Cherished Cherry

Chapter 10 - Dark Maze

 We ran as fast as we could. I tried looking back, and there was no sign of the monsters or the mages. Having a little time to catch my breath, I stopped to check on the Hero's wound, " Let me see it. " I said while approaching him.

" I'm okay," He puts his hands away, and I look closer. The stardust flow is strong, and the bleeding seems to have stopped. " See? Nothing to worry about. "

" Your healing abilities are something else. You must be powerful if you have this much stardust in you. " In fact, more powerful than I anticipated...

" Well, I AM a hero, y'know? " He brags with a silly smile. " Even so... if you hadn't helped me, I would be dead so... Thanks!! " Such a silly smile...

 The sound of metallic steps interrupts us. The Hero is ready to unsheath his blade while I try to see who's coming... " Hey guys! " Says with a familiar voice, the man who approaches, " Are you guys okay? " Is it the soldier who helped us earlier? The silhouette who gets closer does not show any sign of hostility.

 " Ah! It's you! " The Hero sheaths his sword back. " You had me worried. Are you okay? "

 " Sure am, and you? " The man gets closer enough for us to recognize him. It really was that soldier, "  You took a direct hit back there. How are you holding up? "

" I'm... "

" I'm sorry to interrupt both of you, but we're still being followed. The Hero is fine, but we must get away quickly. "

" Hey! " The dumb Hero puts his hands on my shoulders, pulls me closer, and looks at me with his eyes shining... Too close for my taste. " You called me Hero! Not Dumb Hero, just Hero! "

" Whatever. We must go! " I roughly got his hands off me, as I did not like it one bit. " Oh, Oh... B, But... " He stutters... But no matter, we must go.

" She's right. " The soldier stops and takes a quick look back at the entrance," I say we go to one of our saferooms to regroup. We can talk better later. "

" Sounds good. Can you lead the way? "

" Sure. Follow me. "

 The soldier waves his hand and takes the lead, and I follow him with the dumb Hero close behind. I don't know if I can trust them, but I'll have to... At least for the time being. These mines spread like an enormous underground maze. Without the knowledge, I would have problems finding Myself. Albeit underground, it's not hard to move around due to the crystals lighting the way and the stardust flow... Stardust flow...? " Was there always this much stardust flow here? " I ask the soldier while still running.

" Oh... No, I don't think so, " He sounds uncertain. " I, I don't work inside anymore. "

" Is it bad? " Asks the dumb Hero.

" Is... is it? I don't know... Everything has stardust, ain't that right? And we're mining to get minerals stardust-rich, so... Wait... A dead end? " We suddenly stop. Peeking ahead... I only see big stones blocking the way. The soldier gets closer and touches it as if doubting what his eyes see. He looks left and right... I don't know what he's searching for... But while he's doing it, I can't help but look back worried. I had to make sure we were not being followed. We would have nowhere to run if we got attacked here. " Am I lost...? " He loudly thinks to himself, " No... It just collapsed. "

" We had a lot of tremors. Some collapsed tunnels are to be expected. Is there a way around it? "

" I, I think... Yes... Let's hope there are no more collapsed tunnels blocking our way. "

 We turn back and once again follow the soldier's lead. I'm feeling tired, and my body is aching... What's Lucavi doing? Is the monster he's facing that strong? Or... Is he playing around? He WAS bored to death earlier, so maybe... Then again, there's something strange...  Why did they not pursue us? They were close enough and yet did nothing... They're planning something... But what?