Chapter ten: A letter from "A friend"
Lupis stopped and turned to her. He ran back and started whining.
Dan screeched to a stop, trying not to fall in. "Whoa, what is this?" He stepped back to get a better look without falling inside. "Alex?"
Alex slowly got up. She looked up.
It was a way up.
She started to try to climb out when she heard it again.
She turned seeing a torch lit tunnel. "I'm ok! I see a lot tunnel down here!" She called back. "And the calling is a lot louder!"
"Hang on, let me get something and I'll be right there!" He shouted.
"Ok!" She replied. She looked around as she waited.
Lupis leapt down to her.
Dan ran passed the test lab and back with a pickaxe. "Look out below!" He yelled, jumping into the hole.
It was a long drop, yet he still managed land on his feet.
Alex turned to him. "Nice landing." She told him.
Lupis shook the dust off him.
"Thanks." Dan replied, resting the pickaxe on his shoulder. "Now, do you still hear voices?"
"Yeah. They are from the tunnel it sounds like."
"Um. Are you sure they're not just zombies?" He questioned.
"No. It's not zombies moaning. It's talking. Saying my name."
Dan went beside her, looking towards the tunnel. "That's just strange."
She nodded as she headed down it.
As they walked, they saw hand carvings on the rock wall.
It seemed to tell a story of some sort but it was hard to read.
Alex kept going, weaving through the tunnels.
She saw a doorway like passage ahead of them. "It's from in there."
It did look like a dungeon, although Dan was just staring at the door...
Maybe this wasn't a dungeon.
He glanced at Alex. "I would knock but they are calling your name..."
Alex nodded. She stepped inside.
The room only had a small beam of light shining in the center of it.
She started to approach it.
Once in the light, the torches all lit up and the room glowed with the fire as shadows danced on the walls.
Alex was standing in the middle of a mosaic like design on the floor.
She stood in the center circle, which was slightly larger than the others.
There were pedestals in each circle as well.
Dan was now standing a couple steps back from the doorway with wide eyes.
He slowly approached the room again, looking inside. "What the-what is this thing?"
Alex didn't reply.
Instead she was staring at the pedestal in front of her.
A glowing book hovering on it, beckoning her to take it.
She reached out for it.
Dan watched from the sidelines, feeling uncomfortable as she did so.
Alex carefully picked it up.
It opened all on its own and she gasped.
Words started to appear inside it.
"Alex, I do not have a lot of time to explain. You will be waking up soon."
Alex looked confused. She started to ask when it answered her.
"I know you're confused. Wake up? What does it mean wake up? You will be awaking into your world very soon. You can already feel it tugging on you as we speak."
Alex did indeed feel a tug.
She kept reading.
"Alex. You are the chosen leader. You will gather a team of people and lead them to defend the worlds against and defeat the darkness. Now. You and Daniel must return to Lab before you awaken. I recommend him logging out before you. Leave this book in a chest for him to read when you are gone."
Alex glanced at Dan.
"I know I this is a lot to process, and you don't remember much. But just know and remember. This isn't a dream. And you will be returning. Now, go."
Alex finally spoke up. "Who are you?" she asked.
"A friend. You will find out my name when you return."
The book then shut and laid in her hands.
She turned to Dan.
"Ok. What just happened?" He asked Alex.
Alex stared down at the book. "I'm not sure. But it said we needed to get back to the lab." She replied, looking back up at him.
Dan raised any eyebrow. "Wait, the book was talking to you?"
She nodded. "It was like it was reading my thoughts and then it wrote a reply." She explained.
Dan glanced at the book and back at her. "Then we better get back to the lab." He replied.
She nodded. "Yeah." She quickly started to head back the way they came.
"Out of curiosity, what did the book tell you?" He asked while they walked through the tunnels.
Alex looked at him as they walked. "It said that I was "The Chosen Leader" of a team of people or something... To fight against darkness? I didn't really understand..." She explained.
"It might explain it more later... I don't know." She shrugged.
Then she remembered what else it had said.
"It also said that... I'd be waking up into my world very soon..." She repeated what it had told her.
"I don't really know what that means though...and I don't really want too... It also suggested that you log out before I do and told me that this isn't a dream and that I'd be back. It didn't give me its name..."
Dan seemed to speed up his steps. "Then we better hurry." He replied.
They soon reached the hole that led back into the lab.
Luckily it was climbable.
She started to climb up after putting the book in her pocket.
Dan stood behind her with open arms in case she fell backwards.
She made it up and then waited for him.
Lupis had climbed out first.
He climbed out of the hole and quickly headed for the test lab. "Alright. So, I need to log out before you do?" He asked, making sure he heard the steps correctly.
She nodded. "That's what it suggested..." she replied, seeming a little nervous about leaving the only place she knew.
Dan walked into the test lab and looked back Alex.
She was trying to stay focused on everything around her.
The tug was growing stronger.
She headed to a chest and put the book inside it.
Dan sat down on the bed and took notice of her putting the book away. "You're leaving the book behind?"
"It told me too. When you log back in, it said it wanted you to read it." She explained.
He nodded. "Ok. I'll...be going then."
"Wait!" Alex snatched his sleeve.
She looked upset and kind of scared.
"Will I see you again?" She asked.
She was about to leave the only people, place, and things she remembered/knew.
It was a terrifying thought that she wouldn't see them again.
Dan blinked at her sudden outburst but understood why she reacted this way.
He was wondering what was going to happen to her.
"Listen Alex." He started. "I don't know what's going to happen once you log out, but if you're out there I'll be sure to find you."
She gave a small nod. "Ok..." she agreed. "I... I'll see you soon then?" She asked.
Dan slightly smiled. "I'll see you soon." He repeated.
She gave him a quick hug. "Ok. Bye."
"Bye." He said before laying back down.
Once he closed his eyes, he disappeared from the world.
Alex took a deep breath.
She felt the tug pulling her.
She laid down on the floor and let her eyes close.
(This ends the Prologue. I would love feedback if anyone's interested in reading the rest.)