Amber pulled away a third board. The other stairs had been constructed of stone. These looked like they were carved right out of the bedrock. In the center of the stairway, the rock had been worn away by countless feet. The stairs farther down looked like they got narrower.
Alan shook his head.
“I will go first and we turn around when I say, no questions,” he said.
“Deal.”
Alan stepped over the lowest plank and paused at the top of the stairs. The light just barely reached the bottom. There was standing water down there.
“This is such a bad idea.”
Alan took the first step. The air was even colder, like they were descending into a freezer. Alan paused three steps down, thinking about calling it off. Amber wouldn’t be satisfied with that and he knew it. The notion that he was in control was just an illusion. All he could do was try to slow her down so she didn’t rush headfirst into danger, but she was determined.
His light reached the landing at the bottom. On their left, a big arch led into the room that was below where they had just been standing. When he descended enough to see through that arch, he could see pillars every few feet, holding up the stones they had just walked across. Alan had no idea how that structure could possibly be sound. He shivered when he remembered walking across the center of that floor, moments before, and resolved that he wouldn’t do it again.
He stopped at the bottom step and looked down at the standing water. It was several inches deep. His boots were waterproof, but he didn’t want to step into that water. The sound of the river was so loud that it was almost impossible to talk.
Alan pointed his light through the arch up to the ceiling.
He leaned close to Amber so he could say, “No spiders.”
She nodded and pointed to the water on the floor. “And no way to see if there are any excretions.”
He put his foot down into the icy water and made sure that the footing was solid before he committed his weight.
Leaning in again he said, “One quick look then we’re out.”
He was surprised when she nodded in agreement.
Alan was almost to the arch when Amber’s hand landed on his shoulder and gripped tight.
“Sorry,” she said into his ear. “Slipped.”
The room was striped with shadows from their lights hitting the columns. It was impossible to see more than a dozen feet. There was equipment still down there—big pieces of metal were rusted enough that it was difficult to tell what shape they used to be. A ripple spread through the water and reflected off of the wall next to Alan. He froze as he considered what might have disturbed the water.
Amber was crouching down and pointing her light upwards and at different angles, trying to get a better view. Between the columns and overhead beams, there were so many corners that it would take a year to investigate each one. Alan had the sense that they wouldn’t need to—he could feel the presence so strongly that it seemed like it should be plenty enough evidence.
Amber shuffled forward. Alan was transfixed by the ripples that her feet sent out through the water. He thought about what might be out there in the shadows, below the surface of the water, feeling those ripples and zeroing in on her location.
“Amber,” he said. She didn’t turn. She couldn’t hear him over the sound of the river.
“Amber!” he called.
She kept moving forward, studying the ceiling. Alan looked back to her boots. The water was deeper where she was and she didn’t seem too careful about making sure that the floor was solid before she took another step.
“Amber!”
She still didn’t hear.
Alan flashed his light at her by cupping his hand in front of it. When she didn’t respond to that either, he went after her.
# # #
His hand landed on her shoulder and she whipped around, flashing her light right in his eyes. Alan squinted and raised his arm to block it out.
“You startled me,” she said.
“Look,” Alan said, pointing down. The water was well over the ankles of their boots and there was a current. He pointed firmly at the arch. “This is far enough.”
Amber collected herself and nodded.
“Okay,” she said. Even right next to him, he could barely hear her.
He gestured for her to go first. Amber started off towards the arch and Alan stared down at the water. There was another ripple, and a swirl of sediment in the water that almost looked like fish or something were moving around under the surface. This ripple was coming from his side. He pointed his light in that direction and thought he saw something dip below the surface. Its disappearance was accompanied by another ripple.
Alan took one step and stopped. Amber was halfway back to the arch and she was crouching so low that her butt was nearly in the water. Her lights were pointed straight up.
Alan followed her gaze and saw it.
His eyes went wide and he corrected himself in his head.
“Not it,” he thought. “Them.”
Just above Amber, the ceiling was tiled with shadows that didn’t quite make sense. It could have just been stains and the texture of the wood timbers, but he knew that wasn’t true. Alan began to swing his light towards himself. Amber’s lights followed his beam. They weren’t just over her—they were everywhere.
Above the sound of the river, he heard something splash. There was a dark shape in the water only a dozen yards from him. Alan hunched down and moved quickly towards Amber and the exit. Splashing through the water, it looked like the things on the ceiling were moving. They were waking up from the disturbance of his presence. Amber was perfectly still, waiting for him to catch up. He waved frantically to get her moving, but she was frozen. He saw that she was looking past him and he knew that there must be
