Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

SIXTEEN- Rescue and Revelations

Julia pointed to a fork in the passage. "We came through here. I remember getting my feet tangled up in that grass and almost tripping."

Sure enough, there was a dirt block with a trampled-looking patch of tallgrass in front of the tunnel. This one was slightly narrower than the previous and sloped noticeably upwards.

We hurried through the dim tunnels for several minutes. I desperately hoped we were going the right way, and that we wouldn't run into anyone who knew we weren't supposed to be there. The tapping of our feet on the stone parts of the floor seemed far too loud, and it started making me jumpy.

We seemed to be closer to the surface, though, so we must've been doing something right. It was very obvious that there was something going on up there; we could hear all sorts of crashes and shouts and other conflict-like noises.

The sound of running footsteps came suddenly from a passage in front of us while we were paused, trying to figure out which way to go. There was no time to escape or find somewhere to hide before a man burst out of the tunnel, looking as though he'd been running for a while.

The man froze, nervously looking between the four of us. He was fairly tall, with a goldish-brown beard and long hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. His arms were covered with scars, and he had a patch covering one eye. I recognized him instantly.

"Jack?" I asked warily. His good eye rested suspiciously on me for a moment. Then he glanced at Radar, and his expression cleared.

"You're our...travelers. Good. We need to get out of here; there's not a lot of time." He said, gesturing to the tunnel he'd just come through.

Julia stared. "Wait, what? Are you...you're not working with Essa?"

Jack let out a scornful laugh. "That manipulative lunatic? Not anymore. Hurry, it won't be long before they figure out that our distraction was exactly that."

"Hold on. You're...one of those rebels?" Lukas asked. Jack frowned slightly.

"Yeah, that's what Essa and her crew have labelled us. I don't care what you call us, but we're the ones resisting Essa's grip on the town. That woman's gone crazier than the sorcerers of Aristan, and she's making an enormous mess of things. Now come on; we've got to get out of here. Once Essa realizes the attack was a trick, Stella and Binta won't be able to stall her anymore and she and her people will come storming down here. I can explain things once we're somewhere safer."

With that, he turned and headed back down the passage, apparently trusting that we would follow. Julia hurried after him, and, after exchanging brief shrugs and confused looks, Lukas, Radar, and I went with them.

"How did you know who we were?" Julia asked as we darted down the tunnel.

Jack glanced over his shoulder at her as he said, "During the attack a few days ago, Giselle was boasting about it. Several of us have known about the timelines for a while- it comes with the territory of being close to Essa, since she's absolutely obsessed with them."

"Why?" Radar asked.

Jack took a few moments to reply, and when he did, it was in a very low and cryptic tone. "You'll see."

After a few more minutes of navigating tunnels (or, rather, following Jack as he confidently navigated the tunnels), we found ourselves in the big main room with the staircase. Jack held up a hand, signaling for us to wait. "I'll go up first and make sure there's no one unpleasant around. We can't get caught now."

He hurried briskly up the stairs, pausing cautiously at the top. Lukas leaned close to me, murmuring in my ear.

"Do you think we can trust him? This timeline hasn't exactly been friendly to us so far."