Shattered - By Sophia Sharp Page 0,42

have been at least two hours, when Laura’s eyes slowly started to see past the dark. Dark shapes started revealing themselves around her, rocks and chipped boulders on all sides. She thought it was the better of her imagination getting to her, when suddenly a pale light appeared far in the distance, at the very end of the tunnel.

“Do you see that?” she asked Logan.

“Of course. That’s where we’re going.”

As they got closer, Laura realized it was the exit of the tunnel. And when they walked right up to it, Laura’s jaw dropped.

Below her lay an epic cavern. The tunnel exited onto a ledge above it, which connected to a set of crudely carved stairs that led down. There, an enormous opening at least the size of a football field had been carved in the rock. Cracks in the ceiling provided enough light to see nearly everything. Laura noticed the gurgle of flowing water, and looked down. Directly under the ledge ran a small river – more of a creek, really – that fed into a clear pool off to the side. And right beside the pool lay beautiful crystallized boulders.

“What is this place?” Laura asked, her voice echoing across the chamber.

“This,” Logan replied grandly, “is the sanctuary. Come. I’ll lead you down.”

Laura took his hand and he walked her down the steps, which curled around the outside wall of the enclave. Looking around, Laura realized the steps did not only lead down, but also up on the other side – to another ledge above the one they were descending from.

“Hold on,” Logan said when they got to the bottom, “I think I see something.” He let her go, and walked over to a side wall. He did something with his hands, and suddenly a small flame appeared in front of him. It flared to life, growing much larger. Laura saw that it came from a the top of a thick wooden club.

“A torch,” Logan laughed. “And it still has tar on it!” The flickering fire cast shadows that danced across his face and the surrounding rocks. He picked it up from the wall, and carried it over to her.

“Are there more?” Laura asked. Logan looked around before nodding happily. “Yes, there are. All along the walls! I’ll be right back.”

Laura felt a gush of wind as Logan moved away from her with impossible speed. It was the first time she’d actually seen him make use of his enhanced physical abilities. She followed the trail of light from his torch as he ran all the way around the vast chamber, stopping only momentarily to light the other torches along the wall. When he got back to her, only a few seconds later, all the torches were emitting light, providing her eyes and the chamber with much-needed luminance.

“There,” he said in a satisfied manner, “that should be much better for you, no?”

“It is, thank you. How fast you moved… that was amazing.”

He laughed. “Sometimes I forget you’re only human.”

Laura stuck her tongue out at him in reply.

“I saw something that might be interesting,” he said, ignoring her taunt completely. “Come, I’ll show you.”

Again, Laura followed him as he led her across uneven ground to the center of the chamber. From there, a small pathway was carved in the rock that ran directly underneath the entrance ledge above. They took it, and as they came closer, Laura saw that the far wall had been polished smooth, and shone with a slight green luster. The river ran along the wall, making it impossible to reach. But they could get close enough for Laura to realize that there were symbols carved into the stone.

“It’s a mixture of the two scripts on the towers outside,” Logan told her. “The vampire one, and the other one, written interchangeably. Whoever made this was fluid in both tongues.”

“Do you know what it says?”

“I think they’re directions.” He paused to study the lettering. “This cave extends much deeper, I believe. It says… that there are tunnels. Crisscrossing far into the depths of the earth. There’s a warning… a warning to ‘take the Proper path’. But… I don’t think it says what that is.”

“What else?”

“Oh! It says here there’s another level.” He looked up above. “Yes, I think I see it.”

“What’s up there?”

“We won’t know unless we check, will we?” He set off back towards the stairs.

“Logan, wait.” He paused, turning to look at Laura. “You’re not planning on taking the tunnels deeper in, are you?”

“I don’t know yet,” he