REVOLUTION: A Rebel Among Monsters ✔

Thirty••Eight-The Tunnel

"Meet in the main tunnel."

Melaynia, Valnia, Lexa, and Wylan scurried up to the Lair, and Lexa led them through a secret door with a set of sturdy stone steps downward. At the bottom, Melaynia noticed the difference with the lesser-used tunnels. Here, the walls were plastered with crystals, and the passage was wider, to accommodate more people.

They halted in the middle area, in front of all six Monsters—three in front, bending forward in a semblance of a bow, and three in the back, howling orders at recruits in the background.

"Good, you're all here," said the Monster in the middle, a female with a nicer voice than the one Melaynia met earlier in the Eldian HQ room. "We sent word to upstairs Attendants, commanding them to get messages to the Forbidden Side via the crystals. We're hopeful our strategics recruits weren't captured and will receive the orders and interpret them appropriately."

Lexa snatched a shovel from a nearby bin filled with various digging tools. "So what's the plan?

The Eldians kept their focus on Melaynia, as if still unsure whether or not to trust her. "We'll announce it to everyone shortly. But first, we... must strengthen number two-hundred," said a male Monster in the front left. "The Impians wore her out, and as she is now she'll be useless."

The male in the middle and the female on the other side nodded, their chunky chins seeming to drip from their faces.

They beckoned Melaynia forward, and she swallowed. "Uhh..."

Valnia nudged her to them. "Go on."

The middle Monster extracted a vial from within the folds of its body. A sparkling, crystalline substance swirled within the vial; a liquid she hated to recognize. "Drink this. All of it. It might make you woozy for a moment, but... you'll be strong again. And... then some."

"And then some?" Melaynia scrunched her nose, but the cruel glare in the mean female's eyes—she lingered in the back row—told her to shut up.

So she snatched the vial, inhaled, exhaled, frowned... and uncorked the top. She tipped the contents into her mouth, expecting a slimy, muddy taste; but it was tasteless. The liquid traveled through her, infusing her organs, clawing into her muscles, mixing with the blood in her veins. She shivered and the vial tumbled from her grasp, shattering at her feet. Her legs quaked, but Valnia lunged to her before she collapsed.

The Monsters spun around and clapped their hands, garnering attention from their workers, who dropped their shovels and brushed off their hands. "There is new information to take into account, friends. A new plan to take effect immediately," said a female Eldian, her voice echoing down the tunnel.

Valnia aided Melaynia in getting to the front of the crowd, so they didn't have to stare at the Monster's twinkling backs. Wylan and Lexa joined, arms crossed.

"The Impians are farther along in their plots than we initially thought. A source has advised us we have little time to thwart their actions before they destroy Cerule permanently." A few gasps welcomed the female's speech. "So instead digging around the barrier, you'll all wield weapons and when the barrier is weakened... you'll push into it."

Melaynia had never heard the plans, due to her wavering allegiances. For the first time since her arrival... she was included. Informed. But she did her best to blend in with the crowd, unwilling to reveal she was the source they referred to. Her, the former revolutionary who put all their lives in jeopardy.

More pronounced gasps came from the audience this time. Questions came from recruits and Attendants alike.

"Push into it?"