"Which direction?" Kaj asked as the two were just feet away from the cave they left behind. He looked up at Phos who was holding a pair of binoculars in his hand, scouting the area around them.
"I'm not sure," he responded, still looking through the binoculars. "I've been trying to figure out that question for years. I guess that way." He pointed forward with the binoculars. Phos then looked down at Kaj. "Let's hope it's the right way." They both headed forward.
The sand started to pick up. It scratched their faces, got in their eyes and mouth. But they both knew what was ahead. Putting up with this was nothing to them, knowing that they'd soon be on the last ship off this planet.
"What's that?" Kaj asked, pointing to an obscure object that was up ahead. They both jogged over to whatever it was for a better view. "Oh."
They both were standing over the skeletal remains of a Daj. Its skull was wide open as though it wanted to scream. The rags for clothes were ripped up and stained with blood. They were flapping in the wind. Its arms were extended out, and in one hand it was holding something with a tight grasp.
Phos knelt down and grabbed the paper that the Daj was holding. He stood back up and unraveled it, trying to keep hold of it because of the wind. He examined it deeply. Studying it. Kaj was curious as to what it was.
"What is it Phos?"
"Something we desperately needed," he responded. He turned the piece of paper around to show Kaj the other side. It was a map. "It's a map!" Phos turned the map back around so he could look it over again. "And it gives us directions straight to United City. Luckily this Daj who had the map marked down his location before he perished. Ahh! We'll never make it in time using this route." Phos continued to study the map. "Wait, what's this? It seems there is a cave up ahead. Taking it would cut our trip in half and hopefully make us get to the ship in time."
"What cave?" questioned Kaj. He was familiar with the cave names of his planet. But he was hoping it wasn't the cave that he was thinking about.
Phos struggled to find the name and eventually did. "It's called Cave of the Alata Jumen," Phos responded, trying hard to pronounce the last two words. "Whatever that means." Phos lowered the map from his face to look at Kaj.
His face was frozen. "That's one of the most deadliest caves on this planet," Kaj blurted out. "I've heard stories of Daj going in there in search of treasure and then not coming back out. It's a death trap. Some say these winged brutes inhabit the cave."
"It's the only way we can get to United City in time," Phos said. "If we don't go through there, we'll both be stuck on this planet forever, waiting to die. And even if we do die in that cave, at least we don't have to suffer like the planet does. But, if we make it out alive, then we're free and we finally get to leave."
Kaj didn't know what to say. He didn't like the thought of going through the cave but Phos provided a very good point as to why they need to.
"Come," Phos said as he followed the directions on the map to the cave. "We don't have time to waste. Every second we waste is another second we're stuck here on this dust ball of a planet."
Kaj followed Phos, not traveling far until they reached their destination. The cave, on the outside, was similar as to how Phos' cave was. They both looked down the dark, endless mouth of the cave. Kaj knew that something bad was going to happen to them, but they had to go in. There was no choice.
Phos tapped the pistol that was hanging by his side. He looked over at Kaj. "Don't worry," he assured Kaj. "I've got plenty of weapons that should protect us incase anything goes wrong."
They both headed in, but before they did, Phos pulled out two pairs of special glasses. The glasses were a long band with a single black glass to look through.
"Here," Phos said, handing one of the pairs of glasses to Kaj for him to put on. Kaj grabbed the small pair of glasses and inspected them, not putting them on until Phos did first. "It's for us to see in the cave." Phos slid on the pair of glasses and so did Kaj soon after. His vision changed slightly. Phos turned to Kaj. "Let's head on in."
They both slowly headed in, watching every step they take closely. Kaj inspected the walls of the cave. Weird gems were lodged in the cave wall. Kaj went up to one just to feel the smooth surface. He then continued to follow Phos down the tight hallway. As they continued down into the cave, they soon came into a large open spaced area.
"Wow," Phos said as he looked around the area, watching the cave walls sparkle and seeing the strange formations that nature created. "It's incredible, isn't it Kaj. This is magnificent. It's a shame that all this will be gone soon."
High platforms were scattered around the cave. In the center was a deep, dark hole that even the glasses couldn't help them see into.
Kaj walked over to the ledge to get a better look at the center. "What do you think is down there?" Kaj asked. He kicked down a loose rock, listening until it hit the bottom. It didn't.
Phos followed close behind him. He patted Kaj's back, scaring him as though he were going to fall in. "Not sure," Phos said. "Best not to find out." He walked towards the left of the cave wall. "Come on. Let's get going."
Kaj looked down the hole one last time before going over to Phos. A series of rocky platforms stuck out of the cave wall. Each one was a little higher than the previous. The spiral of platforms looped around the cave wall, leading up to another entryway into a further part of the cave.
"You go on up first Kaj," Phos said. "It'll take me a little time getting used to climbing with these legs." Phos bent down, tightening the bolts connecting his foot platform with his leg.
Kaj walked up closer to the first platform. He crouched a little before leaping up onto the platform. Balancing himself so he wouldn't fall back, he looked down at Phos.
"Good job kid," Phos said as it echoed slightly in the cave. "I'll join ya soon." He stood up, stretching his arms.
Kaj then proceeded to climb up onto the next platform. As he planted one foot against the wall to help him elevate, a chunk of the cave wall came off, sending it down to the dark hole. His leg slipped, but Kaj caught himself, holding onto the platform, pulling himself up.
As the chunk of cave wall fell down into the hole, there was in fact a bottom, which the rock crushed on. The echo, which couldn't be heard from Kaj or Phos' position, was heard by a swarm of creatures that lived at the bottom of the hole. One single eye opened up first, followed by other eyes, showing the incredible number of creatures that called this cave homed. The eyes of the creatures looked up, and the flapping of wings commenced as they headed towards the surface of the hole.
As Kaj was working on climbing up to the third platform, he stopped as he heard a slight flapping sound that was growing louder. Kaj looked down at Phos who was making his way up onto the first platform.
"Do you hear that? Kaj asked Phos. They both walked over to the edge of their respective platforms, looking into the hole. He turned back up to Kaj and gave him a little nod. Phos then looked back into the hole. The flapping sound was getting louder. "What is it?"
A swarm of winged brutes suddenly shot up from the hole. Kaj and Phos both jumped back from the edge of the platforms, both falling on their hands. They both looked up as they continued to see the creatures pouring out from the hole. The creatures circled around the top of the cave, stretching their skinny arms out and shrieking.
"What are those things?!" Kaj yelled, slowly crawling back towards the cave wall. He turned over to Phos, who was also up against the cave wall.
"They must be the Alata Jumen," Phos said. "From the map. The cave name."
As quick as he could Phos reached for his pistol. He swung it out, aiming it at the horde of winged brutes. One shot he fired sent a laser bullet straight into the middle of the horde, zapping one of the creatures. Th
e crisped creature spiraled down, landing on the platform that Kaj was on. He studied the creature. A giant red eye sat in the middle of its face. The creature’s mouth hung open, revealing its long sharp teeth. Three clawed fingers extended out from the creature’s hand.
Kaj yelled out in horror as the creature lunged forward a little before finally dying.
The swirling brutes all dove down together, flying dangerously close to Kaj and Phos. Kaj shielded himself with his arms, mostly covering his face.
"Phos, what do we do?!" Kaj yelled as he tried talking over the screeching of the creatures. Phos was also shielding himself with his arms.
"Just keep climbing!" He yelled over to Kaj. "I'll watch your back! Just hurry!" As the creatures passed by Phos, he used his pistol and took a few more shots.
Kaj listened to Phos and started up on the next platform, quickly getting on top of it. The creatures swooped down by Kaj, nearly knocking him off. He jumped towards the cave wall, clinging onto it.
"I can't do it Phos!" Kaj yelled.
"Yes you can Kaj!" Phos yelled over. "Just trust me!"
Kaj didn't know what to do. He still was holding onto the cave wall.
The swirling creatures took another dive at Kaj, one of them scratching through the fabric on Kaj's back. He yelled out a little as the claw pierced his skin. Kaj turned down to see Phos firing more shots at the creatures.
Kaj saw that Phos was fearless against these creatures. Phos knew that standing up to these creatures and attacking them was the only way they'd make it out of the cave in time.
Without thinking, Kaj backed away from the cave wall, chest pumped out, waiting for the creatures to take another dive at him. The creatures again swirled around at the top of the cave for a few seconds before diving down at Kaj. As they did, Kaj reached back, pulling out his dagger. He slipped the cover off, tossing it away. The creatures dove down, flying by right in front of him. Kaj jammed his dagger in the middle of the horde of creatures, stabbing one of them, causing it to fall down into the deep dark hole.
"Good Kaj!" Phos yelled over as he was reloading his pistol. "Keep going!"
Kaj listened to Phos and proceeded to climb to the next platform. As he did, the swarm of creatures dove at Kaj. One creature disbanded from the group, snatching Kaj up. The creature held onto Kaj from under his arms as he flew over the dark hole.
"Ahhh!" Kaj yelled. "Phos! Help me!"
Phos turned his attention to the distressed Kaj. He was squirming and kicking as the creature was flying around. The creature flew by over the dark hole, releasing Kaj. He screamed as he fell, holding his dagger tightly against himself.
He didn't know what to do. Phos could only think of one thing to save the young Daj. He aimed his pistol carefully at Kaj. Once he got the right shot, he fired. The laser bullet struck the blade of Kaj's dagger. The force of the bullet pushed Kaj out from under the dark hole, slamming him against the cave wall. He fell on his stomach, lying there motionless.
"Kaj!" Phos yelled from across the cave. "Kaj!" He was wondering if he was alive. Phos continued to fire at the winged creatures.
Kaj squirmed around on the ground, holding his stomach as it was in pain. He slowly lifted up his shirt and saw that an imprint of the blade burned itself onto his skin. Kaj slightly touched the burn mark, feeling that it was still warm.
As Phos continued to fight off the winged brutes while trying to make his way over to Kaj, a familiar screeching sound filled the cave. It echoed off the walls, stunning the winged creatures. Phos lowered his weapon as the flying enemies flew off. He looked around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Peering down the dark hole, Phos could hear the sound at a greater speed. Phos instantly knew what creature they were about to face.
"Kaj!" He yelled across the cave again. "Kaj! You have to get up! You have to get out of here!"
Kaj slowly rose from the floor, putting one hand one the cave wall as he struggled to fight through the pain. He watched as the winged creatures flew off. The screeching appeared again. Covering his ears, he tried to remember where he heard that sound before. Pin-pointing the sound of the screech, he recalled hearing it just before his shuttle crashed.
"The Oce!" Kaj yelled out from across the cave. He knew they were both in trouble. Looking over at Phos, he motioned Kaj to continue to climb and to escape out of the cave as quickly as possible.
He leaped up onto the next platform, not taking his time like he was before, leaving his dagger behind. Kaj looked over to see Phos scurry up the platform as well. As he continued to climb, Kaj found a smaller sub-cave. He went inside to explore, not finding much. Waving his hand out the cave entrance, Phos knew where to stop.
The screeching returned, prompting Phos to hurry up. He quickly made it up to the sub-cave that Kaj was hiding in.
"Get back," Phos whispered. They both headed towards the back of the sub-cave, still being able to see out into the larger area they were just in.
Both with their backs on the wall, they waited. Kaj was frightened as he would face the same creature that ruined his first plan at getting to United City. The screeching sound was heard again, this time louder than ever. They both watched in horror as a single long giant black leg emerged from the dark hole. It rested itself on one of the platforms. Five more similar legs rose out from the dark hole, each also resting on the cave platforms. A large single head with six white eyes appeared from out of the dark hole. Both Kaj and Phos tried to see the creature better, but it was too dark. The creature twirled its head around the whole cave, not spotting the two.
Phos then quietly reached into his bag and pulled out some kind of drill. "Watch the front," Phos instructed Kaj. "I'm gonna dig us out of here."
He turned on the drill, the blade spinning silently. It was glowing a faint blue color. Touching the blade against the rock, it ripped through it like it was nothing. As he forcefully pushed the drill against the rock, he busted through to another cave hallway. He turned off the drill and placed it back in his bag.
"Come on Kaj," Phos said as he went into the cave hallway. "Let's go before it spots us." Both darted down the cave hall, the Oce not paying any attention to them.
"There," Kaj pointed as he saw the cave exit up ahead. They both sighed out in relief.
Running out the cave, the taste of sand filled their mouths again. Taking off their glasses, Phos put them back in his bag. They both stood there for a few seconds, letting all the fear they just went through escape them.
"Where does the map say we go next?" Asked Kaj.
Phos didn't answer. He simply started walking forward, with Kaj following right behind.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE TRUTH BEHIND IT ALL