Young Flame

Despite how bright the glowing bugs seem to be, they don’t light up the surrounding anywhere near as much as they should. A faint blue outlines rocks and stalagmites nearby, but that is the limit to what it illuminates.

I stand on Grímr’s back to look over the layer of glow-bugs. They span far into the distance in every direction, leaving dark spots in many areas. The bugs keep their distance from us, indicating that each shadow isn’t representative of the size of what is hiding within. So, not every dark area will hide one of those massive egg laying creatures. Well, hopefully.

Remus’ plan leaves me rather uncomfortable. At the moment, it seems like all we’re doing is wandering aimlessly. We’ve avoided the dark spots for now, instead ambling our way through the sea of glow-bugs until we find a wall. Even after days of walking, we’ve yet to come across one.

Bats screech overhead occasionally. They swoop down to consume swathes of the glow-bugs and usually there is no prior warning. Suddenly, clumps of the glowing specs disappear. They steer clear of the dark areas, so we’ve had no need to worry, but the entire fact that there are creatures above my head that I can’t see approach is bothersome.

I want to light up the area with my fire, but Remus told me not to. He’s worried that I might attract the monster we have no chance of facing. Honestly, I think it would be worth the risk. We need information, but it’s hard to learn anything if we can’t see. If that creature does attack, then great; we can direct it to the ceiling and I’ll have a way out again.

Nothing but my freedom matters.

A deep growl thunders through the air and the five of us freeze. The glow-bugs all stop in midair. Constant interweaving movement forgotten. The presence is back, undiluted and bearing down on me. It feels like the creature is watching, right over my shoulder and ready to consume me whole.

A bang crashes from far ahead of us. It sounds like that monster is tearing through the ceiling again.

None of us speak. Unanimously, we switch direction.

Even an hour later, everyone is still looking over their shoulder and jumping at shadows. Or, more specifically, the patches lacking glow-bug light.

“How much longer are we going to do this?” I can’t help but ask. “Shouldn’t we try something different? Those creatures can’t be hiding in each of those shadows; can we light them up just to check?”

“I understand your impatience, Solvei, but we cannot rush,” Remus says. “This place is unfamiliar. I’ve already put us in enough danger. I don’t plan to take unnecessary risks.”

“But we’ve seen nothing new for days! How long do you want to keep us down here?”

“As long as needed to get you out safe.” His eyes stare into me, lacking any of his usual amusement. Absolute seriousness and dedication. Without words, he tells me it’s a promise he would die to keep.

I shut my mouth, stifling any more complaints. I don’t like it. It feels like we’re not even trying to get out at the current pace. What if we miss out on an exit because we are being too cautious?

I want to believe Remus. I want to believe in his apology and that he wants to get out, but the longer it takes for results to materialise, the more I doubt his sincerity.

❖❖❖

I’m finally feeling better.

Not about being stuck down here. No. My sickness has finally receded to the point where my body fully listens to me and I actually have energy again.

It surprised me that Remus packed iron ingots in his and Grímr’s pouches. Apparently, he knew enough about my people that he could treat me when I was unconscious. I packed only the three ingots for myself, thinking it would be enough. But Remus seemed to pull more out of nowhere.

The underground area we’re in is far warmer than outside and there’s no snow on the ground for me to worry about. For the first time in a while, I walk with my own strength. Even before I got sick, I was either riding Grímr or flying.

It’s been years since I got sick like that. The last time was in a particularly cold winter with my tribe. Back then, I had to ration how much energy I used to keep warm. I couldn’t just burn through all the local resources as I’ve been able to lately.

Jav hasn’t been flying around as he usually would. The amount of things in the dark — especially above us — holds him back from looking around. Not that there is anything for him to see in the dark except the glow-bugs.

“Hmm, that’s odd.” When Remus stands tall on stretched limbs, he is easily the tallest amongst the team. He stands above the layer of glow-bugs and watches something in the distance.

Grímr pushes himself to stand on his hind legs, clearing Remus’ height easily. It looks uncomfortable for him, but it lets him see whatever is going on. I retract my statement about Remus being the tallest.

I crouch down low on the soft soil to get a look underneath the blanket of floating bugs. It’s not hard to spot what the others have seen. Swarms of the small lights are flowing towards a single point. The density of the light grows to a much greater brightness, but somehow still refuses to illuminate the surroundings.

At the point of highest concentration, the glowing spots float down to the ground before disappearing from sight.

“What do you think it is?” Grímr asks as he falls back on all fours with a thud.

“I’m not sure. I guess we’ll find out.”

I was worried Remus might want to stay cautious about this, too. Maybe the bugs will show us a way out.

As we get closer to the strange acting bugs, the soil underneath our feet changes to a spongy surface with hundreds of plate-like mushroom growths. Somehow it’s even softer to walk on than the soil had been.

The glow-bugs don’t seem to react to our presence as we move in closer. Instead of keeping a good few metres distance from our group, they hover ever closer as the density of lights around us increases.

We are close enough now to see the fungi growths spiral around a central point. It is here that all the bugs seem to be attracted to. They all swarm around an opening in the centre of the organisms.

What are the bugs so attracted to? We get closer, taking careful steps until we’re right on top of the opening. The thing hasn’t reacted to our presence, so I doubt it is anything more than a normal plant.

We all take a peek inside at the deep hole that must run far into the ground. Thousands of the glow-bugs rush inside the opening and fly at the walls, getting themselves stuck. The light inside is so intense it’s almost hard to look at.

Before I can react, the tunnel of fungi convulses and I’m tugged backwards.

I land on the soft ground and look up, only to be splattered by some liquid. I panic, thinking that I’ve just been drenched in water. A flame flares out and the substance ignites. It burns off quicker than anything I’ve ever seen. In barely a second, all of it is gone.

One moment, the sticky substance covers my face — that I now realise did not sting like water — the next, I’m engulfed in a fireball.

I gather my feet underneath me and push myself up. The others have all been lathered in the goop as well. Well, everyone except Jav. Somehow, he avoided any of the sticky liquid from hitting him.

“Ugh, yuck.” Remus tries to wipe the substance off his body, but he manages nothing but to spread it.

“What is this stuff?” Grímr has a similar issue, unable to get any of it out of his thick fur.

The hole where the goop came from doesn’t seem to move anymore, so I walk up to them. “Should I burn it off?”

“No,” Remus responds immediately. “We can’t risk attracting attention.”

Well, if he wants to stay all sticky, then that’s on him.

A single glow-bug lands on his head, sticking itself to the dripping ooze.

“You two, don’t get distracted,” Tetsu says. “Look up.”

Around the three of them, a cloud of the glow-bugs condenses. Attracted to whatever substance is coating the three tallest members of the team, the bugs swarm. For a moment, it just seems like a neat sight; the tiny creatures must really like the smell to close in like that after they’ve kept their distance for so long.

It seems completely harmless… until it isn’t.

“Ouch.” Tetsu swats a bug off her arm. Her eyes widen visibly as she looks at the spot where she was bitten. “We have a problem; they can pierce my skin.”

The situation immediately becomes serious. No longer are these tiny creatures harmless insects, but a threat considering the innumerable quantity.

Remus and Tetsu take to swatting thousands of them out of the sky before they reach them. The wind created with each swing sends many more spiralling away. Even so, the glow-bugs get closer. The ever-growing number swarming in droves.

Jav flies through the densest parts, but can only ever stop as many as he can cut.

I look to Grímr to see him rolling around on the ground, crushing all that latch onto his hide. Uh… I guess that works just as well.

Despite how many of the bugs are being killed by the second, the density of the lights only ever increases. We need to get rid of that substance coating them or they will never stop coming.

Remus catches sight of my flame the moment its light comes into being. “Stop Solvei. You’ll do nothing but attract that monster.”

Even as he says so, he swipes away at the bugs digging into his flesh. He doesn’t bleed, but in the moment before the bugs can latch back on, I see the deep purple welts marring his skin.

None of the others are faring much better. Grímr is even leaving clumps of fur on the ground behind him as he scratches and rolls, trying to get rid of the bugs.

This is hardly the time to care about some bigger what-if. These bugs are going to eat their way through the team if I do nothing.

I disregard Remus’ orders and flare my flames out to the bugs and the goop coating the three. As my fire touches the swarm, I can’t help the gasp of shock that escapes my lips. Not only do my flames incinerate them with ease, but each of them contains a similar amount of energy as the average non-enhanced soldier.

Every single one.

Gluttony overcomes me and I spread my flames as wide as I can to consume as many as possible.

The liquid coating Grímr, Remus and Tetsu ignites, enshrouding each of them in a massive fireball that creates huge plumes of smoke above them. I’m not worried about them; they’ve already shown how resistant they are to my flames. While the heat of my fire increases when burning through the gooey substance, it isn’t too much hotter than what I can normally attain.

I’m lost in the indulgence of these impossibly nutritious bugs. The feeling overwhelms any thought of keeping my flames contained. I spread them as wide as they will go, and consume everything I can. Remus shouts for me to stop, but the feeling of satiation is too good to stop.

That is, until a terrifying hiss tears that feeling out of my chest. I freeze on the spot. The hiss reverberates through every part of my body.

A quaking crash shakes the ground under my feet. My legs wobble underneath me as the tapping returns, sounding more like a cratering impact with each tap.

A massive creature moves into the flickering light of my flames. Its large bulbous body towers ten metres over us. Several long spindly legs carry the being forward, shaking the ground with each step.

Its next growl snaps me out of my reverie. I try to pull my flames back to myself, to hide us within the darkness again.

I should have just extinguished them where they were.

My flames pass over the hole between the mushroom like growths. The fluid coating the tube inside ignites. It takes hardly a moment for the entire hole to explode. A pillar of flames rocket into the sky, lighting up much of the cavern.

There is only enough light to see for a moment, but in that time I spot at least two more of the monstrosities clinging to the ceiling in the distance.

Hisses resound from everywhere in the cavern, drowned out by the screech of the monster right on top of us.

My flames continue to burn down into the earth, far deeper than I ever expected the mushroom thing to dig. My eyes snap to the opening. It’s tight, but it’s our best hope of escape. I felt the explosion travel deep into the ground.

“The hole!” I shout to the others. “It’s a way out.” Of course, I don’t know that for sure, but it’s better than any other option we have at the moment.

Not even taking a moment to doubt my words, Remus orders everyone inside. Jav is the first in, flying straight down the tunnel and I chase not far behind. I try to turn back to watch, but Tetsu jumps in after me and pushes me deeper.

My flames still burning through the spongy ground of fungi let me see as Remus and Grímr dash toward the hole. The crashing sound of the monster’s mighty heft closes in with each moment.

Grímr rams his head into the back of Remus, sending him flying toward the hole. One of the sharp, spindly legs smashes down on Grímr, piercing through his back without so much as an ounce of resistance. His spine is severed and the momentum of his upper body tears away the last muscles connecting his body around the claw and tarsus piercing through his chest. His body splits in half.

The remaining upper half tumbles toward the hole. Remus pulls Grímr’s head down into the hole after us. Hind legs abandoned. Remus squeezes through the tight tunnel with an ease none of us can compare, tugging what’s left of Grímr down with us. The tunnel is far too tight for the panther.

The ground quakes and rocks fall on us from above.

“Keep moving down!” Remus shouts.

The hissing of the creature above continues as it tries to dig after us.

Thankfully, the monstrosity behind us cannot dig as fast as we can descend. After we drop what must be a hundred metres, the sounds of digging above ceases.

I look at Grímr. A pang of dread floods my body. Crushed between the far too tight stone surrounding us, he is unresponsive.

I don’t want to lose another person I’m close to. I place my hands on the side of his head and hope to see life in his eyes.

Instead, a tear opens in the back of his neck and tiny, sharp, spider-like legs pierce outward. A tiny black arachnid with ten spindly legs crawls out of the cut.

“Grímr?” I ask, slightly bewildered.

The small thing pushes its body up and down, which I guess is a nod. Huh.

“Nice to meet you,” I say.