For nearly a week the earth shook. They were trapped down in the dark with no way to know if the next moment would mean their death. Luke clenched his fists, he was not used to feeling helpless. He was strong, he could challenge any problem with might and speed to emerge victorious, until now.
The temperature underground rose like an oven. They survived mostly due to Merrick having a water artifact that let him freeze any liquid he was in contact with. He and Kerri passed it back and forth to keep from running out of essence while those with air kerns kept the air breathable.
This combination made a harsh environment relatively comfortable. Except for the constant earthquakes, the distance between the surface and the ground was far enough to isolate them. Boredom set in on the third day. One could only feel the world rattle, with no consequence for so long before it simply became normal. Most of these people had seen the light over the Forest Caldera, a few had seen the light over the River Caldera, but none had seen what had happened right above their heads.
Luke hadn’t either, but his air sense was enormous at the upper reaches of tier five. Covering nearly three hundred feet in every direction, he was not limited to just sensing the dirt around him like the other tier fours here. The bunker was made to keep valuables away from civil protectors, not those nearly two tiers beyond them.
He could feel the air being consumed and burned. It was not constant, a wave of heat would decimate the surface once every day, as if the being above wanted to be extra thorough about breaking everything. The worst part for Luke was not the heat, not feeling the destruction above, and it was not even that he was forced to hide. Nothing was worse than hiding from a predator that could see you and only left you alone because you weren’t enough of a snack. Luke was under no illusion, if his air sense extended three hundred feet, then the destroyer’s should stretch for miles.
When it stopped, they did not realize it. It took a day of stillness for someone to risk climbing to the surface. Everyone was bored until they were asked to face the monster. Luke started climbing, the shaft was deformed and it narrowed dangerously in some areas, but it was mostly clear. Dirt had fallen in, but the temple’s deep foundation had stopped a total collapse.
Luke tentatively poked his head above the surface. The temple’s deep foundation had not survived. Scorched rubble covered the land as far as Luke could see. Smoke still wafted up from a few fires, but for the most part, everything was quiet and still. Snow had started falling, it would not be long before everything was hidden below a blanket of white.
“ALL CLEAR!” Luke yelled into the bunker.
He climbed out, the rubble of the temple’s charred foundation cracked and broke beneath his feet. Luke spun in a slow circle, giving his eyes enough time to take in everything within his ability to see. The pine trees that covered most of the southern part of the Caldera were gone. The lake was refilling, but the water line was so low that rocks were poking out of the surface. Heat still radiated off the ground, keeping away the chill that was certain to set in over the coming days.
“Blind gods,” Conni whispered as he climbed out and witnessed the same scene as Luke.
Luke started walking. He did not have a plan, not really, but he had made a promise. Tristan had made him promise to keep several people safe. However, if he knew Tristan, he would have prepared for the apocalypse. Luke needed to check the River Caldera’s temple. He had gotten all the miners out of the Forest Caldera before the Lord of the Underworld escaped and Luke would not be surprised if he did something similar in the event of an attack on the River Caldera.
“Where are you going?” Conni asked.
Luke looked back to where the ex-foreman was helping Grace up to the surface, “I am going to the River Caldera.”
Merrick came next, followed by Kerri and Eve. Then the miners started piling out. Most stared despondently at their surroundings, and a few started crying, letting ash trail through their fingers as they mourned lost children, lovers, and friends.
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“Why?” Conni asked.
Luke cocked his head and examined the man. He seemed less affected than everyone else. It made a certain amount of sense, Conni was from a different plane. Whether that was from a different slice of reality, or it was true that people lived on the moon, this was not his home. He had already lost everything before. Losing it again was not treading new ground.
“I want to check their temple’s basement,” Luke explained.
“You think there might be survivors?” This time it was asked by Eve.
Luke shrugged, “Maybe, Tristan was paranoid. You all are only alive because of that paranoia.” Turning back to the north, Luke started walking. “I will protect anyone who comes with me, otherwise, do whatever you want.”
Eve shook her head, “That’s not how leadership works. You can’t demand it and expect people to fall in line.”
“I don’t want you to fall in line,” Luke was already exhausted by her aristocratic mindset, “I made a promise, if you don’t want to benefit from it that is all the better.”
Luke only got another thirty feet before the sound of footsteps and grumbling followed him. He might not have been a match for the being that destroyed the Caldera, but he was far and away the most powerful person here. With Hestia’s Sickle, he was the best equipped to not only destroy mythical beasts but also to combat the cold. Luke would not get frostbite, he would tire slower and recover faster than everyone else. They all knew it too, so they followed.
The walk was mostly silent. A few husbands tried to comfort their grieving wives. It made Luke uncomfortable, he did not remember his mother, but he did remember his father. Rail would not have cried like this over Luke’s death and Luke did not mourn his father’s end. They were mature enough to recognize that loss was a part of life and not something to grieve over.
The sound of crunching gravel alerted Luke to the approach of someone. It was Eve. Luke did his best to ignore her, hoping she would leave. It proved to be a pointless desire, as they walked side by side the entire way. She did not look at him, just maintained a steady walking speed at the same pace as he did.
Eventually, Luke had enough, nearly yelling, “What do you want!”
Eve flinched slightly, but she did not leave as Luke had hoped. Instead, she took a deep breath and started talking, “What are your plans? What do you intend to do with us?”
I don’t care! He almost said it aloud. That would not go over well. He chose a more diplomatic answer, “Do what I say and I will keep you alive until we reach somewhere that can sustain life. I’m not responsible for your choices if you don’t listen.”
The infuriating woman made a quizzical expression, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow, “I did not realize that you felt responsible for us.”
Luke clenched his fist. Fluffy felt his displeasure and gave a tiny hiss at Eve. He did not like the feeling like he was dragging a bunch of rocks uphill. They were holding him back. Luke could already be halfway to that new nation the Elders discovered if he left them to fend for themselves. There were three tier fours, two healers, and a whole squad of guards, they would be fine. Only Luke had promised his only friend. A piece of him rebelled at breaking that promise.
It took everyone a few hundred feet to realize they had entered the remnants of the River Caldera. The higher concentration of gravel mixed into the soil gave it away. That and the rent carved into the ground. It started just where the gate to the Elder River’s mansion would be and extended almost a quarter mile, expanding in a cone as it traveled.
Eve took a deep breath, “The temple should be that way,” She pointed to the west, “Dad and I need to check and see if the Elder’s safe house survived.”
Luke set that tidbit aside. They probably should have expected that the elders would have bunkers just like the temple. Making his way towards the temple, Luke pulsed his air sense. He was looking for an air pocket below ground and hopefully a shaft, it should be the only such pocket under the city.
It only took a few minutes to locate it and the shaft was not intact. Fortunately, it was not completely filled either. The final ten to twenty feet had been filled with debris. Something had happened on the surface, Luke did not know what, but it made the attacker hold back when he crushed the Lake Caldera.
“Miners,” Luke called out, “dig this tunnel out.”
Chase handed his baby to his wife and smiled, “Even in the apocalypse that’s what miners do best.”
Jenna made a few buckets out of stone to fill with dirt. The miners formed a chain on the ladder handing full buckets up and empty ones down. All of them seemed to just be happy that they could take their minds off their hardship and work. They were even happier when the first child was handed up through the gap between the ceiling and dirt.
Child after child climbed out of the bunker. It was to the point that Luke wondered if there was a daycare down there. All of them were filthy, they had cracked lips and desperately needed water. Fortunately, water kerns were the most prevalent in the current group. Luke did not recognize any of them until a strange girl climbed out. He had never met her, but he had thought that Tristan had been exaggerating when he described Harp’s eerie look.