Chapter 254: Thick Darkness
Jonas didn't know what to expect as he and Elmo started moving through the passage that he'd found. There wasn't any light for them to work with in this passage, but it had a clear upward slope to it. Which meant that they were at least heading upward. Not that they could really tell how deep underground they were.
They could be a good distance underground while they could easily be just below the level the river had been at. Regardless of which, heading in an direction that included 'up' seemed like it would be a good direction to go.
However, while Jonas was satisfied with the direction they were heading, he couldn't help but feel that he needed to talk with Elmo. He could tell that Elmo was getting ready to leave. How he knew this, he couldn't say. Just like when he'd realized it back when they had just closed the goblin portal. He was just able to tell, even though he really didn't know how he knew.
Despite that, he couldn't think of what to say. He'd never been good at this sort of thing and really didn't know where to start. The first time he'd said what felt right, but now he couldn't even remember what that had been. Even if it felt like it was coming across as repetitive, he'd at least feel better with having something to say.
As it is, he felt like he was losing something important and he couldn't even say what that was. If whatever it was passed him by like a ship in the night, he wouldn't worry about it, since he couldn't miss what he never knew about. Yet, at the same time, it felt like this wasn't something that he could just blow off with that reasoning. Like he would miss it even though he hadn't a clue as to what it was in the first place.
Jonas glanced in the direction he knew Elmo was, but it was too dark to see anything, that is without his ability Shadow Sight. However, even then for some reason it didn't seem to be working very well. He didn't know what it was about, just that he wasn't able to make out much about Elmo right then. While he could see more than just Elmo's outline that would otherwise have been just barely visible without his Shadow Sight ability, solely from the light that trickled in from the cavern they had just been in. Where the sleeping giant bears were. Bears that Jonas really hoped to not have to see again, let alone deal with.
As they walked along, the air felt like it was getting harder to move through because of the darkness, even though Jonas knew that darkness shouldn't have such a tangible feeling to it. It was even affecting his ability to see the twists and turns of the passage they'd been moving through. Like he was somehow losing his Shadow Sight ability.
Jonas didn't say anything, but started stepping more carefully and lightly holding his hand along the wall to his right. He wasn't sure what he'd do if his skill failed him completely. He hadn't even realized how reliant he'd become to it.
"Something wrong?" Elmo asked, concern evident in his voice.