The Legend Of Black Eyes 116 The Darkness

"Boon occupied one of the rooms in this place," Eli informed me. "If you look at the layout of this area, I'd say there is more than one room around here, used mainly for solitary confinement."

"How will that help us find a way out?" I asked.

"Many prisoners down here must have tried to escape, at least once," Eli said. "If we look around, we're bound to find some notes, a map, an indication to the way out." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"What if we don't?" I asked.

"Don't be so negative!" Eli retorted. "Let's look first, think only of success."

"Let's pretend I think positively," I said, ignoring my friend's newfound optimism. "Let's also pretend we've found some notes that will allow us to leave this place. How will we read them? Most prisoners here must have been Sebyan. Can you read their language?"

"Sebyan don't write," Eli said.

"That's not true," I said. "I've seen the library the warden had. I've also seen Nag read a book as he waited for me."

"Those were books written by humans," Eli told me. "Sebyan never wrote about their history. They only tell it to their descendants, and their descendants pa.s.s it over to the next generation, and so on and so forth."

"Why are we looking for notes then?" I asked, that new att.i.tude of Eli started to irritate me.

"Because they draw what they can't write," Eli said. "If one of them has made plans of escape, he must have drawn them somewhere."

"Alright," I said. "What do we look for? You can't expect the prisoners to draw their plans on the wall, do you?

"As a matter of a fact," Eli said, grinning from ear to ear, "I do. If no one can escape this place, why put guards around? Prisoners will also feel free to draw on their walls. They don't need to hide anything from inspectors."

"This is too hopeful," I retorted. "How would you justify Boon's presence here then? If somebody had drawn an escape plan on a wall, he would've found it."

"What makes you think Boon wanted to leave this place?" Eli said. "Maybe he actually liked it here."

I couldn't argue with that statement. Boon himself had told me he liked it here. "How do we go about it?" I asked.

"We split up," Eli said. "This place is too big to cover. If we stick together, we'll waste precious time."

"Just make sure you call out to me if that banshee shows up," I said.

We couldn't waste time, but I was also wary of the banshee's presence. Lemien knew where we were now. He'd either retaliate or do everything in his power to keep us locked in here. Better yet, Ofelia could push Eli to his limit, cause him to lose his mind. Turning us against each other was the safest way to get rid of us. I'd do the same if I were in his position.

"Don't worry about the banshee," Eli said. "Even if she comes, I won't let her get to me."

"That's easier said than done," I said. "You're acting all happy and clever because of the potion. Once the effect wears off, you'll be back to your brooding self. Make sure you call for me when she shows up."

Eli scratched his chin for a while, looking at me with amus.e.m.e.nt. "Very well," he finally said. "I'll make sure to let you know. You do the same."

"I will," I said. "I don't think we can bring her down unless we work together."

We split up after that. I walked in that vast empty area, with long pillars and burning torches. I inspected each room, looking for drawings, items, scrolls and so on. Eli remained in Boon's room. He wanted to inspect it first, then move on from there.

Most of the rooms I stumbled upon had nothing noteworthy. I must have searched at least two dozen when I reached a dark area. No torches were lit there. The arches presented themselves to me in a dark, gloomy atmosphere.

Past the first row of pillars, everything was pitch black, impossible to see. I could sense something was lurking in there, something dangerous, primal, and angry. I tried to extend my senses toward it but Eva warned me against it.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' she said.

'You've felt it too?' I asked.

'Whatever's in there did not come from this world. I can definitely feel its presence.'

She was right. I didn't need to extend my senses to feel it. I felt that something was watching me. It was like it could see me, but I couldn't pinpoint its exact location. I knew I was its target the moment I stepped in front of the darkness.

The last torches between me and the creature that hid beyond flickered.  I was curious to have a look at it, but I was also scared to cross that invisible border. In all my life, I've never felt that scared. My knees had suddenly grown weak. I felt s.h.i.+vers run down my spine. The thing that watched me from afar was aware of my fear.

It was like I could feel its amus.e.m.e.nt at that. It was ready to jump at me the moment I crossed that line.

'Let's get back,' Eva suggested.

Her attempt to reach my consciousness and suggest retreat caused me to jump. I wasn't a scaredy-cat, but I was ready to admit I was terrified of the darkness at that point. Something wasn't right about this place.

'Give me a minute,' I told Eva. 'There something in here, but I can't put my finger on it. It's elusive, scary too. Something's definitely off about this place.'

I focused on the darkness in front of me. It felt as though it had a life. Light reflected on my body, casting a shadow on the floor. I looked at my shadow. It was there, moving with the flickering of the torches. I looked up and into the darkness again. I swore I could see something moving despite the inky blackness in front of me.

I looked at it for longer, repressing my fear, repressing the urge to run and never look back. It felt as though reason had voiced its concern for me, urging me to listen and f.u.c.king run. But I stood my ground. I couldn't leave before seeing what floated before me. Something was off about this darkness, and I had to figure it out.

Then I saw it, the thing that bothered me so much.

No matter how much I looked, my eye couldn't get used to the blackness inside. If you stand by the light, and stare enough into the dark, your eye might make out some movement inside, the shape of the room you're looking into, a pillar, a crate in the distance, something. I looked long and hard, but couldn't make out anything. Not a movement, not a pillar in the distance, not a room, not a thing.

'This darkness is somehow alive,' I told Eva. 'It might be my imagination, but I think it's alive.'

'What do you mean, alive?'

'I can't explain it in words,' I said. 'The fear we feel, might stem from it. But there might be nothing hiding there, watching us.'

'Nothing?' she asked.

'It's just a theory,' I said. 'But this darkness is the creature. If we run out of light, we die. That's why Boon had kept the torches lit I guess.'

"Myles!" I heard Eli reach out to me. "Come here!"

I turned toward Eli and felt that presence look at me. It felt as though its eyes were fixed on the back of my head. I was its target. I felt weak. I felt helpless. My heart raced and everything urged me to run to my skinny friend.

"Myles!" I heard Eli once more. His voice was now playful. Its tone was quite childish. "Come here!"

I felt s.h.i.+vers run down my spine again. My heart was loudly beating against my chest. I felt cold sweat run down the back of my neck. Eli's voice came from behind, from the darkness. My hands were now frozen. My feet were stuck in place. I couldn't think, nor could I urge my body to move.

I chanced a peek.

'Don't!' Eva warned.

'Why?'

'I don't know,' Eva said. 'Hurry and get out of here, will you? I have a bad feeling about this.'

"Myyyyyyles!" Eli called out to me from behind.

"Myles!" He called out again.

"Myles!"

"Myles!"

"Myles!"

I quickened my pace. I didn't want to run. Only cowards run.

"I know your name now!" Eli said, but it wasn't Eli. It wasn't his voice anymore. The voice now was deep, ominous.

I ran!

Gooseb.u.mps enveloped me and I ran. I didn't know what to think anymore. Fear overwhelmed me. That thing, whatever it was, was dangerous.

"RUN BOY, RUN!" The voice called after me.

I reached my friend a few minutes later, panting, sweating, and terrified. The moment I saw him, my knees could no longer support my weight. I fell to the floor. Cold sweat had broken down my back.

"What happened to you?" Eli asked.

"We're in deep s.h.i.+t!" I told him in between gasps.

"Did you see it?" Eli asked.

"See what?" I looked at him.

We were in front of a painting. Somebody had drawn a map of the place on a wall between two rooms. Fire was depicted on one half of the map, while the other half was black. A Sebyan skull was drawn on top of the black part of the map.

"I tried to a.n.a.lyze this map," Eli said. "See this?" he pointed at the dark area. "There are stairs beyond it. That's our way out, but the skull tells me there's danger in there."

"s.h.i.+t…" I swore.

"Did you see the dark area?" Eli asked.

"I saw something," I told him. "I don't know what it was, but it can speak. It knows my name now."

"What? What speaks?"

"MYYYYYYLES! COME TO MEEEEEEE, LET'S PLAAAAAAY!"

The voice this time was deep, hoa.r.s.e, full of rage and murderous intent.

"What the h.e.l.l was that?" Eli asked.

"It's the darkness," I told him.