The Eater of Gods by Dan Franklin & Cemetery Dance Publications

Author:Dan Franklin & Cemetery Dance Publications [Franklin, Dan & Publications , Cemetery Dance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications
Published: 2023-03-14T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

“We have to go get him,” Charlie said.

Sieber shook his head.

“We’re not a rescue team. This whole thing has gone tits. We need to see about digging our way through and getting back to Tarfuk. Preferably before a handful of Hadjis show up with rifles and drop us as we climb out. He’ll be fine for a couple days.”

“Down here? In the dark, for days. Would you really be fine?” Charlie asked.

“If we split up—”

“I’m not saying we split up. I’m saying that we all need to go get him.”

“What about traps? Your pal didn’t do so well playing Tomb Raider.”

“That boy is still alive. If we leave him down there, we might as well have murdered him. We’ll be careful.”

Sieber shook his head again, more slowly. He turned his efforts to Norman.

“He isn’t one of us. If he dies… fuck, this isn’t smart. You know this isn’t smart. You wanted to help? This is how you help.”

Charlie turned to Norman too. She must have read his reservations on his face because she didn’t bother waiting for him to weigh in.

“Well I am one of us. And I’m not killing some helpless kid.”

She hitched her camera bag up over her shoulder and headed down the staircase.

“Come on, are we really…?”

Norman nodded slowly. He felt an angry flicker of joy at Sieber’s helplessness after the failed bombing attempt, but it didn’t last. It didn’t matter, either. Whatever chance he had of dissuading Charlie had passed the moment he let her build momentum for her moral indignation. And she was right, too. A good person would do what they could to save some helpless soul from dying alone in endless darkness. Clara would. That was enough for Norman.

Sieber shook his head in disbelief then headed after her.

“Wait up,” he called.

The depths consumed his command and returned nothing. A moment later, even the distant glow of flashlights had vanished as completely as if they’d been submerged in tar.

Anita hesitated, audibly swallowed. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“You going to be okay?” Norman asked.

She looked pale.

“I’m not too good in really tight spaces. Or risking what happened to Cal. But hell, if those two can, I can,” she said.

“I’ll go first,” Norman offered, regretting it even before he said it. She nodded her gratitude.

Before he could come up with reasons to hesitate, he turned to face the roughhewn steps. He crossed on to them and began his descent.

The feeling of being digested was undeniable.

The staircase was steep, cramped, and winding as it drilled down into the Earth and with each step it grew colder and colder. Like the oceanic layers, he thought. Down from the sunlight zone into mesopelagic twilight. Down toward the abyss.

The vaulting ceiling of the entry chamber did not carry over and Norman had to stoop to keep from scuffing his head on the ancient stone. The walls on either side inched closer and closer until the runes nearly brushed up against him, the same deranged and violent hieroglyphics from before stretching in one, tireless band at head level.

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