Chapter 8
By the time Link could bring himself to look through the ancient iron bars of his cell, his shadowy twin was gone.
"Come back here!" Link yelled angrily down the hallway, pounding his fists on the thick wood. He clenched his teeth and slumped against the wall, sitting on the cold, damp stone floor. Now what was he going to do? He was stuck in a cell with hundred-year-old skeletons.
It occurred to him that he should try to find a way out before the Glode rock failed. He scanned the small room. As far as he could tell, its only contents were the pile of bones, some chains, ragged scraps of cloth, that scepter, and himself.
Maybe there was more than one key for the cell. He could try to reach across the hallway with the scepter and pick up one of the rings. It was worth a try, anyway. Link slowly stood up, stretching his arms, and then reached to pick up the scepter.
It was then that he noticed the grating on the floor. A way out! But...why would they put one in the cell? Why were there still bodies in here? Shouldn't they have escaped?
"I don't care," Link decided, working his fingers under the iron grill, "it's an escape tunnel and I'm using it." Suddenly he stopped. Something smelled funny. Like...rotten eggs, or something. He looked around for a few seconds, sniffing at the air, but couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Suddenly, a sheet of iron slid down in front of the door, sealing it off completely. Something felt horribly wrong about this whole thing. He turned back to the grating, and then his hands shot back, his eyes bulging out of his head. A cloud of greenish gas was pouring into the room through the rusty grating, rising to the ceiling.
"TAAAEEL!" Link yelled, slumping back against the far wall.
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Tael had explored plenty of small rooms, but none of them contained anything other than dust, charred pieces of old furniture, and crumbling stone. It occurred to him that the passageway could be anywhere...maybe even hidden under a tile in one of the rooms.
But it'd take forever to look in each one, and he couldn't lift anything that big without Link. He glanced back down the hallway, biting the inside of his cheek, trying to decide whether he should go back. Suddenly he heard footsteps and a low, raspy cough, sounding if the cougher's throat were full of phlegm. He ducked into a nearby doorway, hiding under a piece of a burnt chair to try to hide his light.
It could've been Link, but he knew the sound of Dark Link's voice by now. The cough sounded too much like Dark, and he wasn't taking his chances. Besides, Link had that light-up rock. The glow would've been visible if it were him. Tael sat there under the collapsed chair, waiting for the footsteps to pass.
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Link decided he had to do something. Tael wasn't coming, and the room was filling up with gas quickly. If the vent passed under the other cells, maybe he could get through, find a cell with an open door and get out. He'd have to crawl through, holding his breath. It seemed crazy, but he decided he had no other choice. He was starting to feel a little dizzy.
The rusty grating lifted easily, and he turned away, taking a few deep gulps of clean air. On the third inhale, he held it and then dove into the duct, pulling the grating closed behind him. He closed his eyes to keep the stinging gas out, and scrambled through the small tunnel, slapping his right hand against the ceiling to feel for more openings.
His breath was soon used up with all that frantic movement. By now, it didn't matter whether he took in a breath or held it, he felt like he would die either way. Finally giving in, he gulped in the green cloud, coughing at the heat and the disgusting taste.
His eyes started watering, and his arms stopped working. His legs soon followed, and finally, with the last of his struggling breaths throbbing through his head, the rest of his body slumped to the floor of the duct, and the sound of breathing was gone from the tunnel.
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Tael cautiously peeked out into the hallway to confirm that Dark was gone. There was no sign of him any more, so he relaxed. He had to go warn Link. Suddenly, he realized that the shadow had been heading in the direction Tael had come. The cough had come from in front of him, and he had heard the footsteps pass by the door.
That thought got his adrenaline running, and he realized with horror that he wouldn't be able to warn Link, if his dark twin were really heading that way. Dark Link was between the two, and Tael couldn't risk being seen. He quickly decided to follow the shadow slowly. It was all he could do to keep himself from bursting into a yell and zooming down the tunnel frantically.
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Dark Link opened the ventilation ducts that would release the gas outside, and after a few minutes of waiting, pulled the lever that released the locks on the cell doors. The screech of the mechanical doors sliding back up into place echoed through the hallway. He didn't have much time. The sleeping gas would wear off soon, and then he would lose his chance.
Sure, he could've left Link in his cell to starve, but this was just a whole lot more fun. The sleeping gas shut down his system temporarily, and when he came to, he'd be too weak to defend himself, especially considering he only had one good hand, which he wasn't used to.
A gasp of anguish and anger escaped his lips when he peered into the cell. There was nothing but bones and dust. That was the cell he had trapped Link in, wasn't it? Maybe he had forgotten. He would have to quickly check the other dungeon wing on the other side of the castle to find out.
After examining the cell just to make sure, he scratched his head and then left toward the other dungeon wing. Link couldn't have escaped from there with those iron shutters over the doors. He grumbled to himself worriedly as he strode back down the hallway. He had really been looking forward to this...
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Tael came out from his hiding spot behind a door and peeked into the hallway Dark Link had come from. It was where Link and Tael had split up. He flew through the doorway and looked around the long room. Rows of barred doors lined one wall. He peeked into the first one and his eyes grew wide.
Skeletons littered the floor. Tael quickly moved on to the next one to find the same thing. Suddenly, he heard a groan from inside. He looked back and forth but didn't see anything, so cautiously flew between the bars in the window.
"Link? Is that you?" he whispered quietly, looking around at the piles of yellowed bones.
"I'm in here," came the weak, dry voice again. Tael looked down and saw the edge of an iron grate in the floor, half covered in bones. Something was moving underneath it. He looked more closely and then jerked backwards as it started raising.
Link's head popped out. Dark bags had appeared under his eyes, and his lids were half closed. His skin was an unnaturally dull color.
"It's kind of hard to move, but I'm ok," he said with much effort. "I'm not really sure what's going on, though. Why are we here, anyway? And where is here? I can't see anything, it's too dark."
He was answered with a silent stare from Tael.
"Look, just help me get out. Maybe I'll feel better after a while."
"I think this cell is locked," Tael answered, still staring at Link's head. It turned around to look around, and when he looked back at Tael he had wide, confused eyes. "But you can try it. I can't do anything to help you get out of there, though. I'm too small."
Link nodded and then struggled to pull himself out. Tael watched with wonder at how weak he seemed. The boy was barely able to pull himself out, and when he got out, he rolled onto his back, gasping for breath, and closed his eyes.
"Link, come on! Dark is here! We need to get out!"
"I could've told you that. I can barely see a thing."
"No! Dark Link! That weird shadowy guy who looks just like you!" Tael shouted before he realized that the very person he was talking about could be close enough to hear that.
"I have no idea what you're talking about! Just let me rest! I won't be going anywhere until I start feeling better, anyway..." Link rolled on his side, turning his back to Tael, who hovered there, staring at him worriedly. What was wrong with this kid? Dark Link could come back any moment. He had to figure out a way to get Link to get out of there!
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