Underworld (Dark Passage) (23 page)

The cover of dark seemed a good time to travel so we
slept a few hours and then packed up camp. We
walked silently in the direction that the procession
had gone. He hadn’t mentioned the events of
yesterday and I didn’t want to talk about it. The old
Ivy would have pushed the issue in a no-holds-bar
interrogation but things are different now.
I glance at him but he is his usual polite, distant self.
How confusing he can be.
He seems to have lost the
carefree, fun loving spirit I had loved about him. He
is still beautiful and seductive though, without even
trying to be. I want to feel his arms around me and
brush the untidy hair out of his eyes. Nothing is ever
the same as it once was. Things always change no
matter how much you want them to say the same.
Someday I will probably look back on this moment
and wish that I could feel it again.
Why is it that we
are rarely happy living in the moment and don’t
realize what we had until it’s gone?
I frown in spite
of myself and force myself to think about what I will
find up ahead.

All I really need to do is go through the motions and I
will find what I am looking for ahead. I have grown
accustomed to sensing things that will happen and I
don’t make mistakes. Not anymore. If there is one
thing I have learned, it’s that the path I am supposed
to take is right in front of me but that from each
choice there will be life-changing effects. Some
effects may turn out to be heartbreaking. When I was
younger I craved resolution but I have learned to not
be blindsided by the past. Can we really change the
past or make the present better by reliving it?

Random details of the past stay with me despite my
effort to forget. Small things, like the way Jeff
looked after a home-run at his little league game; or
the way Jen’s nose wrinkled, when she laughed at my
jokes. Or the way Tyler’s hair fell over his eyes,
when we met on the golf greens, the day life fell apart
in front of me. These are good memories, and despite
myself,I can’t let myself forget. In forgetting the
good parts of our past we lose ourselves. That to me
is more tragic than anything I can imagine. To step
outside of time is to lose something precious.

Tears threaten to spring from my eyes. I push them
back. What hope is there for the future if all we love
in the past is gone? I suddenly realize, that the past
was once the future; and in it, new memories were
created to hold onto. It’s this realization that gives
me the assurance that all this is leading into
something. Maybe I will find what it is that I have
always been looking for and find the part of me that I
was always meant to be. In my experience, life
always has something new to throw at you. I don’t
always like what I see but then things are not always
obvious or straightforward like they seem. Sometimes
something wonderful can come from the most
random thing of things.

Tyler remained still a moment, his hands in his
pockets. Then he walks over to me and puts his hand
on my shoulder. A hint of a smile is on his lips. In a
way the smile was reassuring.

I frowned slightly. I don’t like taking orders
from
anyone and besides that, it may be better if I go alone.
He didn’t seem to notice my hesitation and walked to
the horse to get on. A moment later he was swinging
up and pushed himself behind the saddle while
holding the reins in his hand. Relief washed over my
body and I realized I wanted him to be with me.

I took the reins from his hand, mounted and wasted
no time pushing forward. The only sound was the
squeak of the leather saddle and the sound of horse
hooves. The sky had grown blacker and the place
seemed to close in on us as we rode in the direction
the convoy had gone. My hands clutched the reins
and I can’t help but wonder what this night will bring.

In the distance is blue light. I will soon be at the
place I had seen David. Fire, burning pain and torture
await me. There will be row upon row of bodies
strewn everywhere with tangled innards stretching
along the ground like ropes. I can almost see the
hollow eyes of the demon and the twisted smirk on
his face. I suck in the cool air and do my best to hold
back the choking fear.

I remind myself that my friend is facing this right
now and if I don’t go she and the others have no
chance to get away. I shiver involuntarily. Moments
later I feel Tyler’s arm tightly around me and his
fingers interlacing with mine. Tears fall down my
face and I am glad for the darkness. I don’t want him
to see me like this. The familiar sound of his
breathing calms me and we ride closer to the blue
light.

“Ivy?” I am almost shocked by
the sound of his voice
in my ear. I grip his fingers tighter in my own. We
had always had an unspoken love that needed no
words. Could he really be himself again?

“I just want you to know that I’m sorry. No matter
what happens tonight, I want you to know, that I will
always love you”. He said

I leaned closer to him and rested my head on his
chest. I circled the reins around the saddle horn and
reached my hand to his face. I was surprised to find
his cheek wet and my heart skipped a beat. How
could everything seem so hopeful and yet so utterly
lost? This was the Tyler I had known and if all I have
is tonight then it will be enough for me. How many
times do people wish for just one more moment with
someone they love?

I had often wished for one such moment with him. I
had reached out to him in my dreams to feel his arms
around me, to caress his face and feel his heart
beating next to mine. I had no idea that my longing
to be with him had created a surge of energy inside
me. When the turmoil was the greatest, I had reached
out to him; and for a short time, we had been together
in spirit. I had unwittingly drawn upon the energy
inside myself and gone to him. I had faint memories
of the dreams but hadn’t known that they were not
dreams at all. Sorrow filled me for a moment. I
blinked rapidly to bring my emotions back in check.
Would I be able to finish this journey and make it out
alive?

The skyline above us burned blue and just beyond
was blackness. We had reached the mountains and
now we will make our decent into the lower realm. A
faint shimmer came from the trees behind us and then
disappeared. The bitter stench of death clung to the
air and the tunnels were not far ahead.

dark night. Faint sounds come from within the
catacombs beneath this mountain. I listen intently and
hear the roar of fire coming from far away. The night
air is thin and warm and I wonder what waits for us in
the belly of the lower realm.

.
Time seemed to stand still in the tunnels. We had
dismounted when we rode into them and thought
about turning Jast loose but then something held me
back. If he truly was a
Watche
r he would be useful.
Besides, I may need him to carry Jen if she is injured.

All I can see is darkness and a faint glow far ahead of
us. Things are so still. There is no sound save the
drip of water from the ceiling onto the cave floor and
the distant sound of fire. It was warm inside but I
shiver despite myself. The stench of death that
lingers in the air makes it difficult to breath and I
struggle to keep from retching.

We move as quietly as possible through the long
corridors. The floor is covered with sand which
muffles the sounds of feet and hooves alike. The
walls are roughly hewn out of stone and drips of
water trickle down in places and disappear into the
sandy floor. I expected to find traces of blood along
the corridor but there is nothing of the sort.
We had been walking for what seemed hours and
must literally be in heart of the tunnels. It is here that
they branch out in several directions extending for
seemingly miles. These are truly the longest tunnels I
have ever encountered and I lose perspective as to
how far we have come from the entrance. I point my
light down one corridor and it seems to grow
impossibly narrow further down.

A large ledge hangs over the place where the tunnel
branches off and we stand here a moment trying to
decide which way to go. Tyler is beside me and I
look up into his face but he is focused on a smaller
tunnel to the far right. If we get stuck in that tunnel
there will be no escape for it is narrow and we will
have to walk single file. There is a faint glow far
down that tunnel and I wonder if it opens up into the
lower realm. I am too weary to decide and give Tyler
a tired smile. He put his arm around me and pulled
me close. Over six feet tall, with broadness to match,
I don’t resist. I sigh and put my head in the crook of
is neck. After a short rest we make our way down the
tunnel.

My ears pop and my eyes feel heavy. The oxygen has
grown thinner and walking has become taxing. I push
myself forward from the enormous cavern and follow
Tyler into the tunnel with the narrow corridor. The
tunnel flows slightly downward after about an hour
and then opens up. The air does not seem as thin and
then we find ourselves in another large cavern.

The place seems unable to decide if it’s natural or
created by someone. A fountain is hewn right into
one of the rock walls and the rest of the cavern walls
are lined with marble. I stare at the sheer beauty of
the massive cavern and then my eyes rest on tree
roots that can be seen trailing under the East side of
the wall.

There is something that I can’t define about the tree
roots.It’s not unusual that they should be here under
a mountain; as the root systems of old growth trees
can be far reaching, and penetrate deep into the
ground. The cavern emits a dank chill now and the
warmth that I felt in the first part of the tunnels is
gone. It seems surreal down here and I can feel a
pulsing sensation coming from beyond the Eastern
wall. A moment of panic comes over me and I
breathe deeply to try and calm myself. I can’t
imagine if we will ever escape this place and wish it
were all a nightmare that I could wake up from.

“Yes”, I squeak, trying desperately to hold back the
floodgate of tears. I try and swallow the lump in my
throat and sit down with my back against the cavern
wall. Pulling my knees to my chest I lean back and
close my eyes. A short while later I manage to get
my thoughts together. From the corner of my eye I
see Tyler moving something.
Tyler had found a piece of stone with inscription on it
and turned it over to see if there was anything written
on the other side. As he was turning the piece over he
saw a light coming from below the floor and looked

inside to see what was in there. I heard him say
something under his breath and turned to look at him
with questioning eyes.

“I want to show you something but don’t want to
freak you out”. He looked at me solemnly but said
nothing more.

Tyler took my hand and led me down to the end of
the cavern. When we reached the place he wanted to
show me I stiffened. Tyler was silent a moment and
then our eyes met. I half expected a scream to escape
my lips but I was too horrified to do anything. Below
where we stood was what appeared to be a pool.
When my eyes focused in the dim light I saw that
there were things moving around in the murky water.
After a moment I realized that the pool was not really
a pool at all but bodies stacked upon each other for as
far as they eye could see. The bodies were moving
and crawling over each other trying to get out of the
area they were contained within. They were bloody
and the water was boiling. To my utter horror and
disgust I was watching people scrambling over one
another to escape a boiling stew of living corpses. I
wondered where they had come from and how long
they had been here.

The horror of what’s below where we stand is too
awful to believe. I try and tear my eyes away but the
sheer horror holds me captive. The bodies are
wreathing almost like snakes in a den except I can see
hands and fingers trying to find anything to hold onto
so they can escape. The water is boiling softly and
yet the people are not dead. I watch one particularly
young girl hoist herself over a large man and her head
is a foot out of the torturous water. I can’t help but
gasp when I notice she is about my age.

Then something truly horrible happened. The girl
must have heard me because she tilted her head up
and caught my gaze. Her lovely face contorted in
pain. She reached her hand toward me and began to
scream for me to help her escape. Her screams
became shrieks and she begs us to help her. Then
others looked up too and see Tyler and me peering
down at them. The pool became a frenzy of bodies
reaching toward us begging for us to help them.

I stepped back in shock and put my hands over my
ears. Sinking to my knees I rock back and forth to
clear my mind. Tyler quickly put the stone back in
place and the screams were somewhat muffled. I am
beyond usefulness having seen this horror and great
wracking sobs escape me. This place will break me
into a million pieces until I am beyond repair.
Despite the cooler temperature sweat trickles down
my face.

Tyler put his arms around me in almost a bear hug
and held me until the sobbing subsided. My muscles
are rigid with tension and my heart beats wildly. I can
barely stay on my feet but for Tyler holding me. I
can feel a buzzing in my head and breathe deeply
until it subsides. I hate the feeling of losing control
and am thankful that Tyler is with me.