Elizabeth's REIGN

Chapter Three: The Day of Reckoning

Inside the mines, there was no warmth or light, it was like Laila and I had entered an abyss. The earth was damp, but the freezing, dry wind had managed to follow us inside the stagnation of the mines.

"Look! They must be close!", Laila huffed as she bent over and pointed at an abandoned flashlight that was left on.

My eyes peered into the passageways of the mines and searched for anything that could hint where the boys had run off to.

Tentatively taking a step forward, we gazed out into an eerie catacomb, but my heart stopped when a cold hand grabbed my arm and jolted me backward.

I gasped and reached out to Laila, but the color returned to her face and she smiled in relief.

"...you're alive."

Turning around, I found Reed holding on to me as the boys leaned against the rigid walls of the mines and coughed sickly.

"What happened to all of you..?"

"I don't know... Something grabbed me and threw me across the floor..!", Mason gasped as he clutched his chest, wheezing for air.

"Reed saw what it was... That's why he screamed."

I frowned and noticed Reed was holding his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut almost as if he were trying to keep his composure.

"...We need to get the hell out of here."

The boys rushed in front of us and hurried for the opening of the mines. Laila rested her shoulder on Reed, leading him toward the light that gleamed from outside.

From where I stood, the storm clouds from before had cleared from the sky.

"Something's not right...", I froze.

Reed looked over his shoulder and frowned at me, "Yeah, so hurry the hell up and let's go!"

"No!!", I raced to grab Reed, but suddenly my body had lost equilibrium and I stumbled.

The ground shook from under us and the ceiling began to give way. Laila's face was stricken with horror as she watched a big chunk of rock crumble above me. I crossed my arms above my head and sprinted aside before the boulder could crush me.

"Elizabeth!!"

More rock followed and toppled over me, separating me from Laila and Reed. My throat ran dry as terror enveloped my voice. Soon I had become imprisoned inside the mines.

My knees gave out and I slumped to the floor as Reed cried out for me from outside the mines, Laila's sobbing shortly following.

"...shit."

I felt my skin writhe as I tried to get up, noticing a long gash running down my arm.

Suddenly, I caught sight of a light glowing from the end of a tunnel behind me. Although faint, I ran towards it and prayed it was another opening inside the mines. A worrisome noise echoed through the mines and I cautiously looked above to see the ceiling barely withstanding the weight of the stalactites.

My heart pounded in my chest as I found myself standing before an eerie lake. No fish or plants inhabited the lake, but the source of the light I had seen was radiating from under the water.

"Those idiots must have dropped a flashlight under there..!", I gritted my teeth and felt my blood boil.

I clutched my head in my hands and tugged at my black strands, "What now..?"

A jolt of energy blasted from inside the lake and my eyes widened as I felt hundreds of pairs of eyes peering into the back of my neck.

Horrid moans echoed throughout the mines and sounds of footsteps stalking toward me sent the hairs on my arms to stand on end.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to tell myself I was imagining the noises, but I still couldn't bring myself to turn around.

A damp, clammy hand clutched my shoulder and sent chills down my spine. I screamed and ran away, ultimately forgetting about the lake in front of me and splashing right in.

I choked on the water that pooled in my lungs and burned my throat. The source of light that I had believed to be a flashlight, glowed brighter and seemed to move closer toward me.

With an unbelievable blast of energy, the ball of light rippled through the water and shot itself at me. The immense force overwhelmed me and flung me out of the water.

I coughed horribly as the water built up in my lungs hurled out of my mouth. I greedily sucked in gulps of air and felt my wet clothes cling to my skin.

"What...the hell happened to me..?", I looked down at my hands and noticed my veins bulge from under my skin and glow a frightening shade of purple.

I sprang to my feet as I felt the ground tremble under my weight. The stalactites shook aggressively before piercing through the air and cracking the floor.

I gasped as I watched the earth devour what remained of the mines. But as most of the walls crumbled to dust, an opening appeared and I sprinted out before it was too late.

As I reached the forest, I felt a pair of eyes on me.

It certainly wasn't as sickening as to what I sensed in the mines.

These pair of eyes made me feel safe.

I gazed up at the hilltop from afar and noticed the white fox from before. His green eyes seemed to glow brighter, but this time his gaze was trained on me.

With a sighed, I stumbled away from the fox.

I needed warm clothes, not more of this shit.