[Re-Upload] Luminescence

Part 3

The next morning, the sun hadn't even begun to rise when Elizabeth woke. Yet again doing her daily routine, Elizabeth managed to brush her teeth while taking a shower without getting toothpaste everywhere. She also managed to make her breakfast without burning herself for the hundredth time either. From her perspective, everything seemed to be doing good in her favor. And all because of this good streak, Elizabeth hoped that the journey down the tunnels was going to be successful as well.

She began to put her gear on, wearing her lucky mountain boots. The matching cargo pants and shirt clashed well together with the bag she had, making her look more official in a way. Doing one final check of her gear, Elizabeth set out of the site she had mentioned the day before. The request Sayeko made during the meeting also stuck in her mind, making Elizabeth feel somewhat guilty that she was going to forget Jaidyn.

The sun began to rise as Elizabeth made her way to the site, a slight fog forming in the air. It was a slow morning, shops and businesses opening for the day. Men and women made their way to work, some children even dashing off to school. Elizabeth had a small smile on her face seeing the sight before her, but soon after she would lose the smile. Garrett would begin to dash up to Elizabeth, a big grin on his face.

"Elizabeth! Babe! Lets walk to the site together." He would reach to grab Elizabeth's hand, but she would grab his arm and twist it behind his back. She held Garrett in the tight hold, twisting his arm tighter and tighter. He would wince, beginning to fall to the ground. "First off, Garrett, you will not call me "babe". Secondly, you will make no physical contact with me unless I am in a dire situation where I need to be touched." She would shove him to the ground, beginning to walk off.

Garrett soon recovered, quickly catching up to Elizabeth. "Aw, why not? Your body looks like it needs a little roughing up-" Elizabeth would have punched Garrett in the face by now, making him shut up quickly. "I am the boss of the place at which you earn a living, I can easily drop you out as quickly as you recovered from the previous attempt. Now be on your best behavior, otherwise you'll be sitting pretty in a box outside your favorite restaurant." Elizabeth's threat to Garrett shut him up for the rest of the walk to the site, making her happy to know that there was an 'off' switch on him.

By the time they both reached the site, Sayeko and Kyoski were waiting by the entrance. The eldest was checking things over in the other's bag, asking the youngest to do the same for him. Elizabeth saw the walls light up with safety lights and support beams, looking past them she saw the gems everyone kept talking about. Her attention went back to the group when she noticed that Garrett was about to pull another move on her. Elizabeth stepped out of the way in time, watching as Garrett almost fell to the ground.

She sighed, looking down at the brothers. "Well, shall we go in?" They nodded back up at Elizabeth, all three of them going in. Garrett quickly followed behind, all four of them staring in awe as they slowly made their way down the tunnels. The awe feeling would soon leave everyone as they continued to walk down the tunnel. The air would get cooler, and the gems would no longer be seen. The safety lights only reached a certain length, Elizabeth bringing out a flashlight.

And still they continued on. The temperature would decrease each step they took, their efforts to find something incredible effortless. They would reach a fork in the road, two separate paths going down who knows how far into the mountain. Elizabeth stepped further, looking down each tunnel with her flashlight many times. After reaching a conclusion, Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Seeing how there is two separate tunnels and only four of us, I find it fair that we split into two groups of pairs. If we reach a point where we can't go any further, come back to this exact spot."

Garrett would point at Elizabeth, his actions speaking too loudly. Elizabeth would once again be annoyed by him, "Kyoski, do you mind if I team up with you?" Sayeko looked a little concerned, it seemed he didn't want to be left alone with Garrett either. Kyoski went to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, Sayeko. This is a good decision. Has this feeling proved me wrong?" Sayeko would shake his head 'no', making the decision to again trust his brother on things.

The pair consisting of Sayeko and Garrett went left while the remaining two went right. Kyoski and Elizabeth slowly made their way down their selected tunnel, Elizabeth trying (and failing) to make a good conversation with Kyoski. "When I selected you and your brother for this mission, I honestly didn't even think to look in your files. I remember the day you two officially became members. Man, it feels like yesterday I was signing you two for the L.O.G.I."

Elizabeth looked down at Kyoski, watching him as he walked silently next to the wall. He had placed his hand upon it earlier, seeming to look for something. From Elizabeth's stories and small remarks, he said nothing. He seemed to be in his own world, touching his pocket every once in a while.

Time would pass, and the tunnel would get even more colder than before. Elizabeth would begin to shiver, somewhat lagging behind Kyoski. She pushed through though, but ended up stopping in efforts to warm herself. After a while, Kyoski would notice the long silence and would get slightly worried. Looking over his shoulder, he expected to see Elizabeth chattering away to herself. When he did a double-take, she was missing. He turned around completely, seeing the shivering girl a few feet behind him. It hadn't occurred to him about the sudden change in the temperature, he was too busy searching.

He rushed over to Elizabeth, taking her by the hand. She would use a warm smile to tell Kyoski she was fine. He didn't buy it one bit and began to drag her back to the beginning of the fork. The temperature on the way back would warm Elizabeth back up, the girl not mentioning anything about how Kyoski's hand was one of the sources that warmed her up.