Chapter 24 - The Irregular Gate 3

  Although William spoke with a calm tone and appeared unfazed on the surface, he knew that they were in unspeakable amounts of trouble. However, along with nervousness was an excitement that he hadn't expected welling from within him, and even, perhaps, confidence. Confidence from knowing that he already faced the terror of the night that Abby mentioned and survived, and from knowing that he had power for once in his life! This was power that he could count on---he just knew that the light wouldn't disappear again like before when his life was in danger.

  Brandishing that beam of light emanating proudly from his phone like a dagger into the dark, William took the vanguard, just a few steps behind Horast.

  He noticed his new friend Mantou getting distracted by the sound of dripping water from somewhere above them.

  "Stay close to me," William whispered sharply to Mantou. "Stick with me at all times."

  "Is it necessary?" Mantou asked with a bit of cluenessness.

  "Yes," William answered with an almost hiss-like quality in his voice that surprised even himself. It sounded like the same voice he used when he delivered the truth about the madness principle to Finn a week earlier. Low, conspiratorial, and of grave nature. "It is very necessary. There are things hiding in the dark that humanity still does not have adequate knowledge of."

  Mantou looked at him curiously, his bright eyes and plump face forming an expression of both interest and fear that was reminiscent of the expression Finn gave him back in the ice locker in stability storage.

  Finn's words echoed in his head as if he'd just heard them yesterday. William, you’re nervous... This is the first time I’ve ever seen you nervous. What’s bothering you?

  ...

  Your hands are shaking... I’ve never seen you shake before.

  He looked down. His hands were shaking slightly, but nowhere near as much as before. He had faced the darkness once and survived. This time, things would be different.

  Time to face the darkness once more.

  "What was that!" someone yelped from the right.

  Horast shone his flashlight to the right, his pistol brandished. As a tank, a small firearm made plenty of sense.

  "What did you see?" Horast asked in a low growl to the frightened archer.

  "There, something moved, I swear!" she said in a panic, pointing off to the right.

  They were now in a hall of sorts reminiscent of a video game dungeon brought to life, with strange gothic structures of indeterminate origin and gargoyle-like stone sculptures of varying degrees of decay littered around the great hall, the ceiling nearly a mile in the air. Several entrances and exits flanked the sides of the great hall, and to the very right was just another pair of broken down gargoyles standing in front of a wall with entrances to either side. Nothing was moving, and Horast could not determine if anything had been there before.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Please, you have to believe me!" the archer said in an elevated voice.

  Horast nodded. "I do. Let's go this way." He directed them towards an exit from the great hall far away from the two exits near the broken down gargoyles, and away from whatever the archer had seen.

  William felt immense gratitude to Naver for introducing Horast to him. He could now see that Horast was a seasoned and experienced raid veteran who could keep his cool and make rational decisions in the face of unprecedented dangers. He didn't challenge or question the archer's observation no matter how much it could have been simply a figment of her overreactive imagination, and kept team cohesiveness close. He was in good hands here.

  However, this was no simple raid anymore. That EMP effect told the entire story, especially along with the gate turning red. This could turn out to be a disaster level gate, and it hadn't even broken yet.

  As Horast approached the exit of the great hall, which was simply a dug out tunnel, William had a sudden epiphany and called out.

  "Wait, stop!"

  Horast stopped in his tracks. "What is it?" he asked, not challenging him but rather simply asking.

  "When you're going into a new area," William began to say, walking ahead of Horast. He could feel eyes on him from the entire raid party. Before, that might make him nervous, but now he was welling with absolute determination and felt the need to instruct them with his own experience. Experience paid for in blood. He thought back to the severed hand in the skulk's mouth, which could have belonged to Abby.

  "Ahem. When you're going into a new area," he said once again, this time loud. "Always, and I mean ALWAYS. Check... above."

  He peeked his head quickly across the passage while directing his phone's searing white light upwards, to see something black flee in a hurry with a high pitched squeal.

  Several of the raid party members recoiled with fear, but William smiled to calm them. "Don't worry, it's just bats. But remember my words, folks. Always. Check. Above. ALWAYS."

  He nearly yelled that last word, and many of the raid party members looked at him as if he were crazy. Evon Mudd rolled his eyes and shook his head. Horast seemed to have had his curiosity peaked, and approached him.

  "Kid, I don't know what you've been through, but I know that look," he said in a low voice. "That's the look of a survivor."

  He paused before continuing, this time speaking in almost a whisper. "That poor girl, Penelope... she was eager, but she didn't have your eyes, boy. You'll do well, I just know it. You have the eyes of a survivor."

  Before William could reply, the archer from earlier yelped again.

  "I saw it again!"