The Butcher Gang: The Legend of the Ethereal Stones

CHAPTER 9: Under the Earth

      

          "Woo-hoo! Will you look at that, the monsters come and go... But we remain victorious!!" Faith cried, as she high-fived Edgar. This wasn't easy for her since she was barely taller than Edgar's hand, but she managed.

          "Ha, ha. You can say that again," Edgar laughed, with the ever cutest smile.

          "She certainly can," Camarat said, her voice low. "You need the Axenite if you're ever to challenge Welkisberk. It grants two gifts - strength and camouflage. You'll find it in the Rox Caverns, far below the surface. Good luck, arachnid."

          Once again, Edgar was unable to ask for clarification before he was whisked away. His vision was remarkably reduced, mostly due to the lack of lighting in the cavern. The walls were carved through tough earth and uneven rock. People roamed the dark caves as if nothing was wrong. They wore earthy robes and all had brown eyes. None of them paid the spider any attention.

         Poor Edgar couldn't see his hands in front of his face in the darkness. The corridors smelled of fresh soil and not much else. No sooner did he take a step forward than he tripped over a weed growing in the rough floor. He struck the rough-hewn stone, scraping his face up painfully.

        "You're such a klutz," said a voice. The speaker sounded like stones grinding together. His skin was nearly as white as Edgar's face, and his hair was dyed green. He was regarding the spider spitefully.

        "Well, excuse me! But I don't have night vision." Edgar stood up and brushed himself off. This boy clearly wasn't trying to make friends.

       "None of us do," replied the boy. "But we learn to adapt. Unlike you, we can't go to the surface or the light of the sun will blind us."

       That explained the boy's skin condition, as well as his lack of sociality. If he hadn't ventured above ground, he wouldn't be very fair-skinned, and the underground tribe didn't seem very talkative. "Figures. You aren't very polite."

      The boy rolled his eyes. "It's not a necessity down here. We never talk to each other, and we never talk to anyone outside of our tribe." 

      That explains a lot more , Edgar thought bitterly.

      "But that's enough trivial talk," the boy huffed. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

       Edgar was starting to lose his cool. Who did this kid think he was, and where were his manners? "If you're going to ask someone's name," he snapped, "shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

       The boy rolled his eyes. "If you insist. I'm Damien."

       Edgar drew himself to his full height. He was still remarkably small, but standing up straight, he came above Damien's shoulders. "My name's Edgar, and I'm the legendary hero. I'm here for the Axenite."

       Damien blanched visibly. "I don't think you should. The Creepvine has been unforgivable lately."

       Edgar huffed loudly. The reaction confirmed that the Creepvine was the guardian in this place. "You can say what you want. I have friends on the line. If you don't have anything productive to say, then do us both a favor and stay out of my way ." He shoved Damien into the wall.

        By trial and error, Edgar found his way into the largest cavern. Several times he brushed against a cluster of leafy vines. Once he tripped over a deposit of flowering weeds.

        A distant roar sounded in another cavern. Before Edgar knew what was happening, one of the vine clusters whipped around his waist, squeezing the air out of him. Edgar tried to scream, but another vine snaked around his throat. Four of his six legs were lashed to the wall spread-eagle, and his other two legs were bound together.

       The roars grew closer, and Edgar caught his first glimpse of the Creepvine's head. It was like a giant flower bud, except there was a disgustingly mutated face and a pair of cruel jaws where the blossom should've been. The head swung around until its unforgiving fangs were inches from Edgar. Even with the jaws closed, the head was nearly three times larger than the spider.

       "What is this?" the Creepvine snarled, its voice alien and raspy. "An intruder? I do not tolerate intruders in my home."

         Edgar said nothing, his eyes fixated on an unsmoothed brown rock with an odd shape clutched in one of the vines like a hand. The Axenite! But it was impossible to reach!

          

        The Creepvine caught his eye and hissed. "You want my jewel? I find this unacceptable!" Its vines tightened their grip on Edgar, and the spider was beginning to lose consciousness.

        Edgar's vision was dimming, but he could still see a blue flash from behind the Creepvine. The burst of light whirled around the overgrown plant, apparently attacking it. Colored streams withered the vines and crumpled the leaves. The Creepvine's head was rapidly shrinking.

        Edgar dropped hard to the floor. Oxygen made its way to his brain, but he was still only half conscious. The blue flash grabbed the Axenite from the fallen plant and tossed it to him. The light diminished until it became a teenage boy with tousled hair the color of chocolate, intense silvery hazel eyes, and glittering blue butterfly wings. He looked familiar, but Edgar couldn't comprehend who it was. The boy nodded and vanished in another shimmering burst.

       Gripping the Axenite, Edgar was whisked away once again. Ninth stone down, and one more.

       He'd almost died this time. Hopefully luck was on his side this final time.

                                                ~END OF CHAPTER~