Ashfall: City of Shade (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 21 | Light

ENOCH

Leave it to my father to abandon our people just before the great heat broke into our refuge down here.

He's been gone for days! It's no coincidence he's disappeared during the time the lava seeped into the caves.

"Where is he?" I shout while searching through the vacant tavern. The roar of moving heat outside fuels my speed. "Adler!"

By the cosmos, his voice comes from the end of the hall, "Enoch, I am here."

His wife stands beside him with wide eyes at me and my guards. His sword is in his free hand as he strides over to me with a packed satchel. Their chamber is full of black smoke. Ash covers their skin in smudges of black staining their tunics.

The smoke burns my eyes.

"Where's Greta?" I huff.

Adler shoulders me out of his way.

"Waiting on our ship already," he sneers. He turns to my guards next. "What are you doing in here? Gather the civilians!" he bellows. His voice remains rough, "The elderly and crippled shall remain here. We do not have room to carry all. Move," he orders roughly. "Quickly!"

"Where have you been?" I demand.

I'm meant with the back of his hand.

Cephine helps break my fall, no tears stain her beautiful face. She glares at Adler's back while helping me up and covering her face with the sleeve of her tunic. We race after my cowardly father until we make it into the horrific scene outside.

There is no order.

The guards simply lift up, and drag, whoever is saveable. The lava boils and bubbles, a growing layer of molten danger, pouring through our streets. It is coming in through the mouth of our cavern much slower now. The large rocks that trapped us down here provided a good barrier, but more lava came when the rocks melted through. It is slowing. Most of the damage is already done.

It keeps them from going inside the buildings. Many have caught on fire or have already been flooded with the sizzling heavy molten liquid.

Civilians scream high up above us, they wave their arms around for help. Adler has already reached the dock, watching it all with a serious expression as the building full of helpless souls collapses into the lava.

The smell of sulfur is overpowering. Many guards, luckily, have already done their job and brought the people aboard our warships.

Cephine follows Mirth onto the dock ahead of me. I stop next to Adler.

"What are you doing?" I shout. Our people are waiting for his order. No ship will take off without his command. "You should be telling them to go!"

A faraway look forms on his face as he watches, not the burning dockyard, but to the west of it, beyond the maze of cavern, where he sent the hospice keepers upon our arrival here. It's closer to the mouth of the cavern than our dockyard. I suppose he thought in case something happened down here his worshippers could escape, living on to tell of his almighty greatness.

It would be well under lava now.

"I don't need to tell them...they won't listen to me," he says slowly in a detached voice. He isn't wrong. Many curse him from up above on the warships and are currently throwing things down at us. However, his guards listen and they are the ones in charge of sea voyaging. "I'm coming, Enoch. Make the announcement for me."