Day IV

Stella woke up with a startle. She glanced at her alarm clock.

"Nine AM?" She mumbled, jumping out of bed.

She looked to Omer's side of the bed to find it empty.

"Oh no…"

He must've tampered with her alarm so that she wouldn't be awake to try and stop him from going…

Stella bolted toward her closet and snatched the nearest pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. Idiot, she thought to herself. Stubborn idiot. He'll get himself killed for some stupid magizoological recognition. She's would have to go in there and drag him out.

After dressing up and washing her face hastily, Stella stepped out of the front door and concentrated on the location of the cave. The southern end of the Cliff of Sorrows, she thought hard.

With a quick flick of her wand and a swift spin she disapparated. Not a second later Stella reappeared on a slippery rock at the foot of a massive, steep, and ancient cliff. The water sprayed her face with an icy chill as she planned her next move. Stella looked around for the opening to the infamous cave.

Eventually, after about a minute or so of surveying the cliff, she spotted a small cavern entrance at the foot of the stony wall. She would have to apparate there too.

With another flick and twist Stella found herself standing at the entrance of a deep and narrow passage into complete darkness. She breathed in deeply, preparing herself for what she was about to do.

"Lumos," she whispered, and her wand lit in accordance.

As she stepped inside, Stella immediately noticed how much colder it was in here than outside. She regretted only taking an old t-shirt with her now. This unnatural cold was frighteningly similar to the one that had announced the coming of the strange child. Could he be somehow related to this cave?

Stella pointed her wand as far and as high as she could and proceeded to pace ahead into the darkness. The walls were damp and dark, their slimy exterior shone to the light of Stella's wand. She was walking on the path to the right of a deep ravine which connected to the sea outside. Stella could see the bright pale bodies of strange fish and other aquatic creatures swimming close to the surface of the water. Something about their movement was weird and eerie, almost ghost-like.

She walked for several minutes before arriving at a small fork. Two paths lay ahead, one that kept going along the widening ravine, and one that led away from it and further down. How big was this place?

Stella decided to take the path to the left. By keeping close to the ravine, she would surely run into Omer soon. She figured he would be more interested in exploring the various aquatic creatures rather than heading into the seemingly dry right path.

"Come on Omer," whispered Stella after walking for several more minutes. "Where the hell are you?"

The darkness and cold were starting to get to her. She wouldn't have been able to keep going much longer if it hadn't been for her burning desire to grab Omer and go.

Soon after, Stella arrived at a large pool of seawater. The path which led along the ravine now continued onto several slippery looking narrow stone bridges that connected some small stony platforms which sprouted out of the water.

"What the – " mumbled Stella. This couldn't have formed here naturally. No way. Something about this cave was very strange. It had clearly been tampered with by humans. Perhaps even the wizarding kind. She decided to call for her husband.

"Omer!"

That, evidently, had been a bad move, as something – or someone – shifted in the darkness nearby.

Stella quickly pointed her wand at the source of the sound. She couldn't see anything.

Small drops of water fell from the ceiling and onto her head as she paced over to the narrow bridge closest to her.

Stella laid an unsure foot on the slender crossing. It seemed sturdy enough to carry a girl of her size. She continued with another foot, followed by another. Soon enough she gained the confidence to walk somewhat normally on the –

*SPALSH*

Something shifted and splattered in the water around her… They found skolopendra in this cave, she thought to herself, readying her wand to cast a fire-making spell. She knew that dark creatures who dwelt in places such as this hated light of any form. Fire was ought to do the trick.

*SPALSH* *SPALSH* *SPALSH*

This time the sound came from behind and underneath her. Stella quickly turned around and slowly walked backwards.

*CLICK* *CLICK* *CLICK*

Was she hearing… pincers?

"Incendio!" She screamed at a random point down to her right. The fire which emanated from her wand lit up the chamber for a moment. Stella noted how much vaster it had been than she initially thought. She couldn't, however, see anything that looked like a big arthropod.

Uneasy, Stella forced herself to keep on going. She had to find Omer. She couldn't let her one true love die in this horrible place. Walking toward the other end of the massive underground chamber – where the path seemingly continued to go even deeper into the belly of the earth – through the little islands and bridges, Stella held onto her lit wand as if it were a lifeboat. In many ways it was, after all.

Slipping on the damp rock, she finally made it to the other end. Stella lifted her wand one last time to look back the way she came.

"Huh?" She gasped, spotting something rather large and pale suddenly floating to the surface of the water and vanishing just as fast.

Another one of those albino fish? It didn't look like a fish though…

Perhaps she was too spooked out to tell, but the pale figure in the water looked almost… human.

Shivering from both cold and the panic that had been bubbling inside her ever since she'd entered this damned place, Stella decided to summon her Patronus. Even if it won't protect me from the skolopendra, it would at least warm me up, she thought to herself. She concentrated on the night she'd met Omer. How happy and warm and full of life she had been then. So far removed from where she was now, it almost seemed like it happened to someone else.

Feeling slight warmth wash over her wand arm, Stella raised her wand and whispered "Expecto Patronum," fully expecting her white stallion to emerge. It didn't, however. A barely visible wisp of white smoke was all she could produce. Something was definitely off about this place –

"Hee, hee, hee," giggled a voice ahead.

Stella's heart began to beat frantically. That was certainly a human voice, an eerily familiar one...

"Is anybody there?" Inquired Stella with all the courage she could muster, aiming her wand defensively at the source of the voice.

"Den boreíte na to chrisimopoiísete edó," said a child's voice on her right.

Stella turned immediately and pointed her lit wand to her left. The light reflected off a white figure standing nearby. The pale child who had been harassing her was standing right there, smiling its creepy smile with his sharp teeth exposed.

Paralyzed by fear, Stella merely stood there for what seemed like either a few seconds or a few hours.

The pale kid giggled at her again.

As if woken out of a trance, Stella sprung into action. She aimed her wand at the child and called "Stupefy!"

The curse hit the small figure. It didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. The child giggled again – this time more menacingly – and approached her slowly.

"Get back!" She yelled at him. "I'm warning you!"

"Hee, hee, chazí gynaíka," he replied.

"Depulso!"

This curse was absorbed by the pale kid as well. Normal magic did not seem to have any effect on him.

This time the child began to laugh. A cold, frightening, high pitched laugh. He was getting even closer now and Stella had to stumble backwards to avoid him.

She was lost for ideas. Lost for any hope of fighting away this horrible creature. Her only choice seemed to be escaping. Stella quickly glanced at the direction of the exit. She should have gone to Charlie right away. It was too late now though…

Slowly walking backwards, she began formulating an exit strategy. She would have to distract the kid somehow to get a head start on –

*THUD*

Stella walked into a hard slippery surface. Was it the wall of the cave? She tried to glance back before suddenly being gripped by a pair of cold, hard, pale arms – as pale as the child in front of her. Something – or rather someone, a tall man pale as snow – behind her caught Stella in a deadlock.

"Aftí tha eínai i dikí mas tóra," said the man's voice right in her ear. It was raspy and odd, as if it hadn't been used in a long time.

Stella struggled and tried to pull away. The child's laughter rang through her ears, the painful grip of the man tightened as he began to drag her toward the water, and something else – most likely another one of these creatures – shifted in the distance. She couldn't see a way out. Couldn't think of anything she could do.

Her wand dropped out of her hand as she struggled desperately, its light snuffed out allowing the darkness of the cave to take over.

She would die alone in this cold horrible place. She would sink and drown with no one to hear her scream. Without Omer.

A giant flame lit up the cave. Stella's face was hit by a scalding wave of heat. It felt like it was searing her eyebrows off and yet it was like a breath of fresh air.

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" The tall pale man let go of her with a loud screech and Stella fell hard on the stone floor. Both him and the boy fled from the fire and dove into the murky waters below in a loud splash.

Did Omer come to save her?

Stella heard rapid footsteps coming in her direction.

She was dizzy with fear and very weak.

A strong warm hand was pressed against the side of her neck. She opened her eyed and looked up at her savior.

Stella was surprised to see an auburn-haired, light skinned boy – no older than in his early twenties or late teens even – staring at her with worry in his eyes. Or was it mild curiosity?

Holding his lit wand at her face he asked with a thick English accent: "Are you hurt?"

Stella could only groan in return.

"I see," he said with a hint of a smile.

Who was he?

The boy flicked his wand with a quick yet accurate motion. Stella felt hot air gather underneath her, lifting her up in the air.

Without another word the boy led her floating along the dark path toward the exit. Stella felt exhaustion kick in. She was drifting in and out of consciousness as minutes passed and her and the strange teen slowly approached the passage outside.

Finally, just as Stella started feeling as if the cave would go on forever, a faint ray of sunlight appeared out of the darkness. It grew brighter and brighter until finally Stella felt the cool ocean spray and the airy breeze she'd thought she would never feel again.

"What in Merlin's beard is that Ras?" Said another Englishman outside. This one too sounded no older than 20.

"I seem to have made a new friend in there," answered the boy carrying Stella.

Welp I guess you can say I'm a little behind schedule 😅

It's been an awfully busy couple of months at work and I apologise to anybody who has been following this story for the delay.
I had to change a few things and rework my plot too so I would advise rereading it from the start.
With that being said I believe the next few chapters are not going to come this late (if Merlin wills it).

Also, plot-wise it's almost done and my next full-on book should be coming soon after this short story is finished!
Can't wait!

Hope you all enjoyed this one!
Paul

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