Chapter 17

The trailer was quiet, no one spoke. Orange light which was streaming in from outside was beginning to darken as night once again began to draw in. The group of people were sat in various chairs, for the moment each deep in thought. Despite being in thought all of them were thinking the same thing, or at least they were on the same lines. The silence between them dragged on before one member of the group let out a sigh and looked up at the darkening light. His gaze turned back to the table in front of him before he let out another sigh and moved across to one of the windows.

"We should have heard something." Joey said, "We should head back, ask them what's taking so long."

"We can't, not yet." Tea replied, "Elijah said he'd phone us when they have news."

"I don't care, we should be there."

Joey let out a frustrated huff. Out of all of them he was struggling the most with the powerless feeling they were all experiencing. If he could have his way then he would be in that sanitary now, trying to make his way down to the bottom. But he was not, he was back at the trailers with the others. Despite their protests they'd been ordered back to the site while the others kept working. Practically there really wasn't much they could really do to help, they were all too emotional to do anything rationally. Upon their return to the trailers they taken refuge inside the one which belonged to their missing friends where they'd begun their wait. Hours had passed with no news. All they knew was that the authorities were on their way but if they had arrived, they did not know. Which meant all they could do for the moment was wait, not that any of them particularly liked that.

"There must be something more we can do?" Joey asked, looking to each of them.

But for the moment none of them responded. Tea gazed at him, tears swelling in her eyes once again. Tristan was leaning on the arm of the chair, a clenched fist covering his mouth. Grandpa was doing a similar thing but he was seemingly biting his finger, much the same as Yugi did when he was deep in thought. Joey ran his hand through his hair and turned back to the window. It had almost been two days since the accident, they were running out of time. He didn't want to entertain the thought that they might not reach the pair in time but that was becoming a real possibility.

"Joey?" Solomon suddenly said, "Remind me what that voice said."

Turning Joey frowned at him, "It was something along the lines of eagles, changing winds and an wolves."

Solomon nodded slowly, "That definitely sounds like a prophecy."

"But what does that mean?" Tristan asked.

"I can't be sure yet but you remember me saying I don't think they're dead." The teenagers nodded, "Well now I'm almost certain that's true. It sounds to me as if they were supposed to survive that fall because then the events in the prophecy can take place."

"But what events?" Tea asked, a rather confused expression on her face.

"I don't know but I'm sure they're alive."

"I bet you that they've found a way out." Joey said, stepping forwards, "Those two are resourceful enough to find a way out besides neither of them are ones to let themselves be kicked when they're down."

The others round him nodded slowly, that certainly sounded like them. Joey stared at the each in turn before speaking once again.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go back to the cliff and search for an exit, then we can find them and work out what the hell this prophecy thing is talking about."

Solomon was the first to stand, before the other two followed suit all with similar expressions of determination on their faces. Leading the way Joey moved outside the trailer, moving back towards the jeep which was still parked nearby. Solomon climbed into the driver's seat as the rest of them piled into the car. As the car sped back across the desert the group remained silent for a while before Tristan spoke.

"So how do we decide where to start looking?"

"Let's first find out what's going on inside. But if there's no change then we just have to find another way in." Joey replied.

"There will be some way into the sanctuary from the outside." Solomon said, "When they were building it all those years ago the workers would have needed a way out."

"And I bet that Yugi and Atem found it." Joey eyes were determined, "We find that and we'll find them no problem."

The others nodded. Silence fell in the jeep as they continued moving towards their destination, all of them were too focused on the task ahead of them to have much to say. Besides there wasn't much more any of them could say until they knew exactly what the situation was. When they finally arrived at the sanctuary night had fallen not that this did anything to deter them from their task. Numerous jeeps were parked outside the tunnel entrance, more then there had been before. It seemed that there were more people inside the sanctuary, perhaps the rescue authorities had finally arrived. This seemed like the most likely scenario as there as a medical van parked nearby as well, inside where the medics who looked tense. Clearly waiting for the call to spring into action. As they stepped out of the jeep Solomon grabbed a couple of powerful torches from the back, handing one to Joey, before heading towards the entrance of the tunnel. Switching the torch on he led the group of teenagers down the tunnel towards the sounds of people. From what they could here it certainly sounded as though the authorities had arrived, there were far more voices and the sounds of distant banging coming from deep within the sanctuary.

When they finally reached the sanctuary, they could see a fair number of people crowded on what little of the walkway was left. Those closest to the edge wore bright red suits with helmets on. Standing back were Elijah and the Professor along with the few volunteers who'd come from the dig site. They were watching as the rescue workers carefully banged pegs into the stone. Joey watched as some of the workers secured harnesses to themselves before approaching the edge. Elijah, having heard approaching footsteps, turned to see the group approaching. He looked rather surprised to see them, but before he could make any sort of comment Tea spoke.

"We couldn't just sit there Elijah. Their our friends, we have to help in whatever way we can."

Looking at her Elijah slowly nodded, smiling at her. The professor, having heard the new voice, turned as well. He smiled sympathetically at the group before addressing Solomon.

"The authorities are going to try to abseil down." He explained, "They can't be sure how far down it is but they are confident they will get to the bottom."

Solomon nodded slowly, his eyes of the men slowly making their way down the side of the walkway and disappearing from sight.

"Have you heard anything? Any noise or…." He trailed off, not sure how to finish his sentence.

The professor shook his head, "We've heard nothing."

Solomon nodded again before finally looking at Marcus, "We're going to try and find any other way down there from outside, let us know if anything happens."

"The moment it happens." Marcus replied.

"Here take this," Elijah said, he held something out for Solomon, "We don't need both now so keep this with you and we can update you. It's probably more effective than phones."

Accepting the offered item Solomon gazed at it for a moment. It was a walkie talkie. Looking up he smiled appreciatively at Elijah before turning and make his way back up the tunnel. The teenagers began to follow him but Tea felt someone catch her arm. She turned back to see Elijah holding her arm, a look of concern on his face.

"Be careful." He said quietly, "I don't want to see something like this happen to you."

She smiled, patted his arm, "Don't worry I'll be fine."

Elijah returned the smile and nodded before releasing his grip and watching her hurry after the others.

Hurrying back up the tunnel Tea found the others at the mouth of the tunnel, seemingly deciding which way to search first. Ultimately, they chose the right side of the tunnel, their thinking being that if they were correct then that was the side of the walkway that Atem and Yugi had fallen. Of course, they couldn't be exactly sure but it seemed like the most sensible idea. With the direction decided they set off, sticking close to the cliff and following where it led, the torches lighting the way. They weren't exactly sure what to look for but it occurred to them that they would know when they saw it.

"How far do you think we'll need to go before we find something?" Tristan asked.

"I'm not sure," Solomon replied, "But we will have to climb down at some point, after all those two fell quite a way so we'll have to mirror that out here if we are to stand a chance of getting down to their level."

"So once we hit a cliff's edge we'll know we're close?" Joey asked.

"Maybe but don't forget this is all a guess. For all we know we're heading in completely the wrong direction."

"Yeah, well I'm leading this group so I am certain we're going the right way."

"How can you be so sure?" Tristan asked.

"Well because -"

But they never found out what Joey was going to say as he suddenly let a yell as the ground below him seemed to disappear. Rocks shifted and rolled under him causing him to stumble and slip. But as he began to fall, he felt someone grab his arm. Tristan had grabbed him just in time. With his help Joey climbed back up the edge of the cliff, once on firm ground he dusted himself off before looking at the others.

"I found the edge of the cliff guys."

The others merely rolled their eyes at him before turning to look at the cliff's edge. Solomon approached the edge, much more cautiously than Joey had, peering over the edge. It was a sheer drop, much like the one inside the sanctuary had been. There was no way to be completely sure, but it certainly seemed as though they were on the right tracks. They just had to find a way down. Slowly they walked along the top of the cliff keeping a close look out for any way to safely climb down. By some luck they found a path, that was not to say it would be an easy descend but they found a path which if they were careful, they could climb down. It took all of them working together to descend the cliff. Tea led the way which allowed the two boys to help the elder Muto if he needed it. The task was made even harder in the dark, but they didn't stop, they knew what they were doing and why or rather who they were doing this for.

Once at the base of the cliff Joey, who was still holding a torch, looked around shining light on the cliff face. He then look towards the original cliff line they'd be following which seemed to keep stretching on a head of them. Looking back at the others he nodded to them before walking towards the base of the original cliff and once again following it. They kept close to it as they walked, each of them searching for any sort of clue. So far no luck, the desert did not yield any secrets. No one was exactly sure how long they had been walking but the silence between them was suddenly broken by a voice coming from the walkie talkie attached to Solomon's belt.

"Solomon? Are you there? It's Marcus."

They all halted, turning to look at the walkie talkie. Pulling it off his belt Solomon looked at the teenagers in turn before holding it up to his mouth.

"Have you found them?"

"The rescue team made it to the bottom, but they didn't find anyone."

Solomon looked at the teenagers again but they were staring at the walkie talkie, clearly desperate for more information. He made to reply but Marcus got there first.

"They did find blood, a lot of blood from what they said and rather fresh too. I think they're alive Solomon, I don't know how but I think they survived the fall."

Solomon couldn't help but smile, he'd believed they'd survived but having it confirmed made it real. They were alive. Atem and Yugi were alive, but they were still missing.

"They're going to keep looking but I must warn you Solomon if the amount of blood they've found is correct then the boys aren't in a good way."

Solomon nodded slowly, "But they're alive Marcus. We just have to keep looking."

"We will Solomon, you have my word. I'll let you know more when I hear more."

Solomon thanked Marcus before replacing the walkie talkie on his belt. He looked at the others who all had a hopeful look in their eyes. Joey, without a word, turned and set off again his determination to find his missing friends reignited by the professor's words. His pace was quick and he kept the torch moving across the sand in front of him to the rocky cliff. If they weren't inside the sanctuary anymore then they must have found a way out and he would find it. Behind him he could hear the others talking, trying to figure out how the missing two would have escaped but Joey didn't listen. He was far too focused on the task. As he moved the torch slowly from left to right something suddenly caught his eye. He paused, shining the torch on the sand which seemed to be a different colour, but it was difficult to tell. Kneeling he drew closer to the mark, his eyes narrowing. The sand beneath him seemed to have a mix of colour, there was the normal dark beige of the sand but a hint of red. Moving the torch light slightly further ahead he saw a large boulder nearby. The boulder was stained.

"Joey? Have you found something?" It was Tristan.

But Joey did not answer, he moved closer to the boulder staring at the red stain on it. Reaching out he placed a hand on the stain, which was fresh. Blood clung to his fingers. Realisation hit him and he shone the torch around. The sand immediately in front of the boulder was stained red as well. He stood looking around further. Behind him the others stopped, he heard Tea gasp having obviously spotted what he'd found. Shining the torch towards the cliff Joey saw a crack in the cliff face, large enough to get through. He moved towards it immediately spotting more blood clinging to the stone.

"They were here." Joey said finally, moving the torch light around, "They must have escaped through this crack."

Solomon moved forwards as well, his torch moving from stain to stain.

"With this much blood they can't have gone far." He said, shining the torch light around.

"But where would they go?" Tristan asked.

"They must have gone somewhere which will keep them alive long enough for us to find them." Solomon replied, frowning, "Atem knows this land better than any of us. If I was him, where would I go?"

That question was more a thought then an actual question, but it was a valid point. Atem would know exactly how to try and keep himself and Yugi alive in these conditions but where would that be? Several long moments passed before Tea suddenly spoke.

"Maybe they're trying to find the river? They're going to need water to stay alive so maybe that's where they're going."

Solomon nodded, kicking himself for not having thought of it sooner. It made complete sense that the first thing those two would do would be to find a water supply. But the question now was which way was the river?

"Hey guys, I've found a blood trail." Tristan called.

He was a short distance away pointing at a partially hidden red stain in the sand. It may have been hidden slightly by new sand but there was no mistaking that was blood. Shining his torch on the blood and moving ahead revealed a sickly red trail leading away from the cliff. But this presented a problem. The wind was picking up slightly, shifting the sand.

"We need to follow this." Solomon said, "But we have to move quick, the wind is bringing in fresh sand which will cover the tracks if we take too long."

"Then let's go." Joey said, "We've got no time to waste."

The other two teenagers nodded and followed him. Solomon hung back for a moment, pulling the walkie talkie once again from his belt. He was quick to inform Marcus of what they had found before following the teenagers. They were going to need all the help they could get to find them but they would find them. With every drop of blood it took them one step closer to finding them.