The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 40

"What did this?" Jared asks solemnly as he and I stand over the debris that was once located inside of cave that my dad thought to be impenetrable. There is all kinds of equipment scattered through the forest that now finds residence partially buried in the snow up to fifty feet away. There is a gaping hole in the ground that looks like it spewed out the contents of the cave.

"Whatever did this didn't use heat," Jared finally says. He crouches down and points out the edges of the makeshift volcano. "The snow around the crater isn't melted and there are no burn marks or smoke that I've seen. The way that this stuff is strewn across the landscape, I would say that whatever did this, did it from inside of the cave.

"How could that have happened? There were all kinds of alarms on here and dad was tracking movement."

"I don't know, but we should get it and get out as quickly as we can. Something doesn't feel right about this place. I'm going to go first just in case there is any danger."

Jared positions himself on the side of the crater and looks down into the hole.

"It looks like it's maybe ten or 15 feet to the bottom. I am going to slide down and let you know what I find. Wait here."

He positions both legs over the side and slides down into the hole. I can hear squeaking as he uses his hands to try and slow his descent into the hole. There is a bit of a crash a few moments later from the hole. It sounds like he landed on some of the stuff that had not quite made it out of the hole and slid back down.

"I'm alright! I landed on a pile of broken computers and some mattresses. There is stuff all over down here. Slide down! I will catch you."

Doing as instructed, I carefully swing my legs down into the hole and like Jared, try to slow my descent into the dark hole at the bottom. It's not a very steep decline, but to slide down without stopping would very dangerous, especially with all of the stuff at the bottom. It only takes about fifteen seconds to reach what appears to be ground inside. Jared was right, the inside isn't just scattered. It's complete chaos. Wires hang from the ceiling and every so often spark as they sway in the breeze. Emergency lights are partially working only giving a limited view of the surroundings, which makes things even more difficult. The floor is completely covered in debris. Walking through this is a recipe for a broken ankle.

"Umm, do we have a flashlight?" Jared asks. "I think most of the lights are out and there won't be enough daylight to fill these tunnels."

I reach into my bag and pull out the flashlight that I took from here the night I left. I toss it to Jared who turns it on and does a quick look around of our situation. Almost everything is turned upside down.

"We go this way." I finally point out to Jared and begin slowly making my way from the daylight towards my destination.

Each step is like an adventure through the broken computers, wiring and paper that covers what used to be the floor. There are several times when I step partway onto an object and feel my ankle roll slightly. Luckily, because we're moving so slowly, it doesn't do any damage.

We snake our way down a hallway having to carefully squeeze by lockers and metal filing cabinets that lay any way but the correct way. Some lay leaning against walls, others lay completely open and some flat across the ground. After a few minutes of traversing the uneven, scattered ground we finally make our way to what I believe to be the room that I awoke in when Alexander and I first arrived. With Jared's help, I am able to push the door in enough to allow us both to get in.

This room isn't so bad. There are a few things that are displaced, but for the most part, it remains intact. This leads me to believe that the reason everything else is so destroyed is because whatever did this became aware of what dad was doing. They must have found out he was able to track their locations and study the patterns in the weather. I feel a little pain deep inside reminding me how much I miss him. I reach for the light and find that it doesn't turn on. I should have figured that based on the wires that are down all over this place.