The Obelisk

The imposters have been rid of, back to writing!

-Chapter 75-

Once his eyes were closed, he felt himself fall.

It was terrifying, sounds and voices whirred passed him, and as he landed, he was quick to open them again.

At first, he thought he was seeing things. His eyes were open. He was standing motionless in blue darkness, panting quietly. Then, his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, and he realized he was somewhere he’d never expected.

Walls, stone walls all around. The quiet squeak of bats nearby, the sound of talons padding down the tunnel. Niches and stalagmites and small, underground rivers flowed downstream and out of sight. He was home.

Forest swiveled his had around, confused and nostalgic. “How the heck…” He stepped forward and saw that he was in his parents cave, the one with the largest part of the river.

Then he heard someone yelling, the voice coming from everywhere at once.

“Forest!” It was his friends. “Forest!”

“What did you do?” Crimsons voice demanded.

“Crimson?” Forest called, looking around. “Spark! Rust! Guys!”

“Calm down,” Echoed the voice of the Shadowmane elder. “the test had begun. It will be over soooon, back awaaay.” He heard talons and paws scuffling acrossed the floor.

“Rock Drake,” said Cyan’s voice after a moment. “This is your test.”

“How is this happening??” Forest yelled. She did not answer. Could she not hear him?

“Do not be afraid, Rock Drake, you are safe. For now. Just breathe, calm yourself. None of this is real.”

Forest nodded and breathed in, only to smell the scent of the Shadowmane camp and his friends. ‘None of this is real.’

Was it possible to be scared and sad, and calm and comforted at the same time?

‘Wait, she said this is a test. What is it testi—‘

There was a screech from in front of him, and he opened his eyes once more.

The Araneo glared at Forest with its seven glowing eyes, growling quietly. in terror, Forest froze himself completely, only to feel the air blast in his face as the insect roared at him.

He stumbled back and ran the opposite direction, straight into one of the nearby tunnels. Blue and green glowworms illuminated the walls, but there was only a moment of safety before more Araneos burst from several holes in the walls, screeching.

He heard the muffled voices of his friends as he ran, silenced by Cyan as she hissed in Forests ear, “Stay alive.”

“STAY ALIVE??” Forest screamed, leaping down as the tunnel dropped. “WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO??”

The only answer was the roar of several Araneos chasing him, climbing onto the walls and hissing loudly. One dropped itself from the ceiling, right onto Forests back. The contact caused Forest to trip and fall with a roar.

The two creatures wrestled for a moment, rolling on the cave floor. Forest held the Araneos head away from his as it snapped at him over and over again, saliva dripping from its fangs.

Struggling to keep it away from him, Forest yelled out his anger and kicked it in the abdomen. The creature was flung acrossed to the other side of the cavern, smashing into the wall. Rocks tumbled down.

Forest leapt back up, whirling around as two more jumped at him. He slashed one in the face and bolted, running back down the tunnel.

He ran and ran as the cave deepened, the glowworms becoming fewer and further between. The lights flickered, and for a moment Forest was in complete darkness.

Then the glowworms appeared again. Forest stepped forward to keep running— but stopped.

The long, winding tunnel that had been in front of him a second ago— it was gone. A flat gray wall, a dead end, stood it front of him.

Forest only had a moment to turn around before the Araneos got him.