The shaking started abruptly. It wasn't even gradual.
As the earth beneath their feet trembled violently, they could hear the rumbles in the distance. Helen screamed and hung on to Briseis. The anger that Briseis was feeling just a few moments ago drained away and was replaced by the grim feeling of doom.
Earthquake.
When she was little, Briseis remembered the tremors of the earth. Sometimes they were slight and caused no problems, gone before they had barely even started, but other times they wore on agonizingly minute by minute, collapsing buildings and leaving cracks on the face of the earth. They hadn't had one of those for years. What had they done to anger the Gods now?
No time to reason, Briseis decided. In panic, Helen grabbed Briseis' hand and pulled her back towards their cabins. Yet all they could do was to keep their balance. Briseis resisted, though not completely sure why.
The rumbling in the distance grew louder.
"Helen!" She tugged and tried to calm her friend. "They would be safe back there! And, and I think we should stay where we are! It's too risky to do anything else!" She shouted over the wind and the rattling of stones on the ground.
Helen looked at her, fear in her eyes and Briseis tried to hide her own fear. Where was Achilles?
The two women huddled together. Briseis knew enough to steer clear of the trees, many of them looked brittle and weak. Sure enough, a moment later, a towering oak swayed and fell to the ground near where they stood. Helen shuddered at the crash.
They could no longer stand, the shaking was too violent. Instead they knelt on their knees, looking fearfully around them in case something larger might crush them, or the earth opened and cracked. Briseis prayed furiously, fighting against the sense of foreboding that was beginning to freeze her insides. There was a reason for her deciding against going back. There was safety, as she'd told Helen, but deep down, she knew that she was reluctant to go anywhere without finding Achilles first, and know that he was safe.
Helen fought the strong tugs at her stomach, the waves of nausea.
The rumbling grew louder.
Briseis closed her eyes and prayed, not feeling Helen's tense fingers digging into her arm. Then she became aware of the sound. Her eyes snapped open. The rumbling wasn't in the distance anymore. Terrified, she raised her head in the direction of the mountain that now stood over them.
Boulders, large enough to crush men, put gaping holes in houses and ships, were rushing down at an impossible speed, crashing and spitting clouds of dust and grit everywhere. It would have been a magnificent sight if not for the fact that Helen and she were directly in their path. Helen seemed to realize the danger in that same second. She froze, whimpering.
Briseis did not know where she found the strength, or the courage to do anything at that moment. Although her body was stiff and her legs protested as she sprang up. She struggled to drag Helen on her feet, keeping a watchful eye at the land slide. They had all of ten seconds, max, before they would be flattened. Briseis tried not to think.
Helen had fainted. Briseis realized with a sinking feeling in her stomach. There was no way on earth that she would be able to get both of them out of the line of danger. It was a near impossible task as it was. She knelt down and tried unsuccessfully to revive the pregnant woman. The feelings of helplessness tore at her. She would not leave Helen behind. She closed her eyes and asked for guidance.
"Briseis!" Her prayers were answered.
She had never heard a more welcoming voice. She looked up and saw him. His brows were furrowed, his gaze intense, growing more so as he too sensed the danger hurtling towards them at horrifying speeds.
"Achilles!" she called out, her voice lost in the deafening roarcaused bythe clashes of rocks.
Achilles could not believe his eyes. He did not go through all that, they did not go through all that to lose each other again. It was almost foolish, absurd. But the rolling boulders were too much of a reality. Three hard sprints and he was by their side. They had not a second to lose.
With a strength that awed even him, he deftly picked up Helen, and with a firm hold on Briseis' arm, yanked them out of the way. Just as the first of the rocks came crashing down through the exact spot where they had been a moment before. Achilles could not think. He just trusted his instinct and pulled them further into the woods, hoping that the trees would offer them more protection against the landslide.
But they had not passed the test entirely.
With a violent jerk that threw them off balance and a sickening snap, Briseis deemed the sound quite odd and inappropriate when she thought about it later, considering what had happened next.
The earth split open. And not just one big crack either.
It was almost as if the ground had gotten a burn and started peeling. Tiny slivers born at the edge of the mountain and grew in width and depth as they quickly spread out in a spider web fashion. Briseis felt her heart jump to her throat. All thoughts of their past problems were forgotten, her argument with Helen, the fear of being found out, Andromache's grudge. All her energy was riveted on survival.
Achilles was apprehensive. Nervousness bubbled under his skin. It was different from fear. This was something he had no control over, couldn't try to predict or understand. There was no need or use to fear Mother Nature. He could only try to avoid and deal with Her wrath. The adrenaline in his bloodstream didn't leave room for worries. His first instinct wasto stand and face the source of the problem. That was how he was brought up. That was how he had faced every opponent, every fight. And he had won nearly every damn one. This was no different. Meet the dangers head on. Run to the heart of it.
His head cleared.
"Follow me!" He shouted back as he shifted his hold on the unconscious woman over his shoulder. The look of trust Briseis shot him was enough to warm him, although he knew that if this was a mistake, it could be the last look he'd ever receive from her.
More trees collapsed, giants, old, rotten roots that had long lost their hold onto the earth. A little jostle brought them crashing down.
"Watch out!" Briseis screamed, coming to a sudden stop.
Achilles looked up just in time to catch the sight of an old withered tree with scraggly branches topple and sway dangerous right at him. He reacted. Grabbing hold of a low branch of a nearby tree, with Helen still limp over his shoulder, he pulled back, and using the momentum, propelled them to slide just under the falling trunk of the tree, a split second before it crashed to the ground.
Briseis scrambled backwards.
"Briseis!" Achilles turned back, and saw that they were separated by the cursed tree, which was sinking into a crack on the surface that was growing by the second.
"I'm fine!" she called back. Then the tree disappeared into the gaping crack. Involuntarily Briseis looked down and shuddered.The spacewas dark and menacing and threatening to swallow her.
"Briseis, hold on!" His heart raced.
Before he could do anything though, Briseis took a deep breath, then took a flying leap over the growing hole in the ground, wincing as her ankle landed in an awkward position. She could scarcely believe what she just did.
Neither could Achilles.
Somehow she found the strength to grin. "I couldn't let you have all the fun."
Achilles could only gape at her as she quickly stepped over the branches and caught up with him. Smaller bits of rocks were still flying down, fast enough to knock them out. Briseis pushed them out of the way of a boulder, ignoring her throbbing ankle.
Still shaken, Achilles asked, "Where, did you learn to do that?"
"I adapt fast," Briseis pushed a lock of tangled hair out of her face and smiled again, "So where are we going?"
Achilles shifted his gaze. Following his eyes, Briseis saw a hole. A hole in the mountainside.
"That place?"
Without a word Achilles leaped over a small pile of rubble and hurried towards the cave. Briseis followed closely behind, dumbstruck and not at all reassured.
Just as they ducked inside, more of the mountain fell, missing their heads by inches. What was worse, it covered the little hole that they'd just crawled through. They were sealed inside.
And that didn't exactly make her feel better.