Chapter 23 #2
Cahir lunged back into the deep, slimy water and reached around for Ruel. He kicked something soft and went down to grab at it. He yanked, but the object was stuck on something. He pulled again forcefully, and it dislodged.
Something slid past Cahir’s leg as he lifted Ruel’s unbreathing body from the water.
“Over here!” Benny shouted from a small landing he found a few paces away. “Bring him here!”
Cahir swam with Ruel to the landing and dragged his body onto it, meeting the others.
“He isn’t breathing,” Askold observed.
Benny performed chest compressions on Ruel and gave him rescue breaths, gagging between each. Over and over, he repeated the steps.
Finally, Ruel gurgled and choked out brown liquid from his lungs. He looked up at the others. “If any of you ever bring this up again, I will kill you all,” he said to them, his voice raspy and strained. “What the fuck pulled us under?”
Benny looked around nervously. “I don’t know. I didn’t see it.”
The men observed the dark tunnel as Ojore slowly illuminated the water with the flashlight, pausing whenever he thought he spotted something, only to find it was just floating feces. The only things they heard were their labored breathing and the dripping of water.
“Look!” Askold said, pointing in the distance. Just a short distance away, the sheer, sparkling dome barrier glistened. “We’re close.”
“You guys good to keep going? If we swim fast, maybe we can get past whatever the fuck is in here,” Benny said as he stood up.
“Yeah, I think so. Let’s get out of this awful place. Why didn’t the map say a monster was in here?” Askold’s complaints echoed through the tunnel.
“Probably because no one actually tries to traverse through shit this far down,” Ojore grumbled in response. “Explains why the Rozzer didn’t come in after us, though.”
They looked at Ruel.
“You okay?” Benny asked him. “Think you can swim?”
Ruel, a bit shaken, agreed that he was okay to continue.
They slowly slid back into the dark water and swam toward the glittering barrier of the dome, passing through it. The same tingling sensation prickled across Cahir’s skin as he pushed through.
Ojore’s sudden yell got cut off as something pulled him back under the water.
“What the fuck!” Benny shouted as he quickly turned around, his arms flailing as he tried to stay above water with the sudden shock.
Ojore was flung out of the water, riding the back of a human-sized leech. The black leech had a giant mouth with rows of sharp teeth that tried to curl around itself and snap at him.
Ojore roared and tightly wrapped his arms around the slippery beast, cutting off its airflow.
The leech thrashed in the water, splashing everyone in the process. Liquid got into Cahir’s mouth, and he quickly swam away from the fight, spitting what he could back into the murky water.
The monster tried to throw Ojore off like a bull. It attempted to break free from his grip, but Ojore’s hold remained firm. He squeezed the beast as tightly as possible.
The beasts thrashing slowly stilled and came to a stop. Ojore pushed himself away from the monster and swam back over to the men.
“How the fuck….” Askold started.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ojore responded before he could finish.
Everyone swam in place, remaining silent, looking between Ojore and the dead monster.
“Welp… Glad you killed it. That was impressive, Ojore. Let’s get the fuck out of here. Hopefully that was the only one,” Benny finally said, breaking the silence. The men turned away from the leech and continued swimming in the direction they had initially planned.
The murky water gradually became shallower, and the men began to walk through the water that now only reached their calves.
They did it, they escaped the dome! Cahir’s mind whirred back to Seda. He was coming for her. The plan worked!
They followed the tunnel to another split, and Benny called out, “Do any of you recall which way to go?”
“To the right,” Cahir answered with a smile. He felt so relieved they were so close.
Ojore looked at him but didn’t say anything. They turned right, and the end of the tunnel was visible, with the night sky and darkened Heath Forest beyond. At the end of the tunnel, they saw five forms waiting there.
“Fuck, the Rozzer did call backup,” Ruel whispered.
They all froze, staring at the forms, and Cahir silently scolded himself for thinking they had made it before they were actually out of the Murkway.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I NEED to get to Seda.
The Corvids and the two other Rising members came into view.
“You smell terrible,” Ferona said as she approached, not allowing her steps to reach the water. She gagged loudly when she saw them covered in filth.
“How did you know which exit to find us at?” Benny let out a deep breath and glanced at the group in front of him, then jogged over to them.
“Simple, we just followed the sounds of screaming pigs,” Roya said to him as she eyed his filthy form.
“Any idea where we can wash up?” Benny asked, clearing his throat and smirking at her.
Roya’s eyes narrowed, and she shot him a sneer in response to his flirty grin. Benny quickly looked away.
“Did anyone remember to pack soap?” Askold asked the group. The grimy men shook their heads.
“Ugh, of course you didn’t! You’re a bunch of stinky men!” Ferona screeched into the chilly air as they exited the tunnel.
“Not me, sister,” Feich called back to her as he sniffed himself.
“No, never you, brother,” she said back to him soothingly. “Roya is right. These are not men. They’re pigs.”
Cahir laughed, and the Corvids glanced at him. Then the other filthy men joined in. The Corvids exchanged confused looks, unsure why the disgusting crew was laughing when sewage covered them.
Cahir thought about how filthy they were. He just ventured through sewage. Never in his entire life had he done something so disgusting. He knew without a doubt that he would do it again if it meant saving Seda.
It felt good to laugh. It loosened some of the tension Cahir had built up between his shoulders and his chest. But damn, he could never tell anyone else this happened. No one could know about this, or he would never hear the end of it, especially his friend back home, Luelle.
“I think they swallowed too much poop water,” Seren observed of the men as he followed Kalon into the oak trees.
They broke into laughter again, and then Ruel doubled over and threw up.