Chapter 72
UNDER ORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, I would have given myself a little more time to mourn my father and mother.
But I was operating in the anything-but-ordinary zone known as the underworld, a parallel landscape lying miles beneath the surface of the Earth. After what felt like days spent climbing ice-capped mountains and crossing a barren desert, I was certain we weren’t under West Virginia any longer. Joe’s best guess, after he consulted his geotracker app, was that we were somewhere under Mexico. Or the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Or maybe Canada.
Apparently, the churning movement of the Earth’s liquid core was playing havoc with the magnetic field and throwing off the accuracy of all his compass readings.
Now, two hours after my parents made their final exits, my friends, my remaining troops, and I had trekked through the sweltering jungle and stood at what looked like the vine-covered entrance to a Mayan temple. One slab of the igneous rock basalt—lava that had been heaved up and rapidly cooled—stood supported, Stonehenge style, by two other basalt columns, forming a doorway into the darkness. The gray, oblong blocks had strange hieroglyphics chiseled into them, symbols that even I, with my encyclopedic knowledge of runes and symbology, couldn’t translate.
“This cave definitely needs a crate of Tic Tacs,” Joe said as a stench that went beyond putrid surged out of the cavern’s mouth.
“Or we could hose it down with a tanker truck full of Listerine,” suggested Dana.
The suffocating stink was, we suspected, strong enough to kill. Two soldiers who had volunteered to scout the entryway passed out, succumbing to the noxious fumes.
“Gas masks!” shouted Willy. Those of us still standing slapped on our protective gear.
When we raced forward to retrieve our comrades, jets of gaseous dragon fire shot out of the tunnel as if it were a gigantic blowtorch.
“Erm, Daniel,” said Joe, when the firestorm finally subsided, “maybe now would be a good time to turn back?”
“What?”
“Well, my friend, I think we’ve discovered the actual gates of hell.”
“Not a place that’s ever been on my must-see list of earthly attractions,” added Dana.
“Abbadon is down there,” I said.
“Daniel and I are going in,” announced Willy. “Who’s coming with us?”
“I guess this is why they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” Joe quipped as he stepped up to join us.
Emma and Dana were right behind Joe, with Dana remarking, “It’s like they say: If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Lieutenant Russell and the remaining members of the strike force fell in behind my friends.
We were all moving forward. Together, to the end.
As we entered the eerie gloom of the sweltering shaft, each member of my squadron knew the harsh truth hanging over our heads: another fire blast could shoot up the tunnel at any moment and incinerate us alive.
Because this wasn’t just a parallel world.
This was a parallel nightmare.