The Velaeiyus

It was like any other spring day. The sun was shining, the air was warm with a slight breeze, and the Elizabethtown Track Team was back at it again with another week of workouts. Feet pounded on the track, solid 8 pounders sank into the grass, and bodies hit the mats with a heavy intensity. A dual meet was coming up in a couple of days, so the team was being pushed close to the breaking point. The weather, though, was gracious, as it aided the athletes’ strong pace with a relieving breeze. Amongst the demanding calls of each coach and the harshly breathing competitors, everything seemed to hold in a steadfast manor.

It was around the middle of practice, and the sprinters were given a quick water break before their continuation of hard workouts. Heavy with sweat, the senior captains herded the younger athletes towards their waters. They became all too occupied with refreshing themselves, and didn’t notice the strange tremors that had begun to vibrate from the center of the football field. All, except two. Two athletes, with no social relations between them, felt the strange motion beneath their feet, and frowned in the direction of the field, uncertainty flooding their gaze. Slowly making their way to the gate, they were so intensively scanning for the source of the vibrations that they collided with each other. Their eyes met with surprise; not once had they contended with each other, the only time being when communicating warmups for drills. “You too?” questioned the taller athlete, known as Ethan.

“Yeah.” The shorter, but muscular female behind him answered. Ethan frowned more deeply and then began to ask another question, but was interrupted by a trivial noise, one that gave away the location of the epicenter of the vibrations. In the center of the football field, the ground beneath the large tarp sank into itself. Suddenly, the surrounding earth began to rapidly cave inward, creating an immense mouth into the ground. Athletes sprinting along the faded rubber of the track were unfortunately too focused on the ever-widening wanton abyss in the ground, to notice the sinkhole’s circumference consuming the track beneath them. Terror began to worm its way into the hearts of the track team. Screams began erupting from the seamy landscape, as bodies began to fall helplessly to their death. Both coaches and teammates were being taken into the horrific hole in the ground.

From the sidelines, Ethan and Margo watched helplessly as their fellow friends fell to their deaths into the pit. Suddenly, the overwhelming sense of fear rushed through Margo’s veins as her eyes whipped wildly back and forth, desperately scanning for her younger brother. Finally, she spotted him, but it was too late. “FINNEGAN!” She bellowed, the coherence of her voice echoing harshly throughout the canyon. Watching her beloved sibling fall into the pit, a violent shock iced into her veins and her legs gave out; Ethan was lucky enough to be standing right by to catch the captain before her knees hit the ground.

“Hey…” his voice sounded far off, distant, as if he was standing far away. “Hey!”

Ethan found that the female was close to fainting from shock, so he securely held her up and shook her shoulders. After a couple failed attempts, she finally arose out of her dreamy state. But, suddenly the devastating events of the previous minutes fabricated themselves into her mind and the screaming of the catastrophic event that was still in session, caught up to her. “Hey, stay with me. We need to get out of here. Come on.” Ethan gently but urgently herded Margo away from the sinkhole and towards the parking lot. Snapping out of her phase, she sprinted over to her brother’s medical bag and tied it tightly to her shoulder.

In the desolate parking lot, Ethan offered a spare bottle of water to Margo, who was slumped on the ground, leaning against his car. She accepted it with a nod of gratitude. After seeing that she’d taken a few sips, Ethan joined his shaken companion on the gravel. “I’m sorry about your brother.” Margo just nodded and dropped her head into her elbows, and let out the tears.

When the rest of her sobs had subsided, Ethan heard Margo give a response, “Ideally, I thought this was going to be another standard, enjoyable practice, when in actuality, it was destined for apocalyptic measures.”

“Well, if there’s-” Margo abruptly stopped him.

“Don’t finish that sentence.” She quickly got down and beckoned him behind the car. “Get down. Quickly.”

“Why?” Margo pointed through the window. Squads of police cars and government vehicles were hastily arriving at the scene; darkly-tinted helicopters were landing and moving equipment towards the disaster zone. The all too familiar caution tape was masked around the black fence entrance towards the now-destroyed track.

While staying quiet and hidden, Ethan noticed Margo stuffing water bottles into the small, faded-green shoulder bag of her brother’s. “What are you doing?”

“Do you need anything from your car?” Margo completely ignored his question, and began scouting around the car, torquing her head left and right as she contemplated ways of entry.

“Um...Maybe? Why?”

“We’re going back in.”

“What?! Are you crazy? There’s cops everywhere. They’ll never let us in!”

“Not if they don’t see us.” Ethan sighed and silently unlocked his car to grab something from his glove compartment.

“Can I keep my keys with you?”

“Yup.” Margo took the keys, and secured them in the small pocket in front, both metal intricacies clinking softly together. “Anything else?”

“Nope.” After hearing Ethan’s reply, Margo beckoned him towards the trunk of the car. Scanning across the lot at all the commotion, she said,

“On my mark, climb that fence.” The clouds guarding the sun darkened in their favor.

In the sudden darkness, Margo whispered, “Go!”

As nimbly as they could, evading all authorial gazes, they scampered up the gate, which was pock-socketed with blue and white Etown Bears designs, and vaulted over onto the grass. Using the darkness to their advantage, the two athletes traversed along the underbelly of the bleachers. Creeping along, Margo and Ethan kept a lookout for any prying, suspicious figures. Once hidden amongst the edge of the shadows, Margo searched for a secure hiding place. All over the concrete were large, multicolored tents and multiple people donned in contamination gowns and equipment. “There.” She pointed out a tent vacant of people and closest to their spot. “Let’s go.”

Still being cautious, they sprinted into the pale blue tent and zipped it shut. Inside, they found odd equipment that a contamination hut would not have. “Ropes? Harnesses? Why would they have these?” Margo questioned. Looking around, she noticed the strange decor of the room. There were glass tanks with rubber gloves attached, illuminated with small, blue-green lights, and petri dishes with some unknown substance under microscopes. Attempting a closer look at the zoomed in substance, she stumbled upon a tattered notebook that was stacked with bookmarks and sticky notes. It was opened to a page that had harsh slashes of writing around a faded, crumpled picture of ancient-looking ruins. Notes stuck out in wacky angles, and observations from the microscope were written on a side sheet of paper. A cracked pair of glasses was resting alongside the notebook.

Flipping through the pages, her eyes snagged on a lime-green, highlighted paragraph of notes that pointed towards the petri dish. From what Margo took from the writings, it was assumed that the substance under the scope was a form of a parasite, originating from the ruins. But what ruins? “Hey Ethan. Did you find anything about ruins? This selected bacteria is apparently a parasitic form that originated from there.”

“Yeah. Come look at this.” Margo left the bio-lab corner and went to stand over Ethan’s shoulder; he was on the other side of the tent, by a folding table that was illuminated by a small metal lamp. On the surface, a large blueprint of a map and notes was displayed. “I think they’re planning to climb into the sinkhole. Also, are those the ruins you were talking about?” Ethan pointed to a strangely familiar part of the blueprint. The light outlines of the section he was referring to, represented a replica of the picture within the notebook that Margo had been flipping through.

“Huh. I wonder what-” The fumbling of the zipper happened outside the tent. “Hide!”

The only substantial hiding area that was available was a wide locker that had been propped up within the tent’s proximity. There was just enough room to wedge two people, which was a small miracle considering their situation. But, for some odd reason, the air within and exterior of the tent had gone to a sultry state, which made hiding in the cramped space very uncomfortable. It didn’t help the situation, as there was a heated tension that hung in the air. Margo’s back was flush against Ethan’s chest, so close that the two could feel each other’s rapidly pulsing heartbeats, and the only available light that allowed them to see was through the slanted vents on the locker door.

The zipper finally whipped up, and a gowned and equipped individual shuffled in, and grabbed a few items. The two hidden inside the metal held their breaths as the person moved closer and closer to the locker. Ethan’s hot breaths trickled down Margo’s neck, as she was very close to him. In an attempt to mask her jump of surprise, she dug her fingernails into her palms, all while accidentally scraping Ethan’s forearms. Ethan jumped slightly; in an attempt to jerk away, it remained difficult to move, as another’s body pressed immediately against them in a tight space was rather confining.

Finally, the scientist found what they were looking for and left the tent, the sound of the zipper shutting following a few seconds later. Both hidden subjects breathed a visible sigh of relief, and exited the closet. The process however was not so relieving; there was an awkward silence as they brushed by each other several times in order to climb out. Margo’s face was flushed, as well as Ethan’s ears, which were tipped with a rose-pink. Mumbles of apologizes were passed, as well as the clearing of throats and the avoidance of eye contact. The buzz around the exterior of the tent was canceled out, as the tension in the air was deafening.

Margo’s eyes were scanning everywhere, except the boy in front of her, and immediately snagged on the equipment in the bins. Sliding around Ethan, she began packing things into available backpacks. Ethan understood the tacit action, and helped Margo pick out the necessary items.

With the resources secured in their packs, they were about ready to leave, when Ethan spotted the journal that they’d found and inspected. “What are you doing?” asked Margo.

Ethan unzipped his bag. “We may need this.”

“Oh. Good idea.”

Peering out of the nylon enclosure, the two hideaways looked around for the all-seeing eyes before sneaking away. Unfortunately, they hadn’t looked hard enough, and a police officer spotted them. “HEY! YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT THERE!”

“RUN!” shouted Ethan.

Weaving through the people wearing heavy gear and weird contamination suits, the two athletes sprinted away from the figure chasing them. Because of their heightened strength due to the adrenaline pumping through their veins and the track endurance built within them, they were able to evade their pursuer.

Alas, their attempts to remain hidden after being chased were of no use, because as they rounded a corner, they were met with a squad of disconsolately-expressive SWAT team members. Margo and Ethan grimaced. A bulky officer with a vein pulsing at the side of his gleaming temple and a disappointed glare plastered on his face, sighed in annoyance at the two teens and grumbled,

“You kids should know not to intercept the forces! This area is off-limits to civilians, especially teenagers like yourselves. It’s too dangerous here; you could have gotten yourselves hurt! Also, stealing equipment? Really? Shouldn’t you two know better than-”

A sudden crack of thunder roared through the heavens, interrupting the officer’s rant. The darkness of the sky was eerie, as it was only 4:34 in the afternoon, according to Margo’s watch. The tall stadium lights had been turned on, and the glare of the piercing brightness reflected off the clouds, making them almost black.

Suddenly, the electricity that beamed through the high lamps distinguished, leaving everyone in complete shadow. Lightning flashed across the afternoon sky, revealing an immense shadow that lingered between the clouds, the magnitude of the structure almost obscuring the whole view of the sky. Long blasts of red began to puncture through the clouds, hitting the ground with a tremendous impact, dirt and material flying high in the air. Shouts rose up as SWAT members rushed away from the scene, all eyes focused on the unnerving construct form above. Ethan and Margo saw this as an opportunity to flee; tightening the straps on the backpacks, they made a run towards the opening in the gate that gave way to the sinkhole.

Explosions were happening everywhere as strange beams of eerie, pale-green light descended to the ground, and large alien-like creatures appeared, holding glowing weaponry. Commands vibrated through the air in abnormal forms of dialect, ones that Ethan didn’t recognize; the ebbing edge of fear was beginning to make its way into his bloodstream, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Beside him, Margo’s presence was a bit of a comfort, as he wasn’t alone during this apocalyptic invasion.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Ethan’s gaze caught hold of Margo’s serious one. “Ethan!” She held up a large contraption, resembling a weapon, that of one of the alien entities.

“Isn’t that…”

“Yeah. Take this one. I’ll go find another.” Ethan’s pulse quickened as Margo left his sights. Alone amongst the chaos, he observed the weapon that was placed in his grasp. The gun itself was enormous; it had a weight to it that made his muscles strain a bit, as he hefted it onto his shoulder and peered through the scope’s crimson-hued point lens. Foreign hieroglyphic-like characters appeared on the lens, and futuristic heat and night vision cameras locked on target. Ethan was very intrigued as he could see heat signatures of the people running around shooting at the monster-like extraterrestrials. Suddenly, a cry cut through the harsh reality, one that put all of his instinctual senses on steroids. “ETHAN!” It was Margo’s voice.

Without thinking, Ethan started off in a full-out sprint towards the direction of her cry. The surroundings were all a blur to him as he vaulted over fallen victims, and raced towards Margo.

He found her on the ground, stricken with fear. His eyes lifted upwards, and to his dismay, one of the alien creatures was staring intently at the two of them, the strange thudding sound pulsing through the air. Pulling Margo to her feet in a very cautious manner and standing his ground in front of her, he was able to observe the creature.

The alien towered over him, its body covered in a shimmering coat of turbid, pale-blue skin. It had eight tentacle-like arms, four holding its menacing-looking blaster and the others wavering in the air. Its head was bulbous-shaped and held within it was a massive, purple brain that zapped with electricity. Its eyes glazed a cosmic mixture of amethyst and onyx. Beating underneath the glimmering skin, nestled 5 hearts, chained together like a bushel of grapes. They pulsed in an oddly-harmonizing rhythm that vibrated to the air along with its other brothers’ and sisters’ within the fog of the battle.

Ethan let out a shaky breath, before lowering his weapon. “What are you doing?” demanded Margo in a quiet tone.

“Just wait.” Ethan felt something that he’d never felt before, another presence within himself, that had been quiet for the longest time. The creature had a strong impact on him; an invisible force gently shoved him back, and he stumbled into Margo.

Margo was at first intimidated by the alien; she had been running around a corner searching for an intergalactic weapon, when she ran straight into the shimmering creature. When her eyes had landed on the entity, she had unconsciously called for Ethan. Margo didn’t remember yelling for him, but in a flash, he was there, scooping her up and protectively guarding her. When Ethan and the alien locked eyes, she noticed something strange about the boy who was standing in front of her; he seemed mesmerized by some powerful, invisible force that caused him to stumble back into her. Her suspicions shot up, and shoving Ethan behind her, she narrowed her pine-green and dark sapphire eyes at the towering figure in front of her and questioned, “What did you do to him?” Its cosmic eyes pulled away from Ethan’s, causing him to crumble to the ground, unconscious.

He is a fascinating mortal, young Atlas.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Margo was caught off guard, as the voice was not heard through the space between them, but inside her mind. The situation unnerved her; it felt as if there was a viscous substance sticking to her veins.

Left unanswered, your question shall be.

“Fine, then. Why have you come to Earth? What are you?”

We are the Velaeiyus. I am Soldier 782. The Velaeiyus have come to rid the Earth of its evil.

“What evil?” Margo stood up defensively before the Velaeiyus form, but she was incredibly intrigued, her eyes sparking with interest.

For centuries, we have traversed across galaxies in search of star systems in need of help. A darkness has been corrupting civilizations and turning them against each other, leaving planets in ruin. Margo’s arms erupted with goosebumps as the word “ruin” popped up. Tugging out the tattered notebook, she held it up to the Velaeiyus. Two tentacles gingerly retrieved the bound pages from her, and scanned the opened notes. Its eyes grew ever-wider. Where did you get this?

“We found it in one of these tents. Why? What is it?” Suddenly, a policeman with half of his face burned away lurched towards the alien, his gun ready to shoot. Without thinking, Margo flung herself in front of the alien while picking up Ethan’s weapon, and let out a battle cry as she pulled the trigger and fired at the man. The blazing ball of cobalt and ruby flames erupted from the weaponry, and the man disintegrated into ash. Realizing what she’d just done, her heart thudded in shock. Feeling a firm weight on her shoulder, she spun around, and found the pale-blue figure standing over her, a urgency in its gaze.

Young Atlas, there is so much more I wish I could share with you, but our time has been cut short. Come. Quickly. We must hurry. It tucked the journal into a dark, leather satchel, and then handed it to Margo. Leaning down to the ground, the Velaeiyus touched Ethan’s forehead, and he sputtered awake, breathing hard. His eyes cut immediately to Margo’s for assurance, but she only helped him up, and urged him to follow.

The alien led them to a sight on the far right of the sinkhole, where there were rope lines secured to the ground, and tethers disappearing into the darkness. Margo and Ethan, strangely, knew what to do, and began pulling on harnesses and safety equipment.

Before they started their descent, Ethan asked, “Who are you? Why are you helping us?”

The creature turned to them, its gentle amethyst eyes drifting over their forms. My name holds no significant value, but as I see in your eyes, it does. I am Xiinon Krojav, born on the planet Titusuum, stationed in the Tiranian system. I have been commissioned with the Velaeiyus for 2467 eons, in search of a light that will wipe out the Mondu for all of time. Finally, after eons of searching, a pulse radiated through the universe, with twin lights that burned brighter than ten thousand suns. We followed them here, to you.

Suddenly, an unearthly explosion slammed into the earth, erupting in a mammoth cloud of fire and death. The wave of pressure smacked into Ethan and Margo, shoving them backwards into the pit, their cries echoing loquaciously throughout the canyon.

The last thing they heard was of Xiinon’s words:

Save us.

Save us all.

~*~

His eyes had caught her attention first. They were unbelievably dark, and that intrigued her; she’d never seen eyes so deep. It was like she was falling into their depths, unable to stop. She was being pulled down, down, down…

“Come on. Come on. Wake up. Breathe. Breathe.” Ethan tried desperately to pump the water out of Margo’s lungs; her unconsciousness, when he had pulled her out of the water, had erupted a stream of panic and fear in him.

When the explosion had knocked them unexpectedly into the sinkhole, he was able to remain conscious to regain the ability to see his surroundings. Their tethers that they were secured to, had snapped, and they both fell through darkness. Thankfully, there was an underground pool at the bottom of the sinkhole, and the waters caught the falling participants.

Submerged under the water, Ethan was able to hoist himself to the surface, even with the added waterlogged weight attached to him. When he had shucked off the gear, he quickly looked around, but Margo was nowhere to be seen. His heartbeat doubled and he called out for her, but there was no response. However, floating at the surface of the water, was Margo’s rope tether. All thoughts thrown aside, Ethan tore off his shirt and dove into the undulating waves. The water was strangely, exquisitely clear, unlike its opaque surface; Ethan was able to find an unconscious form wavering towards the bottom of the pool. His strength and agility moved him swiftly towards Margo’s crumpled form; enclosing his arms around her, he shoved against the bottom of the lake and shot towards the surface.

With a gasp, he surfaced and swam to the side, making sure Margo’s face was above water. Pulling off her waterlogged equipment, he felt around for her pulse, but to his dismay, there was none. Immediately, he began the attempted process of reviving her, adrenaline and fear pulsing through his veins.

The darkness seemed comforting, a deep serenity that personified the feeling of an embrace. However, as Margo sank slowly down, she could hear a faint calling of her name, and the words, “Breathe. Please. Breathe, Margo….”

Sputtering and hacking up cave water, Margo coughed awake. She felt strong, warm hands bracing her sides, leaning her over, so she was tilted on the rock face of the poolside. Her throat ached and her lungs were raw, as she gulped down pockets of cool air. Gasping, she braced herself on the stone, and looked around. She was on the side of the pool that had almost been her imminent death in a cavernous region underneath the opening above them, where war cries and battles raged on, echoing down to them. Wait. Where’s…

At that moment, she remembered the hands that were protectively bracing her back. Painfully turning to face her rescuer, she was met with Ethan’s overwhelmingly relieved face. He looked exhausted and drained. Water was running in rivets down his toned muscles, his face and hair shining. The look in his eyes however, made Margo’s heart clench. “Ethan?” Her voice cracked harshly, the question reduced to a whisper. He had a quietness to him that concerned Margo. “Are you okay?”

“Am I?” His dark eyes sparked slightly.

“Yes, you. Why are you dripping wet?”

“He jumped in to save you, Sis.” Even though her body ached all over, Margo’s head whipped around to find Finnegan, slouching against the cavern wall, his hands stuffed into his muddied hoodie. Seeing him made her heart almost collapse with relief. “Did you really just ask him if he was okay? You almost drowned!”

“I did?” The events prior to her awakening were all a blur; the last thing Margo remembered was seeing Xiinon, and then falling back into the sinkhole.

“Yeah!”

“Oh.” She twisted back towards Ethan, “Thank you, E-ah.” Margo clutched her throat, swallowing roughly. Ethan was immediately there at her side, expressing solicitude behavior towards her, propping her up against him; his movements were gentle, as he cradled her into him.

“Let’s refrain from talking for now. You’re still pretty sore.” His voice was soft, almost gravely, as he spoke. She relaxed into the warmth of his body; the water that was soaking her clothes was not freezing, but the cool air surrounding them was giving her chills.

Finnegan had retrieved his faded green bag and was checking his blood sugar in his corner of the area. Margo had resorted to shuffling through their supplies, all while propping herself against her caretaker behind her, who was searching through his bag as well.

Time had passed, though the trio couldn’t really tell. “So, what do we do now?” Margo asked, her voice scratching. “Is there a way out of here?”

“Hey, what did I say about not talking?” Ethan scolded, causing her to smile.

Finnegan answered, “Well, there’s no way to go back up, but I did find a passage through.”

“Through?” asked Ethan. “What do you mean, ‘through’?” Finnegan pointed towards the pool.

“When I fell down here, and recovered from falling in that pool, apparently I was followed by some of the alien dudes, so I hid. Turns out, there’s a tunnel in the walls under the water of the pool, and that’s where they disappeared to. They haven’t come back yet, so I think there’s some other surface space if you swim through it.”

“Were there any other people that fell down with you?” croaked Margo.

“Uh, no. I think I’m the only one who survived. When I fell in, there was a ton of rubble that fell with us, so a lot of people I think were buried underneath it. I did try to search for some people, but I didn’t find anyone.”

“How’s your sugar?”

“I was a bit low, but I drank a juice box and ate a fruit snack, so I think I’m good.”

“Okay, good. Finnegan, I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?” Margo got up out of Ethan’s arms and went to hug her resurrected brother.

Even though she had a few aches and pains, her embrace was strong and true.

“I need you to stay here. So, when help comes, you’ll be the first to receive it.”

“Wait, what?” Ethan verbalized, getting up from the ground. “We can’t just leave him here!”

“Sasquatch man, chill out. It’s okay. Margo knows what she’s doing.” Holding back a laugh, Margo walked over to their supplies, picked up a backpack, and packed resources into it. Then, hoisting up one of the weapons they’d brought, she gave them to her brother. His eyes widened as he took in the gun. “Woah! Now this is an alien gun!”

“Don’t play with that. I’m serious. The last time I used it, a guy disintegrated in front of me.” Finnegan nodded understandingly. “Also, there’s repasts in the bag for you if you go low again.”

“What about this?” He pulled out the journal that they’d taken from the tent.

“Oh!” Ethan exclaimed. “That’s important. I’ll take that. ” Finnegan handed him the bonded notebook, and before he put it in one of the bags, he examined it. “Huh. Strange how it didn’t get soaked when I fell.”

“Wait. Look.” pointed out Margo, taking it from Ethan. There was a faded, opaque-blue covering surrounding the journal, keeping out the water. “It looks like Xiinon’s skin. When It touched the journal I gave It, I bet It did something to secure the pages, so the book wouldn’t get wet. But, how would Xiinon know?”

“We’ll never know.” Ethan shouldered his pack after placing the covered item within a zipped compartment.

“Wait. Who’s Zee-non, or whatever?” asked Finnegan, who had been exploring through his pack.

“Xii-non. We met It Up Top. It was a soldier in the alien army. It helped us.”

“Awesome!”

“Not really. We had many near-death experiences. But, for your sake, sure. It was pretty awesome.”

The two older teenagers secured their bags and equipment to themselves, and prepared to jump into the pool. “We’ll be back before you know it.” Ethan smiled at Finnegan, who was carefully exploring his newly-given weapon. Margo hugged him one more time, before Ethan counted down. “In 3, 2, 1….”

Submerged underwater, their heavy bags pulled them down towards the bottom of the watery chasm. Indeed, Finnegan had been correct. There was an aperture in the rock’s wall, leading away into an ever-deepening darkness. Margo looked at Ethan, her breath held within her lungs, and the quickening pulse of her heart beating in her ears. He looked back at her, and then frowned his brows, and pointed to the surface.

“Gasp!” The two broke through the opaque layer and breathed in the fresh, cavernous air.

“Back so soon?” Finnegan joked, his slouched figure against the rockface of his corner.

“It’s really dark. We could barely see anything.” Margo moved hair out of her face.

“Oh. Do you have the time by any chance? My phone died.”

“Um..” Margo looked at the digital clock face on her wrist. “6:11.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Do we have any flashlights?” Ethan asked.

“Uh, let me look in my bag.” Finnegan shuffled to his supplies, and whipped out a packet of glowsticks. “How about these?”

“Perfect. Here, give them to me.” Ethan reached out his arm as Finnegan threw it, but it sailed over their heads and sank to the bottom of the pool.

“Sorry.”

“I’ll get them.” Margo offered, and took in a large gulp of breath, before swimming under.

The packet of glow sticks had floated down to the opening in the wall. As Margo’s feet touched the rock face, it erupted in illuminations of pale, blue-green light. Her eyes widened. She picked up the glow sticks and once again, the rock sparked with light. Excitement rushing through her veins, she shoved off the bottom and broke through the surface. “Guys! You won’t believe what just happened!”

“What?” Ethan breathed a sigh of hidden relief, as Margo popped up to the surface again.

“The rock face! It’s covered with bioluminescent algae! The rock lights up once something touches it. We probably won’t be needing these anymore.” She gestured to the glow sticks.

“Wait. Keep them. Put them in my pack.” Margo swam over to Ethan’s bag, and secured them.

“Welp. See you!” Finnegan called.

Just as Margo had said, the algae flourished in light as the two swept their hands along the walls. Due to the restricted air supply, they quickly swam through the tunnel, illuminating their light source as they went. The tunnel opened up to another spacious pool, the water as clear as glass. There was a wavering image above them, one that represented an opening area in the cavern. The floor of the pool was nowhere to be seen; as they looked down, darkness fogged up the water, the familiar rock face location unknown. Kicking up towards air, the two travelers pulled their heavy, waterlogged weights onto the shore. Algae glowed as they touched the surface, and the surrounding areas did as well, but Ethan and Margo didn’t notice them.

As Ethan pulled on his semi-dry shirt from inside the now-discovered, waterproof backpack, he noticed their cavernous destination. “Margo. Look.” Lifting her head, she didn’t have words for what she saw.

The cavern was luminous, the gem-like patterns of the bioluminescent algae splattered across the ceiling and walls, glowed an eminent hue. The soft grass cushion that they had hoisted themselves onto, spiked color, and pulsed with hidden energy. It seemed alien-like, for all of the arena reflected the essence of other-wordly tones. There was the lightest of pinks that when observed from one view, looked green, and from another, mixed into a purple-blue marble. There were glow worms that had spun webs of silk to decorate the salt pillars hanging down from the ceiling, and their larvae were gathered in radiating clusters in small pools scattered across the landing. Upon each reflection, was the image of the high cavernous chamber that held the personification of the night sky, with each “star” being a closely-knit group of multicolored algae. The towering chamber above the intriguing world, overcasted a gaping chasm of waterfalls, crystals of rainbow-dusted hues bouncing to and fro on the steady rushing marvels of the cave. A slim bridge of marble and stone stood between the beginning arena and the other landing. Below it, the Falls poured into darkness. The depth of it was unnerving. The landing across the Falls was interesting. Beyond this alien-hued haven, stood the entrances to massive, dome-shaped arches that led to darkened passageways deeper into the cave. A steady stream of mountain water flowed into each doorway, the rushing sound of the Falls echoing deep into each throat.

“You don’t suppose you know where to go now?” Ethan questioned after their pause of awed silence.

“Hmm. Oh, wait!” Margo clambered over to Ethan’s bag, and took out the journal. “I bet this will help.” She opened it up, and sat down right up against Ethan. His heart jumped as she did so, but he kept his surprise at a minimum. He leaned closer to her, his chin resting on her shoulder. Her steady breaths sent waves of calm through him, and his eyes rested to close as he finally relaxed. His consciousness was nearly slipping, as exhaustion crept into his veins, when he heard Margo’s intake of excitement.

“What is it?” He asked, his voice suddenly sounding groggy.

“There’s a map in here that leads us to the ruins! Check it out!” Sure enough, there were inscriptions within the journal that represembled routes through the tunnels. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Wait. We should at least eat something first, because my energy is starting to leave me. What do we have in the bags?”

“Umm, let’s see.”

After a rationed, replenishing meal, the two explorers hiked their way through the wondrous land of intergalactic magic. The mood had enlightened drastically, as Margo’s spark returned. Ethan had cracked up, when she had held the journal out like a nautical compass, as a captain commanding a ship at sea would, and called out, “Lead the way, Journal! Show us your ever-powerful ways!” She had smiled at him widely, and then began a long stream of hilarious bits that made Ethan laugh hysterically.

Finally, they’d approached the bridge. Their laughter had disappeared, as fear and anxiety scaled up their bones and into their hearts. The Journal was safely tucked away in Margo’s bag; Ethan had made a point of having her carry it for a while, so she agreed. The slim width of stone and rock face made it terrifying, as one wrong move could send them to their deaths. The malediction of the bridge unnerved them, but the two brave souls arranged themselves properly and began to venture across the walkway.

Halfway across, Margo’s neck hairs rose quite uncomfortably. She was overcome with the sensation of being watched. “Ethan? Do you-” As she turned around, she watched with horror, as her companion’s body went limp, and he fell into the chasm. “NO!” She screamed. Behind Ethan’s previous place, was a creature of the same species of Xiinon, but its skin was black as night and had the consistency of sludge. Its eyes were a horrible, yellow-green hue, and spikes of crimson pierced through its back, violet-purple blood oozing from its wounds. In one of its tentacles, it held a bamboo-shaped tube; Margo’s quick thinking led her to the conclusion that Ethan had just been tranquilized, and that, was a dart gun. Inhumanly quick, she whipped the intergalactic weapon from off her shoulder and fired it at the entity. Its reflexes moved, but It was not fast enough. It died with an unworldly scream that penetrated Margo’s ears so harshly, that she felt blood trickle down her cheeks. Trembling with adrenaline and fright, Margo turned to continue her trek.

Suddenly, she felt an agonizing sting stab her in the chest, and the last thing she saw was eyes of gentle amethyst, before slipping into darkness.