The Blue Corridor

Chapter Fourteen: The Corridor

Walking down the dark tunnel Daniel kept up a quick pace. He wanted to chase The Prophet down. Chase his destiny. Chase the answers he craved so badly. If only Roth was here, he could help him. They could be faster. The Raven lay on his shoulder. She was slowly regaining consciousness yet The Prophet made an unbearable impact on her. Her steps were sloppy trying to align with Daniel's rush, as the walls of the tunnel were closing in on her like her lungs grasping every next breath.

-Slow down. - she mumbled. Daniel looked at her realizing how badly injured she was, yet he kept on walking, dragging her along, just a little bit slower than before.

-Do you know why we got here? To Point Zero? - she asked.

-It's no time for talking. Save your breath. I'm going to get us out of here.

-So you know how we got here. - Daniel didn't respond to that.

A few more steps ahead of them the tunnel changed into something. It seemed out of place as the uneven stone wall became concrete, man-made. Rolling down his eyes to the blue paint covering the walls deeper in, Daniel realized where they were, or at least that was his thought.

-The Corridor. - he said. The Raven gasped looking at the change of scenery. As they walked up closer, setting foot on the concrete floor, bringing the mud they tread on with them, they noticed that something was different about it. A short distance away, they saw Roth and Daniel standing as if frozen in time. It was the exact moment Daniel hit the crystal with the hammer he still held in his hand right now.

The Raven pulled herself up, standing on two feet, trying to walk alone.

-Did you make that happen? - she said.

-You still didn't tell me why you think I can do that.

They closed into the frozen figures in curiosity. Raven walked up to Daniel seeing what he was doing. The hammer shattered the crystal in the control box, breaking the reality The Prophet created.

-That's how we got here. - Raven said. - You've shattered the whole wasteland with one swing of that stupid hammer! - she bursted out at him, pushing him in anger. Daniel withdrew, as Raven's head started to bleed again. She clenched her wound in pain collapsing against the opposite wall.

-I just wanted to get out of that place. - Daniel said.

-I told you that you couldn't. Why didn't you listen? Why didn't you?! All of the people there. They're gone now.

-Can you tell me what's so special about this crystal?

-He had many more of these. He mined them and made many different things. Ripples. Our weapons. Threads for sewing special clothes even.

Daniel turned around to Roth's frozen body. When touching his shoulder suddenly a wave of energy ran through him. Roth moved in confusion, looking around.

-What? - he mumbled, looking at the frozen Daniel in front of him.

-Daniel? - he said, walking closer to it.

-Here. - The real Daniel spoke from behind. Roth turned around.

-What? How.

-I think you wanted him here. - Raven said.

Roth looked at her with disgust, yet it was hard to be angry at her with the miserable sight she was in.

-It's not time for that, Roth. Maisie, what do you mean?

-He was always part of the world within the corridor. He disappeared at the moment you broke it, but wanting him back, you brought him back.

-You're saying that I don't exist outside of here?

-I don't know. - she said, as she truly didn't know the answer. - All I'm saying is that if Daniel somehow escapes the corridor, you might not be able to do it as well.

Roth stayed silent.

-Let's don't think about it now. - said Daniel. - I'm just glad that you're back. - he said with a genuine joy lingering in his eyes.

-Me too. - Roth mumbled. His mind thought of the possibility of being non-existent. He'd been there just a second ago, but it didn't feel like he was anywhere. He just appeared in a new place right after Daniel destroyed the corridor.

In the meantime, Daniel walked up to himself. It was surreal to watch yourself from a third perspective. Daniel, full of curiosity, grabbed himself by the shoulder just like Roth. He wanted something to happen, as his mind was occupied by the question - Why can he create things into reality here? Suddenly the world snapped around him, turning off like a TV screen. Daniel noticed something in front of him on the ground. The Prophet's Journal was lying there for no apparent reason, just where frozen Daniel stood before. Daniel focused his gaze on it, noticing that the nametag that he previously saw was scratched out. It was slowly unscratching itself, as if time was going backward. Slowly but surely lines cut with a sharp rock came together again, revealing what was once lost. The label spelled "The Life of Daniel Navin".

Suddenly, he was back to reality again. Roth and Raven were confused as the whole corridor disappeared like it was never there.

-What happened? - they asked simultaneously.

-I... I... don't know. - Daniel, in pure shock, couldn't believe what he just witnessed. How can he...? - How can I? - he thought. - be the Prophet? - his heart pounded faster, and faster, as he couldn't understand why and how.

-Look! - Roth said. In front of them, there was no longer a stone wall, but a huge cavern. The Raven stood up, walking up closer to them. They stood at the edge of a cliff. The ground of the cavern was still a few floors down, but they knew they finally got closer to something. A huge white crystal, just like the one in the control box levitated in the center, being the only light source in the cavern. It was hard not to get hypnotized by the scale of it. It seemed as if something was moving inside of it. It wasn't a thing, but an infinite amount of colors, moving across its center like an endless river.

-I will not let you have it! - a voice echoed from behind them. The Prophet stood in the deeper tunnel, waiting to strike. Roth stood in fear. Daniel knew now that he was looking at himself. He couldn't believe that. The Raven only said - Please don't. - as The Prophet lunged himself into them with the mass of emotions again. He zapped bouncing off from the walls as he pushed all of them over the edge. They all start falling. Roth, Daniel, and The Prophet stayed close to each other, pushing each other around, almost starting a fight mid-air, but Raven was relatively far from them. She gazed at the crystal in front of her, head pointing downward as if she were diving. What was she diving into? It wasn't clear to her, but she was at peace with that.

END OF CHAPTER