Chapter 25 – Capture

Ruka's POV

Someone grabbed my hands, pulling them behind my back and forced me to the ground, holding me tightly. A small scream escaped my lips, mostly from surprise rather than fear; everything happened too quickly for me to get scared. I was facing the ground as more than one pair of hands were touching me, holding me and keeping me still. Every attempt to free myself would've been worthless. I tried to peek in my friend's direction; they were being treated the same.

"What do we have here?" I heard a sadistic, cold voice and I felt the blood leaving my face.

"Humans," I heard another voice answer the first one.

Now I was ready to lose control of my nerves and give in into panic. They called u humans which mean that they are not… but before I even get the chance to think more, I felt an acute pain in the back of my head and everything went blank since then.

When I open my eyes again, I was feeling dizzy and my vision was bleary. The back of my head –at the point where they'd hit me- was still in pain. I tried to lift my hand to touch it, but then I realize I couldn't; my hands were tied behind my back and I was lying on a cold floor.

I was feeling weak and tired but I stirred, trying to get up in a seated position, but froze when I heard noise with strange voices. I had no idea what happened or was happening, but I was sure of one thing: we were in trouble! I heard Crow gritting his teeth and I turned my head. When I started to wonder, I felt the pain piercing my head.

"Crow? Are you okay? I whispered.

"Hush! They are close," he ordered.

Instead of doing what he said I started the questions, "Who? What happened? Where are we?"

I tried to ignore the pain in my head, but with a quick look around the room and seeing the iron bars, I could say we were locked in a prison cell.

"I don't know much, but those things seem really unhappy to see us," he explained, dropping his voice to a whisper. "You were right, they saw us and followed us into the mountain and when we reached the gate they attacked and hit us so we'd lose consciousness. You and Aki passed out, but they failed with me."

Even if I couldn't see his face, I sensed his silent laugh and I hummed in agreement.

"I was unable to react, but still I have an idea of what was happening," he continued, "and know this: we are not the first humans they saw, if you know what I mean."

I nodded with hope. Rua and Jack!

"Are you okay?" he asked with worry this time.

"Well, I have been better, but I'm okay. Tired, thirsty, hungry and my head is killing me, but still alive," I summarized wryly.

I heard him chuckled. "I know how you feel," he said a little sadly.

"We have to get out of here."

"My hands are tied," Crow snarled. "I can't reach my deck to summon a monster."

I sighed; he was right.

A soft moan came from Aki as she started to awaken. She slowly tried to move to a sitting position, but when she failed, her eyes widened as she realized where she was. She turned her head around, blinking many times when she spotted us.

"What…?" she started, but both Crow and I stopped her.

"Quiet!" Crow commanded and Aki hushed.

"What happened?" she mouthed.

Crow explained everything to her quickly and with a low voice, but before he finished we heard steps getting closer. Even from the sound I got ready to see something that definitely I wasn't going to like and I was right. My breath choked on my lips and I had to swallow the bile in my throat. Monsters, scary monsters were now in front of us.

I was astonished by our surroundings and was more than scared. They were all monsters with tough faces, ready to attack us. I recognized some of them, like the Giant Orc, the Beast Striker, and the Hitotsu-Me Giant and many other beasts.

"They're finally awake," the Lord Poison monster spoke.

"You!" the Dark Grepher addressed Crow. "On your feet," he ordered, opening the cell door with a huge key.

Crow tried to stand up, but with his hands tied it wasn't something easy to do in time. The guard caught him violently by his shirt and pulled him to stand, shutting him a death glare.

If I was in Crow's position, then most likely I would've fainted from fear, but Crow returned the gaze, grunting loudly with contempt.

"I guess you are their leader," Dark Grepher whistled evilly. "You have guts, I'll give you that."

And I agreed with him too. I trembled from fear but Crow looked stronger than ever.

"Hmm, you remind me of someone. He was acting like you, looking exactly the same," the creepy monster breathed on his face.

I heard Crow gasp and I did the same after hearing his words, but I didn't get the time to absorb them when he turned his head shouting loudly, "Call the master!"

The Green Baboon monster nodded and left the room in hurry.

"Now we are going to see how strong you are," Dark Grepher said ironically and marched to Aki and myself, grabbing me by my shirt too.

I screamed, shutting my eyes out of fear and feeling his hot breath on my face.

"Don't touch them!" Crow yelled and I heard him struggle.

Dark Grepher laugh at him. "Or what? What are you going to do to me?"

"The captain is coming," the Giant Rat announced and I dared a peek.

The Green Baboon was back and the Dark Grepher moved his hands away from me.

"Free them!" the guard ordered. "They are not going anywhere, anyway."

I gasped, feeling someone cutting my ropes; my hands were free now. Aki and Crow were rubbing their wrists just like me and I lifted my head. I saw a form approached us and I realized that the captain was already here.

"Well, well, well," I heard the same sadistic voice which made me shuddered.

I turned my head only to freeze in my seat. Even my heart stopped beating for a moment. This monster was scarier and creepier than all those monsters together.

"What have we here?" he laughed with sarcasm.

I recognized him. It was the Dark Necrofear and even his name was making me to swallow with difficulty.

"They were spying on us, Boss," the Giant Orc addressed to their leader.

"We are no spies," Crow argued and I couldn't help but admire him for his courage.

"You're lying," the leader said slowly with a hint of warning in his voice. "You look just like the others."

I lifted my head with hope. "Others?"

"But don't worry," he whistled with sarcasm. "We will take care of you," he added evilly with a creepy laugh and my heartbeat quickened at the sound of his voice.

"You know what?" Crow said and I gasped; he was making fun with him and I held my breath.

"I disagree," he stated with determination.

Everything that followed next became was too quickly to follow with my eyes and my mind. At the same time he spoke, he moved against him, crashing him hard against the opposite cave wall. The speed made them both fall to the ground and I yelled. The only reason their leader didn't fight back was because of his surprise as Crow caught him off guard.

The Dark Necrofear needed only a moment to realize what Crow was doing and planned to fight back. But that moment cost him; Crow jumped backwards, avoiding the attack and pulling out his deck, drawing one card.

"Blackwing Armor Master!" he shouted, raising his card in the air.

His loyal companion appeared in the tunnel and I felt the harsh hands that were holding me, releasing me quickly and voices mixed with fear echoed through all the tunnels. Crowd ran, pushing me with force, making me swing, trying not to lose my balance and swept away by the current. I heard Aki screaming and I tried to stay focused. I spotted her and Crow in the chaos that his monster caused.

"Now attack!" I heard him order and I felt the earth shake under my feet at the force of his power.

"Of course," I heard Aki somewhere near me, "Dark Necrofear has 2200 points attack and Blackwing Armor Master has 2500."

I was too confused to try to understand what was happening and my vision was bluer as everything passed by with great speed.

"Look out!" I heard Crow yell and I managed to move back just in time before a huge rock from above the cave dropped down and broke into smaller pieces before my eyes.

I felt dust and rubble covering me and automatically by instinct, I protected my head with my hands.

"Now!" Crow shouted and I felt hands grasping me, pressing me to stand up on my feet and pulling me to move fast.

I started running, blinking my eyes to be able to see clearly. Crow was holding my hand and Aki was next to me, following us too.

"Where are we going?" I shouted, confused.

"I have no idea," Crow replied.

I shook my head. I didn't care much to find out the answer. The only thing that really mattered was to get away from those creepy monsters and their leader as fast as we could. I didn't notice anything around me. I was just running and running, following Crow and keeping my eye on Aki. I couldn't hear any noise or screams. My chest was aching from trying to hold my breath until I felt Crow release my hand and I collapsed onto the floor, breathing deeply.

"Where are we?" Aki gasped, kneeling down to catch her breath with one hand on her chest.

"Deep into the mountains, I think," Crow answered and I lifted my head. It wasn't the right time to rest.

We were in a small room, a little bigger from the others, with a couple of pathways right and left. The room was illuminated by two torches. Crow went over and took one, holding it tightly in his hand.

"The mountain is full of tunnels," I noticed, looking around as fast as I could. I had no idea where I found the strength and courage, but for some unknown reason, I was feeling something like warm waves making me stronger.

"Yeah, but I think it's easy to get lost in there," Aki concluded as both Crow and I were looking at the entrances around the room. "I don't know if this is a smart move to make."

"We are already lost. It will be In there," I showed the tunnels behind me with my hand, "or there." I trailed off my hand at the opposite direction.

"If we get caught, I don't think we would be able to escape again," Crow pointed out. "They will be extra careful and we'll lose the advantage of surprise."

Aki sighed. "Alright, into the tunnels then."

I had no idea which one led outside, but I picked a small one, a little deserted. I moved to it, only with the thought that the guards would never come. With that conclusion, we choose a path that may let us be safe a bit longer. If anything, with more time at our disposal, maybe we could find a way out. My plan worked, even to my surprise. For many hours we heard nothing but our own breaths.

The tunnel looked abandoned and the air was too heavy inside. We found several intersections on all sides of the tunnel, but we stayed on the main path, making only some stops for rest. The only good thing –that into our situations was more than good-was that wondering into the tunnels we crossed over some chambers and small rooms and Crow found a couple of survival kits; meant some food and water. That alone was enough to make us all feel a little better.

"At least no one's following us," Crow sighed in relief after we took a small break.

"Yes, but for how long? We cannot stay in these caves forever, can we?" Aki wondered.

"Definitely not," Crow replied and lifted himself to his feet while we did the same. "Let's go," he added.

When he spoke those words, I felt a pinch straight in my heart. "Aw!" I exclaimed and immediately, I slapped my mouth a hand to keep my voice down.

"Ruka, what's up?" Aki asked with worry.

'Damn, they heard me' I mentally scolded myself. I couldn't lie but I couldn't tell them the truth either. At least not yet; not till I was sure.

I shook my head. "I'm fine," I said, escaping her question and holding my breath.

"Alright, let's move," Crow said and we started walking.

I breathed out at the same time, lost into deep thoughts. Why did I feel this? It was something between a warning, but not a bad one, and the feeling that something was near. Something we had to find. My heart started to beat faster.

'Maybe its Rua and Jack,' I thought with hope, but no. Something was telling me that it wasn't them.

As we walked, the feeling grew. It wasn't a bad feeling, but my ignorance was really annoying. We stayed in the main tunnel and avoided the small ones out of the fear that they would lead us to a dead end. I was really lost in my thoughts, following my friends almost mechanically.

"Now what?" Crow voice pulled me out of my own world and brought me into our reality.

We were standing at a junction. The main tunnel was split into two, both big enough. Crow held the torch above both openings, examining them. I felt the same pinch again, but this time, I kept my mouth shut.

"The air is fresh in this one," Crow pointed at the right one, marching there. "Let's go this way," he suggested.

Aki hurried to follow him, but I didn't move a muscle. I was standing there, unable to move. But why? Crow was right, after all.

"What's wrong?" Crow stopped, turning his head to look at me.

"I don't know. But I think we should take the other one," I confessed.

"The air here is better. I think it's a way out."

I nodded still confused. "I know, but I think the other one is the right direction."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, with a frown.

"I have no idea," I admitted. 'But whatever it was, I bet it was better than the other one,' was what I wanted to add, but I was unsure of why, so I remained silent.

We all heard voices from far away, warning us that the monsters were looking for us.

"I'm sorry, Ruka, but we are going to take this tunnel," Crow showed the path behind him. "Come on," he called as he and Aki started walking quickly in the wrong direction, at least in my opinion.

I shook my head and I prayed to be wrong as I threw myself after them. I was following them, but then my feeling became stronger. This was wrong. This was all wrong. We had to go back. My feeling was too strong and my feet were too heavy. We had to stop now before it was too late.

I froze in my tracks, lifting my head. "Stop!" I ordered them.

Even I felt surprised at the sound of my own voice. Both Aki and Crow obeyed my lead.

"Why?" Aki gasped for air.

"We are following the wrong path," I stated without having the slightest idea of why I was so sure about it. "We have to go back and take the other tunnel."

"You want us to go back?" Crow asked, looking at me, astonished. "They are after us."

"I know, but trust me. We must go back."

Crow stared at me for a moment and I returned his gaze with the same seriousness.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," I pleaded, even thought I wasn't sure about it.

Crow stared at me for a few seconds, but then he sighed. "Alright."

"But…" Aki complained, but Crow cut her off.

"Lead us, Ruka," he said. "We trust you."

I flashed a smile, nodding my head. I spun around and started running in the opposite direction, following my instinct. We got off the tunnel to the main one and this time, I chose the second way. I felt like I was doing the right thing. We kept running when voices sounded from down the tunnel, making me assume that the guards were getting closer. I was ready to turn my head when Crow caught up.

"Don't look back," he warned. "They are after us."

"Hurry!" I suggested and sped up.

The tunnel wasn't straight; it had many turns and the terrain was rough, full of rocks and obstacles. Around a corner, I saw a faint light in the depths, but as I approached, the light grew stronger. Heat waves emanated from the light and now I knew why we had to go down this road and not the other one.

It was Aki who spoke first. "What is this light at the end of the tunnel?"

"Maybe a way out," Crow answered with hope and I grinned.

This light was impenetrable with a bright, white color spreading around as small waves of energy, which I bet only I could feel. This thing was a way out but not in a way my friends believed. This was another portal and I couldn't be surer about it.

"It doesn't look like a normal light to me," Aki said as we went closer. "Ruka, what do you think?"

I bit my lips. After all, I was the one who led us here.

"What's your point, Aki?" Crow asked and we marched closer.

"Maybe there is something more than a way out of these tunnels," Aki said with a hint of fear.

I stared at her for a while. I could read the question in her eyes, the question which for me was already a fact.

What if this light is another gate?

I was wondering something else. Where does this portal lead?

But I didn't have much time to worry about it as we were too busy worrying about the guards that were after us.

They found another gate but what are they going to do now? Step into the light… or not?

…

And I have a winner for my contest! Unfortunately I can't say who is right now, because you will have to wait some chapters to find out the right answer, because it's really important information. I will inform the winner with PM.

Thanks to all of you who took place in my contest too…

…

My thanks to: cr1o5thepolarbear, Gotta be Annoying, IHaveAMessedUpSenseOfHumor, Karlina101, YugiohObsessed, Guest, BestShot15 and christina for their reviews and feartheunknownperson for her PM. And my special thanks to Pure Red Crane, Gotta be Annoying and EndlessNight025!

If you liked it, review! If you don't, review anyway… ^_^