Life Changer

Chapter Nine: Vala

I opened the door cautiously. We went inside, ready for anything that might be waiting. I saw a stairwell that led to the basement. I pointed to it, and Ivy nodded. Klaven went to it and peered around the railing. He motioned for us to follow, then went down slowly. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I felt cold, it was very damp in there. I saw many different types of rocks, some were sitting on an old couch. Most of them, however, were stuck to the walls and ceiling. There was a faint light coming from around the corner, causing the rocks to glimmer. No wonder it was called the Cave.

We started towards the light around the corner. The first thing I noticed was his posture. There was a man, hunched over. He looked starving, and he had a lot of bruises and scratches all over him. His hair was grown out to the middle of his back, all ratty and clumped together. He was chained to the wall, just high enough so that his feet could barely touch the floor.

"Dad?" Ivy whispered.

His head shot up, his eyes wildly looked around until they found us. I didn't see that his mouth was covered until then. He tried to say something, but his words were muffled.

"We need to get him and get out of here," Klaven ordered.

"I guess our opinions differ then," A voice said from the shadows.

Soon, there was a group of people surrounding us. Sea Dwellers. They came from nowhere. One of them stepped out of the crowd, towards us, obviously the leader.

"I figured you two had gotten away, when my scouts didn't respond to my calls," Leader person started. "My name is Sern, a name you will soon come to know very well."

"Let our dad go, or face the wrath!" Ivy shouted.

I facepalmed. I was pretty sure this wasn't going to turn out in our favor, especially if Ivy said things like that. I elbowed her in the side softly.

Sern chuckled, "You are in no position to speak to me like that. One false move and all these soldiers will take you out immediately." He extended his arms towards all the Sea Dwellers surrounding us.

Sern went over to dad, smiling wickedly. He tore off the cloth covering his mouth.

"Let them leave unharmed, please Sern," Dad begged.

"If I did that, I might as well let you go. It would get us nowhere, all progress lost. I will, however, spare your child," Sernl told him.

"What will you do with them then?"

Sern looked dad in the eyes, smiling even more. "Notice I said child, not children."

Dad's eyes widened as he realized what Sern meant. "NO! You cannot do this," Dad cried, "I will not let you."

Several soldiers started getting restless, and within seconds that escalated to running around, trying to get their armor off. Others dropped to the ground, sweat visible on their foreheads. A few didn't panic but started to take their armor off as well. It seemed to me that their armor made them overheat.

Sern, visibly irritated, started screaming at the soldiers, "What are you doing? Get back in the circle. We need to surround the prisoners!"

Ivy shot him in the leg, though I thought she was aiming for his chest. We both had no training whatsoever, so you can't really blame her. Soul screamed in agony, which got the remaining soldier's attention. Before they could act, however, Klaven kicked one of them, knocking the gun out of his hand.

I saw a soldier, who looked to be a woman, but I couldn't tell for sure. She was about to lunge at Klaven, but I punched her in the throat. She tried to catch her breath, but I knew she wouldn't get it in time. Ivy pushed a soldier who tried to grab her, without affecting him at all. He grabbed her wrist, but dad smacked him across the head. Wait, Ivy must have gotten dad free!