The scent of ozone mixed with sulphur was overwhelming, and it hit Aaron in the face out of nowhere. One moment, he was walking toward a woman who looked strangely like his wife, and the next, everything was black—and smelly.
“What the hell happened?”
It took a few moments for Aaron’s eyes to adjust to the dark, but when he was finally able to make out the form of his best friend next to his shoulder, part of him felt relieved that he wasn’t alone wherever they were, and the other part was angry that Elliott had just been transported to whatever this place was. Even though he’d only gotten a glimpse of their surroundings, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t a hospitable place to say the least.
“I’m not sure,” the Guardian Leader admitted, “but it doesn’t look like paradise.”
The landscape around them began to come into focus, and Aaron could hardly believe what he was looking at. The ground beneath his feet was a sooty black ash that crumpled with each step. It was as if they were walking through a cave with the ceiling about ten or fifteen feet above their heads, though long stalactites hung down in sharp, jagged menacing forms, and the passage they were standing in was only seven or eight feet across at its widest. The walls were also made of dark, sharp stone. Puffs of smoke seeped through cracks in the ground, making a sizzling, hissing sound and obstructing their vision, though it appeared as if the tunnel went on for quite some time. He wasn’t sure if there was a turn ahead or maybe it opened up into a wider room in the cave, if that’s even what they were in.
Aaron took a few more steps forward before he turned back and looked over his shoulder. Behind him, there was only darkness, but part of what looked like a solid wall was ebbing and flowing like an entrance to a portal. He stuck his hand inside and could tell that was where they’d passed over, but even before he pulled the tips of his fingers out, the movement was gone, and they were standing in front of a solid barrier, much like the others around them. The only difference was that this wall was smoother and a slightly darker shade of black.
“You have got to be shitting me,” Elliott mumbled, also staring at their only way out sealing behind him. He placed his hands on his hips and stared at the ground, shaking his head. Aaron wished he could think of something constructive or reassuring to say, but he was just as shocked as his friend. “What do you think this place is?”
The first guess that came to mind was purgatory, but Aaron knew Elliott couldn’t die, so he didn’t think that’s what had happened, though he wasn’t ready to rule anything out. “Do you remember what we were doing before we ended up here?” he asked, checking this experience against Elliott’s last encounter with death.
“Yeah. We thought we saw Cadence coming at us. Then, I stepped on some sort of mirror, and the next thing I know, everything’s all black and shit. Why?”
“Because, when you came back through the Blue Moon Portal, you said you couldn’t remember anything from before you died while you were on the other side. So I don’t think we’re dead.”
“Good. Because this don’t look like heaven to me. And no offense, but if I had to spend eternity with just you, I think I might go crazy.”
Aaron didn’t snicker, but he also bit his tongue at what he was about to say—there wasn’t a guarantee that Elliott’s words wouldn’t come true. Just because they weren’t dead that didn’t mean they could just go back to their lives from a few minutes ago. “You stepped on a mirror?”
“Uh huh. It was on the ground. Next to a bucket of water and some sort of a rock. I didn’t even see it until I was right on top of it.”
“Why would that be there?”
“I’m not a smart man, but I do believe all of those objects were reflective,” Elliott pointed out, finally pulling his eyes away from the spot on the wall that had recently been an opening. “I’m guessing this had something to do with that damn moon.”
The idea had occurred to Aaron, too, though he hadn’t worked it out yet. Off in the distance, a strange sound caught his attention. It sounded eerily like a wolf or coyote howling, but in a more sinister tone. Aaron instinctively reached for his Glock.
“Oh, good. We’re not alone after all,” Elliott mumbled, also checking his weapon. “I’m glad I brought so much extra ammo.”
Aaron could see he did have a belt with extra cartridges strapped beneath his jacket. Seeing as though they were just at a peace keeping operation, Aaron had not thought to bring quite so much. He only had two Glocks and an extra round in his interior pocket. “We need to figure out how to get out of here before whatever that is figures out that we got into here.”
“That sounds easy enough.” Elliott shook his head as another noise sounded off, down the passage but further to their left. Rather than a howl, it was more like a hissing, though louder and lower than any snake Aaron had ever heard.
“What the hell is this place?” Aaron asked again, not expecting an answer. He turned to his best friend. “Is your IAC working?”
Elliott chuckled. “I think you already know the answer to that question. If it was, wouldn’t I have said something?”
“Just making sure. You can’t even get me, right?”
“Nope. Not a soul. Communicado nada.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow, not sure if that was exactly what Elliott had meant to say, but he got the picture. “If that was some sort of a Blood Moon Portal we stumbled into, then that means someone set us up. And... if someone set us up, then someone knows how to open it again. And we know that Cadence, Cass, and Brandon aren’t going to rest until they find out who can open it and get them to do it again.”
“That’s true.” Elliott looked hopeful for a second. “Except, we don’t even know for sure that they know we’re gone yet. For that matter, Holland may have some assholes parading around looking like us or some shit. Who knows? Or—and I don’t even want to say this out loud—how do we know we’re the only ones in here?”
A sinking feeling hit Aaron right in the pit of his stomach. It hadn’t occurred to him that maybe that actually was Cadence running toward him and that she had gotten sucked inside when the portal opened as well. “We can’t all be in here,” he finally said, though his tone wasn’t convincing even to himself.
“God, I hope none of them are.” Elliott shook his head again and they both stared at the blackness before he added, “Do you have any idea when the next blood moon is? What if they have to wait until the phenomenon happens again?”
“A long ass time,” Aaron admitted, pausing to listen to the hisses and howls for a moment before he continued. “I think Christian said the next one was in a year or something.”
“Seriously? We could be stuck in here for an entire freaking year?”
“Or longer. Who knows?”
“Damn.” Elliott rubbed the toe of his boot in the ash beneath their feet. “We’ve gotta figure something out. Is there food or water? Oh, my God—a year without Cheetos! I might miss them more than I miss my own kid!” He grabbed ahold of his hair near the root and tugged a little, and Aaron put both hands on his friend’s shoulders to steady him.
“Calm down. We will figure out how to get out of here. If we can get in, we can get out. You of all people should know that.”
Elliott took a few deep breaths and let go of his hair, but even his head nod was not convincing, and Aaron couldn’t blame him for feeling hopeless. He felt that way himself. But he knew if Cadence wasn’t in there, she’d find a way to get them out. And if she was in there... well, he prayed that she wasn’t because the last thing he’d ever want was for her to be trapped in a place that looked suspiciously like hell.
