Chapter 15: Battle

Marie saw a little depression in the wall just as hope was starting to fade. Cobwebs and grime almost obscured it, but the spiral sign was barely engraved next to it. John pressed against the depression, waiting nervously. A moan reverberated across the room as the wall portion parted, revealing a slender, descending corridor enveloped in darkness. "Are you sure about this?" With a hint of fear in her voice, Marie questioned. John inhaled deeply. His voice full of resolve, "We have to try," he added. "We can't leave John's friend behind." With the weight of the unknown bearing down on them, he gave her a flashlight and they walked down the corridor. As they dropped, the air became more frigid, with the flashlights' flickering glow hardly visible through the pitch-black darkness. They descended more into the abandoned recesses of the city as the passageway twisted and curved. Their labored breathing and the steady trickle of water in the distance were the only sounds that shat