The Rifts of Psyche by Kyle West (i love reading .txt) 📕

No one could argue with his assessment of the situation. The sooner they got moving, the better.

“Get him some water,” Fergus said.

“Can you hold it?” she asked, handing him his canteen.

“I’ve got it.” He drank deeply.

“Now, we need to figure out how to get out,” Serah said. “I’ve been in the tunnels of Snake Rift plenty of times, but none of this is recognizable. There’s a chance if we keep going down, we might run into something that looks familiar. From there, I might be able to find Slave’s Run.”

“That’s too many mights,” Cleon said. “You’re going to need to do better than that.”

“Cleon, quiet,” Fergus said. “I know you’re anxious, but we need to work together if we’re going to get out of this alive.”

“Alive? You’re optimistic.”

“I know it looks bad,” Lucian said. “But we have to keep moving. You’re here, after all.”

“I never asked to be here. And yet here I am, all because of that rotting Orb.”

He kicked a rock and yowled when he stubbed his toe in the process. No one had the heart to laugh. It was more pathetic than anything.

“Lucian is right,” Fergus said. “Do I need to remind you of the stakes, Cleon? Where is your sense of honor and duty?”

“Both of those dried up five years ago, when I realized what honor and duty get you. Absolutely nothing except those who would take advantage of both for their own selfish ends.” He went silent, as if he had said too much. “If we have a death wish already, then we might as well see it through. I say let’s go to the Darkrift instead of the surface, like before. With our fearless Serah leading the way, I’m sure we’ll be up to our necks in gloombats or worse before long.”

“Better than getting killed by the Queen’s mages, in my view,” Lucian said.

“Death is death either way,” Cleon said.

“Every minute we stand here arguing is a minute for the Darans to catch up,” Fergus said.

“You’re good to walk, right?” Serah asked Lucian.

“Should be.”

“So, the plan is to keep moving and hope Serah finds something she recognizes,” Cleon said. “Lovely.”

“If you have a better plan, I’m all ears,” she said.

“Can’t say that I do. Lead on.”

The next few hours passed in silence. The caverns of Psyche seemed truly endless. There was nothing but Fergus’s light sphere to lead the way, which needed to be refreshed every few hours. Lucian only hoped that with the light sphere and the concealment ward Fergus wouldn’t be overstretched. And he didn’t just have to do it in the near term. If they were really going into the Darkrift, he’d have to maintain that light for days, or even weeks, on end. Lucian couldn’t imagine the toll that would take.

And the thought of being down here that long was terrifying. They had enough food for a few weeks, but after that, they would have to supplement their diets with something underground. Lucian would have to trust Serah knew what was safe to eat. For as long as she decided to stay with them.

Most of the life Lucian saw seemed to be fungus, various mushrooms, and bugs. Lots and lots of bugs, and not small ones, either. He hoped there were better things to eat than that down here, but so far, it wasn’t looking like it.

“So, how long will it take to get to Dara once we find Slave’s Run?” Fergus asked.

“Well, finding the Run itself should take a few days at least, if not longer,” Serah said. “And after that, assuming we make good progress and don’t get lost, about another two to three weeks.”

“Math isn’t my strong suit,” Cleon said, “but doesn’t that work out to something like fifty kilometers a day?”

“That’s if you’re traveling above ground,” Serah said. “It’s about half that when taking Slave’s Run because you’re not weaving back and forth through the Riftlands. Slave’s Run is a straight shot so you can move as fast as your feet can carry you.”

“Three weeks to Dara is fine,” Fergus said.

“That’s only if we find the entrance to Slave’s Run,” Serah said. “I’ll do what I can to find it, but it might mean having to surface to reorient ourselves.”

“Whatever needs to be done,” Fergus said. “So, which way is the surface?”

“Up,” Cleon said, pointing his finger.

Serah shrugged. “He’s right. If we go up, we’ll pop out somewhere.” She nodded down the passage. “Let’s move.”

They had been walking upslope for hours before feeling the cool, night air of the surface. It was so dark that Lucian could hardly tell they were outside. Only the fresh, open air was a clue that they were outdoors.

“We should head back into the cave and set up camp for the night,” Serah said. “With daylight, we can orient ourselves a little bit. Pray we’re somewhere I’ve been before.”

“And if we’re being followed?” Cleon asked.

“Cleon’s right,” Fergus said, his eyes hooded with exhaustion. “We must press on.”

“Fergus, you won’t be able to hold that light much longer. And wyverns are always a threat, even this low in Snake Rift.”

“Serah’s right,” Lucian said. “You look like you’re going to keel over any minute, Fergus.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but in the end, sat on a nearby rock. Within moments, he was asleep sitting up and his light sphere had winked out, leaving the rest in darkness.

“Well, there goes our light.” A moment later, Cleon was using a floating fireball to provide light. “Let’s find some fuel for a fire. I’m burning ether here.”

“Will they be able to track us?” Lucian asked.

Cleon sniffed. “They’d have to be idiots to not pick up our trail. It just depends how that fight with the wyverns turned out.”

“It’s hard to imagine them winning that,” Lucian said. “There were so many.”

“Well, you can’t take anything for granted. But if we are to die, we might as well die well-rested and with a fire to warm our arses.”

They went a few meters