The Sun Never Sets | Chapter 4 - In the Dark

Chapter 4 - In the Dark

The worst part about the tunnels, Alice thought, was the way that the echoed. As the two women walked through the dark, stone tunnels their footsteps rang out all around them, the sound magnified like it was being made by a pair of giants.

Alice stuck close to Chiyo and the light she held as the pair of them crept forward, and her eyes roamed over every shadow just in case some sort of terrible creature was lurking in them. She made an attempt to distract herself from her own fears by contemplating what these tunnels were originally used for; as an escape route, or by smugglers perhaps? Yet it was no use, for that just made her imagine that the lost souls of the damned and the desperate were still trapped down here somewhere. Really, after having such thoughts, it was only a supreme act of self-control that kept her from latching onto Chiyo's arm.

On top of all the, she could not help but feel like they were being watched, and she thought that she could hear footsteps behind them, but every time she turned around there was nothing there. She could only pray that it was her imagination conspiring with the darkness to play tricks on her.

Then something soft brushed gently against her face, and she screamed.

Chiyo quickly swung her lantern around at her cry, and they were soon able to see the white, silken threads dangling from the wooden beams running across the ceiling. The other woman clucked her tongue, and Alice felt the cold fear in her blood turn into burning embarrassment on her cheeks.

She quickly stood up straight and brushed herself off.

“M-my apologies,” she stuttered.

Her companion gave no verbal reply, she simply sighed, gave her a small grin, and motioned for her to keep moving. Not wanting to be a further burden Alice quickly complied, and the two of them set off again.

Perhaps it was simply her imagination again, but Alice thought that Chiyo also seemed a little tense; especially in the set of her jaw, and the stiffness of her gait. Then again that should not be surprising, these creepy old tunnels would be enough to set hardened soldiers on edge, she was sure.

Without really thinking much about it, Alice's lips parted once more as she said:

“Thank you.”

Once again, Chiyo made no reply except to nod her head slightly. Alice did not mind though, she was just grateful that she was not alone in this God-forsaken place.

It did not escape her notice that the path they walked was set on an incline, and that they were descending deeper into the Earth.

They walked in silence for an amount of time that could have been a handful of minutes, or a couple of hours, before Chiyo raised her hand and called her to a halt. It was easy for Alice to see what had caught her attention, there was a figure sitting slouched against the roughly-hewn wall. They were dressed in what looked like some kind of strange armour, their helmet tilted forward to hide their face. Beyond their dress their was something else wrong with this person, and it took her a second to put her finger on just what it was. They were lying very still, unnaturally so...

Alice swallowed thickly as her mind made the connection, and she felt her skin crawl.

Chiyo however, appeared undeterred, as she walked over and knelt next to the corpse.

“Chiyo don't!” Alice hissed.

However, the other woman ignored her as she reached out and removed the helmet.

The face beneath it was even worse than Alice had imagined. It was completely emaciated, his pale, withered skin stretched across his bones, and his mouth open in an eternal scream. His eyes were wide open but glazed over, forever fixed unseeingly on the ground in front of him.

Alice desperately wanted to avert her gaze, but found that she could not. For some unfathomable reason her eyes remained transfixed on this grotesque sight, the corpse of a man who had died a truly awful death. She was revolted by her own morbid curiosity, as she thought about just how afraid he must have been at the end.

Then Chiyo was standing in front of her again, and Alice found herself thankful to her for blocking the horrendous view, and her even more horrendous thoughts.

That was, until she realised that Chiyo was holding something in her hand, and her arms was extended as she was clearly offering it to her. It was a sword, much like the one she had held on the surface, and Alice felt her mouth go very dry at the sight of it; not least because there was only one place it could have come from. She raised her hands, hoping to clearly communicate her refusal.

“No, that is quite alright,” she said. “I'll be just fine without it.”

Chiyo's response was to push the sheathed weapon towards her insistently. When Alice looked up into her eyes, she found that they still had that gentle concern in them, but there was also a bit of an edge to them now. It was that more than anything else, that prompted her to take the offered blade, and she felt her stomach turn as the weight of it settled in her hands.

Seemingly satisfied, Chiyo turned back to the corpse and muttered something that Alice took to be a very short prayer. Then the two of them began to move on.

Alice clutched the sword tightly in her right hand as they went, but kept her gaze firmly ahead. She understood why Chiyo had made her take it, this world was dangerous and she needed something with which to protect herself. Yet she had no desire to take another life, and she would much rather run if they were attacked again, or die herself.

And would you have Chiyo die too?

The question darted across the front of her mind, and brought all other thoughts screeching to a halt in its wake. Would she be willing to sacrifice Chiyo to keep her own hands clean? After all, when she had killed that second man it had been Chiyo who had been in danger not her, she could have run. If she had made that choice, what would have happened to the other woman?

All sorts of distasteful images came to the fore in answer to that question, and each one of them made her want to retch.

If she had not killed those men, and Chiyo had died, would it have been her fault? If someone were to die because of her inaction, would that be just as bad as if she had struck the killing blow herself?The weapon felt heavier and heavier in her hands, as though it was the incarnation of all the doubts and fear whirling about inside her head.

- - -

Had she made the right decision, in giving Alice that Katana?

That was but one of the many questions that Chiyo pondered as they continued to trudge through the dark, gloomy tunnel.

It was pretty clear that just holding the weapon made the other woman uncomfortable, but at the same time, what else could be done? Chiyo had what little magic her predecessor had been able to teach her, but Alice had nothing, and she could not allow the foreign girl to continue to walk about completely defenceless. Especially now that they had had a taste of the dangers that waited for them.

She rubbed her wrist almost unconsciously, she could still feel that man's vice-like grip as her held her arm in place.

That had been a careless mistake on her part, she had lost her awareness of her surroundings, and as a result had very nearly lost her life. Had Alice not found her courage in that single moment … well, it did not bear thinking about. She would need to be more careful in the future, because she could not rely on there always being someone there to save her.

Still, despite having met the foreign girl less than a day ago, it seemed their destinies were becoming intertwined; as in that time they had already saved each other's lives.

Then again, she supposed it was only natural, given that Alice was the only normal person she had met since hell had overtaken the world of the living.

Those two men had certainly not been normal, they had been almost rabid, and to her eyes had looked deathly ill. It had not just been the pallor of their skin, or the state of their eyes either; she remembered the smell that had come from the man who had pinned her down, it had been putrid, like that time her master had taken her to a village that had been effected by the plague. She had lost her breakfast that day.

She glanced over her shoulder, and found Alice following along not far behind, her eyes unseeing as though she was deep in thought. She was still carrying the katana in one had, and the sight of it brought more questions to Chiyo's mind.

She assumed the dead samurai must have come in from the other end, but how had he died? Had he been injured before entering the tunnels? She hoped so, because if not that meant the underground passage was not as safe as she had assumed. It meant that all manner of foul creatures could be hiding down here, just waiting for the two of them to stumble across them.

A heavy sigh passed her lips, she was beginning to wish that she had taken the time to examine the corpse properly, because at least then she would have had some idea as to what had happened to him. However, she had wanted to make as much progress as possible as fast as possible, she did not much relish the idea of spending a night underground.

Just thinking about such things had a terrible effect in her mood, and she could not help feeling like they are being watched. Her hand slowly crept into her robes for her ofuda, as she began to feel more and more that coming down here had been a very bad decision. She would not turn back though, not yet, not unless she actually saw something amiss. After all, she did not want to allow her actions to become dictated by a sense of paranoia. Besides which, they were almost at the end.

As it transpired, that something amiss was not far off, and when she saw it her blood ran cold. She heard her companion gasp from behind her, clearly having seen the same thing that she had.

She backed up a step, fully intending to turn right around and drag Alice back the way they had come. Then there came the thudding of something soft but heavy padding across the stone, and it was quickly followed by an irritating scratching sound. She swallowed her fear, as she realised that it may have already been too late to run.

- - -

The webbing only grew thicker as Alice continued to follow Chiyo through the darkness. It hung in ever thicker strands from the ceiling, and every time it brushed against her she shuddered. The way the flames from the lantern danced across everything, casting half of their surroundings in shadow, only added to how unsettled she felt.

Oh, there had to be an absolute army of spiders down here to spin so many cobwebs, and she absolutely hated spiders.

She was so caught up in her revulsion at their surroundings, that she almost did not notice when her guide came to a sudden halt, and she only just avoided crashing into her. She looked at her companion, the question on her lips, when she noticed that Chiyo's gaze was fixed upwards. Alice swallowed thickly as she followed her gaze, hoping desperately that the paleness of Chiyo's cheeks was only a trick of the light.

The tunnel had expanded into what seemed like a large chamber, complete with a high ceiling, and she when she saw what was up there her scream died in her throat.

Giant bundles of webbing dangled from the ceiling, and even as her conscious mind wondered what they were for, a little voice in the back of her head whispered that they were big enough to fit a fully grown man. Her stomach clenched painfully, and once again she could feel the raw terror begin to bubble up inside her.

That could not be it. Any spider big enough to prey on people would have to be truly monstrous!

That was also when she heard the thudding and scratching of something coming towards them, and her worst fears were quickly realised, as the monster in question stalked into view.

The spider was the size of a large horse, with legs as thick as tree branches. Its eight soulless, black eyes shone in the light of the lantern, and Alice felt like all of them were focused on her. Two large mandibles extended from below those eyes, and they dripped with some viscous, off-white fluid.

Suddenly it was hard to breathe, and her legs felt like they were made of lead, although that did not keep them from trembling beneath her.

“N-no!” she whispered, her voice strangled by fear.

A loud roar filled the chamber then, but it did not come from the spider. Chiyo had suddenly charged forward, and her arm flicked out, as she threw something straight at the beast's face. A sudden burst of bright light erupted in the air before her, and for a moment Alice's vision was full of stars. For a long handful of seconds she could not see, but she could hear, she could hear as the beast hissed in pain and stamped its many legs.

When her vision did clear she could see the beast thrashing about, desperately trying to get to the woman who had assaulted it.

However, Chiyo was already moving. She grabbed Alice around the wrist, pulled her forward, and screamed what was presumably an order to run.

Unfortunately that scream also drew the spider's attention, and it whirled on them, one leg heading straight for Chiyo's head. She tried to evade the strike, but just was not fast enough to avoid it completely, and was struck hard in the shoulder. Alice did not need to think about it as she saw the other woman spun around, and quickly reached out to keep her from tumbling to the ground. Her arms wrapped tightly around Chiyo's waist as she took her full weight, and somehow managed to keep her standing.

She had not been able to do anything about the lantern, which had been sent flying from Chiyo's hand when she had been struck. The glass shattered when it struck the wall right next to one of the beams, and the dry, ancient wood quickly caught flame. The fire rapidly surged upwards, and quickly spread to the rest of the support structure.

Suddenly the room was filled with an intense heat, as within seconds the tunnels were on the verge of becoming an inferno.

The two women did not even need to look at each other in order to come to an agreement, almost as one the two turn and begin to race away from the flames and the monster. Fortunately, it was not far before Alice could see a light at the end of the tunnel, and she headed straight for it, legs pumping beneath her. When she reached it the ground before her disappeared, and she would have gone over the edge, if not for the force on the scruff of her neck that dragged her back.

Her whole body went weak with relief, and she almost sunk to her knees. Excepted that Chiyo did not let her, as she grabbed her by her arm, and hauled her back to her feet. As the two of them stumbled away she spared a glance over her shoulder, and saw the smoke leaking from the entrance to the cave. She kept expecting the spider to burst forth too, but it never did.

The feel of sunlight on her skin, and of actual fresh air filling her lungs was an immense relief. A cold breeze blew against her, and although it made her shiver, it was also invigorating. The sun was far past its apex as this point, and was well into its descent towards the horizon. They had been underground for quite some time it seemed.

The cave had let out onto the side of a cliff, and Chiyo lead her along the trail that lead down. The path was thin enough that she was forced to walk behind her companion, her shoulder brushing against the unyielding stone as she tried to keep herself away from the edge. The whole time Alice kept her eyes pointing firmly forwards, absolutely refusing to look down. Even when Chiyo spoke and pointed to something below them she refused to look, she would learn what Chiyo was talking about soon enough, she was sure.

Yet despite her best efforts, she could still feel that sense of vertigo creeping up on her.

What was waiting for them at the bottom of the cliff was a small shack next to a river, and Alice wondered whether it was connected to the stream from earlier.

Chiyo wasted no time in throwing the door open, and heading inside. Much like the previous one, the inside of this little shack was completely empty, without even the straw mat this time, and, she presumed, without the trap door.

Alice watched curiously, as after barring the door, Chiyo produced several small pieces of paper and attached them to the wood.

“What are those?” she asked.

Chiyo turned to face her, that familiar questioning look on her face.

“Those,” Alice repeated, pointing at the door.

Chiyo slowly raised her hand, and placed a single elegant finger gently atop one of the strips of paper. Alice nodded her head.

“Ofuda,” she answered, after a moment.

Ofuda? Alice repeated the word a few times, first in her head and then aloud, as she tried to get the hang of it. Curious little things, she wondered what they were for?

Well, she was probably was not going to figure that out just then, so she dismissed the question and turned around. She found Chiyo rooting through their bags, and it quickly became clear she was searching for food.

Alice's stomach growled at the thought, and her face quickly turned bright red as the sound seemed to cut through the air. Well, it was only natural, she had not eaten since early this morning after all.

The sound of her hunger caught Chiyo's attention, and she turned to face her with wide eyes. Then her lips twisted into a little grin, and a light giggle passed between them.

Despite how mortified she felt, Alice thought it was the most pleasant sound she had heard since she had first found herself in this strange place.

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