Chapter 18: Raging Waters

Maleki:

The sea itself was swallowing us. The central point was a large circular pit several hundred feet across where the water flowed around it, stopping at the edge of the bowl. There was nothing we could do to escape. There was no skill in this. Nothing could save us from the trapping forces of the swirling waters. We were nearing the edge of the whirlpool now, and I could now see the bottom of the pit below. Its depth was the same as the seabed around it; no telling how far down it went.

I struggled pointlessly, trying everything in my power to resist the current, but my body was too weak and the waters too powerful as they swept us to the edge of the watery sinkhole. We reached the border, and Miko and I screamed as we felt the water release into the pit. Our screams grew louder as we began to fall through open air down the middle of the whirlpool’s pit.

After all that walking and climbing, we ended up falling to our death in the water...What a depressing ending to this journey.

We kept falling; I released my chokehold on Miko’s neck, squeezed him against my chest, and prepared for an impact as I gritted my teeth and squinted my eyes from the fall. Water graced us again as we dove into a stone pool filled with water. The impact stung against the skin of my back as I sunk into the water, my screams dissipating through the barrier of water separating us from the surface. After a moment of sinking through the pool, I collected enough energy to push us to the top. We both gasped for air immediately. Miko must’ve been confused, considering he had no awareness of what was going on, minus the feeling of being swept away by the seas that we were already swimming on and then falling hundreds of feet, only to crash into more water. I was still confused…

We were in some sort of dark, watery dungeon. The sky stretched out above us, providing light to the area we were in below. Even if it were just for a moment, I was desperate to find a spot to actually rest without floating, something flat and reliable. I looked around us, trying to understand what we had just fallen into. How were we even supposed to get out? We had been dropped far enough that I was surprised we even survived the impact. Miko also hates heights, so it was best he didn’t get to peer over the whirlpool’s edge, or he might’ve been too difficult to control.

After inspecting the slimy stone room, I noticed a faint light shimmering off the chamber walls. Swimming over, I could see that above the water line we were currently at was a corridor with light green torchlight filtering down the hallway. The lip of the hallway was even with this cylindrical stone pit, so I couldn’t swim through it or easily step up. The floor to the next room was three feet higher than the water level, so I would have to get us both up there to continue on. I thought about going up first, but what would I do once I got there, lean over and pick Miko up by his head? I wouldn’t even be able to reach his armpits, not that he can float for that long, anyway.

“The next area is a couple of feet above us. I’m gonna push you out of the water, and then you have to use everything you can to stay up there until I can get up there, too. I’ll give you another push once I land back in the water.”

“Wait, what?” Miko asked.

“Just try and stay on top of the thing I’m throwing you onto. Got it?”

“Uhh, sure.” He said without confidence.

The first throw was too light. Miko was lighter in the water, but I had nothing to push off of except the underwater section of the wall. My second and third throws got him closer, but he was still not close enough to make it fully onto the next platform. I reconsidered my position and pushed at his ankles and underneath his foot while I began to sink underwater. This gave me enough power to get him all the way up the ledge, where he tucked his neck and held onto the side with one of his ankles. He was great at awkward moves like this since he had grown used to using his limbs effectively in ways most people wouldn’t think of.

This shot me further under the dark waters, but I found the wall and climbed to the surface. My first attempts cleared the wall of the slimy algae and allowed me to get a better kick-off. After pushing with all the strength left in my legs, I leaped out of the water and got my hand high enough to move Miko more securely into his spot. I fell back into the cold water and got back into place to try again. This time I was aiming for the edge of the stone. I leaped up again, my hand gripping the wet rock. My ribs hit against the wall from the jump, but I ignored the impact and used my other hand to find an area not wet from throwing Miko. I pushed upwards, straining my bicep and chest to muscle myself above the lip of the stone hallway.

I laid on my stomach, arms limp at my side like Miko, and exhaled a long breath and groaned as I internally assessed the condition of my body. This was the most depleted I’ve ever felt, almost like I was suffering a heatstroke. I could barely move, and my lungs were too tired to breathe. This stone beneath my head was cold and provided a sensation for me to focus on to stay awake. We had no idea where we were; I know Miko certainly didn’t. Staying here long enough to sleep is risky. This chamber could flood or something worse with our luck. Just a few more minutes to let the pounding headache simmer down, and then we have to keep moving.

“You all right?” I asked Miko, with my cheek smushed against the ground. He looked as tired as I did. All that kicking must’ve been exhausting since that was all he could offer.

“I didn’t drown, and it’s not like I can complain to you, so I think I’m fine, all things considered.” He spoke quietly, but his voice echoed off the hallways loudly.

I laughed through strained movements, forcing myself to sit up. “I don’t envy you, brother. This is horrendous, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in your position. Don’t beat yourself up when you’ve done all you can.”

He sighed softly. “I know. I am just growing tired of not contributing.”

“You ar- “

“-Really contributing, Maleki, not just paddling my feet. It’s a been trend here lately.” His face turned towards me as if to show eyes of contempt, but his eyelids were closed.

I wasn’t sure what to say to him. He wasn’t wrong for feeling that way, but there wasn’t anything I could do to help him. The way he was feeling was why we were here to begin with.

“You just have to stay strong a little bit longer. I’ll get you there, and then when you are healed, we can worry about our teamwork-“

“Teamwork, Maleki? Stay strong? Do you think that’s what this is really about? I can’t see anything, and I can barely move. I just want to be normal, feel normal for once. I don’t have any strength. There’s no team. It’s just you. And I’m withering away even faster….”

His voice was solemn, and I could sense that he was starting to give up. Miko was tired of relying on me for his continued existence. Could I blame him? I mustered enough strength to place my hand on his chest. “I know, Miko. I know. I’m doing everything I can. Just keep fighting your fight, do everything you can while you have the capability, and I’ll take care of the rest. I won’t stand idle and watch you get worse.”

He sobbed through his closed eyes, tears sliding down his cheeks as he lay on his back against the cold black stone in the green fire-lit chamber. There was nothing more I could do to comfort him; his grief was too large. It’s better to give him time to figure the rest out himself. We operate differently in that manner; he needs time to cool down, and I just need space.

After a few hours of being careful not to nod off and keeping an eye on our surroundings, we proceeded down the long, damp hallway. These lamps scattered evenly against the chamber walls and flickered a bright green without wavering. The path was long, and water splashed away from my footsteps as I walked the hallway, Miko close on my heels. I would have let Miko use it to sweep the path ahead of him, but he can’t hold it, so I was doing it for him. It didn’t make sense, but I think the extra sounds and vibrations gave him more information to read his environment. I was glad that the weapon wasn’t a hindrance any longer; it had served me well on this journey so far. We received gifts growing up, but this one was different, something special that I didn’t age out of. This one was different from the tools on the farm. In the stories I heard, swords always had names. Should I give my weapon a name? Isn’t it weird to give inanimate objects names?

“Did you name your weapons, Miko?” I asked aloud.

“Yeah, the left one is Larry and the right one is Steve.”

“How do you know which one is the left and which is the right?”

“Whichever one is in my left hand is Larry, and the other one is Steve.”

“Wait, for real?” I asked, turning my head.

“Nope.” He laughed. “I don’t have names for them. Never thought about it before, just now.”

“You actually had me there for a second,” I said, laughing and scratching at the back of my head.

“Are you thinking about naming your scythe?” Miko asked.

“Yeah, it’d make it sound cooler, right? All the heroes in the stories named theirs.” I said, proceeding down the black-stoned hallway.

“What name are you thinking about?”

I thought about his question, grabbing at words in my mind. “Sidereos. How’s that sound?”

“Not bad for your first try. That’s a big word for a pea brain, though.”

“Hey!” I retorted back. “I know some words, too. You can learn stuff outside of books, you know?”

“Sure.” He laughed before pausing. “Wait, do you hear that sound?”

“Sound?” I questioned.

“Wait.” He said as he stopped moving, which I quickly noticed and mimicked. “It sounds like rushing water….”

I looked down at the ground. The water line was higher than it was just a few seconds ago. My hand was resting against the wall, and I began to feel it too. It was a vibration sound like water pouring down a stream but violent. A few seconds later, water began streaming out of metal gates in the walls behind and ahead of us.

“Maleki, I have no idea where we are, but I think it’s about to get much wetter.”

“Keep moving. We need to get out of here and quick.” I demanded.

We splashed more harshly through the water as the gates emptied increasingly faster.

After thirty feet, the splashing turned into trudging as the water line reached below our knees.

Sixty more feet, I couldn’t even see the end of the tunnel yet, and it was up to our waist.

Miko was slowing down now. It was tough to move through these waters without using your arms to help you push and pull forward. We have to get out of here fast. The water isn’t just filling up; it’s starting to force us along like a river before a dam.

The water was up to my chest now, and I was tugging Miko along by his shirt behind me since he was shorter and couldn’t stay above the water while moving. The end of the tunnel was ahead another twenty steps, still well-lit by the torches on the walls, which were somehow unaffected by the water moving through.

I took several large breaths to prepare myself for what was coming next as the water behind me rushed forward, engulfing both of us. I opened my eyes underwater and was surprised to see everything around me with a bright green glimmer. I pushed my scythe behind me, tugging Miko along with me as I swam forward to get to the end of the tunnel. I felt the air in my lungs slowly dissipate as I let tiny bubbles float around me. The water pushed forward quickly, making it difficult to stay in one place. As we drew near the exit, I realized we were totally blocked in, like during the fire trial. A similar off-white stone locked us in with the water and prevented our path out. I pulled Miko towards me with Sidereos, placing my palm against his chest and repeating a motion like clicking something into place. He understood my gesture and floated off to the opposing wall to find a pressure plate on the floor near us. His current method of swimming was a wiggling motion combined with swift kicks of his feet.

We searched around us quickly, and my eyes caught a unique shape a few feet down. A rune covered the stone, but I could not interpret its meaning, so I pressed against it as hard as possible. It moved ever so slightly, but I couldn’t generate enough energy while being fully underwater and pushed against by opposing forces. My lungs stung from moving around, and I was running out of stored-up air. I pushed off against the wall and grabbed Miko, aligning his hand to the stone on his opposing side. He ran his shoulder along the rune and pushed at it to a similar result as I had. We both pushed together, and the stone clicked in. Nothing changed in the door at the end of the underwater hallway.

Damn...I can feel my body fighting for air that doesn’t exist. I swam back to my side, but I watched Miko’s plate unclick as I got over to it. These things are on a timer, and we both have to be together to click them into place. I tried to kick horizontally at the pressure plate by stretching my body toward Miko, but I couldn’t stay upright.

My body convulsed, demanding air. Miko grabbed the bottom of my scythe with his feet and pulled it between us to his side. I held the other side in my hand as he pushed into it by driving his heels together and slamming his shoulder into the stone. My brother’s a genius…

I jumped into position, mirroring his movement, but instead pushing my feet into the top metal of my scythe’s blade. Since it was only sharp on the inside, I could push on it with everything left in my body. The hallway was too wide to reach each other with our heels alone, but with the scythe, we could create a connection point to push against, similar to using a wall to generate more force. Moving together, we pushed our shoulders and back into the pressure plate, moving them slowly together until they both clicked into place.

The stone doorway began to let light through from another room as it fell onto the floor, giving the water a new destination to push us through. My vision was going black, and I coughed as water tried to get into my lungs. I moved over to Miko, grabbing him into my side as the water carried us onto a grated metal room. We hit the grated floor hard as the rushing waves fell through the grates and left us in a coughing fit. I looked through the gates that were supporting our weight. Below was a rocky reef that was now being filled with the water from the tunnel. The walls around us weren’t even walls — they were made of water, but it was shifting around us as if a barrier prevented it from coming through. The room was in the shape of a circle, like a bubble at the bottom of the sea.

“What is this place?” Miko asked aloud.

I raised my back and analyzed the room. “Looks like it was someone’s home once upon a long time ago.”

In the middle of the floor was a stone flooring with the same dark stone texture as the hallways. Metal poles rose from the grated disc on the floor and held green torchlight at the top that lit up the bubble completely. This place looked lived in at one point, but everything in the center stone disc was archaic and dusty. We walked to the middle of the room, where a few desks and cabinets were strewn about randomly. Any remaining parchments were thin and looked as if they would crumble from the strength of a fingerprint. I was used to my brother searching these places for important objects or information, but fortunately for me, there wasn’t much to go off of. Outside of the stone furniture, all that remained in good condition was a leatherbound book with thick, dark yellow pages. The leather wasn’t made of any material I had seen before; it actually looked more like bark than leather. Picking it up carefully, I opened the book to the first page. At first, the words were not written in a language I could read, but as I looked at them, they translated into words I knew. Contrary to Miko’s belief, I can read — I just choose not to.

Travelled far into waters unknown, a seed of doubt was sown

All alone, I found another in a tree the shade of bone. Explored together did we, only to return with a message unexpectedly

Beware the divine sea; they harbour an ancient enemy.

“You’re awfully quiet. Is something wrong?” Miko asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t understand what I just read.” I repeated the message to him, which he repeated aloud several times.

“I can’t tell if this is relevant to our situation or if it’s a warning of another.” He said promptly after inspecting the words in his head.

I set the book down on the table back where I found it. “Best not to worry about it then.”

“Only worry about what we can control,” We both sarcastically said in unison.

“You know — we shouldn’t make fun of Grandpa Thaumas. He is right...”

“Yeah, I guess,” Miko murmured. “Anything left of value?”

“No, that was the only important thing left. We should probably get a move on.” I responded as I moved toward the watery walls of the bubble. Now that I thought about leaving, how were we supposed to get out of here? There aren’t any other doors or traditional exits, and most of the floor is made of metal grates that lead to the seabed below. I don’t see any other pressure plates, which tells me this odd bubble is our only way out. My brother’s feet shuffled softly behind me as he followed me over; he stood there with a blank face and his bag tied around him. “I’m not even going to try and explain what we are in front of, but I think it’s the only way out of here. I’ll hold onto your arm just in case, but it looks like we’ll be swimming again, and the surface looks pretty far away. He nodded his head in acceptance, and I strapped Sidereos back into place on my bag and took a long breath that would hopefully hold me for long enough until we got to the top.

Here we go.

I reached our hands together. The water swirled up our forearms with immense strength, pulling us. I resisted the forces against us, attempting to hold onto Miko and rise to the surface, but the vibrating waters were too mighty. From the inside, the bubble looked like a thin transparent layer of water, but it was denser than I had realized. We were now being forced through like there was a vacuum outside the bubble. My grip on Miko’s arm began to weaken as the waters pulled us away from each other.

“Miko!” I screamed out underwater as the words fizzled out into empty bubbles.

I lost my grip entirely as the forces weighing down on me shifted my vision to black. What the hell is happening to me? I blinked several times as the water shot us through the barrier with immense speed and force.

“Noooooo!” I gargled as my body struggled to resist, watching my brother drift away between blinks. This was a hundred times stronger than a riptide, and I could do nothing to fight it. My last thought before I lost consciousness was a worry for my brother.

————————————

A cough rose in my chest as a cold sensation pushed up my body and crested at my back. Salty water spurted out of my throat in small batches as my lungs expunged the liquid back up and through the sides of my mouth. I didn’t dare open my eyes and acknowledge that I was alive. That was too difficult. Even now, I was tired, yet my body kept moving. My body had begged for rest all throughout this journey, and I ignored it, and now I was pleading with it to let me rest. My eyes tracked red light through my eyelids. Now, even the sun would not let me be. I rolled onto my side, and the seawater splashed against me as grains of sand pressed into my face and soaked one side of my head. This water was warmer than other places, but it was like ice to my skin in this sun. I shook in frustration and grabbed the sides of my head with my hands. My eyes fluttered, blinking twice to accept my choice, though I would have preferred to rest.

Opening my eyes, I embraced my surroundings with an annoyed sigh. My scythe was tightly bound to my bag’s loops, which lay a few feet from me. I pulled the bag to me in a lackluster motion, undoing the straps slowly with a slight aggression. The leather hide bag slapped over my left shoulder while I used the scythe to stand straight. I stood there in a daze. Where was I? The area around me was a stone culvert cut away from a beach line by several hundred feet. Ahead of me was a creek that poured softly into a bulky wall of trees. Moving through the tangled web of tightly wound vines and branches would be difficult, but my blade would surely sharpen a path.

What was I doing before I woke? We were on some sort of mission to a place. We were doing the trials, I thought. Wait, we? Who is...

It all collected in my head, and I scrambled around in a realized panic. Peering my head in all directions in quick jolts of confusion, I analyzed my surroundings. How long had it been since I had seen him? How long was I asleep? If we washed ashore together, maybe he went to find food or get a lay of the land. Surely he would have left something for me to find...