Chapter Four
"Where are we going?" Grace yells as she runs trying to catch up with Solomon, but he just looks straight ahead, marching down the dark damp passage that leads back to the Acropolis. The two have been sleeping in the tunnel ever since they escaped from their Corsair captives, "My mother's not dead, Grace. I can feel it."
"I know, Solomon and we'll find her." Grace still doesn't understand what Solomon did to those guards, but she learned that day not to let him get too emotional. Those soldiers had the grave misfortune of learning the hard way and they paid for it with their lives. The appalling way their bodies disintegrated still haunts her, like pieces of broken stone, crumbling in a landslide.
Even at night, their screams rule her sleep. Her dream always start the same, the scene of their escape. Just like in the actual event, the soldiers are mocking Solomon with names like, "Crybaby" and "Momma's Boy". Then taking turns, they kick and shove him around until the teasing ultimately breaks him down. Solomon falls to his knees with pitiful cries of torment as if announcing the fierce tremors suddenly surrounding everyone, resonating in their bones.
The soldiers' skin instantly pales to the color of the surrounding dust as their wails of agony mingle in with the deafening noise of the roaring quake. Their bodies, now apparently solid as stone, crack and crumble apart in gruesome, ghastly pieces.
Then in a flash, the dream changes and Grace finds herself at the alcove. She's overjoyed when she sees Apollo walking toward the mouth of the tunnel. She runs to embrace him but strangely he doesn't respond to her, just pushing her out of the way, murmuring something incoherent.
Refusing to leave him again, Grace continues pleading but still goes unanswered. Apollo repeatedly shoves her back but his words are clearer now, "You were not part of the plan."
It's in this moment Grace wakes up. Her eyes full of tears and her heart stinging with the pain of betrayal. And then actual reality sets in, reminding her that Apollo is truly not with her, maybe not even alive, and her heart breaks all over again.
They finally reach the source of the passage to find it leads to a lowly lit, damp room with walls of solid granite. As Solomon steps into the space, Grace grabs him by the shoulder, "How do you know where to go?" And he replies without looking at her, only staring straight ahead, "I don't."
Grace definitely doesn't want to upset him, but she knows she has to try and reason with him, "Maybe we should find Apollo first, he could help us." Solomon quickly turns and growls, "We don't know if he's even alive, Grace!" But Grace courageously swallows down her nerves and returns his grim stare with an empathetic smile, "He's alive Solomon, I can feel it. I can feel him in my heart, just like you can feel your mother in yours. We will find them both, together."
Solomon suddenly stoops down with his head in his hands. When he finally looks up at her, it's with a miserable expression, "You can't possibly feel what I do, Grace, because to tell you the truth, I don't feel anything." His head droops back down, as his tears begin making small craters in the dirt, " But I can't let her go." Grace kneels down beside her friend and puts her arm around his shoulders, "Then don't. We shouldn't give up hope, neither of us."
After a long moment, Solomon finally stands, stepping through the hole in the wall, looking back at Grace, "I'm going to find out where this place leads and maybe find the others. I want you to join me, but if you decide to go look for Apollo, I'll understand." Grace looks at him and Solomon holds his hand out to her. She isn't sure what she should do, but she definitely doesn't want to be alone. So in the end, she takes it and steps through as well.
They search around for a while before Grace speaks up, "What is this place?" And Solomon quips, "I'm guessing a basement." Laughs come from both as Solomon points at a stone staircase. He runs for it but Grace hesitates, "What do we do when we run into Corsair guards?"
Solomon replies, "We'll just be careful. I know my way around." But Grace still stands undecided. Even though the thought of facing the Corsair alone completely terrifies her, she still has to find her way back to Apollo. He's the guy who risked his life for her and the one she fell in love with, "I can't do it Solomon, I'm sorry but I just can't. Apollo needs me." She cringes at the hurt in Solomon's eyes, "Grace, I..."
His words are interrupted by voices coming from above, "Bring him down here! I found this place soon after we arrived!" The shocked teenagers scramble to make it back through the hole as Solomon whispers in Grace's ear, "I know that voice." Suddenly, the thought of what happened to the guards from before jumps in Grace's head, making her shiver as she puts her hand on Solomon's shoulder.
The two watch as Brutalius and Antonia drag a prisoner down the stairs, chains draped from the prisoner's hands and feet ringing out a dull chime against the stone floor. His mohawk is instantly recognizable to Solomon as it's the person who, in his mind, saved him from certain death. When Brutalius slaps Furious' face, he speaks to him in a sarcastic tone, "Wake up, dear, time to wake up!"
Furious jerks back, dragging his body, trying to find something to lean against. He finds the wall just as Antonia takes a large pistol-like tool and presses it against the granite above his head. With a dull thud the device discharges, leaving a black metallic ring protruding from the wall. They pull Furious' arms up and connect his handcuffs to the ring. "We'll come back for you later. Right now , we have some details to attend to. You know, killing Alcazarians and all."
Antonia injects something into Furious' arm and they both stand up, making their way back up the steps. Grace looks at Solomon, trying to read his face and waits for a reaction. The boy peers through the opening and sees Furious slumped over with his arms raised above his head. He can tell the man is unconscious and looks back at Grace, "It's okay let's go, he's out cold."
Grace pokes her head out as Solomon walks up to the man, "We need to help him." Grace quickly responds, "Are you crazy? He's Corsair! He'll kill us!" Solomon implores to her, "No he won't. He could have already watched me die if he wanted to, but he didn't. He's different, I'm telling you."
She finally creeps out of the hole and slowly approaches the man chained to the wall. Kneeling down to look at him, Grace runs her fingers over the edge of his stiff, spiked hair. She is intrigued at his unique appearance. Most of the Corsair men she's seen have at least been partly covered in tattoos, but she can't find a single one on him.
Suddenly, Furious jumps, "Rawr!" Grace shrieks out loud and scrambling on her knees, hiding behind Solomon. Solomon yells at the man, "Hey! Don't do that!" Furious erupts in maniacal laughter, "I'm apologize, Miss. I didn't mean to scare you." More laughs come now as Grace remains cowering behind Solomon. Solomon isn't as easily intimidated as the girl, so he counters, "I guess you don't want our help." Furious responds immediately, "Who said I needed it?" Solomon calmly takes Grace's hand and leads her toward the staircase, "Fine then, rot here until they come back to kill you." They almost get halfway up the staircase before Furious finally replies,
"Okay, you got me. I'll help you.”