Alice took a deep breath and savored it, relishing in the rush of oxygen to her brain and its sweet, earthy scent. Then, she closed her eyes, leaned forward, and threw herself into the liquid metallic depths.
The icy coldness of the pool shocked her when her head and chest submerged. She almost opened her mouth because of the freezing sensation across her body, but she managed to fight off the feeling and as she swam blindly downward.
She had no idea how deep the pool was, and swam for what seemed a very long time without finding anything. The deeper she swam, the more her hope ebbed from her.
Deeper, deeper, just a little further, she told herself. Within 20 seconds, however, her lungs began to scream for air, and she knew she needed to swim back to the surface.
With an angry thrust of her arms, she swam one more stroke. Then, something even colder than the frigid silver liquid brushed against her right hand.
Hope blossomed within her as she wrapped her fingers around the familiar form of a hand. She grasped it tightly and tried to pull it upwards. But then, it jerked out of her grip and snatched at her wrist. It grabbed at her hungrily and with unbelievable strength as she tried to pull away, but her right hand was seized brutally nonetheless.
Alice thought her wrist might break as the hand ratcheted down upon hers. Then, the hand began to pull her down.
Blind fear welled within her as she kicked her feet to try to maintain some upward buoyancy and tried to peel away the fingers of the frozen hand. Then, one after the other, six more frigid hands seized her arms just as firmly as the first. Alice thrashed wildly and tried to extricate herself, but their grip was immutable, and they pulled her even deeper.
Cold resignation filled Alice as she felt her lungs scream for air. What had she expected? She had known when she dove into the nightmarish pool that she could die, and that hadn't stopped her.
Strangely, just as she stopped struggling, the hands that held her began to loosen their grip. A sense of bored confusion came over Alice as she felt the hands weaken one by one, then release her completely and weakly push her away.
Once she was free of the grasping mass, she began to swim back to the surface, but as she thrust her arms around in a twisting motion, she felt something warm brush against her right arm.
She instinctually reached for the warmness and felt the familiar shape of an arm. She then grasped it with all the strength she could muster. It was warm, limp, and it gave her no reflexive response. It had to be Leo...
Alice pulled with all her might and swam desperately for where she thought the surface was. It was exhausting work, but she managed to make some progress before her need for air turned into a full-blooded roar. She kicked her legs and thrust with her free arm and pulled Leo upward with all her might as her thoughts became more abstract, and her consciousness began to leave her.
Then, just as she thought her lungs would implode from a lack of oxygen, she finally felt her hand break the surface of the liquid and felt the warm air of the cavern kiss her fingertips.
She kicked furiously and reached to grab the edge of the pool, but before she could, she felt Leo being pulled sharply away from her. She quickly redoubled her grip, and barely managed to keep hold. Then, she too began to be pulled back down again.
She raged against what was happening, but she needed air, and she knew that if she didn't release Leo, she would die. The instinct to breath was too great. She would rather die than let him die, her body wouldn't listen. So, she thought his name, ate the guilt that spawned in her throat, then released his hand.
She snatched it back, however, when she felt yet another hand grasp her. This time, the hand came from the surface. It was small, but it was warm and strong and was soon joined by a second. Both grasped her tightly and began to pull her upward.
Alice's mind screamed as she was pulled in opposite directions, and her lungs became an inferno of agony. She felt like she was being pulled in half, and her mind was quickly losing consciousness, but she didn't let go of Leo.
The muscles in Alice's hands screamed in protestation, and she knew her grip would soon fail her, but she still held on. With a last thrust of her remaining strength, Alice kicked furiously.
Then, she felt the downward pulling force weaken. She screamed in her mind and gave another surging kick as she felt the hands pulling her upward heave with strength.
Like the warmth of heaven coming over her, she felt her left hand break the surface, followed by her head and shoulders. With a massive, primal gasp, she hungrily breathed the warm air of the cavern into her lungs and reveled in the ecstasy of fresh oxygen entering her brain.
Alice kept her eyes closed as she felt her chest hit the edge of the pool. Then, still holding Leo's limp hand firmly, she slung her left leg up and out of the pool and pulled her body onto solid ground. The smooth rock shook violently against her chest and leg, and the roaring of falling boulders crashed into her ears as she gathered her wits and struggled to pull Leo out.
As she struggled, she felt small hands feel their way across her body and find her right hand. The warm hands then felt their way to Leo and began to pull him upward. Alice tried to help, but she knew her spent muscles weren't doing much as her savior hauled Leo out of the hellish pool.
Once Leo was on solid ground, Alice clumsily wiped the silvery liquid away from her eyes. Then, Annabelle's voice sounded next to her, barely audible over the din of the cavern collapsing around them.
"I can't see anything, but I assume its Leo and Alice I just pulled out of that ice hole. If it's not, I'm going to be pissed!"
"It's me!" Alice grunted as she opened her eyes and saw Annabelle kneeling next to Leo, feeling around his face. "And yes, you're touching Leo's face."
Annabelle shuddered with relief and tears welled in her blind, staring eyes. Luckily for Annabelle, her blindness spared her from the disturbing sight that was occurring below. Silver liquid coated Leo's face and body, but it was slowly disappearing as his skin absorbed it.
Alice shuddered as she watched the liquid enter Leo. She had no idea what it would mean for him. Was he now infected with a deadly contagion? Was he contagious?
Then, Leo coughed, and some of the silvery liquid spewed from his mouth onto Annabelle's hand. Alice placed her hand to his chest and felt the smooth rise and fall of his labored breathing.
"Is he okay?" Annabelle gasped. "I can feel him breathing, and I can feel his pulse, but it's weak..."
"He's out cold," Alice replied, trying to stay calm. "He needs medical attention, and he needs it quick. The liquid is getting into his skin. We have to get out of here..."
"What is it? It's so cold..." Annabelle gasped, panic entering her voice.
"It's Exony's creation..." Alice answered as she stared at the silver liquid that coated her hands.
As she watched, the liquid didn't penetrate her skin as it had with Leo. Instead, it dripped off of her and left her skin clear. Exony's bizarre substance retreated away from her as it ran down through her jacket and pant legs. Then, it pooled on the ground a few inches from her boot and sat there, seemingly inert.
With a sudden sense of alarm, Alice snapped her eyes to Exony's mindless servants, who had held them captive in the minutes before. She was relieved but slightly unnerved when she saw them. They were standing completely still and looking blankly ahead. They weren't all standing, however. A large rock had partially crushed two of them, and small puddles of silver liquid oozed from their remains.
Alice flicked her eyes to the boulder that had crushed Exony and saw that it was still there, sitting in the same place it had fallen. Exony hadn't emerged from beneath it. It hadn't been a dream...
When she looked closer, however, she caught sight of a small stream of silvery liquid flowing from beneath the boulder. She tracked its flowing course towards where she sat, and watched it continue past her. It flowed to the edge of the pool, then dripped slowly over its rim to join the rest of the substance held within the unknown depths.
"We need to get out of here!" Alice yelled to Annabelle as a large boulder smashed down next to them.
Annabelle grabbed Leo's hands, then tried to stand up and drag him along the smooth stone, but the rumbling and shaking of the cavern threw her to the ground before she could move him at all.
"How?!" Annabelle howled. "He's out cold, I can't see, and there's no way we can even walk out of here, much less carry him!"
"We can make it!" Alice declared as she stood, and with difficulty, managed to maintain her balance. "You stand behind me, and we'll carry him on our shoulders. We'll move as one, and with four points of contact on the ground, we'll be more stable!"
Alice grabbed Annabelle's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "C'mon! Quickly! This whole cavern might come down on us!"
Annabelle nodded, gripped Alice's arm for support, and was able to stand.
"Alright, stand still!" Alice commanded. "I'll lift him onto your shoulders. You'll take his legs, and I'll get his upper half, then I'll lead, and you follow!"
"Sounds easy..." Annabelle groaned as the cavern gave another lurching shake, and she struggled to maintain her balance.
Alice awkwardly knelt next to Leo and grabbed his legs. Her muscles were already exhausted from her swim in the pool, but she ignored her fatigue and commanded her body to do the job she required. With a grunt of strength, she then grabbed his ankles and lifted his bottom half off the ground.
"Here! Take him!" Alice screamed as she pulled his legs toward Annabelle. Annabelle clumsily took hold of him and pulled his legs over her shoulders.
Alice knelt back down and grasped Leo under his shoulders. Then, with a massive heave, she lifted his limp, dead weight up and over her right shoulder.
"We got this!" Alice shouted. Then, with a grunt of effort, she struggled to her feet, awkwardly, but successfully bearing Leo's weight.
"Okay! Good! Follow me!" Alice yelled as another rumble of the cavern brought more small rocks tumbling down upon them. One of them struck Alice painfully in her elbow, but Leo's arm shared some of the blow, and she was able to withstand it without falling.
Alice caught sight of the smooth stairs that would lead them down to the cavern floor and began to walk toward them. At first, she and Annabelle moved awkwardly as they struggled to match their strides, but after a few paces, they found a good working rhythm and were able to walk without stumbling.
Rock after rock fell around them, but they avoided injury as they trudged across the flat stone and reached the top of the narrow stairs.
"Okay, Annabelle, there are stairs ahead, so you need to be careful. Hug the wall to your left and go slowly!" Alice ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Annabelle groaned. Then, Alice took the first step and began to lead them down.
Alice gave an awkward look back to make sure Annabelle could manage the steps and saw her tentatively feeling her way down with her feet, edging to the left to maintain reassuring contact with the massive stone column.
They took it slowly, and made it nearly to the bottom before the cavern gave another massive shake. As the ground suddenly lurched beneath her, Alice felt her feet leave solid grown and she was thrown off the stairs. Luckily, the fall was only a few meters.
Alice tucked her shoulder and rolled out of the fall without getting hurt. Annabelle was blind, however, and screamed in fright as she flew through the air. She then grunted in pain as she fell roughly on top of Leo.
"Are you okay?!" Alice screamed as she popped back up to her feet and grabbed Annabelle's hand.
"Uhm, yes, but I think I almost just died of a heart attack," Annabelle replied, her voice trembling from the shock of the fall.
Suddenly, a violent cracking sound echoed above them. Alice glanced upwards and panic jolted her senses when she saw a titanic boulder rushing down towards them.
"Move!" Alice roared as she shoved Annabelle in her back, grabbed Leo's arms and heaved him across the ground. She only managed to drag him a few meters before a deafening crash and a blast of dusty air knocked her to the ground.
It took Alice a moment to realize that she hadn't been crushed, and as she wiped dust from her eyes, she saw that the boulder had missed her by only a few meters.
"Alice!" Annabelle screamed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Alice grunted as she rose to her feet. "C'mon! We have to move!"
Alice quickly grabbed Annabelle and led her to Leo's limp, dust covered body.
Annabelle knelt, felt her hands over Leo's body and hoisted his legs on to her shoulders. Then, Alice took hold of his upper half and shrugged him roughly onto hers.
"Move!" Alice roared.
They shuffled along quickly as they hurried towards the stone archway that would lead them back up to the surface. When Alice looked back, she saw another giant boulder rush downwards and crash down right where they had been standing moments before.
Alice's heart thumped in her chest. They had been lucky, but their luck could run out at any moment. Still, she led Annabelle doggedly onward as they dodged around the fallen rocks and boulders that littered the ground.
They stumbled wildly as the shaking and rumbling intensified. Massive chunks of rock fell around them as they ran, but they managed to reach the archway without being hit.
As they passed through the archway, Alice looked up the long staircase and saw that their luck had run out. Halfway up the stone staircase, the tunnel had caved in. Large chunk of rock now blocked their path out of the cavern.
"Shit!" Alice shrieked. "The pathway ahead is blocked... It's caved in!"
"Is there any other way out?" Annabelle coughed in reply.
Alice looked around wildly; she had no idea if there was another way out. "I don't know. I don't think so. If there is, this whole place will probably cave in before we find it!"
"Maybe we can dig our way out..." Annabelle hopefully replied.
"Yes... Maybe," Alice agreed, trying to stay positive. "That's our only chance. We have to go up a lot of stairs., so be careful! Let's go!"
Annabelle nodded, and together, they carried Leo up the stairs. Alice's legs began to burn as they ascended, but she knew that stopping was not an option. She banished the pain from her mind and continued doggedly onward, hoping that Annabelle was up to the challenge.
As they slowly ascended, the tunnel around them rumbled menacingly, but the shaking of the stone around them was less intense then it had been in the minutes before.
Alice heard Annabelle groan behind her, but she didn't stop. They continued upward and were soon able to reach the fallen, crumbled rocks that blocked their escape.
"Okay," Alice panted when they reached it. "We can't go any farther. Set him down."
Annabelle obeyed, and they dropped Leo onto the steps. Then, they both flopped down next to him, gasping for air and massaging the muscles of their legs.
"Gah! My legs are on fire!" Annabelle gasped as she stretched her right leg out and massaged her calf.
"Mine, too," Alice replied, "but we have to shake it off. We aren't even close to done yet."
As the pain in Alice's legs slowly faded, she stood up, turned around, and surveyed the cave-in. Before she could even decide where to start, however, she heard Annabelle exclaim excitedly behind her.
"Leo? Leo! He's waking up!"
Alice instantly spun around and knelt next to Leo. Annabelle slapped his face sharply as she leaned over him. His eyes were open, and he stared upward blankly, but he wasn't moving or speaking.
"Leo! C'mon, talk to me! It's Annabelle!"
At the mention of Annabelle's name, Leo's eyes flittered and focused on her face. Then, he smiled and spoke in a weak voice. "Do you love me?"
Immense relief flooded over Alice. Annabelle laughed triumphantly as she felt around for his mouth, then leaned down and gave him a light kiss on his lips.
"Maybe..." Annabelle replied after their lips broke apart, and she wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you.
.." he announced. But then, his eyes widened, and fear entered his voice. "Oh god... It's in me... It's inside of me... I can hear them!"
"What? Hear who?" Annabelle demanded. "What are you talking about?"
Leo stared up at her as tears began to stream from his eyes. "They're coming, Annabelle... I called them!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Annabelle demanded as Alice turned away and looked down the stairs.
Despair took hold of Alice as several pale, black-garbed figures emerged through the archway below and began to march up the steps.
"No..." Alice groaned as Exony's servants marched towards them. " They're coming! We need to move!"
"It's okay..." Leo whispered as he slowly rolled over, then climbed to his feet. "I called them... I shouldn't have, but I called them..."
"What do I do, Alice?" Annabelle shouted as tears began to stream down her red, scarred cheeks. "I can't see,;please tell me what to do!"
"I don't know... I don't know!" Alice shouted. Her weapons wouldn't hurt them, and they were too strong to fight. She hurriedly looked around for anything that might be useful and saw the rocks littering the stairs around them.
"Rocks! Pick up the rocks and throw them down the stairs! Throw them as hard as you can!" Alice commanded as she knelt and picked one up.
With a desperate heave, she launched the rock at the mindless servants. It bounced twice on its way down, then struck one in the leg. They absorbed the blow and stumbled, but quickly recovered and continued up the stairs.
"Alice? Don't you understand? I can hear them. There's no need..." Leo stated, his voice oddly neutral. "They are going to help us. I can make them do it."
Alice turned to him. She was alarmed, but hardly surprised by his odd behavior. Obviously, Exony's silver liquid had had some effect on him. He could even be under her complete control, as far as she knew.
But Exony was dead, Alice thought. How could she be controlling Leo if she was dead? Could he be operating under some program she had written?
The Ganymede Legacy Page 38
