Three hours.
That's how long it took for us to reach our destination. <And write this chapter>
Three hours...that's how long I had to sit on a cursing horse and listen to an extremely talkative 'ape'.
I had a strong feeling that Jim was enjoying my suffering and intentionally going in circles to make it take longer than needed. At one point of the journey, I considered jumping down to the ground while moving at speeds much faster than sound <That rhymes> and taking my chances.
"... And that's why Edward started saying 'The pen is mightier than the sword'! Because I stabbed him with it!" I heard Danwer say, laughing. I sighed in irritations and wondered if I should just stab myself...or maybe him.
The horse started slowing down and eventually came to a stop after a few seconds. I wasted no time in getting down and kissing the ground in appreciation of my freedom. Apparently Danwer didn't realise that we had stopped and continue talking.
"The fifteen hundreds were a really weird time, with everyone speaking in Doths and Thous" he said and continued to make sounds of, what I assumed was, Shakespeare speaking in archaic English.
"Oh for the love of god! Shut Up!" I yelled. A second longer and I would be driven insane. The guy talks more than a weather reporter during a storm!
"Someone's grumpy. Is it because I told you about how Romeo and Juliet actually ended? Cause it was really frustrating when they rose from the dead and nearly started a zombie apocalypse!" He said, blabbering on about heavens-knows-what.
I looked at him with an expression of disbelief. All I could see was his mouth moving and words coming out of it. After hearing to him rant on and on about how Hitler liked watching cartoons for an hour, nearly everything else started to sound meaningless.
"Danwer! The doors?!" I asked/yelled at him. That seemed to bring him out of his talking high and he started to look around. I realised that I hadn't even seen where I was at the moment.
I looked around to realise that we were in some kind of semi-desert area. The ground was made of fairly small particles of sand which was a yellowish grey in colour. But that wasn't the interesting part.
A few hundred feet ahead of me was some kind of depression. I couldn't see it clearly, but I noticed some kind of light being generated from its centre. From where I was standing, the cavity in the ground was huge.
"I present to you..." Danwer said, walking ahead of me towards the hole. He spread his arms for dramatic effect, which I scoffed at, and turned his head towards me before speaking "The Darvaza Gas Crater! Also known as the Gate To Hell!"
[[{ The closest thing I have is a google earth image...
These flames have been burning since the 1980's. It's a popular tourist site in Turkmenistan. Never been there, but I've heard it's nice.}]]
As I looked closer, I saw that the light in its center was a burning blame. The whole pit had fire erupting from various cracks and crevices. The flames on its own looked natural, but as I walked towards it, a cold feeling passed through my body.
I struggled to move forward, each step feeling heavier than the last. It was almost like my limbs were fighting against me. And the effect was visibly seen. A greyish mist formed near my legs and then, without any warning, the crater looked like it had come to life.
The flames got brighter and become bigger. I heard a cracking sound from underneath the hole and a huge geyser of flames shot from it. It was at least fifty feet in height. Many other cracks formed and the glowing liquid-like flame sprung in their place.
Only one though surfaced in my head...did I have breakfast today?
I know, I know. I can be stupid at times...okay well, most of the time....okay fine! All the time! There, you happy?!
"That's...new" Danwer said from behind me, bringing me out of my thoughts. "What can I say. Things tend to happen around me" I said while sighing. But seriously, did I have breakfast today? FOCUS!!!
"Well, what next?" Danwer asked, looking at me. "Wasn't this your idea?!" I shouted in irritation. I sat on my horse and travelled halfway across the planet, while listening to him speak about random junk, only for him to not know why we're here...
So a normal Tuesday then...
"Yeah well...I can't think of everything, now can I?" Said Danwer, shrugging and smiling sheepishly. I groaned and looked at the pit, thinking of anything that I could do next. The only thing I could think of was a really stupid one.
Also...where on earth was Jim?
I looked around in panic before spotting a green pendant on the sandey floor. Relieved, I picked it up and tied it around my neck. The pendant gave of a soft green glow and I saw Danwer involuntarily shiver beside me.
"I might have a plan...well I might have a part of a plan. Oh hell, I don't have a plan... just a hunch" I said in exasperation. Danwer nodded and looked like he understood how that felt. I walked towards the crater and he followed close behind.
"You know, these flames are almost eternal in human terms. This one has been burning for the past few decades. There are many others but this is one of the easiest to access due to its size. The mortals think the flames are caused by some natural 'gas' reserve underneath" he said and laughed when he said 'gas'. I had no choice but to roll my eyes at him immaturity.
"I believe that these are vents, tiny escape hatches to release the rage of The One Below" he said. I looked at him curiously. Who was this 'The One Below'? He looked at me with an expression that said 'you've got to be kidding me'.
"Abad'don" he said, his voice nothing more than a whisper. Even then, the effects of uttering his name could be observed. The flames in the crater noticeably flared in size and brightness. The mist near my feet became denser, making it even harder to move.
I nodded and kept walking. We stopped when we were at the edge of the hole. The flames danced beneath us, promising a painful death to anyone who went too close.
"What now?" asked Danwer. I turned towards him and sighed. I faced the torrents of flame before speaking in a low voice, reluctance evident in my mind because of what we were gonna do next.
"Now...we jump"
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