Dr. Paul Abernathy starts to help Steve get up, and looking down into the crevasse, Steve sees only darkness. Relative silence falls over the cavern, then they hear Story groaning below, saying, “Shit, that hurt.”
“Help him up guys, and hold on Story, we'll pull you up,” says Ivory as she starts to pull on the ropes.
Steve and Paul join her with pulling the ropes up. They get him to the top and Story is still trying to catch his breath from slamming into the crevasse wall.
They start to dust themselves off, Steve looks around for his pistol with his flashlight, as his finds it he says, “Damn Story, you're one crazy some-bitch.”
Story replies to the comment with, “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but my ribs are not agreeing with my decision... I think I cracked some.”
Ivory says “Well, that was disturbing, what in the hell was that?” shaking her head in disbelief.
Dr. Abernathy mutters, “I don't know for sure, but I thought a zombie was bad..." as he sits down in the dirt as if defeated for the moment.
Then they all sit down in the dirt to catch their breath and try to get some semblance of a composure back.
“Well, I'm not a trained arachnologist, but I'm pretty sure spiders aren't supposed to get that big,” Story stating the obvious to the group, trying to make sure they just saw what he saw, and it wasn't a flashback from taking bad LSD once.
Dr. Paul Abernathy agrees and adds, “It's impossible, I've watched plenty of nature shows and documentaries and spiders don't get that big because they can't. It has something to do with the physics/mechanics of having an exoskeleton, I think,” then asks, “So Story, is it more magic again?”
“It would have to be, and black magic, the blackest magic from the Pit of Hate and Outer Realms of Madness,” Story conjectures.
Ivory adds, “Well I'm thoroughly and completely disturbed on a fundamental level..." and continues, “We're not gonna last very long down here as this rate, guys,” says Ivory in a quiet but serious tone, “We need to take a count of water and food rations, if any. It might take a while to get out of here."
Dr. Abernathy agrees while adding, “We need to take inventory of everything, including bullets, lighters, knives and anything else.”
Story explains, “I lost my knife when the bridge fell, it was either hold on with both hands to live or hold onto a knife and die. I have no water or food because I didn't bring any except for some mints... I'm not the outdoor type, I read books..." and he sighs after speaking then quickly adds, “Oh yeah, I have a cheap-o lighter, a packed bowl in my pipe and my magically enhanced vision that allows me to see in the dark.”
“Wow, that's so amazing and cool,” says Ivory.
Steve rolls his eyes and shakes his head and says, “You know, I don't smoke pot, but at this point I think I might, it sure can't hurt.”
Ivory looks at Steve in disbelief and says, “Really?”
“Oh really? Okay then,” Story says, and he lights up the pipe and takes a puff and hands it to Steve.
Steve takes a puff and hands the pipe to Ivory and accounts, “I have one more loaded clip for my pistol, it's an eight-round clip, and it might jam until I can properly clean the dirt out of the firing mechanism. My tools for that are at home. I have a bottle of water and an energy bar that's been in my backpack since the last time I went hiking... and I have my survival knife and the First Aid kit.”
Ivory takes a puff and offers it to Paul but he shakes his head so she hands it back to Story, then she takes her turn saying, “I have three snack bars, two bottles of water and you can have one Story, wet-wipes, small box of facial tissue, hand sanitizer, and skin moisturizer..." as she hands a bottle of water to Story October.
“My turn. I have six energy bars, one bottle of water, one portable toxic-gas-meter, First Aid kit, fifty feet of 9.8mm climbing rope and some anchors, climbing harness and my iPad,” says Paul, shrugging at the last part.
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Steve is skeptical on Story's magical vision, he says, “Can we have a demonstration of that fancy vision Story?”
“Absolutely,” replies Story and says, “Everyone turn off your lights.”
They all turn their lights off until all is inky black in the cavern, then Steve holds up his fingers and says, “Well, how many do you see?”
“I see two middle fingers Steve,” says Story and he laughs.
Ivory turns on her light to see and sure enough, Steve is holding up two middle fingers and they all laugh.
Steve seems genuinely impressed and says, “Well I'll be damned."
“Incredible,” Dr. Paul Abernathy adds.
Ivory exclaims, “That. Is. Awesome!”
“Guys, honestly, I'm as impressed and amazed as you are, I made this spell a long time ago, but it would never work right. I later figured out why,” explains Story.
Dr. Abernathy, ever the scholar asks, “Please, enlighten us good sir.”
“The Earth goes through Astrological Epochs about every 2000 years and some change. There are twelve of these Epochs that endlessly repeat throughout the Eons. Every so often in these Epoch cycles, the Earth and the Material World drift closer to or farther away from the Aethereal. When it's close or touching, magic works better, when it drifts away, magic doesn't work so much... at least as far as I can figure,” explains Story October, “I've discerned this from my Visions over the years. For thousands of years our World has been away from the Aethereal, this is what happened to all the supernatural/mythological creatures of legend and lore. As the ability to cast magic dissipated, so did the existence of such creatures. Some went dormant and some retreated back into the horizon of the Aethereal.”
Ivory interjects, “So why is it working now, like all of the sudden?”
“It's because the Material World is coming in close contact to the Aethereal once again and it's happening fast. Also, it's this place, it seems to be infused with some kind of energy, possibly by its location on the metaphysical Ley Lines and being under a graveyard. I believe it's causing spells to work more efficiently and effectively... I mean, work period because in most places in the world,” Story stops talking for a moment to look at arcane symbols on the walls, touching it with his hand, then continues, “Usually spells never work... at all. Usually, the only chance of spells working is with mass-ritual castings at Ley Line nexus junctions,” says Story, while thinking deeply.
“What's that mean? Story?” queries Ivory.
Snapping out of his lost thoughts, Story replies with, “Oh, okay, think of like... maybe 1000 true-believers, and I mean absolutely fanatical believers without a thread of doubt, chanting a ritual spell, being coordinated by a highly charismatic mage at Stonehenge during the Solstice... with a sacrifice... then maybe but only just maybe it might work. That was pretty much your best chance of anything magical working, for the past several thousand to the past 12,000 years.”
After resting for a while, they are all moving through the tunnels once again. Sometimes normal-sized large rats scurry past them, as well as relatively normal sized spiders and bugs, nothing over the size of a human hand, going this way or that way. Occasionally Steve stomps on the large spiders and bugs with his size twelve combat boots, as if getting revenge for the attack on them from earlier by the giant arachnids.
A few times they reach areas that have antechambers or possible ways out, then they must choose a path. They let Story October lead, to guide them because of his magically enhanced vision. He lets his Visions guide him but doesn't tell that to the group as he leads them to his original Vision, to the stone ring.
“Do not be afraid. It's no mere accident that we are all here, it was meant to be because there is intent and purpose in all things,” Dr. Paul Abernathy says.
Steve sighs and says, “Paul, what is that supposed to mean?”
Story interjects, “It means, don't be afraid because the Cosmos isn't as random as it seems.”
“I'm surprised we agree on that, Story... I figured you for an Existentialist,” states Dr. Paul Abernathy.
Ivory adds in, “I for one, am pretty damned afraid and I'm not about to be drawn into a Determinism verses Existentialism debate... and is it just me or does it seem like we've been descending?”
Dr. Abernathy supplies confirmation to her query by saying, “We are.”
That's when they see a glow of light farther down the tunnel and hear some droning/chanting sounds.
“Shhh, stop, stop, there is something down the tunnel somewhere ahead,” says Story quietly.
Ivory sounding relieved says, “Oh thank god, people.”
“Uh, I don't know for sure if that is a good sound or not..." replies Story in a weary tone.
Sounding disappointed and disturbed, Ivory asks a rhetorical question, “oh good god, what is it then?”
As they cautiously move further down the tunnel, they reach an antechamber entrance/exit and hear what sounds like a girl or woman sobbing in the darkness from inside the antechamber and they all look at each other with a confused look on their faces at what they are hearing.
“Is that... a girl crying?” says Ivory, finally speaking up, talking to the group with a concerned and alarmed look on her face.