Chapter 59: Chapter 59

THE OTHER SIDE

The Other Side

The Tundra, Arctica

Floor felt like she was going to be sick. The boat did not seem to be keeping any steady course nor did it seem like the storm was going to be letting up any time soon. She looked over at the other, who seemed mostly calm. She hugged herself.

Outside it sounded like the boat was hitting some kind of barrier. The crashing and breaking up of ice just made the little hairs on the back of her neck stand tall. She closed her eyes. She was not about to let a little storm get to her head.

Tarja lowered herself down next to her. "Well?"

Floor just looked at her, not sure what the question was even about. "Huh?"

"I asked you how you have been."

Floor just shrugged. "Just as well as I can be." She looked over at the other Hunter. Did she even know that Eelis was dead? Probably not…As far as Floor knew, Tarja hadn't had any contact with her family since she broke off. Now, didn't seem like the right place to tell her what had happened.

Tarja stared up at the ceiling. "This is some ride."

Floor nodded. "Yeah, it sure is."

Silence fell between them. Floor really didn't know what to say to Tarja. It used to be that they shared everything. Kendra has always been there, but she and Tarja had had this bond that brought them together. Now that is was gone, Floor found herself missing it. She didn't have any idea how to get it back.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Eelis get to his feet and disappear up the steps. She just shrugged, not really sure of what that was about exactly.

Tarja leaned back against the wall, resting her head on it. "I am so tried."

Floor only nodded as she stared at Eelis who had almost disappeared from sight. "I think it's almost over."

Tarja slowly opened her eyes. "I hope you're right."

"I do too," Floor replied. Now, she couldn't see Eelis at all. This whole thing was making her very nervous. What could the wolf possibly be up too? There was just something about his aura that screamed at her, telling her to keep him in sight at all times.

Tarja leaned around Floor. "What are you doing?"

"Eelis just went up those stairs," she answered, still staring. "He's been up there for a while."

"Why?" Tarja asked.

Floor got to her feet. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

Tarja also got to her feet. "Should we take someone else?"

Floor shook her head. "I think we can handle it."

The two of them made their way up the stairs. Each bump seemed so much more noticeable now that they were up and moving around. Floor found herself grabbing the wall and holding on more than once. It made her feel a little bit better once she saw that Tarja was struggling as well.

Up and up they went until they saw Eelis standing where the door was. The strangest thing was that it was open and he seemed to be talking to someone.

He turned. "Look what I found."

Floor felt her heart skip a beat. Standing there was Aku, looking like he had fallen in a snow bank instead of walking through it, and beside him was the Alpha who she was pretty sure was dead. Her eyes narrowed as she looked him over. Yes, it was him, but how was he still living?

Aatu brushed past the two Hunters without saying a word.

Aku gave Tarja a small smile as he walked past her. "I bet you thought you would never see me again."

Tarja just looked him over. "How are you still here?"

He just shrugged. "I just suppose it's not my time yet."

Tarja just shook her head as he walked past her.

Eelis raised an eyebrow. "I don't see how any of them are still alive."

"Did you know about Aatu?" Floor heard herself ask.

Eelis shook his head. "That's new to me too. He's supposed to dead." With that, he turned and past the Hunters, leaving them in stunned silence.

How did someone come back from the dead? This truly was a very strange land.

!

The boot kept sailing on and on until it finally came to a halt. At first, no one made any move to see where they were. After a few awkward moments of staring at each other, Raakel got to her feet and headed up the stairs. The others exchanged one final look before following her.

Floor could almost feel her heart in her throat. It was racing so hard that he feared it would burst right out of her chest and leave her covered in a pile of gore. Not a very nice thought to have…

Kendra fell in step next to Floor as they made their way out onto the top of the boat. Neither one of them said a word.

The world around them was nothing more than a white landscape and the boat was sitting right in the middle of it. It was next to impossible to tell where the land and water ended. She narrowed her eyes as she looked around. There was nothing but a glittering snow blanket and grey skies for as far as the eye could see.

"Well, this sure makes for a nice mess," Kaiden muttered.

Fat flakes of snow fall ever so gently on them. Floor shook her head as she struggled to find some kind of an end to the whiteness, but there was none.

Then, without any kind of a warning. The boat started to fall through the water. Floor grabbed onto a torch just as they fell.

Down and down, they fell; the cold air pressed against her lungs, making it seem as if they were going to burst out of her very body. Her breath was thick in the air and she could have sworn that she heard water running somewhere.

Suddenly, the boat slowed down, lowering them gently onto the ground.

Floor slowly got to her feet, shocked that she had somehow managed to keep a hold of the candle. Looking around, she slowly was able to tell that she was standing in a dark passage. Even though it was so dark, it seemed to be calling out to her.

The cool breeze seemed to be calling out to her, as if it wanted her to go down the tunnel.

"Why?" Floor heard herself asking.

No one answered. She knew they were there because she could see them.

The wind only urged her forward.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw that the others were following.

She looked back up at the opening, which had sealed shut. She had heard about castles being laced with magic like this, but she hadn't expected this. Sure, she had felt the darkness, but this felt different. It felt as if the castle actually wanted her to find a way to rid it of the darkness.

She slowly stepped deeper into the tunnel, her torch's flames flicked against the walls. It was cold, but it wasn't wet-even though she could hear water running in between the walls. The walls were littered with cobwebs and there was certainly no way to see the outside world. A long set of stairs greeted her, disappearing out of the sight of her flame.

Floor held her breath as she stepped down the steps, waiting for something other than water to greet her, but it remained silent.

She lifted her torch up high. Other than where she had stepped, there was no other disturbances in the dust. Minutes passed as she looked around, but, like the dust, everything else remained untouched. She could feel her disappointment building.

The bottom of the stairs came a lot quicker than she first thought. However, it appeared that actually climbing down the stairs had been the easy part. Three unmarked and identical doors stood before her. What the hell was this all about?

She stared at the unmarked dust in front of her…So much for having any help from there.

Floor lifted the torch to the door's archways, looking for any kind of inscriptions to point her in the right direction. Nothing…She cursed again.

She chose the door to the left, only because the wind seemed to be pulling her to her. On the other side, another set of stairs greeted her. Unlike the other set, this one had a dampness about it and was so cold that her entire body started to shake. Her torch struggled to stay lit.

The entire way was littered with doors, but she kept going straight. It seemed to be the way the wind wanted her to go. The dampness only grew the further she went. Water slowly trickled down the sides of the walls, leaving a layer of moisture on everything. A fine layer of fungus covered the steps, making them very slick.

Then, she heard the sounds of running water become even plainer. It was very slow moving and it seemed as if the darkness was actually starting to leave her. It wasn't the fact that her torch was suddenly gaining back its strength. It was actually getting lighter out…

There was no way…She couldn't allow herself to believe what she actually thought. There was just simply no way.

However, it was.

She found herself on the other side of a closed gate. She leaned against the door and it opened with surprising ease. There was nothing outside, but a small river.

A little boat bobbed against the river's bank. It looked old, but it seemed to be in one piece.

Floor looked back over her shoulder at the gate, but it had disappeared. Frowning, she turned back to the boat.

The night air was cold, but not like what it had been back on top of the boat. The trees loomed along the river; they hovered so far down toward the water that it almost seemed as if they were bowing to her.

The moment she landed on the boat, it took off with a gentle jerk, moving her swiftly and carefully down the river. The longer she rode, the warmer she actually felt. It was as if the river had some kind of warming pattern to it.

The warm breeze blew behind her; its whispers moving the boat forward.

The boat suddenly lapped up against another bank in front of yet another series of doors.

This time the wind pulled her toward the middle door. On the other side, there was another series of steps.

Sighing, Floor began to climb them.

It seemed as if they would never end. She was so high now that the light from below did not reach her. She peered down over the side of the steps; she could faintly make out the glow, but that was about it. Above her, only darkness greeted her, like an old friend.

Turning away from her lookout, Floor urged her burning calves further up the steps. If only she could tap into her magic, then she would not feel all of this burning.

Her heels clicked over the stone. Floor knew that if she could see the steps, it would probably be made of stone, covered with a fine layer of mist. For the pass ten or so minutes, a fine layer of water had been spraying down on her. It really wasn't enough to do any kind of damage, but it certainly was enough that it would soak her to the skin over a period of time.

The steps were now making a gentle turn of some kind. Floor could tell that it wasn't a full turn, but it was for sure trying to change her direction a little bit and the incline did seem to be getting a little bit steeper.

She kept herself close to what she hoped was a wall. The fine layer of water was trying to turn to ice and she didn't fancy sliding over the other side to her death. She stared ahead, trying not to focus on that fact.

The turn was starting to take Floor away from her safe place against the wall. At first it just started out as a small gap, one that was just right enough for her to still keep a steady side on the wall. However, after a few more steps, the gap was clearly a lot bigger. Trying not to stay close to the edges, he moved himself more toward the centre.

The layer of water was for sure a layer of ice now. She could feel his feet threaten to pull away from her. More than a few times, she had to stop to regain his balance. She was too far up from her to even think about turning back. Plus, she was pretty sure that the path was disappearing behind her.

Carefully, putting one foot in front of the other, Floor climbed a few steps. She paused, bending forward to make sure that she was still in the centre of the steps before going to the next set. She did this until it became far too difficult for her to keep herself upright.

Even though she couldn't see any kind of light, she was sure that she was getting closer to the top. It was getting colder and getting colder meant she was getting closer to the top.

Didn't it?

Floor felt her feet start to go out from underneath her. She quickly grabbed onto the step in front of her, but it was no use. She kept falling forward until her chin hit the step in a blinding whirlwind of pain. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she spit out a round of blood over the side. She could feel the coolness of the blood running down her chin, wincing as a little bit managed to find its way onto her neck.

She carefully started forward slowly, chin still burning.

Ahead her, another icy turned greeted her. Groaning, she slowly began the turn, trying not to focus on how close she was to the actual edge and how much her body wanted to slide. This was probably one of the worst things she had even done before. The reward at the end had better be a good one.

Floor winced as her chin bumped against another step. She hated to see what she looked like once she got out into the open.

She listened, but could not hear anything, but the wind. Didn't wind mean they were almost getting closer to the top? Maybe they were going to get out of this one in one piece after all.

Upwards, she went as the wind grew not only colder, but heavier. Some of the gusts came at her with a force that almost sent her falling over the sides. It whipped at her clothes, exposing the littlest bit of skin to the harsh elements.

Floor fought back a whimper as a little bit of water managed to find itself to the small bare section of her back. She would not cry out…She would not cry out…She would not give in.

Then, suddenly up ahead, she saw what she had been looking for: a way out.

She picked up her pace as quickly as she dared. This had better be a for sure why out and it was.

Well, sort of. She found herself in yet another chamber, but, unlike the tunnel, was actually pretty warm.

She looked around, surprised to find the chamber was littered with riches and old riches for that matter. Most of them looked far older than mankind.