I pawed at my throat. One thing that was different from the Higher Plane? The air around us was thick, like this weird bubbly tunnel was underwater. I glanced up to the ceiling and saw a white light on the outside, but nothing beyond that. There were no moving shapes. The Ghost was gone.
"Dan," I whispered. "And Jessica. We need to go after them."
A cry for help came from down the tunnel.
We took off running. What else could we do? I was growing used to discovering bizarre new places, and Dan was still in the clutches of a monster who could rip open portals.
"It's a network," Dorian said with a huff beside me as we ran. There were more tunnels. The air was tough on him, too. We led our group toward Jessica's cries. I glanced around, seeing that our tunnel intersected with two more. Dorian took us down the left one. I could see the faint suggestion of a dizzying array of tunnels in the distance rising like a myriad of staircases. The eerie material of the tunnel only allowed me to see a certain distance.
The floor’s slick texture grew worse. As we ran, my boots slipped on its surface. It was the same gel-like material of the wall, equally bright with that translucent sheen. It was starting to hurt my eyes if I focused on it for too long. The Higher Plane had been long and unending with a strange white mist, but this tunnel was an assault on vision. I couldn't imagine how difficult it was for the vampires.
"Dan," Jessica cried again. She was closer. Good. We picked up speed. I looked over my shoulder to make sure Bryce was following okay and saw him clearly enjoying the challenge of a springy floor. He bounded forward more easily than Sike, who had to hold on to the gear bags and the scanner. A strange plunk sound came from above. I looked up to see a shadowy creature bouncing up and down on the ceiling above us.
"What the—?" I let the comment die and forced myself to focus on the route in front of me. This tunnel felt like it could pop at any moment, but stopping to let that anxiety consume me wouldn't save Dan or find Jessica's panicked voice in the distance. We had to help them.
We turned another corner, and I heard the telltale wail of the creature. My shoulders lifted with hope even as my lungs strained against the air here. This was much worse than the Higher Plane, but not as bad as some places in the Immortal Plane.
"Incoming," Arlonne said with a snarl as Chandry sprinted in front of us into the next intersection. Jessica waited in the center of it, angry tears streaming down her face. Chandry grabbed Jessica, who trembled and pointed a finger down the tunnel to our left.
"It went that way," she sputtered. Chandry glanced at me, her hands holding Jessica in place so she wouldn't run off or do anything stupid. Jessica's chest rose and fell wildly. She was winded, with sweat covering her face. I shook my head. Even if she took off again, she wouldn't get far in that state.
Jessica paused. “I think.” Oh, geez.
Sike's scanner let out a loud chirp. He scooped it up into his hands. Bryce placed his hands on his knees, recovering from the run. Sweat dotted my brow, rioting against the intensity of the air around us.
"It's going up," Sike said.
We took off again, to the left. This tunnel slanted upward. Suddenly, my lungs felt sweet relief as the air grew thinner. My arms moved faster as we gained altitude from running up the incline until finally the tunnel leveled out again. A flash of white at the end of the long, stretching corridor made me start.
"To the right at the fork," Sike blurted excitedly as he tried to keep his scanner up while we ran. The loudest one huffing and puffing at the back of our group was Jessica. Chandry kept a wary eye on her, which I was thankful for. Her acrobatics might come in handy for a place like this.
Movement was easier in this part of the tunnels as the air thinned out, but that likely meant it was easier for the monster too. Our speed increased as we went up another inclining tunnel. My calves barely complained. Gravity was lighter. It was as if the ground and environment around us were now helping us, propelling us forward.
We skirted around another corner. These tunnels were wide, and tall enough for the Ghost to get through with no problems… or perhaps the beast knew the way through this maze. I spotted some narrower corridors as we ran, thinking back to what Dorian had said about sensing a network. Indeed, it seemed that we were in some kind of anthill structure in terms of a connecting nest of tunnels. The Ghost clearly knew where it was going, but what was its destination? As my muscles moved, I tried to recall exactly what had happened when the beast first attacked our plane. It was targeting people for a reason… but what?
"Left and then left again. We're on its trail," Sike yelled.
We followed his directions. Why would the Ghost be able to tear open portals? I’d thought only Ruk had that ability. It seemed as if it took him and the other arbiters massive amounts of energies to do it, too. The vampires could only teleport using a gate, and yet this creepy beast could rip open a portal in thin air? Something wasn't making sense, and I was going to find out what.
A distant white blur taunted us once again. I increased my speed as much as I could to give chase.
"Your scanner is making a map, right?" Dorian called back to Sike.
"Yes, or else we'd be totally lost," Sike replied. He let out an exhausted sigh. "Go right this time. It looks
