Two G's in a Pod

Two G’s in a Pod

Chapter 5: Cave Story

By: Stillmatic and Lucius Seneca

Don hummed to himself, combing his hair in front of the mirror in his room. Both men recently rented out the apartment above the store Will worked in, for the low price of only three hundred bits a month. Both were capable of easily making that amount and feeding themselves well with money to spare with their new jobs now that their debts had been paid for them. He flexed in the mirror for a moment, showing off the new threads he received from the tailor next door yesterday before work.

It was odd, all too odd. There was mention of a job that needed fulfilling on the end of Sir Silver Tongue (Don cringed at how he assumed he got his name) that no one else was willing to take on. While it was hard to calculate the difference between bits and dollars, it eventually seemed that they were quite on point with each other in terms of value. Though, the sound of several thousand bits didn't have any language barrier and he understood quite well the reward both he and Will would receive, should they be successful. Unfortunately, that was all the information he got from the stallion, other than that they were to meet around noon the next day, a day off for almost everyone in town.

Don tore himself from the mirror and hung a jacket over his shoulders for the cold weather he would soon be experiencing. He made his way into Will's room and stood in a mix of shock and amusement. There, beside Will, was a flinty grey mare with a short, faded blue mane. Don bit his bottom lip, holding in a laugh that desperately wanted to escape. She seemed peaceful and serene in her current state, snuggling up against the other human for what seemed to be comfort or protection.

"Oh my god..." Don muttered under his breath, "This shit is hilarious..."

He ripped out his Blackberry and snapped a shot of the scene. The flash made the mare stir, fluttering her eyelids until she smiled at him and yawned, now awake.

"You must be," she yawned again, "Will's friend. Nice to meet you."

Don raised a brow at her attitude, "You two do anything I didn't hear about last night?"

The mare sat up, rubbing a hoof at her eyes tiredly, "Nah, he just needed help getting back here and well... It was late and all... So I just got in too."

"Some interesting logic you have there." He commented.

Don stepped over to Will and lightly shoved him in an attempt to wake him up. When several tries failed, he proceeded to shake the other human's shoulder wildly. The mare watched confusedly at the antics and shrugged. She would much rather be asleep and went back to doing so, cuddling up against Will. Don glared at her counter-productivity and nearly threw an insult if it weren't for the fact Will suddenly scooted off the bed, almost falling.

Will's red and sagging eyes tiredly locked onto the mare's innocent ones in a confused, awkward manner, "Who the hell are you?"

The mare looked back in insulted confusion, "I'm Flint! What, you don't remember me?"

The human squinted his eyes against the harsh morning light, eventually coming to a conclusion "Oh yeah, yeah. You helped me home last night. Thanks for that."

Flint hummed in approval and promptly rolled over, pulling the sheets over her. Will stood up slowly and stretched, cursing in the process. He turned to face Don, dressed in only a pair of very well-worn jeans, "Top of the morning to you." Will flicked aside a curtain, "And she is one for the record books too. What? Looking's for free, touching is gonna cost you"

A look of poorly hidden anger and disgust crossed Don's face, "Get the fuck outta here with that shit."

There was a loud chuckle from Will as he entered the bathroom and shut the door. Minutes later the sound of a shower could be heard along with loud humming. Don shook his head at the antics and pulled on his shoes. They seemed to be holding up well despite the strange situations at hand. The sound of the shower stopped abruptly and Will emerged, towel wrapped around himself for some level of decency.

"So, hangovers aside, what'd you do last night? I saw you talking with that one dude for like an hour."

Don shrugged and took a seat on the bed, careful not to disturb Flint, "We'll talk about that over breakfast, nigga." He raised an eyebrow at Will as he gathered up his new clothes, courtesy of the tailor next door, "You were going hard on the dance floor though."

"Eugh. Some dude approached me about rocking it in bed with him and his girl." Will grinned, "You know what I said, nigga?"

There was a tilt of the head, "What'd you say?"

"Get out of here, Stalker."

Uproarious laughter filled the room as both men clutched their sides in humorous agony. Flint refused to stir however, and remained hidden in her cozy cave of down blankets. Will wiped a tear away, "Yo, gotta get dressed. Get the fuck out."

Don waved his hands, "Yeah, yeah, nigs."

Soon he was gone from the room and the door shut, allowing Will to pull on his new clothes. He hadn't taken a good look at the folded attire until now and as soon as he did, he let out a long sigh and a curse. Whether Don was pulling a prank or this was all the tailor could come up with remained to be seen, but Will knew his other clothes wouldn't last much longer and he sighed once more as he hastily got dressed.

He didn't like wearing suits, especially ones that were blazingly white with a black diamond pattern. Will looked at himself in the mirror as he pulled on equally white dress shoes. He shook his head and opted not to wear the tie. He didn't know how to tie one anyways. Will glanced over at the snoozing figure of Flint and gave a small nod to himself before exiting the room, finding Don waiting.

Don nodded his head towards the stairs and the duo headed to the kitchen, where the elderly Diamond Dog, Mr. Abernathy, was attempting to cook eggs on a stove that wasn't on. Both humans grabbed some pears and walked out; eating them on the way to their destination. The harsh winter wind began to blow immediately, but they continued in a direction Will wasn't familiar with.

Before he could ask, Don already spoke the answer, “Ight, so we're going to see that guy Silver Tongue. He has a job for us that pays stupid good and I'm not turning that shit down and neither are you. He told us to meet him at the house next to a barbershop at noon. Any questions?"

"What's the job?"

"Don't know."

Will nearly considered stopping and heading back to sleep, but followed regardless, not wanting to confront Flint in bed. The duo walked for another five minutes before a familiar stallion tapped his hoof anxiously, looking frantically from side to side and back at a watch. He beckoned them over as soon as he caught sight of them.

"What took so long? I've been waiting for a while.” He glanced at his watch, “Over ten minutes for you two!"

"Who's this?" Will asked.

"Silver Tongue. Anyway, what're we even doing here man?"

The stallion cleared his throat, "We are going to attempt to persuade a local into giving us a permit to excavate an area in the mine." He knocked loudly at the door a few times, smiling, "And I'm sure she'll agree once she's seen who's volunteered for the job."

"SHUT UP!"

Each of them recoiled back as someone walked up to the door, a faint grumbling being heard from the other side. Much to the surprise of the two humans, it was Mica, whose mane was fairly unkempt, evidencing her rude awakening at the hands of the museum director. She scowled at the Canterlot aristocrat but began chuckling once she saw the two men.

"Oh, he's dragged you two into this now?"

Don frowned, "What's she talking about?"

"Don't you know?" She asked, smiling, "This stiff probably wants you to go into the Deep Mine after getting a permit from me."

"So?" Will looked at Mica, "What's this 'Deep Mine'?"

Silver Tongue cleared his throat, "I don't think now is the best time to discuss that. Now, if we could simply get a permit, I'd like to get them along the path to recovering the artif—"

Mica cut him off, glaring angrily at him, "Oh shut up! You always say that and guess what happens? We lose a few good miners! Stop trying to get that darn thing if you know it's in a cursed part of the mine!"

"Cursed?" Don asked, "As in we're definitely unwelcome and it'll be dangerous?"

"Of course! This guy tempts miners to go down there all the time! More than half the expeditions don’t even come back!”

Will pulled his head back and raised his hands, palms outwards, "Fuck this! I don't play with the whole cursed game, boys! I'm out!"

Don grabbed his counterpart by the collar and pulled him back, "You're not going anywhere, nigga, and neither am I! We're gonna do this shit, and get the ducats! Curses are bullshit anyway!"

"You two can't be serious! You'll die down there!" Mica exclaimed loudly, looking slightly insane in her messy mane and bathrobe.

Silver Tongue cut in at that point, a greedy glimmer in his eyes, "Excellent! Now, the permit?"

Mica nearly hit the stallion, but bit her tongue and gestured the humans to enter her home for the time being, slamming the door in the face of Silver Tongue before he could enter. Will wiped several stray flakes of snow from his shoulders and watched as Mica rooted around a small desk down the hallway. She pulled a thick, pulp fiction piece of paper from the depths and floated it over towards Don who snatched it from the air with a determined hand.

Mica trotted over and pointed at the bottom of the paper, "Sign there, both of you."

Don grabbed a floating fountain pen and swirled his signature followed by Will who did so very, very reluctantly. Mica signed on a spot below their two signatures and shook her head, "You two are totally bonkers, you know that? This is crazy!"

The humans remained silent, grabbed the permit and headed out the door silently. Sliver Tongue congratulated them and soon the trio was headed towards the miner's quarters, and towards a cavern where death and danger were equal partners.

Don licked a finger and threw it into the air, narrowing his eyes, "I smell a motherfucking storm a-brewing..."

"Okay, Ahab." Will responded.

It was fairly quiet through the town as the trio walked past several homes and shops, getting wary glances from the residents when the stallion next to them was seen. Several ponies gave them grim looks and simply shook their heads, unsure of the future of the two volunteers. Eventually, they arrived at the miner's quarters, where Silver Tongue left them to wait outside, afraid to get too close to the dirty miners. The duo stepped inside without hesitation and quickly switched out of their clothes, getting on mining gear. Will felt a tug at his belt from behind.

"Hey," Cole Train began, rubbing at his eyes, "What're you two up to? It's everypony's day off today."

Will shrugged, "We're going into the mine to get something."

"A precious artifact, says the fruitcake outside." Don added.

Several of the miners who were barely awake or functioning suddenly sat up, staring at the two with wide eyes. They all traded looks before bursting into laughter, finding something hysterical. The humans looked at each other in confusion and then back down to Cole Train. His entire body was frozen, unmoving until he began blinking again and shook his head. The stallion looked gravely at the two, completely serious now.

"Don't do it."

A mare nearby shouted across the room, "Fifty bits says they come back running!"

"My next day's pay on them not even coming back!" Another pony replied.

Cole Train ignored them and kept staring, "Don't do what he asks. He's using you just like he did all the others."

Don narrowed his eyes, "What're you talking about? You mean he's gotten a lot more than Mica said, killed?"

"Almost two dozen."

Will took a step back in shock, "Whoa. Really?"

"Get out of the contract before it's too late!"

"We're not doing shit!" Don growled. The room seemed to fall silent as he elbowed Will, "We're going to go down there, get that shit, and get paid. No discussion. It'll be enough to have us set for months and I'm not turning that shit down." He looked to his accomplice and extended a hand, "You with me?"

Will met that hand with a firm grip, "We can't be the Bomb-Diggity-Fresh Boys if you end up getting killed because I wasn't there."

Don grinned, "That's what I like to hear! Let's get this shit done!"

The two were about to walk out before Cole stopped them, "Wait!" The miner rummaged through a nearby chest, holding some kind of clamp device, "Here. It's a sort of defibrillator. Last guys forgot to take theirs and well... never came back to get it. If what they say is true about what happens down there, trust me, you're going to need it."

Don threw the odd item into his backpack, "Thanks, appreciate it. Expect to see us tomorrow a whole lotta ducats richer."

"I hope so, for your sakes."

The two men exited the miner's quarters, passing by Silver Tongue who nodded eagerly, twiddling his hooves in greedy manner, "Marvelous! Here's a map to get you going in the right direction!" He handed will the folded paper, "Make sure to stay safe and absolutely bring back the artifact in one piece! I'm counting on you two!"

Neither said anything and simply continued walking, heading into the mines. As it began to darken, they flicked on their mining lights. Things were not going to go as hoped or expected, that was for sure.

Dripping pipes, the distant sounds of falling rocks, and a general sense of unease haunted the tunnels past the general mining area. There was little light apart from the occasional crack in high ceilings and the dim, yellow glow of two headlamps penetrating through the drifts of steam and dust. Skittering could be heard sometimes, echoing farther down the tunnel, but it vanished quickly, the sound hiding like a rat caught in the open.

Will paused in his walking and checked the map which detailed the interior of the "Deep Mine" It seemed like someone had taken a market and drawn loops, zigzags, and random swirls across the area, but in all reality, those were the tunnels themselves. Both men looked down, sweat on their brows, as they examined the laminated map. Will glanced forward and saw the large, rusting airlock in front of him. Railroad tracks, probably meant for handcars instead of an actual train, ran underneath and continued on unseen.

The airlock itself was a faded, tarnished metal and Will, nodding towards the identical pair of cranks on opposite sides of the airlock itself, headed towards the leftmost one, Don on the right. Rust screamed and dust swirled about like a phantom as it trickled downwards, the airlock door climbing slowly up and into the slot above which had been cut out of the rock. Will stopped in his turning and let out a long breath.

"Alrighty, I’m going under. I'll give you the all clear when I’m in."

Don gave a grunt of acknowledgement "Do whatcha gotta do, nigga."

Will ducked and crawled underneath the airlock, realizing that the two foot thick, four hundred pound door, could collapse at any given time. It certainly didn't seem sturdy, much less safe. He scampered forward and emerged into the blackest area yet. His voice came danced down the empty tunnel in front of him.

"Let's go!"

The sounds of Don as he stood up behind his younger counterpart relieved Will and he smiled palely, face quickly turning into a complexion of fear as the airlock door, true to Will's thoughts, slammed back into place with a sound to rival an explosion. Both men jumped and cursed loudly, Don letting out every single foul word he knew at the sound.

Eventually they calmed themselves and set forward, booted feet crunching on the loose gravel underfoot. No natural light was present in the tunnel and even the rats seemed absent, as if afraid of something both men were unaware of. Will coughed quietly and listened as the sound raced down the vacant area, resounding off of every surface. As they walked, Will checking the map constantly, Don tossed pebbles forward absentmindedly, waiting for something to attract his attention.

He tossed another rock forward, but stopped abruptly as the sound of the stone hitting the ground failed to appear. Don placed a hand on Will's shoulder and looked downwards, stepping back in fright as a large break in the ground revealed itself. Will whistled loudly and looked downwards at the black abyss. The railroad track twisted dangerously over and wind whistled from the depths. Neither man said anything for a few minutes, intent to look down at the bottomless pit.

Don broke the silence, "How the fuck are we supposed to get across?"

Will shrugged and pointed at the gnarled tracks, "Gonna have to risk that shit."

Don edged forward, looking over the abyss, "No way down, we're gonna have to use TEAMWORK. Come on."

He stepped onto one side of the track, balancing himself while Will did the same.

"How exactly do we do this without falling to our deaths?"

"Simple! Gimme your arm." Will extended his arm and Don grabbed it at the elbow, "Right, now we just need to walk across real easy like."

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"When have I ever been wrong?"

Will frowned, "I can recall a few times."

"Whateves!"

The duo proceeded to move across, their boots providing a good grip to the metal. There were several screeches from below among what sounded like the howls of some animal. They looked at each other before quickening their pace, reaching the end of the abyss and getting back onto solid ground once again. A burst of flame nearly scraped against their backs from below as they moved away. A chattering noise bounced off the walls for a few seconds, then shortly dying off as the flames dwindled.

Don pulled his arm away from his eyes, not needing it as a shield anymore, "What the hell was that?"

"Fire, I think." Will stated.

"No shit."

"We should keep moving, before something else happens."

The sound of a pipe dropping nearby was all the motivation the two needed before they quickly ran off down the tunnel, furthering their escapade. The deeper they went, however, the more things seemed to turn for the increasingly bizarre. This was especially shown when Will stopped suddenly, hearing some faint whispers from nearby. Don looked back at him, confused as to why he stopped. The younger man looked to his right, where a pipe squeaked every now and then.

"You hear that?" Will stepped closer to it, leaning down to hear better, "I hear..."

"What?" Don asked in a flustered tone, "What the hell could possibly be there?"

"... Singing..?"

Several bangs went off in the large, red and rusted pipe. Bolts and screws popped out, whizzing into the air and flying towards random directions. Screaming went off in Will's ear as he fell back in shock. Don covered his ears, wincing at the heavy barrage of noise within the confined space. The screaming winded down, coming to a dull hiss. Don helped Will up, a scowl on his face.

"Why the fuck would you do that?"

"Singing pipes."

"Huh. Good enough for me."

Will shook his head to clear himself of the ghostly singing. It sounded almost classical, but there was an opera-like tone to it, deep, powerful and head turning. And then it had soured. Turning into a high pitched scream of agony, despairing in its shrill cry for help. Silence had followed that, but the pit of nervousness and fear remained within the younger man's stomach, making Will sweat and stumble on the ground beneath. There was something not right about the tunnels, about the rock, the winds, and the pipes. There was something wrong.

Up ahead, a handcar could be seen, still sitting patiently on the tracks as it waited for passengers to power it forward. Will checked the map and deduced that they were still on track, but were meant to take the next right and enter a crossroads of some sort. From there all they had to do was take another right, enter an area labelled as the "Grand Hall" and retrieve the artifact from the dig site within. Don propped his foot up on the side of the handcar and looked over the olden type of transportation.

 "What's the map say, nigga?"

Will unfolded it once again, "Uh, basically says we take the next right."

Don hopped up onto the machinery, followed by Will, "Surprised you can read that."

"I don't know how to work a compass." Will shook his head, "How do you get that confused with a fucking map?"

"Same thing." Don retorted as he gripped the lever on his side.

Will did the same and soon the two were pushing their way along the rusted tracks, wheels rattling beneath as they journeyed further into the darkness. Eventually, the first turnoff appeared and they slowed the handcar, allowing Will to light a lantern which hung from the side of the vehicle. The more light the better, thought Will as he grabbed the lever and resumed the journey. Roots hung sloppily from the rock celling above and the occasional pebble would drop down from above, ricocheting off the tracks and vanishing into the gloomy darkness.

Don ducked his head as a large pipe, rusted and thick, came into view, "Fuck, did they have to build all that shit?"

Laughing breathlessly, Will spoke, "I don't know, Pavel, why don't you tell me?"

Several insults were hurled Will's way, but the younger man just laughed in retaliation, motioning for the Don to let the handcar slow to a halt as the crossroads came into view. It was shaped similar to a pitchfork, pathways curving off to the left and right, with a single path cutting through the middle. That route, however, was blocked by a cave in, rafters and other debris sticking out from the dirt. Will shone his light towards the leftmost tunnel, finding it clear and empty, but nonetheless creepy in its blackness.

"How much farther do we need to go?" Don asked, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

Will motioned with one hand to pull out the map, only for him to freeze up once his eyes looked behind his companion, "D-Don! DON!"

"What?!"

"There's something behind us!"

Don quickly looked back, only for his heart to begin racing rapidly. He gasped at what he saw and they both stared at what could only be as literal darkness creeping towards them, shrouding everything. Much unlike natural darkness, the sheer malice and fierceness could be felt emanating from the dark cloud and shining their headlamps at it didn't even begin to penetrate it. A distinct growling was echoing off the walls, coupled with the rust squeaks of the tram.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" Don exclaimed louder than necessary.

Will grunted as he increased his pace of working the tram, "WHO KNOWS! JUST KEEP MOVING!"

They sped up considerably in a short few seconds, only for the darkness to outdo them by a large margin. Will's arms were now aching badly from the "exercise" and his asthma was beginning to catch up as well. His lungs puffed and he huffed loudly, trying to do his best to push himself to continue. Don was no better, losing his vigor after the exertion of increasing their speed. Slowly, the darkness began encroaching on his back, tendrils snapping at his back in a sick embrace. His eyes widened and he suddenly caught a sudden wind, shouting expletives and pushing them away from the darkness.

"HOW FAR IS IT?!"

Will winced, "WE'RE GETTING AHEAD!"

"WILL, TRUST ME ON THIS! TAKE OVER FOR ME!"

"WHAT!? ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!"

"TRUST ME!"

"FINE!"

Don let go of his end of the lever and quickly ran through his backpack, searching for something. A deep scowl found itself on his face as he ripped out the now infamous flare gun, a trusty keepsake that now had saved their life once already. He clicked, firing a scorching red flare forward at the darkness. It howled as it exploded into a massive eruption of flames and cinder, with the little capsule cutting through it entirely. The smile on Don's face faded quickly and was replaced with the same horror and astonishment Will's had. The enormous flood of fire moved far slower than the darkness, but it too was just as deadly and their strength was running out.

Don looked forward to check for more pipes and gasped, "FUCK! WILL! NO WAY ACROSS!"

Will turned back and grimaced, "FUCKITY FUCK! WE'RE TOTES FUCKED!"

The cart flew upwards, taking to the air. Time seemed to slow the same way as when they flew off the cart back in Somewhere, but this was far more life-threatening for both. Quickly calculating the way they were flying, Don determined two things: First, the cart wouldn't make it across, second, Will had the best chance to make it across. He looked back to see the flames continuing towards them.

"JUMP!" Don shouted loud enough for his partner to hear.

The cart reached its final point and began to fall towards the abyss, while Will jumped back, landing on solid ground and rolling backwards. He gasped and looked over the edge, seeing Don just barely holding onto the gnarled rails. The pillar of flames was approaching faster and Will extended his hand out.

"HELP ME, MOTHERFUCKER! GET ME THE FUCK UP!"

"I'M TRYING!"

Will's lungs were on fire as he grabbed onto Don's free hand, using the rest of his strength to try and pull him upwards onto the other side. Massive amounts of heat began reaching them, and their palms became sweaty as a result. Don felt himself slipping, and hopped forward onto the edge, which proved a better grip due to the dirt. Will grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him upwards, right onto the ground. Don scrambled to his feet and snagged Will, dragging him backwards and away from the fire. He tripped, leaving both exposed for their upcoming demise.

However, it never came. They both opened their eyes and saw something quite amazing. The fire hit an invisible barrier that lied on the edge, groaning and crashing against it. No heat reached them as well, and they finally noticed the light now on them. Will heaved loudly while Don gasped for air, turning over to find that several light bulbs were placed above them. There was a general feeling of unknown comfort within the area, which seemed far more immaculate than any other place they had encountered so far. They rested against opposite sides of the wall, and separate symbols hung on the walls over them. Over Don lied a bright, shining sun that radiated some sort of soothing aura, while a crescent moon was above Will, providing an invisible, cooling relief.

Don wiped the sweat away from his brow, "That *pant* was fucking *pant* intense..."

Will threw himself into a sprawled out position, "I'm fuckin' pooched, we nearly died like twice, the battery on my headlamp is fucking dying. I want to go home." He sat up shakily, "This is not an ideal place to be for a sixteen year old and a nineteen year old!"

Don was busy catching his breath when he replied, "Nigga, at least we're alive."

The younger man pointed at the form a skeleton leaning against the wall of the tunnel, "Say that shit to him! He's dead as fucking dead can be! He's deader than dead!"

"Damn! Someone left a skeleton right there? We should take it as a souvenir."

Will crawled over weakly, still asthmatic, and stared at the slumped collection of bones, "That's a diamond dog or whatever they're called."

He pulled a burlap satchel away from the skeletal grip and opened it, ignoring the head which rolled free, landing at Don's feet. He lifted the skull upwards and turned it over in his hands, emptying the dust out of the empty cavity where the brain would have once been. Will shook his head at the morbidness and opened the satchel. Several items, including a journal of sorts, tumbled outwards. Will snatched up a grappling hook and its accompanying rope which he set aside before rummaging through the rest of the items.

It was mainly miscellaneous, but Will set his eyes on the warped leather-bound journal which he flipped through casually as Don rolled the head around at his feet. There were several entries relating to the tunnels and a rumored artifact deeper in. As the journal entries continued onwards, the handwriting turned into stretching scrawls punctuated by exclamation and question marks alike. Within the margins of the pages, numerous symbols had been scrawled by a shaky hand and crude skulls accompanied them.

Will shuddered and flipped to the next page. It was blank except for a single, repeating word which covered several lines. Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. So that was where Mr. Abernathy's grandson had gone. Deep into the tunnels, losing his way, starving, dying, and eventually finding this small oasis in the depths of darkness. The journal sat in Will's hands for another moment before he tossed it off the edge and into the blackness below. It was better that way, he thought, better to not know about what had happened. Don watched as it sailed in the air for a moment before plummeting and vanishing.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The sharpness of the words stopped Don from asking any further questions and he set the skull aside.  Will looked upwards at the moon symbol which hung from what appeared to be a rawhide string attached to a cleat in the ceiling of the tunnel. He stood up and with a sharp yank, removed the string and symbol, handling the glowing blue object. It seemed to be stone of some kind, obsidian maybe, or something similar, but Will knew it was special. A seeping coolness absorbed into his hand and he tied the remaining rawhide into a necklace of sorts before hanging it around his neck, symbol resting against his chest.

"You gonna take that one?"

Don looked from Will's pointed finger to the symbol which hung over him. He nodded slowly and stood up, doing what Will had done only seconds ago. Soon, both men had their own necklaces secured and Will pulled his head back in surprise as he realized his asthma had vanished.

He grinned, face black with soot, "Better than a four leaf clover."

There was a nod from Don, "Or a rabbit's foot!"

Will chuckled and removed the slightly burnt map from his pocket and traced a path with his finger "Okay, Jose. Let's get a move on."

"Jose is a Mexican name."

"Did I ever tell you how you sound over the phone?"

"Fuck you. I do not sound Latino."

"Don't get your jimmies rustled there, bro."

"Fuck you, acting like there’s some Bone Thugs up in here, stealing souls or some shit. Wack ass cracka."

Will laughed, quickly followed by a guffaw from Don. The two friends, fading headlamps pointed forward, set off deeper into the darkness, intent on discovering the fate of an artifact which would either prove to be their downfall or their rescue.