Chapter 17- The Last Tunnel

So I'm planning on writing a lot for this chapter but I'm not sure because I always write these before I write the actual chapter and yeah. It's spring break and I really should've updated sooner but I was finishing up an old TV show that I stopped watching in the middle of the school year and I finally finished it and it makes me cry so much and I feel so inadequate watching it but still. I also started watching AmazingPhil and danisnotonfire on youtube so that waspretty distracting too. So enjoy.

Fang

"The Human Prince," the Chief says in disgust.

Oh joy, yet another human-hater.

"What's he doing here?" he says to Max.

Max rolls her eyes, "Because he can help. Now, moving on, I believe that there's four people here that may have information for me."

"Right, Your Grace," the Chief says. He turns to a guard, "Summon the guests."

Shifters then, I guessed. If they were guests and not prisoners, they would have to be guests.

"Why is the human here anyways?" Dylan spoke up.

"The human's got a name," I growl.

Max looks like she's about to answer but she doesn't. Instead she looks at me in question, "Why are you here?"

I can't stop the flash of hurt that shows through for just a second.

"Wait, I didn't mean that I didn't want you here," she laughs, "I just meant why are you here?"

I shrug, "I don't have anywhere else to go, my mom's got a death sentence placed on your head, I'm interested in helping. Iggy's here to help me." Iggy takes this as a cue to jump on my back and whoop in agreement.

Max looks at me for a second before turning back to Dylan, "And there you have it."

Dylan scowls and the doors burst open.

Max

"Your Grace, may I introduce Star, Kate, Holden and Ratchet," the Chief gestures to a group of raggedly dressed, obviously worn-out shifters. They start to kneel when they see me.

"Stop it, get up," I say, mildly annoyed, "I'm Max, that's Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, my sister Angel and my mother. How long have you guys been here?"

They get up.

"Two weeks maybe," Kate replies, flinging her dark glossy hair back. Then she adds a hasty, "Your Grace."

I roll my eyes, "Don't call me that. What kind of shifters are you all?"

"I'm a tiger," Kate said, "Star's a pronghorn antelope, Holden's a starfish, and Ratchet's an owl."

I nod, scanning them over. Kate was their obvious leader and Ratchet seemed almost protective of her, guarding over her. Holden looked younger and Star had an obvious disdain for her clothing and everyone else's clothing.

"Tell me how you got here. How did you all get together?" I ask, curious.

"Because we're all so different?" Star speaks up and Kate shoots her a look.

"I was hunting when I almost killed Star," Kate laughs, "She's been traveling with Holden since the purge and Ratchet ran into us when we were traveling through the Hurclen Forest. We hid here when we were trying to get to Cardinal West for help and instead found the city being attacked." Her face turned somber when she talked about the purge.

And Fang chose the perfect time to step out from behind me.

Fang

Let's take 30 seconds to enjoy three shifters lunging at me in slow motion and shouting profanities as they're about to kill me for being the son of the Queen.

It was Kate that saved me, Max just looked amused.

"Stop it," Kate shushes them, "No fighting."

Ratchet looks murderously at me. Great, I have an owl trying to kill me. I feel Iggy and Gazzy come up behind me. Holden goes to back Ratchet up.

"Okay, stop," Max looks between Ratchet and me and glares. "We're probably the only shifters left; let's try not to lower that number."

"She's right," Kate says, pulling Ratchet and Holden behind her, "We've got bigger problems."

"So," Max says, "Do you guys know anything about the Caverns?"

"Not really," Kate says.

"What about the Forbidden Mountains?"

"No-," Kate begins but Ratchet speaks up.

"There's the legend that there's a tunnel under the Mountains," Ratchet says, "Leading from Felhor Caverns to the Unknown lands."

I look at Max, "What's that?"

Max

I turn my head to look at him, channeling the thought "how stupid are you?" It's not just a shifter legend. The Unknown lands are unknown to everybody. Are humans so stupid that they think the whole world exists on the little peninsula that we live on? No one's ever crossed the Forbidden Mountains and came back. Throughout time, the Unknown lands have evolved from being a barren hostile land to the Heaven where everyone thinks they're going to after they've died. No one knows for sure, and no one who's gone there has ever come back.

Gazzy whispers something in his ear and Fang's expression turned from annoyance to a frustrated realization.

"Gazzy, give me the map," I say. He hands it to me and I give it to Ratchet, tracing the last tunnel with my pointer finger, "Do you mean this one?"

"Yeah, but it's been sealed off, or that's what they say." That's it then. It's official.

"We need to find out."

I filled them in with the Itex, the Exemplar Facultas, and our plan. The Chief was so kind to provide us with an empty house that someone had died in and no one moved in since. It was a little creepy but we had nowhere else to stay and I did not want to go to run into another guardian. I was sharing a room with Angel and mom, the boys were staying in another room and Kate, Star, Holden and Ratchet stayed in the kitchen/dining/living room thing. They claimed they were comfortable but I didn't think so.

I couldn't sleep. The bed was comfy enough but my mind wouldn't stop working. I got up and tried to sneak out of the house.

"Going somewhere, Cardinal?" came a low voice behind me. I whirl around to find Fang leaning against the doorway.

"No, I couldn't sleep," I explain and he nods, falling in step with me.

I didn't ask you to walk with me, I thought.

"I can't either," he says.

We walk in silence for a long time. The sharp stones prodded at my feet. The lights in the village were dimmer at night.

You'd think it'd be really quiet in a cave but it isn't. After a while you start to hear the water dripping and the soft pitter-patter of little animals or rodents and what-not. And you hear the hum of the earth.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Fang asks.

"Look for the tunnel, I guess. It's our only shot of survival. Do you honestly think we can stay here forever?"

"Of course not."

"We're coming back, I promise. We'll see what's there and come back for your sisters, okay?"

"Yeah, but Max, no one knows what's out there. We could be killed."

"Then that's a risk I'm willing to take. If you're really willing to help me, you can come too."

He looks at me with such intensity I'm almost trembling, "I'm coming with you, Max," he says finally, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Oh joy," I say sarcastically and smile to let him know I'm joking.

"Come on, let's go back."

PLEASE READ AND ANSWER MY QUESTIONS. IT'S SO DISTRESSING!

Also, have any of you accidentally saw that one trailer for THE PURGE on youtube? I'm afraid to watch it but I'm extremely curious so someone tell me if it's all that scary so I can go watch it. And I realized that I called it the Queen's purge in this story so I'm a bit scared.

So Star's not a cheetah because I decided that would be too predictable. Did anyone see them coming? I didn't. I just decided to do this because I went over my story and decided I needed to tie up some plotholes. I realize because I don't read back on my story that often and don't update daily, there's more plot holes and stuff that generally doesn't make sense. For example, Exemplar Facultas, Cardinal West, and the four people that came to the Graywing village. So there it is: Fang's gang people. I had to do actual research for this and as much as I wanted to avoid any of Fang's gang being birds, Ratchet's powers only applied to owls. So yeah. There it is. Owls can be macho. And protective of Kate. And I couldn't resist the Holden's starfish thing. And plus, there's a lot of grammatical errors due to my lack of editing. I don't remember what chapter it is now, but I'm too lazy to go back and change it. It says "Why way" instead of "Which way" or "What way." I apologize for that. Anyone knows that?

So, tell me what you think in the little box below the story and I will try to update soon.