Basically, Pai feels like he is having the air squeezed out of him. The darkness all around him is constricting. He can hardly breathe, let alone warn Lettuce to watch her step. 'what on earth could shatter all this brick on the floor?' Pai wonders, and immediately regrets it. Now every shadow takes on the form of a hungry demon ready to pounce. Pai hurries to catch up with Lettuce.
"Hold the lighter steady!" calls Candy, who is in the lead. "The path gets even rougher." Lettuce mentally groans. She finds it hard to believe the bricks could get any more crudely-constructed and dangerously placed than they are now. And that's a lot of out-of-place bricks. Candy, of course, is doing just fine. Being a ghost, she can project a physical force for picking things up and such, but she can also glide right through them. Which is what she is doing now. Gliding weightlessly around. That, and ignoring her partners evil eye's.
suddenly, they hear a sound like many, many legs stepping on the brick floor behind them. Lettuce whirls around, in the process extinguishing the flame on the lighter. She fumbles for the switch, and in a moment the light is back. Of course, Lettuce almost drops it in horror of what she sees. In front of Pai, who has turned around, is the biggest spider Lettuce has ever seen. literally. It is much bigger that her and Pai's weight combined. It has fangs bigger than a humans head, each tipped with large, tusk-like protrusions clearly designed to spit venom. The spider opens it's fangs, revealing a mouth as red as blood, filled it sharp teeth larger than Pai's hand. "Oh, darn. That would be a arachnian bloodlust. They roam the tunnels down here, and eat people whole," says Candy.
Lettuce doesn't know what to do as the spider approaches Pai, clearly ravenous. Suddenly, she has an Idea. From inside her small purse, she pulls out a handkerchief. She lights one of the corners on fire and hands the lighter to Candy, who takes it without protest. Then Lettuce steps hesitantly forwards, towards Pai, who is trying to slowly back away. Lettuce leans back and throws the burning handkerchief with all her might. The spider lets out a roar loud enough to shake the tunnel as the tissue hits it square in 6 of it's sixteen eyes.
With that, Lettuce grabs Pai and runs. Candy takes the hint and starts running as well. the flame on the cigarette lighter flickers violently as they run as fast as their legs will carry them away from the beast. When they finally stop, Pai collapses, followed quickly by Lettuce. Candy sits on a small pile of bricks and holds the blessed lighter. "Are... you... okay?" Lettuce chokes out between pants. Pai nods. "You... saved... my... life," Pai says. "It... was... no... biggie," Lettuce gasps. Candy shakes her head. Man, her partners are out of shape.
Pai stands, and helps Lettuce up as well. They brush themselves off, and try not to look like two kindergarteners who were home alone when the power went off. of course, the fact that Lettuce is shaking and Pai is clinging to Lettuce's jacket (Which he returned a bit ago.) gives the two away. "Geez, you two! What're you gonna do when we reach the rooms down here? There are worse things than arachnian bloodlusts," Candy says in exasperation. "Don't start crying and making out, for crying out loud!" Lettuce and Pai blush and take a step away from each other.
Meanwhile, Melody is walking along. She has the stone she found in her pocket. It obviously has to be special, or it wouldn't be carved with such ornate precision. She is humming to ward off anything in the rather damp corridor she has found. It looks old.
Melody walks along, happily oblivious to the darkness in the tunnel. Primarily because of the candle and matchbox she found. The shadows melt away from her as she approaches, wondering what lies at the end of the tunnel. The air is warm enough that Melody is content. She honestly can't think of anything else she needs at the moment. The cider and Lemon tart filled her up nicely. Which is terribly convenient, considering McDonald's isn't exactly just around the corner. Besides, even if it was, Melody doesn't have any money right now. Although this is the last place on earth one would expect to see a fast food establishment.
Melody suddenly stops. She turns around and looks at the base of the wall, where she could swear she saw something glittering. Sure enough, there is a pendant of emerald and gold laying there. For some reason, the gem bigger than Melody's fingertip seems to ring a bell. It seems to remind her of something...
she is sitting in the middle of a field, surrounded by wildflowers. they sway gently against her. she is holding in her hand a necklace with an emerald bigger than her fingertip...
Melody starts. Where had that memory come from. In Boston, where she lives, There certainly weren't any fields like that. And she and Lettuce rarely left Boston. they had everything they needed in the city, without having to go elsewhere. So where was the field? And why was the emerald pendant just lying on the floor?
Melody slips it around her neck. It feels familiar, somehow, like she has worn it before. But when?
Meanwhile, in the room, the girl wakes up suddenly. she reaches for her bracelet, and flips open the mirror charm. It flashes emerald before turning back to plain glass. 'so, she has found the pendant. then maybe she is the one.' With that, the girl leans back to dream pleasant dreams of sunny days in soft meadows...