Disclaimer: I own nothing of importance.
Chapter 6
"Can you reach it?" Noctis grunted, voice strained as he tried to keep Prompto from falling off his shoulders while holding the flame that was their only source of light.
"Not quite," Prompto answered, leaning forward over Noct's head as he reached for the bottom rung. "Can you move a little closer?"
While backtracking from yet another locked door, the blond had spotted something they'd both missed each time they'd passed through the corridor previously- a cement platform above them with a pull-down ladder. While it was too far away to reach by jumping, it looked like they might be able to reach it if one of them sat on the other's shoulders.
Being the slightly taller of the two- and not having an inconveniently located injury -Noctis had volunteered to serve as the base with Prompto on his shoulders. Although a bit leery of the plan, the blond was just as ready to get out of there as the prince. They were both hoping they might have found a way out at last.
Noctis carefully took a step forward, one shoulder against the wall to help him keep his balance. "Close enough?" he bit out, hoping he wouldn't have to take another step. He didn't realize it would be this difficult to carry another person on his shoulders. Gladio practically threw him around like a ragdoll during their training sessions and made it look easy doing it. The flame in his hands flickered and dimmed as his attention wavered.
"Almost... Got it!" Prompto cried, wrapping one hand firmly around the bar. The metal protested with a loud shriek, but moved easily enough as he pulled it down far enough for them to reach. Noctis knelt to allow the blond off his shoulders before pulling it down the rest of the way.
"You go up first," Noctis said, motioning him toward the ladder. "I'll wait until you're up there before I follow."
Prompto paused. "You're not just sending me up to make sure there aren't any monsters hiding up there, are you?" he asked suspiciously.
"I thought you'd appreciate being able to see what you're doing," Noctis replied, holding the flame a little higher. "I can't hold this while I climb."
"Oh, right," Prompto agreed, rubbing his neck. They would both essentially be climbing with only one arm- him because of his shoulder and Noctis because of the handcuffs. Although he didn't really want to make the prince do that in the dark, they didn't have another light. "Well then, don't mind if I do," he said, keeping his tone upbeat as he shimmied up the ladder.
Once the blond was up and out of the way Noctis let the flame go out, taking a few seconds to rub his throbbing head before reaching for the ladder. It took him a bit longer to climb, holding onto the side of the ladder so he could slid his hands up instead of guessing where the rungs were. Prompto helped him onto the platform once he'd reached the top, making sure he didn't fall off the edge in the dark.
Noctis created another flame once he'd regained his feet, looking around. The platform itself was fairly small- probably three feet wide by eight feet long -but the hall branching off to their left looked promising.
"Oh yeah! One step closer to getting out of here!" Prompto cheered, elated at finding a passage they hadn't been down before.
"Let's hope," Noctis agreed with a bit less enthusiasm as he started walking.
"Noct, Noct, Noct," Prompto chided, falling in beside him. "Haven't you ever heard of the power of positive thinking?"
Noctis snorted. "Pretty sure that's not going to make an exit magically appear."
"Wouldn't that be nice," Prompto sighed dreamily. "Hey, you don't happen to know a teleport spell, do you? Like, 'return to entrance' or 'exit dungeon' or anything like that?"
"Uh, no."
"Well, no harm in asking, right?"
The hallway ended abruptly with a sharp decline- fortunately dry -that led to a set of thick iron bars with a door made of the same blocking off entry to the room beyond.
Noctis let out an irritated growl. "This better not be another locked door..."
"Positive thinking," Prompto reminded him, repeating a mantra of, "It will be unlocked, it will be unlocked," as he moved forward to try the handle. The handle clicked loudly as it was turned, unlatching and allowing him to push the door open. "Yes! See Noct? What did I tell you!" the blond crowed.
"Good work, Prompto," Noctis said, shaking his head at the blond's antics as they stepped into the room.
It seemed to be an overflow chamber of some sort, a sealed tunnel entrance set in the wall four or five feet above the floor on the right side of the room. A number of pipes ran along the wall across from them behind a sliding chain link fence, some running up to the ceiling while others disappeared back into the wall. They were standing on a raised walkway that ran along the two remaining sides of the room, a large control panel located a few feet in from the doorway in the wall to their left. Eleven small but relatively straight scorch marks were visible next to the doorway.
"Are you serious?!" Noctis demanded, spying the marks. He'd started marking rooms and dead ends a while back to keep track of how often they ended up in certain places. This room was apparently one of the more popular ones.
"What? But that doesn't make sense!" Prompto protested, turning back to the door that had swung shut behind them. "If we've been here before, then surely we would have checked-" He broke off mid-sentence as he tried to open the door only to find it locked. "Oh. I guess you can only get through from the other side."
"All that for nothing..." Noctis groaned, sitting down against the wall and leaning his head back as he closed his eyes. The pounding behind them was as persistent as ever and he really wanted to let the flame die so he could massage his head. Prompto's steps leading away vetoed that idea, though he wasn't ready to get up and follow just yet. The clicks and beeps that sounded shortly after indicated the blond was messing the control panel. Again.
"You better not open a pipe full of water over my head," Noctis warned, not bothering to open his eyes. To be fair, out of the ten or so control panels Prompto had fiddled with thus far, he had only managed to open a full pipe twice and the stream of water gushing into the room had been located far from them both times. "What are you hoping to do, anyway? Apart from break the equipment, that is."
"You mean aside from finding a lever that'll lower a ladder down to get us out of here?" Prompto asked, keeping his voice purposefully light in response to his friend's biting tone. It was obvious Noct's head was really hurting him, so the blond was trying not to take his snippy attitude too personally. "I'm kinda hoping I'll stumble across the button that unlocks doors- or, at the very least, turns on the lights."
Noctis snorted, but didn't reply otherwise. It wasn't as if he had a better idea and if Prompto did end up breaking something, perhaps it would be serious enough to warrant sending someone out to fix it right away. After all, chances of them being back in this room by the time the repairman arrived were pretty good, given the number of marks by the door.
His musings were interrupted by a high-pitched hydraulic whine, turning his head and opening to eyes to see the thick metal door sealing the tunnel to his right slide open. It settled into place with a heavy boom that reverberated around the chamber and down the corridors beyond. Noctis blinked at the newly opened tunnel before turning his head to stare at the blond.
Prompto looked just as surprised as he stared at the unsealed exit, eyes wide and hands clasped to his chest as if he'd snatched them from the panel in a hurry. His expression changed as he met the prince's eyes, going from 'defensive panic' to what he hoped was 'casual confidence.' "Uh, I totally meant to do that," he said, waving a hand dismissively as he leaned back against the panel, nonchalant. He jerked away as several buttons were depressed beneath his palm, the sound of something metallic shifting in the distance echoing in from the hallway.
"That's, uh, that's probably nothing," Prompto said, eyes darting to the doorway before clearing his throat nervously. "So, uh, whadaya say we see what's down creepy tunnel number one?" he asked.
"Pretty sure we're on 'creepy tunnel number fifty-seven' by now," Noctis replied. He maneuvered himself back to his feet, following the blond down the stairs and over to the five or six rungs built into the wall that would allow them entrance into the tunnel. They glistened wetly in the light, the remnants of the small pool of water previously trapped on the other side of the door still drizzling down the wall. "After you," the prince said, gesturing.
Prompto climbed up, grimacing at the dark and gritty substance liberally coating the floor- and now, his glove and the knees of his pants. "I really hope this stuff'll wash out- these are my favorite jeans," he said, wiping his hand on his thigh before groping for Noctis in the darkness.
"I'm thinking I might just burn everything I'm wearing once I get home," Noctis replied, letting the blond help him up before summoning the flame again. "That doesn't look promising."
The tunnel extended twenty or so feet before dropping off into nothing but blackness. The pair carefully made their way to the edge, finding themselves staring into a large vertical shaft. A small ledge ran along the wall from the tunnel entrance about a quarter way around the shaft, granting access to a large pipe that spanned the hole and lead to another tunnel on the other side. However, the floor below was too far away for the light from the flame to reach, making it impossible to tell exactly how far down it went.
"Oh, wow," Prompto breathing, wide eyes darting from the pipe to the darkness below and back again. "This...could be really bad."
Noctis silently agreed, though it was also probably their best chance of getting out of there. The pipe looked to be wide and sturdy enough to hold them, although the abyss it was suspended over was not a very reassuring sight. "Well, you opened the door- do you want to see what's on the other side?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral as he left the decision up to the blond. As badly as he wanted to get out of there, falling from the pipe would likely mean death for his friend. He couldn't force Prompto to risk his life on a whim.
Prompto chewed on his lower lip nervously. "You really think that's the way out?" he asked.
"Maybe." Noct's tone didn't betray any of his thoughts. "Maybe not."
"But it is somewhere we haven't looked yet, right?" he pressed.
Noctis hesitated. "I don't think so," he admitted. "But it could also dead end at another door like the one sealing this tunnel."
It was obvious the prince was giving him an out- one he was sorely tempted to take. However, that meant Noctis himself was willing to cross, but wouldn't if Prompto wasn't comfortable doing the same. "Let's-" His voice gave out on him before he could get through the first syllable, forcing him to clear his throat and try again. "Let's do it."
Noctis gazed at him searchingly. Everything from the blond's expression and tone down to his defensive posture indicated he didn't want to do this. "We can find another way around- it's not a big deal," he said, his tone non-judgmental. He didn't need to point out the risks involved.
"No, let's- let's cross here," Prompto said, going for a positive tone though the attempt fell flat. "After all, this is the best lead we've had in a while, right?" he asked, forcing a smile. He was here to help Noctis, not become a burden. If this way was where the prince wanted to go, then Prompto wasn't going to be what held him back.
Noctis studied his friend for a few more seconds before shrugging slightly. Maybe he was reading him wrong? The blond clearly didn't like dark cramped spaces- it was possible he was just as eager to get out of here as the prince was. "Alright," Noctis conceded. "I'll cross first. That way, you'll be able to see where you're stepping."
Prompto nodded as the prince took the lead, carefully stepping down onto the ledge.
It was about three feet wide, giving them plenty of room to walk. The pipe was fairly large, maybe two feet in diameter and looked sturdy enough though it glistened with the same moisture covering everything else down here. Noctis looked over it cautiously, lightly testing the traction before fully stepping onto it.
The going was slow as the prince took his time, carefully placing one foot in front of the other as he did his best to keep his balance. He held the flame out in front of him as he went, allowing him to see where to place his feet on the pipe.
Prompto couldn't help but cringe every time Noctis wavered slightly- which was about every other step -before righting himself once more. This was such a bad idea. If he could barely stand to watch the prince do it, how in the world was he going to manage it himself?
Noctis was about three-quarters of the way across when his foot landed just right on a slippery part of the metal, sliding an inch or so to the left. The flame went out as he lost his concentration, automatically jerking his arms out to his sides to compensate. The handcuffs dug painfully into his wrists as he tried to yank his arms apart, limbs flailing as his body leaned dangerously toward one side. With his wrists bound, there was no way to use his arms as a counterweight to regain his balance. He teetered there for another second or two, gravity seemingly toying with him before pulling him over the side.
Prompto was having a hard time not pacing as the minutes slowly trickled by. While it was good that Noctis was being extra cautious and taking his time, the suspense was almost more than the blond could bear. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Noctis jerk slightly to the left before the light abruptly went out.
"Noct! Are you okay?!" he cried, frozen in place and unable to do more than listen to the quickened breaths and panicked gasps of his companion. "Noct!"
A blindingly bright flash of white light forced Prompto to look away, reflexively covering his eyes. He looked back in time to see a glowing blue outline of Noctis hovering in mid-air- to the side of and clearly below the pipe -and posed as if he had just thrown something down the shaft. Prompto barely had time to register what his eyes were seeing before it faded away, as did the glowing blue trail leading down into the depths. Another flash of light- was that a sword breaking apart into little glowing pieces? -briefly illuminated a dark figure huddled on the ground so very far below before being swallowed up in darkness once more.
Noctis groaned miserably, lying on his side in what felt like a couple inches of water. His fingers were curled into his hair, pulling at it viciously to relieve some of the pressure as he waited for the pounding in his skull to recede back to a more bearable level. He didn't care what anyone said- he wasn't going to touch his magic for a month after they got out of here.
"Noct!" Prompto called, getting more and more frantic by the second. He had knelt down, fingers clutching at the edge as he strained his eyes to see through the darkness. "Come on, man, answer me! Noct!"
"I'm fine, Prompto," Noctis muttered, the words muffled by the arms over his face. He could feel he cold water seeping into his clothes but didn't care enough to move at the moment.
"Noct!"
"I'm fine!" Noctis repeated, wincing as he raised his voice so the blond could hear him.
Prompto sagged back, relief coursing through him. "Dude, I thought you were a goner!"
Noctis groaned again, breath hissing between clenched teeth as he dug his fingers into his scalp. "I'm not that lucky," he mumbled into his arms.
Prompto heard the pained sound, realizing the prince had probably injured himself in the fall. "Are you badly hurt? Can you walk?" he asked, panic rising once more. He started feeling along the edge, hoping to find a pipe or something he could use to climb down. He wasn't sure exactly how he was going to manage that without killing himself, but he couldn't just leave his friend down there.
"No, I'm fine," Noctis repeated again, unable to fault the blond for his concern but wishing he would just shut up for a little bit. "Too much magic. Just give me a minute."
"Oh. Yeah, sure- take your time," Prompto said, scooting away from the edge. Noctis had said he'd been nursing a magic headache for awhile- it would make sense that...doing whatever it was he did with that blue light would make only make it worse.
After another minute or two, Noctis took a deep breath and carefully pushed himself back to his feet. Pounding head or not, he was their only source of light at present and Prompto was scared of the dark. Pushing the wet hair out of his face, he closed his eyes and summoned another flame, grunting as the pressure in his head surged before settling back again.
Prompto jerked at the sudden light below, moving from the where he'd been leaning against the wall to peer over the edge. Noctis was now visible, the small flame in his hand illuminating the area he was in. There were several pipes of varying sizes running along the walls and what looked like a tunnel entrance that had been filled in behind him, but there were no visible exits that the blond could see.
Noctis had his face turned up, eyes searching the darkness. He didn't think he'd fallen that far, but he couldn't even see the pipe that intersected the shaft above him. "Prompto?" he asked, fairly certain his friend wouldn't have wandered off but not sure which direction he was in.
"Over here," Prompto answered, waving his arm in the air to get Noct's attention. "Uh, no, back this way," he continued when the prince turned around. "Can you not see me at all?"
"It's just black," Noctis answered with a shrug, the slight echoing quality of the shaft making it difficult to locate the blond by sound alone. "I can see about twenty, maybe twenty-five feet up the wall, but beyond that...nothing."
"Well, I can see you alright," Prompto replied, leaning over so he could look at the wall below him. "So...what do we do now?" He couldn't see anywhere the prince could climb out and even if he had a light, Prompto didn't know how to get out of the sewers so he could go to get help anyway. "Just sit tight and wait for Cor?"
Noctis turned his attention back to his surroundings, realizing that they looked a bit familiar. "I think we've been down here before," he said, heading for the entrance across from the blocked off tunnel. Three scorch marks were visible between the pipes running along the wall. "Yeah, remember that room at the bottom of all those stairs?"
Prompto was leaning over the side, trying to see what Noctis was doing. It was obvious there was a tunnel in the wall below him that he couldn't see, which was good as it meant the prince wasn't trapped down there like he'd thought. "Yeah," he said slowly, realizing what was coming next and not liking it one bit.
"I think I can make my way back up to where you are," Noctis stated, stepping back out so Prompto could see him. "But it might take me awhile."
The blond huffed out a deep breath, slumping back against the wall. "Sure, sounds good," he said, forcing a bit of enthusiasm into his voice.
"Look, I don't like the idea of splitting up either," Noctis began, "but I can't climb back up there and I'm pretty sure you can't get down here, so-"
"It's cool dude, I understand," Prompto assured him. It wasn't like they had a lot of options open to them at the moment anyway. "I'll just hang out up here." Alone. In the dark.
"Okay, the tunnel is right here," Noctis said, using his arms to point to the entrance. "Are you to my left or right?"
Prompto glanced back down. "Left. No, sorry, my left- you're right," he corrected himself. "If we were on the same level I'd be standing just to the side of it. The tunnel we came in is a little further to your right though."
Noctis nodded, fixing the direction he needed to go in his mind. "Alright, I guess I'll see you in a few, then."
"Yeah," Prompto agreed, trying to keep his tone light. "Just don't make this damsel wait too long for a 'princely rescue,' okay?"
Noctis huffed a soft laugh. "I'll try to find your 'tower' as quickly as possible," he promised, a grin pulling at his lips as he set off down the tunnel. "Later."
"...yeah."
The light faded from the room as Noctis walked away, vanishing altogether once he turned the corner. Prompto carefully scooted back to his spot against the wall, drawing up his knees and wrapping his right arm around them as he settled in to wait. The ambient noises of the sewer seemed to grow louder as the minutes stretched on: the faint splash of liquid falling below... The occasional rush of water through the pipes... The unmistakable sound of his imagination running wild.
He ducked his head behind his knees, trying to ignore what his ears were telling him. No, that barely distinguishable clicking he thought he could maybe hear most certainly did not sound like claws scaling the brick wall. And that faint whisper was most assuredly not the flutter of wings as some monster hovered in the darkness, wondering if the blond would make a good snack. And those wheezing, almost gasping breaths were definitely not made by- oh, wait. That was just him, starting to hyperventilate after freaking himself out.
"Right," Prompto said, cringing at how loud his voice was. "I, uh, should probably go wait in the room, or maybe the hall. I mean, Noct is already doing all the leg work- the least I can do is make myself easier to find, right?" he asked, talking to himself more to break the silence than anything else.
He pushed himself to his feet, keeping one hand on the wall as he cautiously walked back to the tunnel and stepped inside. The gritty silt-like muck gurgled and squelched noisily under his shoes as he walked through it, seeming to be much louder than it had been before. After ten or so feet he crouched down on his hand and knees, not exactly sure how long the tunnel was and not wanting to accidently stumble over the edge. Crawling was a little awkward with only one arm, but still preferable to face planting on the floor five or six feet below.
Prompto couldn't help but cringe as the yuck gathered in the rounded bottom of the tunnel squished in between the fingers of his glove and soaked into the knees of his pants. "Oh, that's disgusting," he breathed, trying not to think about what else might be mixed in. "Maybe Noct has the right idea after all- I'm not sure I want to try washing this stuff out."
The blond reached the end of the tunnel after what felt like several more minutes, carefully feeling for the rungs before climbing down the ladder. "Alright, I made it back here," he muttered, keeping his right hand on the wall as he turned to face the room. "The stairs should be that way and the doorway should be- wait, what's that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and leaning forward slightly.
There was something glowing ever-so-faintly in the darkness, either high up on the wall or possibly in the ceiling. Prompto couldn't see it if he looked directly at it, but if he kept his gaze slightly to the side then he could just make out four faint lines in a roughly rectangular pattern. A trap door, perhaps...?
An eager smile stretched across the blond's face at this new discovery. Not only had he possibly found a way out, but there was also a light on the other side. "Oh, yeah!" he cheered, flinching as the words echoed loudly in the large chamber. "Oops," he muttered, laughing a bit nervously as he raised a hand to the back of his neck only to think better of it at the last second. Just because he desperately needed a shower already didn't mean he wanted whatever ick was coating his glove all over his neck as well.
He pulled his eyes from the possible exit route, searching the darkness around where the door probably was. While there was no sign of Noctis yet, he probably wouldn't be much longer, right? Prompto was sure it had been at least fifteen minutes- or more -since the prince had left. "He won't mind if I check it out without him," he reasoned, trailing his hand along the wall as he followed the perimeter of the room toward the light. He thought the center of the room was clear of any obstacles or debris, but he hadn't been paying much attention earlier and it would be just his luck to fall down an unseen hole or something ridiculous. Best to play it safe for now.
Prompto had almost drawn even with the light- which he hoped meant he'd almost reached the wall -when a soft gurgle directly above him stopped him in his tracks. He paused to listen, going stiff as a board when he felt something small land on his head. The familiar cold liquid seeped through his hair, sliding down his scalp and sending a shudder down his spine.
The monster had found him.
To Be Continued
New chapters are posted on Monday.