In the darkness, they lay still. Waiting for the opportunity to reveal itself. Time was all it would take, but how long could they depend upon this strategy?

The day and night cycle remained a mystery to the children as they dwelled beneath the surface. Wading through the endless expanse of the Night’s Sea for a creature not to be toyed with, the task fruitless. It was a death sentence. This domain was a natural habitat for the elusive night-borne creatures. Those bread and grown in the darkness, able to see and hear for miles on end as they stalked their prey till the right moment.

Daisuke, Kiyo, Eiko, Kono, and Shoma made their stomping grounds within the hollowed-out den nestled between a couple of stalactites and stalagmites. One of the many pillars that held up the open bubble of this dank environment. Dependent upon them to prevent any collapse upon the tunneled floors.

A mix of water cave systems and slick open crawlways big enough for an elephant to fit through littered the massive cave. Almost a near-infinite selection to sort through, but still too many to depend upon luck to find a nest. Their prey. Ears attentive to their surroundings, every unfamiliar noise was a reason for one of them to scout out the cause. The glowstone a signal for backup.

One cave stalker was all they needed, their ticket back into the sunlight.

Eiko peeked over the compressed slick limestone ledge in front of him, eyes scouring the open rocky jungle around them. Little blue flickers of light danced along the far edges of the cave, markers for the other five groups down there with them. Like most expected, they found themselves walking aimlessly in silence around the open tunnels. They were knowledgable of their foe, but beyond that was a mystery. Questions piled over questions that had no clear answer. I mean, how does one trap another in their own home?

Quick to bring back his round of news to the rest of the group, Eiko darted from shadow to shadow. The inky patches of darkness embedded in the gruelly landscape were his ally against the unseen and unknown. A manner of escape as he hurdled back toward the group’s resting grounds.

Sliding back down the wall, Eiko slotted himself next to Shoma and Daisuke. Shoulder to shoulder. Sure, it was a tight squeeze within the confinements of the small cavern they claimed as their household. But it filled its purpose, a temporary home.

The other four stared at Eiko, eyes beady and glowing with anticipation, bodies antsy as they bounced in place. Begging for a reason to leave and venture out across the open jagged landscape. But there was none. With a solemn shake of his head, heavy sighs sent them back onto the stone. With one full day under their belts, all that was left to do was wait.

For Eiko that was more than long enough.

“Ughhhhhh. Man, I'm bored.” Eiko whispered prissily, crossing his arms over his chest.

“It shouldn’t be much longer, we could hear one soon.” Daisuke relented with a flicker of optimism.

“You said that six or whatever turns ago. And look, we're still here.” Eiko muttered as he gestured around to the rest of the group.

Their hollowed hole in the crumbled pillar was a dreary place to reside for a group of kids who grew up under the notion of training for constant action. They were fighters, not sitters. Lives dedicated to putting their bodies to use for the Sun. Yet, here they were sitting in a hole in the wall like a mouse furrowed in the barn.

“Eiko, we went over this already,” Kono replied with a drawn-out groan.

“C’mon, can’t we go a little further today? I mean, they're all searching over there, maybe that’s where they are?” Eiko insisted as he motioned to the glints of blue light miles away.

“But, maybe they’re not. Maybe they’re just as lost as us,” Daisuke said as he peeked over the rubble.

Taking a second glance, all Eiko noticed was the lingering emptiness around them, the imminent abyss. Within it inevitable boredom. As it was for the same within the other boys, he could only grasp to hope for something to change. A shift of a shadow or maybe a sudden screech to scare them out of their wretched little hideout. Anything was better than waiting like this.

“Shoma, you can’t tell me you’re not bored?” Eiko persisted.

Shoma just shrugged, not torn to either side of the question. His mind reminded idle elsewhere, compliant with their current situation as he could keep his eyes on Kiyo 24/7. Deep down the forced interest in the wonder boy transitioned into a strange aversion. Whether it be conversations with Monterio or some other outside influence, all the same, Shoma couldn’t shake this revulsion from Kiyo’s presence. Like the boy meant to be his friend was lying to all of them, hiding something sinister. So he watched and waited.

“Look. What if we just go scout like—to that thing over there.” Eiko pleaded with a loose gesture toward an obstructed ancient multi-level homestead three miles out.

At the end of Eiko’s fingertip sat a cluster of slanted rectangle-like stones pinned against each other. They had been crumbled and warped by the years of being washed over by water droplets from the surface above. Now unrecognizable from their age of foundation, the structures were nothing more than oblong boxes littered with holes.

“C’mon, that’s easy enough. Two turns tops.” Eiko murmured with a spring in his step as he shot up to his feet.

“I said no,” Daisuke repeated, sticking his neck out.

“Yeah, you said no, but what do they want?” Eiko asked with a motion to the three silent observers in the conversation.

“For you to shut the hell up,” Kono muttered, words strict and visceral.

“Wasn’t asking you,” Eiko commented as he stuck his tongue out in defense.

“Then who were you—”

RRRAAAAAaaaaaaggghhhh…

The five boys looked at each other in surprise. With wide-eyed anxious glares broadening their shadowed faces, their departure finally arrived. Nervous or not, the time was now. Eiko gulped down his fears and did a little strut to get the blood flowing, to ease his mind. Kiyo scaled up the little mound of compressed debris and peered across the open terrain. Focusing his radiance on the center of his pupils, he searched for another light source, a heat signature, something in the darkness that could indicate the origin of the cry.

Everyone joined him, each scouting in different directions, Kono climbing higher to get a better view of the endless darkness around them. Eyes locked onto any hint of movement in the barren wasteland beneath the surface. But nothing was there.

Drip.

Only the light trickle of water against the rocks made itself known to them. Small subtle streams that ran down into submerged caves beneath the wreckage lining the sea’s grounds. Deep pools of everso clear water free of contamination from the acidic surface world. Musky and tinged in some areas from soot and waste, but other pools were as transparent as the air around them. Blessed water in a cursed place.

Eiko sorted through his bag and bided his time with a sliver of coar meat gripped between his teeth. Digging for his glowstone, over-anxious to get out and running toward whatever hinted at their chance to leave this prison. That call an opportunity to hunt, to live.

Tfft, tfft, tfft.

Everyone looked up to Kono as he gave the signal, sucking air through his clenched teeth to minimize noise. A pattern that immediately redirected their attention to the end of his pointer finger.

Crawling up the small rocky aged embankment to get a better view, they gazed across the swampy darkness. With a haphazard squint, they laid their eyes on what Kono found. Five blue lights darting across the terrain carelessly, the perfect lure for a monster of sound.

“I-I see them. The things,” Kiyo mumbled, jabbing his finger a few yards behind the five blue flames. Toward shadows that were moving, hunting. Cave Stalkers. Their strides were subtle or even considered invisible to the naked eye, but Kiyo could spot them beneath the vague cover of twilight. At least the three traveled together as they closed in on the retreating group of their fellow classmates. Predators closing in on their prey.

But to the boys, it was their time to shine.

Everyone glanced at Kiyo, bodies tensing up, prepared to plunge into the concrete jungle encompassing this cursed world. Hands grasping at the air, they took ahold of their antsy anticipation and held on tight. One signal all it would take for its release, for their departure.

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FPHhheeeww. Kiyo let out an anxious breath and honed in his focus on the task at hand.

Crawling to the front, Kiyo raised his right arm and dragged his pointer and middle finger across his chest. That was it: go time. Without another word, they descended the pillar to the cave floor. Light on their feet, they reeled in the distance between them and their bait. The pep in their step was attributed to their desire to claim a single beast, to leave this hellscape.

Drawing in closer to the fringe edges of the fluttering blue lights, it became abundantly clear they weren’t alone in the shadows. Amongst them were the voices of the damned trapped within the monstrous bodies of those that consumed them. Whisperers carried along the wind. A faint lure for prey to wander back into the darkness. Right into the beast’s domain.

“StAy ThErE.”

“waIT fOr Us.”

“StaY tHErE.”

“WaiT, wAiT, wAIt!”

Brushing them off, the boys continued toward the set goal ahead. Calls of inhumane grief and impatience pleaded for their attention, yet they pressed on. Closer and closer to the end.

knlock. knlock.

Kiyo clicked his tongue twice, and without a second thought, the group picked up their pace. Movements silent in the stagnant environment, leaping across tunnels and over spires spotting the open area. With careful placement, the boys flung their bodies toward the lights, eyes aglow, vigilant for the monsters in wait. Their dominance was present in their stature. They were the predators here. Not the prey.

“HeLp mE.”

“PleAsE, pLEasE, PlEasE.”

“Don’T LeAvE Us.”

“DoN’T leAVe, DoN’t LeAVe, DOn’t LeaVE.”

Whispers growing louder and louder, the boys were ever so close, right on the cusp of finding their prize. A few mere yards away.

Hands shoving off every ounce of rock that grazed their palms, they bounced off the limestone-ragged pillars with every bountiful step. Stone-faced against the brisk under-valley wind that brushed against their skin, a bitter yet stagnant breeze. Eyes trained ahead through it all.

“WaIt StOp, StoP, STOP!”

In a moment of pure confusion, the whispers suddenly disappeared, wiped clean from their ears. Gone in a hasty cold wind that withdrew from their presence instantly.

Almost at the foothold of the site, a few irregular rock formations were all that was left between them. Scarlet misshapen bricks and random jagged beams protruded from them as they crossed over the heap of rubble right into the sequestered blue light. There was no time to react, pull back, or signal. Feet landing at the mouth of the tunnel, the boys came face to face with the very bait they meant to tail. Five pairs of emotionless eyes, true-bred warriors.

Shin’s team.

Smash—splerch!

Kiyo threw up his left arm bringing everyone in the group to a standstill. Peering past the panting bodies, he spotted the reason for the sudden end of the chase, a corpse, their prize.

Their ticket out of hell.

Tended to by two of Shin’s group members, they finished off the beast with repetitive blows to its skull with various stones. Wail after wail right into its skinless skull-faced cranium. The stalker was decimated from the waist down, to begin with, legs bashed in from an apparent strung trap. Rusted beams and stray wires skewered the monster locking its joints in place, all that was left was to end its bloody suffering. Blugening it in the skull repetitively was their simple answer.

Taking a closer look, the boys nudged each other’s attention to the beast’s talons. What were surefire devices of Paladinian destruction, were reduced to fragment leaking sacks of crushed bones. Its hands caught between two boulders of limestone, either a brief coincidence or part of this planned assault. Regardless, the pulverized mush was dead.

The other two stalkers had seemingly darted back into the cover of darkness, their instincts offset by the unforeseen traps that lined the environment. Such an atmospheric change must’ve forced them to regroup in their dens. Not afraid of the children themselves, but of what they were capable of. With this second-day kill, it was clear to these beasts; this batch was an actual threat.

With his back turned the only boy stood apart from the other four laughed aloud. The blue glowstone light illuminated the white bristles on the back of the apparent leader’s head that shook from his sudden burst of tingling humor. His four squad members' smiles of joy for the kill became squandered by confusion at Kiyo’s abrupt presence. To say the least, it was awkward.

Yet Kiyo gave no care for their judgment, eyes locked onto the whishing white hair that swung through the plain dreary air coughed out by the laughing boy. Someone that Kiyo couldn’t help but despise.

“Shin,” Kiyo muttered hostilely, clenching his fists.

Spinning around, the Sun orange-eyed boy grinned at the sight of Kiyo. A wry tinge in his teeth sliced through the air between them. Being his hero’s son, Kiyo was now the prime way for Shin to reach his impossible goal. To become not just a warrior, but a savior. The Sun’s hero.

“Kiyooo, no need to be rude, though I would’ve thought you’d be the first one out of here,” Shin said with a passive-aggressive friendly tinge as he swayed across the gravel toward Kiyo.

Only a few hairs apart, Shin beamed down with the utmost pride at the source of his lust for strength. His face became warped from an over-egregious smile, beyond satisfied with the sight of Kiyo panting in disappointed snuffs of air. No kill to his name.

“Being Ronin’s son.” Shin tacked on through gritted teeth.

“Drop it.” Daisuke butted in from the sideline.

Shin glanced over to what was nothing more than an unrecognizable face, unfazed by the comment.

“And who are you?” Shin asked with a wry chuckle.

Eiko spat into the open air and coiled his fists, fueled by a newfound inner disgust for this boy. But before he could even take a step forward, Kono barred off his path. This situation was not one for them to get involved in.

Shoma watched in silence, no hint of emotion peeking out on his face, just waiting to see how Kiyo would react. That maybe he’d finally find a new reason to disregard their friendship and hate him. Have another reason to continue to report to Monterio and bring Kiyo’s impending downfall within the coming months. All he wanted was fuel to the fire, to burn the bridges Daisuke established between their groups. Kiyo’s outburst was an easy way to pull out of the oncoming devastation Monterio intended, a possibility to save Kono and Eiko from such a similar fate.

But it never came.

Kiyo simply stepped to the side and walked past his antagonizer. No words slipped out, no physical contact, or any means of threat. He refused to play into Shin’s game, walking past him without a second hesitation. All he passed was a dead-eyed stare deeper into the spiraling cave ahead. Like he flipped a switch, all forms of communication were cut off, carelessly stepping off further into the clouded darkness ahead.

Shaking his head, Shin waved off the other four and turned to his group.

“Well, we have to get going,” Shin muttered as he skipped over to help his group with their trophy.

Shin and two other boys picked up the crawler, carrying it out of the divot, the other two led the way toward the central spiral of light from the hole above. Only kept safe by the blue glow gifted to them by the Sun, they wandered off into the night to escape into the light. Their trial was at an end.

“See you up there. . .if you make it—hm, hm,” Shin whispered, racing off toward the exit.

Within seconds they were gone, fast to leave with their victory held high. Left to dwell in bitter dismay in the mouth of the cave, Kiyo, Eiko, Daisuke, Kono, and Shoma groaned at the sour taste of loss that singed their tongues. Glancing over to Kiyo, they stared down the apparent pitch-black barrel ahead. Nothing but shadows looming past the glowstone’s shine.

“Now what?” Kono asked, the obvious put up for debate.

Daisuke shrugged and looked over to Kiyo, but he only continued to waddle off toward the tunnel, step after step closer to the edges of their glowstone’s precious gleam.

But he said nothing.

Eiko retrieved a stone from his bag and climbed to the nearest decaying stone pillar. Scaling it to the top, he plopped down and scanned the jet-black sea for Shin’s group. It was easy enough to find them. Their five lustrous embers attracted his eyes like moths to a flame. Watching the wavering blue light die off in the distance as Shin’s group sped off toward the mouth of the sea. And then they were gone.

“Well, they made it. Guess you can say our plan worked. . .for them.” Eiko groaned sarcastically, glancing down at the rest of the group.

“Right, 'cause that makes sense.” Kono let out, sighing at his friend’s stupidity.

“Doesn’t matter now. . .what does is what we do. So what do we do, Kiyo?” Daisuke asked wearily.

The idea of waiting another day for bait was out of the question. Spending their time and energy in a hole in the wall, taking turns looking into the void of the shadowed ocean around them was nothing more than a long shot. These beasts were something they didn’t even know how to keep track of down here. Down in this eternal night.

But Kiyo shook his head, the gears working as he came to a new solution.

Eiko slid down from the pillar and joined the others as Kiyo took a couple of steps out of the blue ring of light into the tunnels. Each foot crunched over the worn earth, pebbles scattered beneath his feet further into the shadows.

Tink-ttonk-tink.

Splish.

Stomping across a shallow fresh pool of water, Kiyo came to a stop and pointed dead ahead.

“They’re here. . .”

The group held their breath, motions stiffened and bodies chilled from the sudden news flash. Inching back, they started to retreat away from the tunnel, to back away into certain safety. But Kiyo stood his ground and turned to face them with a plan.

“We’ll hunt them here. . .”

That was it. Without another word or a chance for questions, Kiyo pulled out a glowstone and crept forward into the imminent night. Alone.

The rest of the group hesitated and passed worrisome glances at what possibly awaited them in the eternal night below. But there wasn’t any time to wonder, to question Kiyo’s choice. He was right. This was the only way. With a collective nod of agreement, it was settled. They’d fight the monsters right where they lived: in their dens.

One by one, they stepped into the open gaping mouth of the grand corridor. A gateway to the habitats beneath their feet. A new terrifying environment that thrived at the depths of the Night’s Sea. A bottomless maze of the unknown.

The Hollows.