Hey guys. I believe I owe you all an overdue explanation and an immense apology for my prolonged absence. And BEFORE YOU MURDER ME, please allow me a chance to explain.
No, this is not a note saying "this story is dead," because it isn't.
I am sorry everyone for not being faithful to my story as I have wanted. I can understand why there have been some suspicion that I am not continuing this story. Please bare with me. Life has its share of surprises, difficulties, and obstacles to overcome. Between my mom not being able to leave home to resigning from my only job at the time, have been difficult to shoulder with my best friend getting married and for the first time being unable to go with my family on vacation. Things have been hard at home and I have had little time to write or tell you guys about what has been going on. I was an emotional wreck for the last couple of months and slowly trying to come to terms with all that is going on. Little more than a month into my new job, my bosses decided to fire me without so much as an explanation. Around that time, my cherished pet was most likely terminally ill. We couldn't figure out how to treat her and she sadly, albeit peacefully, passed away. Not a week later, another of my pets came up sick and passed away. Since then, I have struggled to make ends meet and finish my last measly semester to get my Associates Degree.
Life has its sharp twists and turns. My life is filled with them and whether I want to or not, I have to deal with them the best way I can. Some of them have been so sad and jarring, they leave me with little motivation to write. However, it does not mean that my inspiration and drive has dried up. I promise you all, I will do my best to continue as much as I can!
The truth is, my life is constantly busy, and I think many of you college students can relate to that. Even so, I will do my best to keep this story alive. It's a good way to channel my thoughts and help my think through my problems, and most of it is made possible through the support and comments from all of you! Every single one, no matter the size or message, is a HUGE encouragement to me. I don't consider myself to be a good writer, I just simply enjoy doing it (something I have in common with my mom). Please be assured, I am trying my best to make sure that it keeps going and that it remains a big enjoyment for your reading pleasure. Kida and Eli have a long and winding road ahead of them. I hope you all will be a long for the ride!
FYI, in the limited time I have been afforded to write, I took the liberty to edit the previous chapters. I didn't change anything significant, simply polished the chapters and make them sound more fluid and natural. Please feel free to read them at your leisure, or don't. It was just satisfying to make the vocabulary sound smoother. And by the way, for you Slugterra fans who really like this story, I have created a survey about maybe "possibly," emphasis on possibly, to do an audio chapter reading of the different chapters of What Lies Beneath. I am looking to do some practice with story narration. Part of it is to gain some experience with sound software. I continually run through the dialogue myself, wondering how the characters would sound for real. Not to be weird or anything, but it sounded like another fun way to bring the characters to life. I have tried to request the same thing from other YouTubers to do a reading of my story. However, they have all gone unanswered. That is where all of YOU come in! I published a survey on my page, please vote and comment on your thoughts! I always enjoy hearing them!
If I can receive at least 30 votes 'yes,' then I will go through with this venture! Tell me what you think!
And now...a recap and prologue to Chapter 7!
"Burpee, there you are! Stay right there, I am coming down to you."
He took a single step over the bluff, his foot ALMOST catching a large root sticking up out of the ground. Digging his heels into the dirt, he carefully made his way down the hill. The ground along the way down had been disrupted with kicked up dirt and broken branches.
"Okay, so they came this way right before-" he murmured before stooping into the dirt.
His little slug perched on a large rock that jutting up from the ground and his heart immediately sank!
His heart began racing and the color drained from his face as he hoped that he was mistaken! His feet carried him fast down the hill to where his slug was waiting, not caring about the rocks he made fall as he slid down!
The iron scent stung his nose and his heart skipped.
"Blood," he mumbled.
"And this...Oh no. Kord? Kord!"
His friend quickly appeared, trailing broken branches in his wake.
"Kord, come on! We have to go!" The black-haired teen turned tail and sprinted back the way they came. Blaster in the air, Glimmer's flare lit up the cavern!
Detecting his friend's urgency, he shook off the brief confusion and pursued after him to their mounts. Trixie and Pronto stood ready, already mounted on their mecha beasts when they arrived.
Eli hands shook nervously as he clenched the throttle of his mecha and took off towards the common road, where the trail had left off. His friends were almost left in the dust, had Kord not motioned for them to get moving. Lucky's claws dug into the ground, thrusting his rider forward as Eli floored it.
"Eli, what's wrong? What happened?" Kord hollered as Wyatt rumbled to life and promptly pulled up behind Lucky.
Over his shoulder, Eli called out over the running metal. "I'll explain later. Speed it up and follow me!"