Chapter 20: Into the Depths

The government has stopped my funding. I am to be sent back to Tarrus ... likely to face arrest and prosecution. Is this ... is this the end?

Éclair and Ryan jogged down the wall of the pit. The sojourn was long and arduous. Éclair almost lost her footing a few times as she ran downward. Thankfully, her natural dexterity saved her more than once as she finally established the perfect balance for running down a vertical plane. Ryan adapted clunkily, and Éclair had to slow her pace a few times for him to keep up. Though with his natural Saurian hardiness, he soon grew accustomed to the downward jog. Éclair doubted there was any physical challenge that Ryan Uruks couldn’t overcome with time and practice.

When both of them held their stride with no signs of Parasites in pursuit, Éclair accelerated from a jog to a sprint. They couldn’t travel very fast because of the awkward angle and because they needed to conserve energy, but they still managed a brisk pace equal to athletes on a track. Éclair’s enhanced senses allowed her to navigate the rough terrain of the wall. Though the path was dimly lit by the blue and red glow of their suits, she could clearly see her way ahead through the digital display of her visor. She had it on casual settings for now as the battle-ready status left her perspective in a blue-tinted light, and she preferred to see her way without distraction for the time being. Unfortunately, her sight only extended for a few yards ahead of them. She couldn’t see how far down the tunnel went. She couldn’t even see the wall on the opposite side of the hole thanks to the green fog. A dark sense of foreboding enveloped Éclair as they delved deeper and deeper into the blackness. Traveling through the green fog felt almost like being eaten alive. The fog pushed against her, daunting her every step. She felt heavy and weighted down as the green vapor seemed to cling to her armor.

Within the first hour of their flight, Éclair found her stamina weakening, and she had to withdraw a Sun Gem from her pouch attached to her waist to regain her strength. As she did so, Ryan took hold of her hand while he strode beside her.

“Save them,” he said. “I’ll feed you some of my psions instead.”

“No, Ryan,” protested Éclair in concern. “You’ll burn yourself out powering me and your suit.”

“Just this once, Éclair,” he insisted. “Don’t worry. I’m not that tired yet.”

Éclair felt too winded to argue, so she nodded and allowed the familiar feeling of Ryan’s psionic energy race through her. It felt like having a hot bath from the inside out as Ryan’s energies rejuvenated her, washing all her fatigue away. As Ryan held Éclair’s hand, the glowing red lines of energy from his suit convulsed around his wrist as if responding to the flow of psions. Éclair felt so grateful for Ryan’s presence in that moment. She doubted she would’ve had the courage to brave the pit of Black Star Prime without him.

The pit seemed to go on forever. After at least another hour, Éclair realized that they had traveled outside of communication range with North Star. The telepathic link she had established with the vessel no longer remained within her subconscious. Éclair stopped abruptly as an overwhelming sense of loneliness took hold of her. Ryan ran ahead of her for a few steps before he realized that she had stopped.

“What’s wrong?” said Ryan, raising his gauntlets for a fight. “Is something coming for us?”

“It’s North,” said Éclair breathlessly. “I can’t feel her anymore. Because of interference from the gas, we’re beyond the range of my telepathic link with her. We are ... we’re on our own now.”

The words hung in the air like a storm cloud. Éclair hadn’t known how naked it would feel to go on without the touch of North Star’s presence. She had spent weeks inside the vessel, always feeling that reassurance of having North nearby. Now she stood alone in a pit where monsters dwelled.

“We’re alone now,” said Éclair in a haunted voice. “We spent weeks with her. Always had that protection. Always felt her presence. And now ... and now...”

Ryan walked up the wall to stand in front of Éclair. He took hold of the back of her head and leaned his facemask against her own. As their facemasks touched, Éclair could see through the glass-like lens to Ryan’s handsome face. She hadn’t realized how much she missed watching his rugged features. Even with his face partially obscured by the helmet, Éclair felt comforted.

“I’m here, Éclair,” said Ryan in a firm but gentle voice. “I’m right here. You are not alone.”

Éclair took in a deep breath and nodded. She put a hand to Ryan’s shoulder in a sign of gratitude and then continued forward. The trek was more difficult without North’s comforting touch on Éclair’s mind, but she drew solace from Ryan’s presence just as profoundly. They continued on for another two hours. Éclair did have to absorb a Sun Gem despite Ryan’s insistence that she leach off of his energy instead. More than once, she found herself longing for his psionic transference like an addict, and that’s one of the reasons she refused to take any more from him ... she feared what may happen if she took too much. She might’ve grown discouraged by how long the trip took and how much energy they were expending, except that Grafael’s signal grew stronger with every step they took. Éclair kept a close eye on the sensor attached to her wrist in case they passed the signal. Then finally, Éclair caught sight of the ground. They had reached the bottom.

Éclair slowed to a jog. “Ryan, we’ve made it. We’re at the bottom.”

But Ryan was already shooting past her. As she spoke, Ryan turned back in confusion, straining to hear her. He didn’t notice the advancing surface and ran face-first into the ground. Éclair gasped at the impact as Ryan lay motionless.

“Are you okay?”

Ryan groaned loudly and slowly brought himself to his feet as he gave a shaky thumbs up. “I’m okay.”

Éclair suppressed a giggle. Amidst all this gloom and doom, it was good to see that Ryan could still play the buffoon at times. She needed a little levity at the moment. Éclair took a few steps forward and jumped from the wall to land to the ground beside Ryan. The signal grew more persistent as the beeping of Éclair’s wrist communicator increased in frequency.

“We are now parallel with the signal,” explained Éclair quietly. “The ship should be in that direction over there.”

She pointed ahead of them into the darkness and Ryan’s head followed the direction of her hand. “Éclair. You know he may not be alive when we find him,” warned Ryan solemnly.

“I know,” acknowledged Éclair with a sinking heart. “But I have to see for myself.”

Éclair followed the direction of the signal with Ryan trailing behind her. They ran slowly now. Since reaching the bottom, something felt different ... more threatening. Éclair was more on edge now than ever as her head went on permanent swivel while she ran. She found it somehow even more disconcerting to come this far without encountering a single Parasite, or even an infected victim.

It’s almost like they’re waiting for us. But waiting for what exactly? We’re beyond the point of a safe return. They could’ve attacked us hours ago and blocked off our exit in the process. Could they really not have noticed us by now? I hope that’s the case. Parasites that have the intelligence to lay a trap would be far too frightening to contemplate.

Ryan seemed ready for anything as he kept his clawed gauntlets upraised in a fighting stance should the need arrive. Ryan moved with the gait of an agitated predator sensing danger. No doubt he knew, as Éclair did, that something was very wrong here, he just couldn’t know what. He kept a protective vigil close by Éclair. Ever the protector, ever the warrior, just like Grafael.

They drew closer to the signal. Éclair found her heart pounding just thinking about what may lie ahead. Could Grafael really have survived crashlanding into this pit if that’s what brought the ship there? Could he have fought off the Parasites for so long after they had already invaded his vessel? If anyone could, Grafael T’Macor could; at least that’s what Éclair kept telling herself as she jogged with Ryan through the green vapors of the dark pit. They had come so far down that everything looked more pitched than green as the vapors now seemed more akin to shadows than to gas. Éclair could only barely see a few steps in front of her as she trudged along the cavern floor.

As the signal grew louder than ever, Éclair caught sight of something through the mists, something like fire. Éclair dashed forward in a burst of newfound speed, and Ryan bolted to keep up. Éclair stopped before the wreckage of a downed freighter and the signal went silent. The vessel was a bit bigger than the North Star, about the size of a house. The architecture of the ship seemed a hodgepodge of several different alien designs, a typical standard for pirate ships built from the looting of other vessels. Éclair recognized the smooth, dark silver hull utilized by the Harpies, as well as the oversized cannons popular among the Trolls. They even sported designs from Elven crafts with organic fuel from their trees leaking into the ground. But other than that, Éclair deduced very little of the craft’s original design as it lay in ruins all around her. The smoking, charred remains of the ship scattered all across the pit. Pieces of debris still burned from the crash, and many consoles lay with fizzling wires exposed. Sparks of electrical discharges zipped out of conduits and computers, creating a strobe-light effect throughout the pit. Éclair could see into the interior of the vessel as it lay cracked open like a shell. There was no need to venture further. She already had her answer. Grafael was gone.

Éclair whimpered slightly with a shudder as she fell to her knees against the hard rock. She sat there on the ash-covered ground breathing heavily, hyperventilation threatening to overcome her. Ryan immediately knelt down next to her and wrapped his arms around her furtively. Éclair tried to break away from his contact at first as she pushed back on him, but Ryan persisted in his embrace. Gradually, Éclair accepted Ryan’s touch as she leaned against his shoulder and held his armored arms. Even through the suit, Éclair could feel the power of his muscles and the warmth of his body as he attempted to calm her. Éclair’s breathing soon came to mimic Ryan’s more steady beats as her heartbeat evened out. Even so, she still heard a muffled sob come from Ryan’s mask. Éclair was grateful for his touch and his display of emotion. She never would’ve been able to face this alone.

Just as Éclair came to terms with Grafael’s apparent demise, she noticed something now that her head had cleared. “Where are the bodies?” she whispered.

Ryan jerked up with a start as he scanned the crash site. “You’re right. I don’t see anyone.”

Éclair then noticed a trail in front of her that definitely didn’t come from either of them. The trail was long and fresh, perhaps only a few hours old. It was not footprints, but rather the sluggish line made by the dragging of a body ... or the slithering of a Parasite. In fact, there were many trails before her, at least a couple dozen, and all of them led to the left of the craft out into the darkness.

Éclair jumped to her feet and followed the trail while Ryan scurried after her. They tracked the trail until they came to the edge of the pit wall. The trail continued into a small tunnel just wide enough for Éclair to stoop through that had been burrowed into the wall. Éclair took a step forward to enter, but then stopped as her senses came alive. She could sense them. Beyond that small tunnel were Parasites, lots of them. She could hear them jittering around with their clawed hands and twitching tentacles. If she ventured further, she’d be face to face with the nightmare that had haunted both her and Ryan for weeks now.

“Ryan,” whispered Éclair, turning towards him in concern.

“I know,” Ryan said grimly. “I can sense them, too.”

Eclair and Ryan stood at the entrance of the tunnel, neither making a move. Éclair clenched her trembling fists, causing her gloved hands to crinkle at the exertion.

“It’s not too late to turn back,” said Ryan.

“Would he turn back if it was us?” asked Éclair, though the offer was more tempting than she wanted to admit.

Ryan shook his head, still facing the tunnel. “No.”

Éclair took a step forward, but Ryan held her back by her shoulder.

“If things get too dicey in there, I want you to leave me behind to save yourself.”

Éclair chuckled. “After everything you know about me, you honestly think I’d consent to such a request?”

Ryan growled softly. “No, I guess not. Worth a shot, though.”

“And no doubt it would be useless if I asked the same of you?”

“More than useless,” confirmed Ryan.

“Then I suppose whatever happens in there ... our fates are shared, Ryan Uruks,” said Éclair softly.