S

leeping in the cave was something of a bad experience. The cave itself was fine, but it was not made for six people and a wolf to sleep in. They had been able to stand and sit around

comfortably without a problem, but by the time they stretched out their legs to sleep, they discovered the cave was suitable for at most three or four, but seven was pushing it. All through the night Darek got kicked in the face and punched in the stomach. At first he thought it may have been an accident, but he figured there was more to it when he saw all the claw marks on his clothing.

After they had rested up, the next morning felt like a fresh start. Sorren was back to his old self again. And Thedes was in a good mood, appearing pleased with the much-needed refreshment. It was awkward for Darek to have to replenish Thedes’s water bowl, but no one else would do it. Whenever Darek was looking for Drey’s assistance, Drey would seemingly disappear at all the right moments, much to Darek’s disappointment.

As soon as everyone was ready to depart, the group went back to the oasis for a quick stop and then proceeded onward to the mountains.

Rathos pointed into the far distance. “I think I can see the peaks from here.”
“Finally,” exclaimed Darek, “we’re almost there!”
“The sun is high and there are a few trees up ahead,” said Sorren. “Why not rest now under the shade and finish the journey through the cooler night?”
“That’s a fine idea,” Rathos said. “I’m sure everyone will agree.”
Darek nudged Drey. “Hey Drey, do you mind keeping watch?”
“Not at all,” he replied.
Utterly exhausted, Darek didn’t bother sleeping on a mat. The sand suited him just fine. His only relief was that Sorren had stopped the training. Ever since they had reached the desert, Sorren no longer entered his dreams. Darek wondered if it was because Sorren was still recovering.
Darek glanced at the others and saw that everyone else was fast asleep. Then he curled up and shut his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he was in another place—one he did not recognize. It looked like the inside of a huge building with walls that stretched high above. There were hundreds of doors in the walls; all of them seemed quite randomly placed with no rhyme or reason.
Darek knew this was no ordinary dream. He turned around, expecting to find Sorren behind him as usual. Just as he expected, Sorren was standing there, looking at him. Yet there was something different about him. Sorren’s face became twisted in agony. Coughing up blood, the focus of Sorren’s eyes fell on his own chest; the tip of a sword came slowly piercing out of his robe, right where his heart was. Sorren staggered and collapsed facedown with a thud. His body was lifeless. The sword stood out of his back in the shape of a cross.
Darek couldn’t stop shaking. Did someone just kill Sorren before his very eyes? Staring at Sorren’s dead body, Darek was rooted in place. The shock was unbearable.
“SORREN!” Darek ran to Sorren’s body and knelt down to pick him up. When he held Sorren in his arms, the body crumbled away like powder and slipped through his fingers.
Someone emerged from the shadows. Darek screamed, glaring at the man with a spark of hatred in his heart. But his hatred was smothered and his feelings changed to bewilderment when he realized whom it was.
“You! You’re the judge that sentenced me to death! Did you do this? Were you the one who killed him? ANSWER ME!”
“Please, you can call me Dionus,” the man said. “Your friend, Sorren, is fine. He’s not hurt in any way. After all, this is only a dream, a place where people will never be born and will never die; it is a place where all things are possible and impossible.”
Darek froze. Dionus was right. The image looked so vivid and real that he had almost forgotten he was inside a dream.
“He’s okay? He’s really okay?” asked Darek.
Dionus assured him, “Yes, don’t worry. I can’t really kill anyone inside your dream.”
“Then why—I don’t understand—why’d you stab him?”
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” said Dionus solemnly. “I wanted to speak with you, but the moment I tried to enter into your mind, Sorren tried to stop me. I couldn’t even explain myself to him. So I forced him out. But I’ll let him return soon enough.”
“You want to speak with me?” It was then that Darek remembered the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Dionus when he was put on trial. “That’s why you forced your way in? There’s nothing to talk about! If Sorren doesn’t want you here, I don’t want you here either!”
“Please calm down,” said Dionus. “I can understand your anger. That is why I came to apologize. I was an ignorant fool. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was only trying to uphold justice to preserve peace within the Federation. Even now, because the Judges roam free, the Federation is in a state of panic. But, ever since I discovered you were innocent, my conscience has been bothering me. Convicting the innocent is unforgivable. For that, I am truly and terribly sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Oh,” said Darek. “I…don’t know what to say. I guess I can forgive you.” But then he realized something. He said eagerly, “Wait a minute. Does this mean I can return home? I can finally go back?”
Dionus nodded. “You have been pardoned. There’s no longer a bounty on your head.”
A big grin spread across Darek’s face. “That’s great news! Thank you so much!”
“No,” said Dionus. “Thank you.” Dionus vanished in the blink of an eye.
Bit by bit, the dust on the ground molded itself into a human body. Finally, as a last touch, it sculpted the face of Sorren upon its head and Sorren was whole again. He stood and looked at Darek; Darek expected Sorren to say something about the situation, but he didn’t. Frowning, Sorren turned away and vanished.

When they finished resting, they made their way through the final steps of the desert, crossing into a grassy plain. Since the whole trip was done through the early hours of the morning, they managed to reach the station by sunrise. During this time, Sorren stared at the sky as if he was engrossed in his thoughts. Darek was worried. Sorren was usually quiet, but now he was absolutely silent. Darek thought about talking to Sorren about what happened, but decided against it, thinking that it wasn’t really any of Sorren’s business.

They entered the train station. Darek wandered through the building. The train station was grand. The walls were comprised of stacked bricks. Black steel poles provided necessary structure. It was like a small self-enclosed town, featuring an assortment of stores and inns. Though the overhead lights would not turn on, there was ample lighting from the windows to be able to walk freely around without clumsily running into things. But the emptiness of the station gave Darek an ominous chill. Visions of huge throngs of people bustling from gate to gate flashed before his eyes with each step that he took. He even thought he could clearly hear the sounds of trains pulling in and out of the station, though Rathos assured him that it was only his imagination.

Rathos checked to see if there were any usable locomotives along the tracks. All of ones available were powered by electricity, a resource currently unavailable. He searched extensively for anything else but returned empty-handed.

“There’s nothing here,” Rathos said. “We’ll have to walk.” He led them through a gate that took them outside to a dark tunnel. “We can still follow the tracks, I suppose.”

Darek studied the entrance of the tunnel, hesitant to step inside. “I don’t know about this. It’s really dark in there.”
“Well, it is a big tunnel,” said Azura. “And there’s no electricity. Of course it’d be dark.”
“I know,” snapped Darek. “I’m just saying it doesn’t seem like a good idea to walk through a dark tunnel like this.”
“He has a point,” said Sorren. “We don’t have any flashlights. Makeshift torches without good fuel might not last the whole way. And it could be dangerous to go in blind.”
Azura frowned. “Don’t tell me we came all this way for nothing!”
“I was really hoping we’d find some old engine to carry us,” said Rathos. “But now, I’m not sure what we can do. If worse comes to worst, we can still take the long way around.”
Darek suggested, “How about breakfast? We can think things over while we eat.”
“Darek’s right,” Azura said. “It’ll be hard to think on an empty stomach.”
They all agreed. The group took this time to eat and rest before proceeding. They started a fire near the entrance of the tunnel and hunted around for small bunnies and squirrels. When they cooked the meat, the aroma dissolved into the air.
“That smells really good,” said Darek, as he tried to hold back the stirring in his stomach.
“It’s ready,” said Rathos. “Just dig in.”
Darek held the piece of cooked meat in his hands and stared at it longingly, licking his lips. As he was about to take a bite, a huge gust of wind began blowing. The wind was so strong that the fire was blown out. Everyone was completely surprised.
“Is that normal?” said Darek.
“I don’t believe so,” answered Rathos. “But it’s probably nothing.”
Darek’s belly growled, a reminder of the empty void inside. The wind started up again, rustling the trees in the distance. Darek ignored it; a little wind was not going to stop him from taking a bite. The gust of wind kicked dirt in his mouth and he vehemently spat it out. He groaned in frustration. This juicy piece of meat was right in his hands, but the wind kept getting in his way. He tried to bite into it again, but this time, his shirt flew right up, into his face. Darek grunted. His meat was now sullied with grains of sand. But he didn’t care. This time, for sure, he was going to take a bite! The wind kept getting stronger and stronger, smacking him in the face left and right with twigs and rocks. Then, by one powerful gust, the entire group was blown away—as though they were weightless feathers—straight into the heart of the tunnel.
Getting tossed in the air by a strong wind was something Darek had never experienced before. Initially, he thought it was another dream. But soon enough, he discovered that everyone else was around him, though it was too dark for him to actually see anyone.
“Is everyone all right?” Azura asked, shaking out the leaves in her hair.
Darek devoured the meat in his hands before saying, “I guess that decides it for us.” Darek fumbled about in the darkness, trying to look for the wall. “How far did we go? I can’t even see the entrance of the tunnel, much less my own hand.”
“Rathos,” said Sorren, “care to fill us in on that strange wind?”
“I apologize, but I know nothing about it,” replied Rathos. “I’m not very knowledgeable about this region. Thedes goes exploring here, but even he has never gone inside this tunnel. Concerning this wind, it may or may not be a natural occurrence. Honestly, I haven’t a clue.”
“Who cares about that?” said Darek. “We need to get out of here.”
“Search around,” said Sorren. “Maybe there’s a flashlight or something on the ground.”
“That sounds impossible, but fine, whatever,” Darek grunted.
They crawled along the ground searching for anything they could use, bumping into each other and into the walls of the tunnel. They ran their hands across the dirt and didn’t find much aside from leaves and sticks.
“This is hopeless,” Darek said, saddened. “There’s nothing here. Let’s just go in one direction and hope to reach an exit. Thedes, can’t you tell where to go with that nose of yours?”
Thedes took a few sniffs of the air. “The air is strange. The scents are all mixed up.”
“Azura,” said Darek, “can’t you see in the dark?”
“Not this dark,” said Azura. “I need at least a small amount of light to see.”
“I have a suggestion,” said Reza.
“What is it?” asked Sorren.
“Maybe we could use Drey’s magic ability. He can light the way for us.”
“What? You guys know anti-law?” exclaimed Darek. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Drey—use it,” Reza commanded him.
Drey was reluctant to obey her command. “But I thought you said specifically to—”
“Never mind that,” snapped Reza. “Can’t you see the circumstances we’re in?”
Drey nodded. He raised the palm of his hand and it ignited. Drey held it forth and waved it around. The flame expanded, lighting up the tunnel. Now that they could see, they found it was not as simple of a tunnel as they thought it would be. Rather than a long and straight tunnel that would run through the mountain, what was before them was a huge chamber with many smaller tunnels that seemed to go into every direction. It was like a maze. There were small tunnels above them and around them and even below them. It was a miracle they didn’t fall down any of the pits.
Darek gawked at the open room. “This is a lot worse than I thought.”
Rathos crouched over and examined pieces of the broken train tracks that were scattered along the ground. “I wonder what happened. Mechanical weathering? Or could it be chemical?”
A small tremor echoed across the interior of the mountain. Heaps of tiny pebbles slid down from upper tunnels, overflowing the room with a thick dust.
“Whatever it is, it must still be going on,” said Darek.
A massive boulder fell out of one of the numerous tunnels and landed with a thud, cracking the ground beneath it.
Rathos observed the boulder curiously. “It’s perfectly round! Where’d this come from?”
“Be careful! It’s still moving!” Darek shouted.
The boulder started to roll across the dirt towards another tunnel.
“The ground isn’t uneven,” said Sorren, staring at it. “Why would it roll?”
The group peered around the back of the boulder and saw a strange little creature nudging the boulder forward.
“Cute,” gasped Azura with glazed eyes.
Darek rolled his eyes. “Cute? It’s just a little freaky-looking monster.”
The little creature, no more than half a foot in length, had a head, thorax and abdomen. It bore some resemblance to an ant, but each part of its body was of equal size, like three flattened balls tied together. A thick green fur rested only across its back, leaving its soft, squishy belly exposed. The creature had long flat bunny-like feet and two wire-like antennae jutting from its forehead. With big green endearing eyes that were slapped on the front of its face, it gave the group a dirty look.
Darek laughed at its face. “Look at that! Trying to intimidate us? What a cocky fellow.”
“Hmm,” said Rathos. “Very intriguing. I’ve never encountered this species. From what I can tell, it must’ve made its home here by burrowing. I shall make a record of it and name it—”
“Hey,” interrupted Azura, “I saw it first, so I’m naming this one. In fact, I think I’ll keep it. I’ll call it Currie.” She picked it up and carried it in her arms.
Darek shook his head in dismay at Azura’s horrendous name. “It doesn’t look anything like curry! We should leave the naming up to Rathos.”
“No!” Azura strongly stamped her feet, leaving well-defined footprints. “It’s cute—it’s furry—so it’s Currie!”
Sorren brushed his hair back. “Does anyone care to notice that there are lots of these little weird things staring at us right now?”
Hundreds of the little Curries had dropped into the chamber. Taking small steps, they cautiously approached the group.
“What do you think they want?” asked Darek.
“We’re intruding,” replied Rathos. “This is most obviously their home.”
“They don’t look friendly,” said Darek.
“I think you’re right,” said Azura, still hugging the Currie in her arms.
Darek snapped, “Throw that thing away! That might—”
Darek was interrupted by the sound of a low growl. The hundreds of little Curries started to hum and shiver in unison. Suddenly each one curled up into a little blue ball and, with a mighty force, they bounced around the room like bullets ricocheting off the walls. Darek tried to slip and dodge past the speeding Curries. He couldn’t fully dodge one and, the moment it grazed his side, it launched him into the wall. Darek clutched his side, grimacing. The blow had nearly crushed his rib cage. Though the outer most layer of the Currie’s skin was soft, the inside was as hard as steel. It was like being pelted with a cannonball.
“Don’t let your guard down!” warned Sorren. “They’re dangerous!”
“We need to get out of here!” shouted Rathos. Rathos stooped and transformed back into a wolf. He growled, “Try to find the exit while we slow these things down. If we don’t get out of here now, everything might collapse on top of us!”
“Right,” said Sorren. He scanned over the different paths in a hurry and something caught his eye. “Look, all boulders are being pushed toward that tunnel over there. It could be the exit!”
“Better check it out fast,” said Darek. He winced sympathetically every time he saw Rathos get bowled over like a bowling pin. “Or they won’t last.”
Rathos and Thedes stayed behind to keep the Curries from following after the others, but it was not an easy task. Since Drey had left them, the wolves were left stranded in darkness and had to rely on their sense of smell and hearing to keep up with the relentless barrage of bouncing Curries. Unable to avoid their attacks, the two of them were bashed from head to toe.
Meanwhile, Darek and the others urgently dashed down the path they believed was the exit. They ran along the path for some time, but because the tunnel didn’t seem to end, they started to have doubts about the path and wanted to turn back. Sorren pointed to the fragments of railroad tracks and dusty lanterns as evidence that he was not wrong.
“I can see light at the end of the tunnel,” said Azura. “It’s faint, but I’m sure of it.”
“Good,” said Sorren. “We should wait for the others before continuing.”
“I hope they get here soon,” said Darek.
While everyone was waiting for the wolves, Darek noticed something strange about the exit. The light that poured in from the opening was rapidly disappearing, and within seconds, the exit had disappeared. “It’s gone,” uttered Darek, astonished. “The exit is gone…”
“It collapsed?” asked Azura.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, I didn’t hear any rocks fall or anything. It was silent—totally silent.” Darek walked up closer to where he remembered seeing the exit just before it had vanished. “Drey, bring the fire up closer so I can get a better look.”
Drey followed Darek to the wall and together they inspected it.
“It’s definitely not a collapse. There’s just one big boulder here.” Darek placed his hands on the boulder, tapping and pushing it to see if it would move. “Do you think someone blocked it on purpose from the outside?”
“Now why would someone do that?” Azura said, “There’s no else around.”
“Maybe…someone doesn’t want us to go to the capital,” answered Darek gravely, his lips quavering.
Azura chuckled. “Now, you’re just paranoid.” She touched the rock with her hand. “It’s not a problem anyway. If someone pushed it in, I can push it out just as easily.”
Like the stirrings of an earthquake, the inside of the mountain began to shudder. Rathos and Thedes came striding across the dirt on all fours. Both of them were bloody and bruised, but still recognizable; there was a bit of a limp in their step from the beating they had taken.
“Did you find the exit?” growled Rathos, looking quite concerned. “The tunnel looks like it could come down any moment now.”
“Yeah, we found it,” said Azura. “What happened to the Curries? You lost them?”
Rathos said, “Those little beasts just stopped coming. They didn’t even try to follow us.”
“They sure give up easily,” commented Darek. “Then again, they shouldn’t have any more reason to pursue us. I think they attacked us because Azura touched one of their buddies. Now that we’ve left them alone, we should be okay.”
“I see. That might be it.” Azura petted her Currie on the head.
Darek’s jaw dropped when he saw that she was still holding the fuzzy monster in her hand. “You still have that? Are you really planning on keeping it? I bet you don’t even know what it eats. Return that thing immediately before they come storming down here!”
The Currie curled up into a ball and snuggled into the embrace of her arms.
Azura smiled contently. “Aww, look at that! It already likes me.”
Realizing he couldn’t get his point across, Darek scoffed, “She’s in her own little world.”
The mountain began stirring again, causing large piles of dirt and rock to fall from the ceiling. Some of the rubble was moist and splattered all over them like mud.
“It’s coming down,” said Rathos. “We should leave now!”
“The exit is down here.” Darek pointed toward the end of the tunnel. “It closed up, but if we work together, we might be able to push it out.”
The blood drained from his face as Rathos set his eyes on the boulder. “That’s not a rock…”
“What?” Darek sounded confused. It looked like a rock to him. “What else could it be?”
Rathos said, “That’s a Rock Worm. A really big Rock Worm…”
The Rock Worm opened its round mouth, which appeared as a large hole in the rock. It began sucking in the air with such a force that it created a massive vacuum. Smaller rocks were easily lifted up and flown straight into the dark pit, which was its stomach, with no escape.
Everyone tried to stay firmly in place so they wouldn’t get sucked in. Sorren thrust his sword deeply into the floor and held onto the hilt. Thedes and Rathos gripped the wall and ground with their powerful claws. Azura spared no time to dig her fingers into the earth; the Currie hopped into her jacket and stayed there. Darek took his daggers and smashed the blades into floor. However, Drey and Reza had no means of hanging on and, though they crouched closely to the ground, were steadily being sucked in.
“Hang on!” shouted Darek. “I’m coming!” Darek tried to inch forward by pulling out a dagger, moving it a step ahead, and shoving it back into the ground. But he was too slow; within seconds the vacuum grew strong enough to suck in Reza and Drey. Once they were sucked in, the mouth closed up without warning.
With the vacuum gone, Darek ran up to the Rock Worm’s mouth and began furiously stabbing it, but his daggers couldn’t even scratch its hard skin. “Let them go!” he yelled. “Spit them out now! If you don’t, I’ll—”
Azura said, “Let me handle this.” Though she spoke calmly, Darek could see that she was quite shaken and angry. Azura pulled back her arm and made a fist. Then she took one deep breath and unleashed a powerful punch. BAM! By using the momentum of her body and the spring of her knees, the punch knocked the face of the Rock Worm back out of the tunnel, unveiling the exit.
Startled by the impact, the worm wildly swerved its head and neck around. It bellowed an earth-shattering roar that made the grass sway. Its conglomerate skin was covered in smooth and shiny minerals that made it sparkle a multi-color rainbow in the sunlight. It was almost one hundred feet in height, and it towered over the group; to the worm, the people looked like little grasshoppers, easily crushable in a single strike.
“Now look what you did!” said Darek, utterly frightened. “You angered it! Why did you have to anger it?”
“Wasn’t that your intention?” Azura countered.
The Rock Worm slammed its bulky head against the side of the mountain, causing a massive rockslide to begin its descent. Dozens of giant boulders came tumbling down. Everyone tried to run outside to avoid getting caught underneath the rocks.
During the calamity, some of the heavy rubble landed on Rathos’s tail; he howled and winced as his tailbone broke rather painfully. Understanding the dire situation that Rathos was in, Thedes came running to his side to aid him.
Darek turned back and also wanted to help Rathos, but Thedes growled at him, “Go on! Get out of here! You must complete the task at all costs.”
“No! I’m not leaving anyone behind!” Darek refused to listen to Thedes, but Azura forcefully dragged him out of the way of the crumbling ceiling. The immense landslide from the mountain landed, covering the side of the mountain with large immovable boulders. The tunnel collapsed and Azura, Darek and Sorren were the only ones to make it outside.
“No, we have to go back!” cried Darek. He pulled himself away from Azura and ran back to the mountain. “They’re still in there! They’re still alive!”
Darek climbed the heap of rubble and scrambled to toss aside the smaller rocks that were in his way. But when his hands reached the larger rocks, he couldn’t even make them budge. His determined face covered in tears and mud, Darek kept pulling on the rocks. Then, gritting his teeth, Darek punched the rocks until his knuckles bled. All his efforts were futile. When he realized there was nothing he could do to save the others, he broke down and cried out.
The gigantic worm thrashed about once again, smashing its head against the mountain.
“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Azura screamed. “IT’S COMING FOR YOU!”
Darek spun around to see the head of the Rock worm before him. The one-eyed worm scrutinized Darek, determining whether or not Darek was suitable prey. The shock from the sight made Darek freeze in place. Speechless, he stood there and gazed into the Rock Worm’s glare in overwhelming fear. Darek felt like he was staring at the embodiment of death itself; one bite from the powerful jaws of the worm was sure to end his life in an instant. His body was not discreet about his current feelings: while hyperventilating, his knees kept knocking together.
“My legs…won’t move,” Darek whimpered.
Sorren tried to divert the monster’s attention by slashing at its body, but he could not penetrate the worm’s rocky plating. In fact, his sword was starting to crack.
The worm twirled its head around and came close to Darek; it opened its mouth wide and stooped down as if to swallow Darek whole. Azura ran toward Darek, hoping to reach him in time. Seeing that she was too far to rescue Darek, Azura picked up a rock and threw it at the worm’s body. She knew it wouldn’t do anything, but she was so frustrated at their inability to stop this monster that she didn’t care.
However, at that moment, the worm stopped aiming for Darek and began to act strangely. The worm twisted around and swung its head left and right, as though searching for something. Darek quickly took the opportunity, now that the worm was distracted, to run away and rejoin with Azura and Sorren.
Azura raised a brow. “Did throwing the rock do something?”
“No.” Sorren turned his attention toward the ground. “Something…”
“What happened?” asked Darek, his legs still unable to stop shaking.
“Something big is coming,” Sorren continued.
Darek pointed at the giant worm. “Big? There’s no way it could be bigger than that!”
The land began to shake violently. Huge shock waves rolled along the ground, shearing it apart. The tremors knocked everyone off their feet and they wondered what was going on. The ground opened up, and this time a giant earthworm appeared; it was similar to the one Sorren had seen at the canyon before.
“You weren’t kidding! Another giant worm? And it’s ridiculously bigger than the other ridiculously big giant worm!” exclaimed Darek in a panic. “THIS IS ALL SERIOUSLY SCREWED UP! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!”
“With a height that incredible, it could probably see everything for miles! There’s no place for us to run or hide!” said Azura.
“It doesn’t matter where we go! It’s too dangerous to stay here,” said Sorren. “Just run!”
Azura agreed and they all ran as fast as they could away from the area. While they were running, Azura tugged on Darek’s sleeve and pointed toward a small patch of trees along the plains. Darek nodded. Together, they all snuck into the shade.
Sorren and Azura climbed up the tallest trees and hid among its branches; from this place, they could watch the worms and their behavior. Darek had other ideas. He was not at all interested in seeing what the worms were doing. Instead, he found a giant log and crawled under it. Scrunched inside the tight area, he then