Chapter 5 nears the end...

Getting to a real tough point. Something I've debated over and over. I don't know if doing this to my story is the right thing to do.

Got a lot of editing ahead. Gonna try and get in contact with my old English teacher when I finish the draft, see if she can help.


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“How deep does this place go?” Pal called, walking beside the boys.
“Till we hit L-A, I guess,” said Aus. “What’re you thinking?”
“Just that these are a lot of rooms just for storage.”
“Not at all. You never really want exploring back home, did you? Lots of places we weren’t supposed to be. But these can’t be storage chambers, not a chance. Doors too small, and you couldn’t fit any size container down this hall. No, I’ve got no idea what this place is for.”
L-B 1-30 went past without fanfare, as did L-A 1-30. The lighter sputtered and shook, and Alix watched it closely. She licked a finger and held it in the air, nodding. “Air somewhere ahead.” The corridor was coming to an end, and beyond it they could see an open chamber, the ceiling still awkwardly low, the furthest walls stretching out beyond the reach of the light. They entered and clustered together like chicks in a nest, turning in circles in search of the edges.
“Where to?” asked Alix, clinging tight to Aus. She was barely able to make out her companions face; the doorway through which they had come was already gone. “Shouldn’t we go back and follow the wall?”
“I’ll find the way,” Foster said. “Just stick by me.” He advanced through the chamber with unusual care, reaching up at times to run his hands along the ceiling, playing with the light fittings. He held the lighter beside one, inspecting the curved tube underneath the plastic. It all seemed intact, and when he rapped with his knuckles nothing inside rattled or shook apart. He pondered without slowing.
They reached the far wall, mottled with moss and red dust. Aus drew a circle with his fingertips, digging through to the concrete underneath. “How long has it been since anyone was here?” he asked. Nobody replied. He wiped his hand on his pants. “Before our time.”
Rei stepped up to the wall. “Long before,” she said, prodding at the wall inside the circle Aus had drawn. She added a final curved line at the bottom, making a comical smiling face. Aus looked at what she had left and chuckled. ”Where now?” she asked.
“There.” Foster pointed to a nearby doorway cut from the stone. “Or…” He looked in the other direction. There was another opening on the very limits of his vision, and he jogged over to have a look inside. “This one,” he decided. “Take a look. Up or down?”
They crowded around and looked through; behind the doorway was a stone stairwell leading off into darkness both above and below. Rei rapped at the wall, and tried to gauge the echo. “We could split?” she suggested.
“No, no, no.” Alix waved her down. “One lighter, remember? I say up, see if it comes out on top. Right Aus?”
Aus nodded and smiled, pulling her in to his side. “Going up’s a good idea.”
“We don’t need to find another way out,” said Foster. “Lets head down, find out how deep this goes. Get an idea of what it is. Hell, the answers always seem to be at the bottom, right?”
“Once, not always. This place could be huge, we could be here all night. We decided, we’d be back out tonight.”
Foster looked at him sideways. “Can’t settle your mind on anything, eh? Come down, go back out, stay, run… fix on something, alright? Shit, you’re worse than me.” He watched his friends eyes slip to Alix and back, and knew the problem.
“You know what?” Foster continued. “You choose.” He closed the lighter and fumbled it into Aus’s hand, listening to everybody shuffle around him. “You know where to go? Take us, I’m sitting out.”
Aus said nothing, opening the lighter and clicking it on. The flame rolled in his hands. “We’ll go down,” he said, toneless, and walked through the doorway.

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