The three pursuers stopped at the entrance to the cave, their breathing irregular, peering into the darkness beyond. The air around the cave smelled thickly of damp earth and decaying leaves, the cave entrance yawning like the entrance to some hungry monster from a bygone era that would swallow anyone who dared step inside.
One of them-a wiry man with a scar running down his cheek-reached into his pouch and pulled out a small, black ball.
It glistened dully in the dim light as if absorbing the shadows around it. He hastily scrawled a few words onto its surface before hurling it into the cave. It disappeared into the darkness like a pebble cast into the middle of a deep, black lake.
Boom!!!
The consequent explosion was deafening, a thunderous roar that seemed to shake the very bones of the earth. The ground stirred beneath their feet, and a deluge of dust erupted from the entrance to the cave, billowing outward in a huge cloud that choked the air.
Pebbles and fragments of rock, clouds of dirt were flying in every direction, and a thick, heavy smoke belched out of the cave in a tide of inky darkness catching everything in its path. There was one eureka second when it almost seemed as if the cave had come to life, heaving out its rage and hostility in a mass of dust and debris.
As the smoke began to clear, the focus of the world came back very gradually. The view ahead slowly sharpened into a rocky terrain stretching before the cave.
Twisted trees jutted out from the ground, gnarled roots thick and limbs bare, in skeletal patterns against the sky, like bony fingers reaching toward the heavens.
A soft breeze stirred the dust into ghostly patterns and whirled them around as if the spirits of the cave's ancient inhabitants danced in the aftermath of the explosion.
Prolonged bursts of laughter exploded from the three men, the sound shrill and jarring against the silence that came afterward from the blast.
The one who had thrown the bomb sneered to himself inwardly, the curve of his lips a cruel smirk. 'Heh, fools.' he thought, the gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.
'Did they really think we would chase them inside? That leaves only two possibilities: either she died attempting to save her brother or she managed to get away, leaving him behind. Of course, if she is alive, she's definitely gravely injured.
Anyway, I'll be collecting their storage rings and all the riches they carried; the loot is as good as mine.'
He performed a wide sweep of his arm and spoke to his companions as if the battle was already won. "I'm going in and I'm bringing the bodies out. You two are staying here, keeping guard, just in case anything happens."
The other two nodded, but a flicker of unease crossed their faces. The cave seemed even darker now, the entrance a yawning chasm that led into an abyss of unknown dangers. "Be careful," one said. "And remember, we split the loot equally."
The man's smile faltered as his mind finally caught up with the realization that he was not the only one thinking about loot, stepping forward, the weight of their words still hung in the air.
With every step he took, darkness seemed to grow, gobbling him bit by bit until nothing was left except the faint echo of his footsteps.
Outside, the two waited anxiously for the return of their comrade. Time stretched out until minutes seemed like hours.
Both men paced up and down the rockiness of the ground, each movement kicking small clouds of dust along the ground. The surrounding silence grew thick and heavy with anticipation, faintly rustling leaves in the wind. "What is keeping him so long? One of them muttered toward the cave.
"Is he burying them in there?"
"Patience." the other said, though his voice betrayed a hint of nervousness. "When he doesn't come out soon, we'll both go in." The wind picked up, and the branches of the nearby trees creaked and groaned, as though even they sensed that all wasn't quite right.
Then there was suddenly a blood-curdling scream, like breaking glass, from inside the cave. The voice was that of their friend, the one who had gone inside. The scream echoed off stone walls, raising the raw terror in his voice, as if the cave itself were screaming in agony.
Alarmed, the two men quickly went inside; the loose gravel flooring the cave ground noisily beneath their boots. The darkness closed in around them, suffocating and absolute, as they ventured deeper, guided only by the faint sounds ahead.
Lying on the ground, they found him, gasping for breath, with his face all smeared with blood and his clothes torn into tatters, more so on his chest; his skin was waxen, as if the life had been sucked out of him by the shadows of the cave themselves.
He pointed at a dead body full of injuries his clothes washed crimson red by blood.
"The boy's dead." he croaked, his voice barely audible. "She used her brother as bait and took a alternative route to get away. Quick, or leader will not spare us. One of you stays with me, another one has to go after her."
With that, his eyes darted, growing desperate, toward the dark nooks in the cave as if he almost expected her to jump out from them at any moment.
In an instant, one of the men ran further into the cave; his footsteps were fast and frantic as he disappeared into the maze of stone passageways.
The other man produced a pill, its surface glinting faintly in the poor light as he said, "Take this." He leaned forward to give the medication, but before he could even turn around,.
Lucian had appeared out of the darkness with the silence of a predator. In one swift movement, he plunged a blade into the man's neck, aiming for the medulla oblongata. 'How tough is this guy's body?
' Lucian thought, his hand still clutched around the hilt.'
'I couldn't pierce him completely, but that's alright.
'I got the medulla oblongata.'
The last pursuer, who had by now walked further into the cave, stopped. His steps faltered as suspicion began to seep in. 'Wait,' he thought, his heart cold. 'If they really escaped through some other route, why would she leave her brother behind?' That doesn't make any sense.
The shadows seemed to whisper around him, their soft murmurs filling his mind with doubt. His pulse quickened, and a realization dawned in his stomach, like a stone sinking into his gut. "No. that can't be, right?" he whispered, barely audible words escaping his lips.
Panic set in, and he turned to run back toward the entrance. In his rush, he never saw the nearly invisible razor-sharp wires now crossing the path.
Wire tore through his flesh as he barreled through, and he cried out-a howl of agony that echoed off the cave. "These weren't here before!" he yelled, stumbling forward. He started setting his feet more carefully after that, his eyes scouring the path ahead for another trap.
Ahead, he saw the glint of wire in the faint light and cut it with his knife. But just then, the cave seemed to shudder and debris was falling from above. Groaning, the roof of the cave gave way to a cascade of rocks tumbling down, as if the mountain wanted to bury him alive.
He ran to the opening of the cave, every fibers of his body protesting, yet the wires hidden around him kept cutting into him with every step, opening new lacerations.
His clothes hung in tatters upon him, soaked with both his blood and his sweat. Anger filled his veins like hot, molten lead and fanned his desperation as he cursed a thousand times the ancestors of the duo, spitting the words out.
After what felt like an eternity, he emerged from the mouth of the cave, his body battered and broken, his breathing ragged and shallow. His legs wobbled beneath him and would give out on him at any moment.
He saw his two companions lying on the ground-lifeless, still, faces contorted in expressions of shock and horror. It was a view that sent another fresh wave of dread washing over him.
Now he moved cautiously, his eyes scanning the surrounding area for any signs of danger; his ears strained to hear even the faintest sound.
A net swooped down from above, laced with the razor wires that had already cut him. It wrapped around him like a snake upon its victim. The wire ate into his skin, and his exhausted body finally gave out. He fell to the earth, not a shred of strength left in him.
Lucian emerged from the darkness; his movements fluid and quick as he closed in on the captive. He didn't hesitate but lashed at the tendons in the backs of the man's heels, severing them in a single, sure stroke.
The man bellowed in pain, his voice hoarse and shattered. "How?" he wheezed, staring up at Lucian through a mask of shock and pain.
Lucian's lips curled into a slow, calculated smile. "Experience." he replied, and his voice was smooth and even, as if explaining something simple and obvious. The word hung in the air like a blade, keen and cold, and the silent cave seemed to reverberate with the weight of it.