54. KATIE
Chapter fifty-four
KATIE
I don’t have the best map of the archaeological site. In daylight, it likely wouldn’t have been a problem. But right now, it’s a pain in my ass.
My phone casts a reddish glow over the uneven ground. My footing isn’t confident as I navigate down from the paved walkway to the floor of the excavation. It is a sprawling dig site, roped off with nothing but a flimsy nylon cord.
I guess there isn’t much here to steal–the tools are locked up in the shed, and all that’s left are a series of white and pink flags outlining different rock formations.
I creep slowly through the dig, looking at some of the larger holes, but finding they are just collections of interesting rocks and a few bits of metal only half unearthed.
UnAmaated? Does earth still mean ground here?
Not important. I raise my phone high, the red light spilling into the cave mouth. If there’s a portal, it’s in there. I hesitate. I’m not afraid of the dark, but I’m also not a complete idiot. Anyone in there would be able to see me much more easily than I could see them. I squat, turn off my light and wait. I strain my ears to listen to the sounds of the growing night.
The very last fingertips of light have just faded from the horizon. With two suns, the days on Amaata stretch long–by my calculation a day is twenty-eight hours instead of twenty-four, and a full sixteen of them contain sunlight.
Halvassa, the capital of the country of Savolinna, seems to organize itself around a solar cycle – celebrating solstices and solar seasons. I haven’t been here for the twin full moons–but that’s not important either.
Focus Wilder .
I listen to the world around me, separating everything from the thumping of my pulse in my ears. Birds chirp back and forth, leaves rustling in the mild breeze. I don’t hear anything else–not footsteps, or the sounds of anyone breathing.
Good . The last thing I need is someone reporting my trespassing to the police. Callum showing up to arrest me would be the shit icing on a turd cake.
I unfold from my crouch. My knee pops, shooting an irritated spike of pain up my thigh. Huffing, I flick on my light. I should get a brace. If we do stay here, I am asking Loren for a fucking knee brace.
My chest tightens at the thought of Loren and I tamp all those unhelpful feelings down. The cave entrance is pitch black, the bubble of light from the few street lamps fading at the entrance. So far, nothing in the entrance has even hinted at a portal. No markings, no grooves, no indentations. Just mounds of dirt and piles of rocks.
I’m not sure what I expected–maybe some primitive cave art, or a bit of alien tech with buttons and leavers. But if anything like that exists, it’s further into the cave.
The unlit, dark-as-midnight cave.
I should not have come alone. You don’t just go into a dark cave without backup. Idiot . Heat crackles under my skin, shame and frustration simmering on low.
The only other option is to drive all the way back to the townhouse and admit to Loren what my plan is, and hope he’ll come with me.
No, not an option. I have to confirm whether or not there’s anything that can activate a portal on this end, and I have to do it tonight .
“Let’s go, Wilder,” I whisper, and carefully proceed into the dark.