Bound by Hellfire

Chapter 7

My feet clattered loudly on the stone floor as I walked blindly into the abyss. I held my hands out in front of me as I waved them back and forth not knowing where the hallway ended or even where I began. Faint sounds of movement came from half of the cells as I walked past. The sounds of whimpering came from the others. I knew I wouldn't be able to find Marcus and Mason like this. If I couldn't see them they surely wouldn't be able to see me in this darkness.

"Mason.... Marcus...." I whispered, leaving long pauses as I crept by each cell.

"Mason.... Marcus...."

I whispered again and again, louder and louder, but my calling only made the corridor quieter. The mumbling had stopped and I suddenly felt as though I really had walked into a vast stretch of nothingness. Until a whispering voice graced my ears from further within. 

I stepped forward in that direction, but as I did my feet clapped the ground causing the conversation to halt. It was quiet once again. I stepped closer and closer to the cell, but still nothing but silence. Static had enveloped my ears. Even if they spoke again I'm not sure that it would be enough to break through. 

I was in front of it now, right in front of where I had heard them speaking. I crouched down, bringing my face as close as I could to the bars as I listened for the smallest breath.

"Hello?" I whispered.

Two large hands burst through the darkness at me! I tried to lunge back, but it was too late! They gripped my collar tightly as I was lifted off the ground. I could do nothing but hold on as I felt my feet defy gravity.

"Who the hell are you!?" The voice boomed from within the cell.

I tried to speak but no words would come out. My tongue had fallen to the back of my mouth catching any air that dared escape my throat.

"Answer me!" The voice boomed again, shaking me under their grip.

"I--- I'm looking for--- Marcus--- and Mason---" I choked.

The large hands stopped shaking me and quickly let me go. My feet plummeted back to the floor. I fell to the ground as I tried to catch my breath. My lungs ached and tightened as I gasped in the freezing air.

"Adam...?" Another, more friendly voice called from the cell.

I knew instantly who it was.

"Mason--- Thank god--- you guys are okay," I said, still straining for air.

"Okay?" Marcus chuckled sarcastically. "Look at us man. This is where treasure hunters would go to find the long-lost treasure of---"

"What the hell is this place." Mason interrupted.

"I was hoping you guys knew," I replied. "It looks like some kind of prison. I came from the beginning of the corridor and I think there might be a way out from there."

"Well, then what are you doing down here? You should be home free by now."

"I came looking for you guys."

"That's cute," Marcus huffed, gripping the bars. "But we're trapped here."

"I can find a way to break you guys out. I just had to know that you were down here."

I paused for a second thinking back on what Diana had said before I left. The statue definitely had something to do with why we were here. It just didn't make sense.

"Mason... what the hell was that statue"

A long silence fell from within the cell as Mason chose his words. I couldn't see his face and yet I stared deeply through the bars.. The longer the silence the more my suspicion grew despite me backing him up just minutes prior.