THE DESCENT OF LOST SOULS
Chapter Eight: On the Edge
_______________________________________________________________________________
To the Reader
This Chapter has references on or contains the following: cursing (cussing), physical violence,
and guns.
______________________________________________________________________________
Day Five of the Quest - One in the morning
Location: Unknown caves, Isle of Crete
Purpose: To find Pegasus and the Scrolls of Passage
Emrys stormed out of the cave. Not caring whether any of the hooded individuals would identify or hurt her, she pulled off the mask and the robes. She then disgustingly flung them as far away from her as possible.
Her eyes vividly reflected the years of hatred, pain, and guilt. The Master conveniently revived her innermost anger through his words of mockery. Her hands clenched into fists – ready to hurt anyone who blocked her way.
As of now, she was too infuriated to remember that she was here to save Pegasus and retrieve the Scrolls of Passage. She felt as if she were about to explode. All she cared about was to vent out the pent-up anger smoldering inside her since she left the United States with Yugi and Jonouchi.
Emrys' Point-of-View
Unbelievable!
The hooded, moronic freak had the nerve to play mind games with me. He even had the bloody audacity to tell me about love. Shit! What does he know about it?
More mind-boggling was that I let him tell me such pseudo-philosophical garbage. That babble of his was much worse than those boring archeological armchair discussions that Uncle Arthur and I used to go to years ago. I now walk out of this cave without Pegasus, and without any Scrolls in my hands.
What a waste of time!
That hooded Master. Such a stupid bastard! If it were not for Pegasus and those Scrolls, I would be staying far away from this God-forsaken place.
A cloaked figure then brushed against my left arm, and grabbed it.
For a split second, I was jarred back to reality. The blood rose to my brain, my ears throbbed, my semi-sprained left arm ached from his hold, and my adrenaline pumped.
Instantaneously, I grabbed him by the collar, slammed him against the tree, and grasped his throat.
The hooded figure fought for air. Eventually, a choked and hoarse voice begged, "Let go! It's me!"
I remembered this voice!
With a frown, I whispered in disbelief while not letting go of my hold, "Pegasus?"
With feet still suspended from the ground and voice still choked up, the cloaked man hissed, "Yes! Put me down!"
My brain turned to jelly. I could not believe that I almost choked to death the very person I came here to save. Letting him go, and then watching him catch his breath; I asked him, "What are you doing here?"
He spat, "I've been captured, remember?"
I replied with the same tinge of biting sarcasm, "No, you nut! What I meant to ask was what were you doing outside? I went inside looking for you!"
"I knocked somebody out cold, stole this robe and mask, and got away. I should be asking you the same thing."
With hands crossed over my chest, I reiterated, "I just came from inside that cave looking for you!"
"Shhh!" he whispered to me, as he widened his eye and placed his index finger on top of his lips.
I turned around and heard voices.
We jumped behind the bushes as quickly but as quietly as possible.
One robed man entered the mouth of another cave.
I nudged Pegasus with my elbow. I then told him, as I pointed, "Over there!"
His eye further widened in disbelief, as he read what I was thinking through my eyes. He whispered in a frustrated and nervous voice, "We're not leaving this cursed place? Why?"
Meeting his gaze, I responded, "The Scrolls. I have a hunch...."
Still shocked, he asked in an angered high-pitched whisper, "We're staying here because of your hunch?"
I glowered at him. "Shhh! Do you want your answers or not, Mister Crawford?" Without waiting for his response, I darted out from the bushes to the cave entrance that I pointed out.
He followed right behind me. His face reflected his resentment and nervousness over my reckless decision.
For a while, we went through circuitous pathways that seemed to lead nowhere. Eventually, we traveled upward and deeper in the heart of the cave.
Once we reached the heart of the cave, we stood before a large open area. Just like the cave where I have spoken with the hooded Master, the center was elevated about seven feet from the ground. The elevated throne area emphasized the ornately carved throne studded with semi-precious jewels, as well as the stone-cold hematite statue of a faceless royal woman that stood behind the throne.
Pegasus gasped when he saw the throne room, and most especially the statue.
After scanning the area, I ran up the stone staircase. I then examined the throne and the statue – hoping for clues on where to find the Scrolls. Running and tapping my fingers through the ornate carvings of the throne, I noticed something.
Wait a minute – there was a hollow sound coming from the right-hand side of the throne's leg!
Examining the area more closely, there was a hollow cylindrical part on the throne's leg. All I needed to do now was to pop the cylinder open and see what is in it.
I applied pressure on the middle of the hollow part of the leg. Using my palm, I noticed that the wood protruded the more it turned clockwise. Eventually, I pulled out the hollow wood cylinder from the throne.
Pegasus stood behind me and asked, "What is it?"
Looking inside the cylinder, my eyes widened. I carefully pulled out its contents, and produced papyruses.
After skimming through the hieratic written on each papyrus, I then looked up to Pegasus. With a wide smile of satisfaction painted on my face, I whispered, "This is what I'm looking for – the Scrolls!"
Without wasting another minute, I removed the backpack and reached in for the resin containers. I inserted each of the three Scrolls inside cylindrical tubes. After the Scrolls were secure, I put them inside my backpack.
"You're very clever, young one. You now have what you seek from us," said a deep booming voice from behind us.
Pegasus and I turned around.
It was the hooded Master, along with a mob of cloaked followers. My companion's face turned pale with fright, while mine felt red with anger. We abruptly stood up, so that we could make a quick escape.
However, a sea of hooded followers now blocked the entrance to this throne room.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Pegasus stare at me. "I know they're evil, but exactly how dangerous are these people?"
Two cloaked followers slowly ascended the stone stairs – trying to inch their way closer to us. With my eyes vigilantly scanning the area, my hands quickly pulled out the guns from my holster.
That move of mine prompted my platinum-haired companion to comment, "I had to ask.... Stupid me...."
As more cloaked individuals attempted to climb the stairs, I cocked both guns. Aiming the guns toward them, I yelled to the Master and his cronies, "Stay back!"
A wide-eyed Pegasus demanded, "What are you doing?"
With my sights transfixed on the hooded men, I hissed, "Are you talking about these two shiny things in each hand? I call them protection – especially if you want to come out of this cave alive!"
The Master coldly said, "As I said before, crest-wielder, we won't stop you. Your companion, however, must stay here with us."
Thinking that their Master distracted me, the hooded figures continued ascending the stairs. A handful of the robed followers then rushed gung-ho, in an attempt to capture us.
I then did what must be done: shoot.
Aiming for the shins, I fired shots from both guns to those who are closest to us.
Five followers fell and rolled down the stairs. The five knocked some of their companions from their feet, and caused the others to back away from us.
I then cocked the guns again with each hand. Glowering at the Master, I said, "That's nothing compared to what I have in mind!"
With a deeper voice, the Master said, "If you want to save your companion, then hand over the scrolls and come with us…."
I spat, "Over my dead body."
"You two will never come out of this cavern alive!"
With defiance glaring from my eyes and deep-rooted hatred burning inside, I said through gritted teeth, "Do you think I'm afraid to die? So help me, you'll never lay a hand on him!"
Pegasus ran away from the scene. For a split second, I turned around and noticed two openings twenty feet away from where I stood. My companion ran towards the left-hand opening.
Musing, I then said to myself, "Shit! Why the hell did he have to run over there?"
I inched back. Each backward step of mine became bigger. Seconds later, I turned around and sprinted away from the mob.
I ran even faster, as the bullets whizzed past me. I then pulled my guns, faced sideways, and ran while shooting at them. Once all the bullets were gone, I placed the guns in my holster, and ran as quickly as I could. By that time, I did not look back.
Catching up with Pegasus, and with bullets still flying and ricocheting against the cave walls, I yelled to him, "I've got your back! Don't look behind you, or they'll catch up on us!"
Pegasus glanced behind him. As he confirmed that I was right behind him, the fear on his face settled. After running towards a seemingly endless path, my companion exclaimed, "I see a light! We're almost there!"
Upon reaching the light, he then stopped dead in his tracks and jumped back.
My reprimanding loud voice bounced against the cave walls. "God, Pegasus! Now is not the fucking time to stop! What the hell are you doing?"
Eventually, I saw for myself the very reason why he stopped.
We now stood side-by-side at the end of a cliff. A long way down from where we stood was a body of water, along with a cluster of jagged boulders.
So now, we had two choices: jump from the cliff into the unknown, or surrender to our pursuers.
End of Chapter Eight
___________________________________________________________________________
Author's Side Notes
Okey dokey, my dear folks....
So will they be able to run away from the hooded men? What will they do?
To find out the answer to this question, as well as other questions looming inside your mind, tune in for the next chapter - or e-mail me. However, if you do e-mail me, just remember that I will not give out my plot :-D
Zatken
Normal Disclaimer
Yu-Gi-Oh, Dark Elf, Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the Seal of Orichalchos magic card are the copyrighted properties of Kazuki Takahashi.
Alexandra Emrys, Yoshiko, the Order of Orichalchos, the Scrolls of Passage, The Portal of Osiris, The Dead Incantations, duel monster card Rhea, duel monster card Cronus, ritual magic card The Birth of Poseidon, ritual monster card Poseidon Lord of the Seas, other original characters, as well as this fanfic, are the properties of the author.
This fanfic is written for entertainment purposes only - thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.