the light again. He stares it down attempting to see whatever Slyonia has seen. A good minute passes before he notices it too. His eyes widen as he goes to speak but is stopped when he hears someone else begin to speak.
"HEY, YOU TWO!" A man calls from in front of them. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOWN HERE!" The man finishes.
Benji feels a yank on his arm and Slyonia yells, "RUN!" He stumbles at first because of the loose dirt under his feet, but soon, he is running in stride with Slyonia. Neither one of them knows exactly where they are running too, but they keep taking turns and disappearing into dark corners.
They don't slow down until it is too dark to even see the walls anymore, and they have to use their hands to feel out their surroundings. Benji feels the groves on the walls as he continues to walk forward carefully. Slyonia hasn't spoken, so he takes the hint and stays quiet continuing to just follow the hallway.
After a few minutes of walking like this, the tunnel opens up back into a room. The room is illuminated by a crack in the ceiling that spills just enough light in the room for him to see. He looks around examining the room. It takes a moment before, it soaks in that he is in fact alone in this room.
"Slyonia?" He says in a hushed voice worried that someone might walk into the room any second. He waits a second for a reply but does not receive one. "Slyonia?" He says slightly louder. As much as he is trying not to panic, he doesn't like being alone like this, that's partly why he likes to bring Slyonia with him. "Slyonia?!" He says louder. The panic is starting to set in and he really doesn't know how to stop it. He thinks about running back down the tunnel he just came from but hesitates because he doesn't know how long he's alone.
"Gotcha!" A man says behind him. Benji whips his body around looking at the man that has entered the room behind him. Three tunnels coming off of this room.
The one that he entered from is like a black hole and these men have flashlights, so he's at a disadvantage because of that.
The way the man came out seems to be brightly lit, but in order to get to it he'd have to get around the man in front of him and that's risky. The room isn't big enough to be playing 'ring-around the rosy' with this man, and fighting him is out of the question. Benji works out, since he's not small. With that said, this man makes him look like a shrimp. He's tall at least 6'2" which gives him at least 8 inches on Benji, and he is extremely well built.
This only leaves Benji with one option. The tunnel is dark but not so much that he won't be able to see.
He takes a hard right and breaks out into a dead sprint for the new tunnel. He can hear the man shout after him then he hears the footsteps behind him trying to keep up. He pushes himself to run faster and he can feel his lungs already begin to burn.
Benji knows he's fast, but he's not a long distance sprinter and he's already past his limit. His legs are sore from not stretching, and his lungs burn. He's starting to taste blood, and he can feel the little sweat falling down his forehead even in the cold tunnel. He takes a quick right turn hoping he'll be out of sight and be able to rest and catch his breath. As soon as his hands touch his knees, he hears fast footsteps approaching.
He lets out a small squeal and a strong hand grabs his arm and yanks him into another tunnel.
He goes to scream but a hand is placed over his mouth. He's shaking as he feels whoever has grabbed him hugging him closer. A strong arm gripping his waist, and a muscular body behind him, holding him in place against the tunnel wall.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." He hears a deep voice quietly whisper into his ear. It sends a shiver down his back. He closes his eyes as the footsteps of the person that was following him become louder signaling they are getting closer.
Benji stiffens thinking about how he's about to get caught. Hoping, whoever is keeping him from moving isn't with these other people and isn't some sort of pervert.
The man grumbles as looks around the tunnel passing right by the new tunnel Benji is being hidden in. He lets out an audible grumble and speaks into his walkie talkie. "The kid's not here. He's gone again." A sigh comes from the other end. "Whatever. Return to your patrol." The man does as he's ordered, passing the spot they are hiding one last time.
Benji is shaking even harder. He would take a deep breath to try and stead himself but there's still a hand over his mouth. He lifts a shaky hand and gently taps the arm that's holding his waist.
"Huh?!" He hears from above him. "Oh, sorry about that." The man replies as he releases his grip on Benji. Benji lets out a deep breath and falls forward from the sudden freedom. "Whoa!" The taller male replies, taking a step toward him.
Benji looks up at the man now infront of him. He's even taller than the man who was chasing him, and he's got broad shoulders. His blue hair falls messily out of the bun it is put up into, and if you look carefully you can see the light blue it fades into. His clothes are just a simple t-shirt and jeans. They're worn but don't look too old. The man appears to be around the same age as Benji as well.
Benji's still shaking and scanning the man. "Are you okay?" The man asks while extending a hand out to help Benji up. Benji's eyes look at the man's hand and they shoot up looking at him in his purple eyes.The man's eyes are soft and have concern in them.
Benji accepts the help up and the man pulls him back to his feet holding onto his forearm while Benji finds his balance.
"T-Thanks" Benji stutters out to the man.
"No problem. Come on, I'll show you the other way out." The man says already turning to leave.
"Wait!" Benji slightly yells after the man. "I don't even know who you are." He protested still not fully trusting the stranger who just saved him.
"Oh," The man replies. "I'm Doggit!" He says slightly excited before turning back around and walking away.
"That's not what I meant!" Benji yells after the man. He stands in place for a moment before deciding this man is his best bet for getting out of this place. With that last thought, he quickly leaves the tunnel and catches up with Doggit, hoping this isn't a mistake.