The Ruins (An Avernus Island Tale) (6 page)

The day promised to be warm and Julia was glad she had decided on the skort instead of the protective length of cargo pants. The boots would protect her feet and, more importantly, her ankles as she crawled over rocks, but it was a sure bet she’d come home tonight with more than one bruise.
 

Fifteen minutes later, Brad pulled onto the nonexistent shoulder and cut the engine. “There’s a path to the beach through there,” he said and pointed at a barely discernible break in the trees. “Once you reach the beach, head north–you can’t miss the ruins.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Julia asked, surprised.

Brad shook his head. “We had three people call in sick this morning.”

“Oh,” Julia said, not unhappy. She preferred the freedom that came with exploring on her own.

“I’ll be back to pick you up at four,” he said and handed her the smaller pack that contained food and water.

Julia double checked to make sure she had everything, stowed the food and water in her larger pack, and strapped the entire thing to her back. She was eager to get started. She was only on the island for a few days, and she wanted to explore as much of the ruins as possible.

“Take this,” Brad said and handed her a walkie-talkie. “It has more than enough range to reach the Big House. The operator will be monitoring it in case you get into trouble or decide you want to come back early.” Brad gave her a quick demonstration.
 

Satisfied that she knew how to use it, Julia clipped it to her skort and slid on a pair of sunglasses. The last thing she did was tie her hair back into a ponytail and slap a hat on her head.

“All set?” Brad asked.

“I’m good,” she said and smiled. “Thanks for the ride.”

Julia didn’t wait for Brad to leave. Stepping into the tress, the forest quickly swallowed her up as she made her way toward the beach.
 

It was cool under the shade of the palm fronds, and the forest was alive with the sounds of several tropical species–none of which she recognized. There were beautiful flowers, their vibrant colors breaking up the rich greenery of the trees, and the ground gave off an earthy scent.

It didn’t take long to make it to the beach. Stepping out from the tree line, her boots sinking slightly in the loose sand, Julia was smacked with the first real heat of the day.

The temperature had risen significantly since she left the Big House. There was no breeze to clear away the humidity and Julia felt sweat break out at her temples. Grabbing a bottle of water from her back, she broke the seal and took a sip as she stared across the beach to the water.

The waves rolled in slowly, a languid end to the journey from parts unknown. Turning to the north, the ruins were easy to spot. She weighed the advantages of staying in the shade of the tree line against walking in loose sand. The sand closer to the water would be packed hard and easier to walk on, but there was no shade and the sun was hot.

Opting for the shade, Julia set out. She noted a marker that signaled the path back to the road, but other wise this area appeared untouched by man.

The ruins were further away than they first appeared and Julia was hot and sweaty by the time she reached the edge. Taking a moment to catch her breath and drink some water, she surveyed the small rocks and large boulders that had been broken down in the face of centuries of storms.
 

Julia carefully picked her way through ruins that littered the beach, watching her step as she headed deeper into the ruins. The rocks grew in size until she was using her hands to help herself and scrambling over boulders. One formation, in particular, caught her eye, and she followed the line of what once was a wall. There wasn’t much of it left but the similar size and shape of the rocks gave her a good idea of how the wall had once looked.

She spent the morning crawling over rocks, looking for anything that might tell her who had built this place and why. There wasn’t much left and by the time the sun was overhead, Julia was hot, tired, and more than a little disappointed.

Stopping for lunch, she sat on a large boulder looking out at the water. Mel, or more likely Suri, had supplied her a lunch of crusty bread, creamy cheese, and cured meats. There was even wine, which she avoided given the heat.
 

She ate half of everything, tucking the rest away for a snack later and finished off another bottle of water. Staring out at where the rocks disappeared into the sea, she couldn’t help but think this was a strange place to build.

The wind off the sea would steadily wear away at everything in its path and the storms that were common to this region could effectively relocate a house–to another island. A natural curve in the island offered this strip of land a bit of protection and Julia imagined boats would find this a good place to drop anchor while their passengers explored the beach.

Boats.

Julia perked up, her eyes scanning what she could see of the island’s coast line. Yes! Boats. Standing, she followed the line of ruins from the water inland to where they disappeared at the tree line.
 

If people had resided on Avernus it was possible they had traveled to other islands in the area by boat, and what she was sitting on was all that remained of a pier.
 

Turning her back on the beach, Julia realized there could be more ruins further inland where it would make more sense to build housing structures. Securing her pack on her back, she crawled over rocks and headed for the forest were the round rocks of the beach were replaced by flat stones set into the ground.
 

“A path,” Julia muttered and stepped onto it. The forest reclaimed this area long ago. She had to push her way through thick vegetation and large sections of the trail were missing. At one point, she wandered off the path and had to work her way back, retracing her steps.

Suddenly, the forest opened up and Julia stepped out into the sun. Momentarily blinded by the bright light, it took her a moment to realize what she was seeing.

“Holy shit,” she whispered. The ruins were huge, and most of them covered by thick foliage, but it was definitely the remains of a settlement.

Nothing Mel had told her had prepared Julia for this.

Julia didn’t waste time. It was already growing late, and she would need to start back soon if she was going to meet Brad. A thorough examination of this area would have to wait until tomorrow, but Julia couldn’t wait until then.
 

Excitement pulled her in one direction, her feet picking out a path that was easy to walk without paying attention to where she stepped. Before long, she found herself in what had to be the city center.
 

Like the center of a wheel, the remains of buildings rose up all around her. Narrow lanes shot off in all directions, and it was a toss up which one to follow first.
 

Letting fate decide, Julia picked a path at random. She had just set her foot down when the ground beneath her opened up, and she fell.

Her scream cut off as she landed hard on her hip. Her pack broke some of her fall but unable to absorb the full force of her impact.
 

Instinct had her covering her head as the floor above continued to rain down. A sharp pain brought another cry from her lips as something smashed into her knee.

It seemed an eternity before the world stopped falling. Coughing, her heart pounding, she waved a hand in front of her face, trying to clear the air of dust. Light poured in through the hole, enough so that she could see she was in trouble.
 

Carefully picking herself up off the floor, Julia tried to put weight on her right knee and groaned. It wasn’t broken, but it couldn’t take all of her weight.
 

Suddenly, the world tilted and Julia palmed the wall for support. The first rush of fear was over, leaving her giddy and her body full of adrenaline. She suffered through the initial shaky moments of shock and relief, eyes closed to her situation, until she got her heartbeat back under control.

So stupid!
Julia thought, but decided to leave further recriminations until later.
 

Opening her eyes, Julia stared through the gaping hole over head. The ground had collapsed and dropped her into a subterranean structure. Looking around, she saw that she was in a hallway of some sort, the walls on either side were smooth and the ground beneath her feet was paved in hard stone.
 

There was no way she could climb out, especially not with her knee. However, someone had built this place, which meant there had to be stairs leading up.

Looking left then right, the path dark in either direction, Julia tried to decide which way to go. There were no writings on the walls, no decorations to indicate the way out. She’d gotten turned around in the fall and wasn’t even sure which way was north.

Deciding anything was better than staying where she was, Julia took a tentative step to the right. Her knee protested the movement, but with the help of the wall, she managed to hobble several feet away from where she had fallen.

The light coming in from behind her quickly began to fade. Julia kept going. Surely, she would find a way out or encounter another room soon. She couldn’t imagine anyone going through the time and expense to build a hallway that went no where.
 

A few minutes later, the path veered left and the light was gone. Julia stopped and dug around in her pack, coming out with a flashlight. Thankfully undamaged, she clicked it on, grateful for the narrow beam of light.

A few feet further in and the air seemed to thicken and grow stale. How long had it been since anyone had been down here? Hundreds, thousands of years? And what was its’ purpose?

Growing alarmed, Julia stopped and shined the light back the way she came. The path seemed to keep going with no end in sight in either direction. Despite having just come from there, the way back looked almost identical to the path forward.
 

Knowing there was nothing back there, Julia decided to press on.
 

Ten minutes later, Julia was doubting her decision to go right instead of left. Fifteen minutes after that, she was second guessing her decision not to turn back. The path kept going, never changing. She lost all sense of direction and thought perhaps she had turned herself around, doubling back and retracing her steps.

Shining her light to the ground, she confirmed that the path ahead was unmarked while behind her, her footprints were clear scuffs in the dust.

Belatedly, she remembered the walkie-talkie. Stopping, she tucked the flashlight under her arm and unclipped the small communication device.
 

The sound of breaking plastic echoed in the narrow passage and Julia felt it come apart in her hands. Looking down, she confirmed that the walkie-talkie had been broken in her fall.
 

Damn!
Now she had no way to call for help. Panic steadily growing, Julia picked up her pace, hobbling awkwardly.
 

No one knew where she was. Even if they thought to come look for her, they would start at the beach. It would be hours before they thought to look for her inland, if ever.
 

Julia pushed back against her fear. “Focus, Jewels, find a way out.”

Having come this far, Julia decided to keep going. She’d give this direction another ten minutes before turning back. She’d lose time retracing her steps, time she couldn’t afford. Better to keep going, she reasoned. This path had to go somewhere!

Her knee was sore and swollen, and her hip throbbed painfully in time to her heartbeat. Every step was painful, and she decided that if she got out of this alive, she was going for that seaweed wrap.

When, not if, Jewels. Remember the power of positive thinking.
 

Julia snorted.
 

When had she ever believed in the power of positive thinking? She did think karma was a bitch and found herself wondering what she’d done to deserve this. First Ted, and now this. Had she been a politician in a former life? A telemarketer?

Preoccupied, it took a few minutes for Julia to notice the change. The path was steadily growing steeper, the walls wider and the quality of the air was changing, growing fresh.

“Oh, thank God,” Julia muttered. She was still palming the wall, using it to take some of the weight off her knee, when the ceiling opened up. Fresh air swooped in and Julia nearly swooned.
 

The light was different, too. Julia glanced up and saw that the stone ceiling had been replaced by the thick foliage of the forest. Trees grew tall and close together; the dense overgrowth hiding the entire structure from anyone flying overhead.
 

The ground beneath her feet changed from smooth stone to packed sand and earth. Her boots kicked up dust and dirt as she kept going, renewed hope at finding a way out quickening her steps.

Up ahead, she saw a cutout and hurried forward to get a closer look. Hopefully, it would offer some clue as to where she was and offer her a way out.

Reaching the cutout, Julia stopped and stared.
 

“Impossible,” she whispered. Raising a shaking hand, she brushed her fingers across the face of a creature she’d recently seen in her dreams.

Asterion.
 

The cutout was maybe three feet wide and just as deep. The bust had been cared from the wall, a warning to all what waited for them at the center of the labyrinth.

Julia sucked in a breath, her eyes darting left and right before coming back to rest on Asterion’s snarling face.

A labyrinth was different from a maze. Where a maze offered you choices, chances to turn right or left and could lead you down blind alleys, a labyrinth, by contrast, offered you one path. One way in, one way out.
 

Turning to glance back at the way she had come, Julia wondered if she had been close to the center. What that what lay hidden beneath the city center? It made sense that whoever had built this place would hide the heart of the labyrinth under the heart of the city.