CHAPTER VIII – THE BLACK JUNGLE
Kei and Mina awoke out of the Force Plane to find themselves falling down the side of the mountain they had landed on when they first arrived on Krenolie. Using the Force to brace their fall took all of their energy and they allowed their bodies to collapse onto the moist jungle floor in temporary exhaustion afterwards. What they had just gone through on the Force Plane hit them much harder than when they had destroyed each other dueling after they first met. It wasn't just the way they were destroyed that hurt, but also the fact that they had allowed themselves to be divided at the very end. It was their undoing.
On top of that, there was still the bit of doubt in each other that lingered after the duel. They both tried to shake it from their minds, but they kept sensing each other's frustration and conflict and it just made everything worse. They rested their eyes and tried to meditate, but they both began to drift into sleep. Many bright red pupils burst open in their mind's eye and let out a piercing sound that shook them to their core. Their eyes opened and they attempted to calm their minds once more, but sleep came again and so did the eyes and piercing sound. They realized that it was some kind of being or creature that lived in this jungle that preyed on the minds of anyone that fell asleep here.
The jungle was made up of mostly black foliage and dark blue-green pools that covered the ground. Kei began walking further into the jungle toward one of the pools, but Mina stopped him and gave a reminder that they needed to travel to the East side of the mountain which was on the other side of where they had fallen into. They both still felt exhausted and wanted to sleep. They realized that it wasn't just the fatigue from their mental duel, but that whatever was in this forest that was causing them to feel that way. The jungle was very quiet and there didn't seem to be anything but them, the pools and the dark colored foliage in it. No other living things. In fact, it wasn't the trees that had the Force running through them, but something else. The trees had almost no life to them. Neither did the water.
They kept moving and at the very edge of the Jungle, Kei turned back to look at where they came from and a figure stood up out of one of the dark blue green pools. Its eyes flashed and Kei's heart began feeling like it was going to stop. He fell to the ground, clutching his chest, using the Force to keep his heart from stopping completely. Mina came in quickly and ignited her lightsaber, sending it spinning aggressively at the figure. It moved quickly, but her saber was quicker and it sliced through its head.
The shriek they had heard in their minds earlier pierced through their ears for a moment before the Jungle went silent again. Kei stopped shaking and lay down, catching his breath. Sweat dripped from his face as he got back to his feet and followed Mina out of the jungle and onto the descent up the mountain. They didn't turn back to look into the jungle or they would have seen several more figures rising from the many pools.
As they bounded up several of the mountain's trails, they realized just how tall the mountain was and how they would have to find a way through it if they were ever going to get to the other side. They stopped for a moment to feel things out. It was a good excuse to not have to think about what they had just experienced back in the jungle.
One of the trails led high up the mountain into dark pink clouds. There was an unusually high concentration of Force energy coming from there which did not feel right. The other trails cut off abruptly at various places on the mountain side as it got steeper and more treacherous. Mina noticed the large flat protruding area they had landed on when they arrived on the planet and suggested they travel there.
Kei didn't argue as he was still a bit shaken. The area was also not too far from where they were now. They felt less tired than they had earlier and used the Force to augment their speed as they jumped onto various rock outcroppings to make their way up swiftly. They reached the flat area and found it empty. It looked a lot larger without the ship on it. Kei tried to empty his mind to shake his confusion, but remained vigilant. The last thing he wanted was to encounter another creature that preyed on his mind. What sort of world had they been sent to?
Kei came out of his thoughts to find Mina examining a large crack in the rock wall on the edge of the landing area. She quickly reached out her hand and pushed the crack with Force shockwaves. It began to split open. Kei rushed over to join her in using their shockwaves to make the crack larger and larger until an opening was revealed. The opening they had created lead into a series of caves deep in the mountain. Perhaps this would be their way through.
Before entering, they both checked out the edge of the landing area to see if it continued around the side of the mountain. It didn't and looking back down into the black jungle made their temples hurt and their hearts sink. From where they were, it was either up into the clouds or into the tunnel. They decided to try their luck with the tunnel. After taking a few steps in, they ignited their lightsabers and walked into the unknown.