Ghost of Her Past [Rewrite]

Chapter 16- Nothing

Lukas' body was jolted from unconsciousness, his heart pounding for seemingly no reason at all. He was lying next to the fire, face warm and sweating from the overnight exposure to heat. Next to him, Olivia was sleeping soundly, and Axel against the wall snoring up a storm.

Lukas felt his jaw tighten and muscles tense, instincts flaring. Something had woken him up. He didn't know what, but something in his gut told him that they were in danger. That something bad was about to happen. Usually when his gut felt a bad omen, it was right.

The architect looked around once more, and his eyes went wide with realization when he noted that two of their teammates were missing. Jesse and Petra. Jesse had been sleeping next to him, but all that was left in her spot was her armor. He tried to calm himself down. Maybe they had just gone out to find food or something.

In this weather? His brain argued.

They could've just gone off to get some more wood for the fire.

Wood in a cave?

They most definitely went after the dagger without them and charged into the cave without even thinking about what danger could lie ahead.

Yep, that seems about right.

Lukas groaned, running his hand down his face. He was going to give those two a serious talk once he was sure they were alive and safe.

He turned to Olivia and gently nudged her shoulder. "Olivia, wake up," He called softly. Olivia mumbled in her sleep and simply waved him off. He rolled his eyes and used both of his hands this time. "Olivia!"

"Urrghh," She slurred, eyes still closed. "Can't it wait?"

"No, it can't. Jesse and Petra are gone."

Her amber eyes snapped open at the news, and Lukas leapt back, startled out of his wits. "What?!" The engineer propped herself up on her elbows, and glanced frantically around the room for the other two, but didn't find either of them. "Where'd they go?"

"I'm pretty sure they went after the dagger."

"They went down there alone?!"

"Yeah, and Jesse forgot her armor."

Olivia's eyes widened, and Lukas shared the same feeling, nodding gravely. "Wake up Axel." He ordered. "We're going after them."

-:-:-:-

This is not good. Petra thought worriedly, her eyes wide and alert as they peered through the darkness. Fear was beginning to bubble up inside her, stomach churning. But right now, only one thing mattered to her: finding Jesse.

The phantoms managed to separate them while they were being chased, and once Petra and Jesse were apart, lost in the maze, they were gone. Chilled blood ran through her veins, and she shuddered. Mazes. Are. The worst!

Petra managed to stumble upon another intersection, this one branching out into two trails leading left and right. Petra held out her golden sword, its glow making the shadows even more menacing. A torch flickered to life in her left hand.

She turned her head to the left, wary as she shone the light that way. It looked just like the rest of the tunnel- dark and bottomless. The right tunnel looked about the same except it seemed to curve in and down.

She was about to choose the left path and hope for the best, when suddenly she heard something. A voice, calling out to her from the right tunnel. "-etra."

Her eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder. squinting through the darkness, but finding nothing there. Curious, she bit her lip and switched directions, following the voice at the right.