40. Our Souls to Take

“This should have a certain secret buried deep somewhere inside. It is kind of twisted and with the smell of adventure” exclaimed Jack.

“Lets go. We shouldn’t stay here just because of some curiosity which has the ability to kill us both” said Noah.

“You sure about not checking this out? At least a part of this one? Don’t you think that we can take something interesting from here” asked Jack.

“There is absolutely no chance; not even with the latest weapons of Acheron. It is too much of a risk, especially at this time. To add to it, you always had a special skill in falling into traps” said Noah.

“Okay then. Maybe on another day when things get at least a million kilometres close to being perfect. That should relieve the pressure up-to an extent and there can be simpler adventures” replied Jack.

But all of a sudden, a hand came out of the well and grabbed Jack. There was so much strength in those hands and it had blood dropping right out of the wounds of the palm. It held firmly, and with a lot of difficulty, they managed to get rid of it. Soon, the rest of the creature also came out of the well. It was a dark creature, with what seemed to be its own shadow hovering over it. Another creature followed it out of the well, and others also followed. A series of dark clouds emerged right on top of their heads. The eyes of the creatures turned red, and blood started coming right out. They began to make some scary noises which caused thunder in the clouds.

“The scavengers; the scavengers of the dark! Those things which were named after that spaceship! They are really here!” yelled Jack.

“Yes, I understand. But what are you doing? This is not the time to stare! Run!” screamed Noah.

“Yes! We are going to die! Run and run fast!” Jack continued yelling.

As they both started running, the creatures followed them. They were not that fast, but running through this type of ground was rather too difficult. They fell down and slided to a cave below, which lead to an unknown water-body.

The creatures stopped on the way and screamed. The greenery was splendid out there, and they climbed on to a rock. It was more like a huge cave with a lot of space inside, as if it was another world out there.

“Now, we are surely not where we should have been. We don’t even know how to get back” said Jack.

“At least that much is clear; well, only that much is there to be known. This place might have stayed a beautiful mystery for so long in a universe of chaos and destruction” said Noah.

“This is a strange place, isn’t it? Especially considering the fact that we are directly below the wastelands which stretch a lot further. This is the kind of place that comes in the dreams – yes, there were such places in mine, more than once.” wondered Jack.

“Yes, and that too underground, and still the air feels so fresh here. There is nothing negative about it” added Noah.

“I see a lot of insects around here, which is strange. They were all supposed to have been mutated and turned into something else. Scientists from our place would really love to explore here” said Jack.

“There seems to be another kind of existence here, different from ours. I am surprised that Acheron hasn’t discovered and claimed this area with all his technology and unlimited amount of resources. This should be like a top priority place for him. Just guess what all he could accomplish with a location like this” said Noah.

“There are limitations even for him; and that is the same reason why we are still alive. He just can’t be the all-powerful dictator that he keeps claiming to be – that should be really painful for someone like him. But he will be here sooner or later, that is for sure; that much is greed for resources which can’t be satisfied. This surely seems like the home which a lot of people had written in the books; the one from the long lost past” added Jack.

Surprisingly, there were singing birds and smaller animals which were supposed to be extinct. The place reminded them of something which existed long before the wars had started. It was the kind of green with peace all around, and there was no cause for fear. The situation of horror had left them. Four eyes stared at them from between a crack in the walls of the place, and as they started walking through the straight path which lead to nowhere, the eyes followed them with a certain amount of enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, at the top, scavengers had no idea where their preys had gone. They had started digging with the bones of their victims, and even as they had no clue, had reached a quarter of the way to the newly discovered world of Jack and Noah. Scavengers were the kind of creatures who desperately wanted more and more preys, but there were none for quite a long time. They were the ones who made a pact, and that too with their own kind and also to the darker versions of evil. They were the true predators of the wastelands, and they were the rulers of their lands. They wanted to remember how awesome it used to be, when they were hunting, and hoped for their days of terror to return in style. They kept digging with the bones of the dead, and soon, they had reached half way to the other world underground.

To be continued…