Chapter 145
We're a mile out from the Hale when the jungle explodes into chaos as the earth convulses beneath us, each tremor more violent than the last.
The humid air thickens with the acrid stench of scorched earth and sulfur, mixing with the damp, organic scent of crushed vegetation. I grab onto a nearby tree, my nails biting into the bark as the ground beneath me heaves like a living, enraged beast.
The cacophony of cracking wood, distant rumbling, and terrified cries fills the air. Overhead, the canopy sways and groans, sending a rain of leaves and broken branches cascading down around us.
“What the hell is happening?” I shout, my voice nearly drowned out by the relentless roar of the awakening volcano.
“It’s the volcano,” Khale says, his voice unflinching even as his green eyes scan the destruction. “The tremor has gone too deep. It’s waking.”
His words barely register before a thunderous crack splits the air. I whip my head toward the mountain just in time to see a massive plume of black smoke unfurling into the twilight sky, blotting out the fiery hues of the setting sun.
A fiery river of molten rock spills over the summit, glowing orange and red, carving a blazing path down the mountainside. The temple—once a sanctuary of ancient beauty—stands in the lava’s path, consumed by the inferno. Its intricate carvings and sacred pools vanish beneath the destruction.
“We have to move!” Wake’s voice snaps me back to reality. He grips my arm, pulling me forward with an urgency that sends adrenaline surging through my veins. “Now!”
The ground beneath us bucks again, splitting open in jagged fissures that radiate heat and smoke. We sprint through the jungle, ducking under low-hanging vines and leaping over fallen logs, the fiery glow from the volcano casting flickering shadows that make every corner of the forest feel alive.
Branches claw at my face, and my lungs burn with the effort of drawing air thickened by heat and ash. My heart pounds in time with the tremors, each step an act of sheer determination as the terrain grows more treacherous. The underbrush catches on my legs, slowing me down, but I press on, the screams of panicked animals and the deafening roar of the eruption spurring me forward.
When we burst into the village, my stomach drops.
The once-idyllic settlement is in chaos. Lava flows creep toward the edges of the village, setting homes ablaze and swallowing pathways in their wake. Smoke chokes the air, and the terrified cries of the Euclideans reverberate off the stone and coral structures. Some villagers dive into the water with whatever belongings they can carry, while others stand frozen in fear, clutching one another as the destruction closes in.
Cora takes command instantly. “Get them to high ground!” she shouts, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.
Wake doesn’t hesitate. He spots a pregnant woman struggling to walk and sweeps her onto his back in one fluid motion. “Phoebe!” he calls over his shoulder, his voice steady but firm. “Stay close to me!”
I nod, but my attention is already drawn to the terrified faces around me. I grab the hand of a young girl, her small fingers trembling in mine. “Come on,” I tell her, trying to sound calm despite the panic clawing at my throat. “We’ll be safe if we move now.”
The ground shudders violently, nearly knocking me off my feet. I catch myself against a tree as the girl clings to my side. My eyes widen in horror as a massive mudslide roars through the jungle, tearing apart everything in its path. The thick, churning wall of debris barrels toward the village, its sound deafening.
“Go!” I scream to the others. “Get to high ground now!”
Wake leads the way, his movements precise even as the chaos intensifies. But then I see him—a young boy, no older than ten, clinging to a tree as the mudslide closes in. His screams pierce through the noise, freezing me in place.
Without thinking, I break away from the group.
“Phoebe, no!” Wake’s shout is sharp and filled with fear. He glances back, the pregnant woman still on his back, his expression a mix of anger and desperation. “Stay out of the mudslide! That’s an order!”
But I don’t stop. My legs burn as I sprint toward the boy, my heart pounding in my ears. The mud pulls at the base of the tree, threatening to rip it free and drag the boy into the steaming pit forming just behind him. My mind races as I spot a vine dangling from a nearby branch.
“Hold on!” I scream, grabbing the vine and throwing it toward him with everything I have. “Grab it!”
The boy’s trembling hands reach for the vine, and my breath catches as he struggles to hold on. Every second feels like an eternity as he pulls himself upward, his small frame shaking with effort.
“Come on,” I whisper, tears stinging my eyes. “You can do it.”
Finally, he reaches solid ground. Relief crashes over me, but it’s fleeting. The ground beneath my feet trembles violently, and before I can react, it gives way.
The world tilts, and I’m falling.
“Phoebe!” Wake’s voice is distant, panicked, as I plummet into the darkness.
The air rushes past me, hot and thick with the stench of sulfur. My arms flail, searching for anything to hold onto, but there’s nothing. The roar of the mudslide fades, replaced by an oppressive silence that fills the void around me.
I’m going to die.
Then, a flash of movement cuts through the chaos.
Cora.
Her arms reach for me, and her grip is impossibly strong as her fingers close around my wrist. “I’ve got you!” she shouts, her voice steady despite the turmoil.
The sinkhole narrows, the walls of rock and earth pressing in as the heat grows unbearable. My lungs burn with each breath, the sulfur suffocating. Cora’s fins shimmer with a faint glow, and her strength is the only thing keeping me tethered to life.
“Hold on, Phoebe,” she says, her voice firm, her eyes locked on mine. “I won’t let you go.”
The earth closes around us, and the fiery glow of the surface disappears. For a moment, there’s nothing but darkness, the two of us suspended in the void. But even in the blackness, I feel the pull of something deeper—a presence, ancient and overwhelming, stirring far below us.
The last thing I see is my Grandmother’s face as the earth closes in around us.
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