After what seemed like an eternity in the narrow tunnel, the boat stopped. The river came to an end at the surface and descended through a narrow hole. The children lowered themselves into a rusty engine room.
They broke down the battered door and found themselves in a huge room, so high that they could not see the ceiling. Strangely, there wasn't much inside besides a huge egg. From this titanic egg, as big as a cathedral, a faint purplish light was emanating, enough to illuminate the room. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the egg did not have a solid shell, but was covered in a viscous liquid; timitio. The timitio oozed back and forth and up and down, regardless of gravity. The light passed through it and made it appear luminous, but it was noticeable that the light was stronger in the less crowded areas. So it was coming from the inside. Part of the timitio dripped underneath in a thin black thread, no thicker than an eye. It snaked along the floor until it was lost through a gap.
—What is this?— asked Liliana, astonished.
—It doesn't look good— Arturo guessed.
Then they looked at Erica, who couldn't take her eyes off the huge egg.
—It's him— she said.
She was sure, the voice that had been calling her came from there. However, in that same room he had been completely silent.
—Let's continue— said Erica— How are we doing, Arturo?
The boy took out the map to examine it for the umpteenth time.
—We still have a long way to go, but we've already passed most of it.
There were several exits and doors in the room, but the children only needed one. They went to the center of the room, circled around the egg and headed for the door Arturo pointed to.
—Let's go there.
Before they had taken three more steps, however, a familiar hiss startled them. Immediately they turned around. In the distance, a group of territi approached them from one of the tracks. The three immediately thought of fleeing in the opposite direction, but then they noticed another group approaching them from the opposite side. From behind, from the front, from all sides. Monsters were congregating there as if they had been waiting for them. There were territi of all shapes and sizes; some large ones with horns, others with long arms and legs, others with wings instead of arms, even some with skeletons of animals and monsters. Hundreds of territi gathered. The children got frightened by their numbers. But suddenly, they all stopped.
For a second it seemed to them that they were not going to attack, it was as if the territi had not noticed their presence, but then Erica heard the voice again:
"Destroy them" the powerful entity whispered to them.
With that alone, the territi went crazy and ran at them at full speed, all at the same time. The children barely had time to react; Erica grabbed her friends by the waist and sprinted towards the door that Arturo had pointed out, the only one that was free of those monsters.
From there they went through a tunnel, which led them to a ruined building. They climbed a couple of floors until they found an exit. They came out onto a broken stone bridge in the middle. They jumped the twenty meters that separated them from the other side.
Erica stopped for a moment to look back. To her surprise, the territi jumped too. Many fell, but several made it to the other side.
—Don't stop!— Liliana shrieked.
Erica resumed her march. Soon she reached another tunnel, a big one. She slipped through a hole in a wall. They reached another huge chamber, with a thin river flowing past them. The path continued on the other side of the river. Erica jumped it too. They emerged into a huge valley with a dark floor. They weren't too distracted by the scenery, they just went through it all at top speed as an army of territi chased them. They were catching up. Several monsters were throwing themselves at them, trying to block their way. Erica focused on running, sliding and jumping, while Liliana and Arturo shot with their pistols at all the monsters they came across.
A few meters further on, the valley descended into a huge dark abyss. The only road that continued was a long, wide rock bridge. More than a kilometer away, on the other side, was a large, heavy metal gate. On both sides were huge walls, set back from the bridge by about 50 meters of chasm. In their situation, they could assume that there would be no turning back if they fell.
—That's the way out— said Arturo, pointing to the door at the end of the bridge— It's on the map! If we go out that way, we can escape!
The territi were closing the distance quickly, from behind, from the far walls of the bridge and from the holes in the ceiling. Erica did not stop, she could not. She had to beat them.
They crossed most of the bridge without much problem. Some territi jumped in front of them, but Arturo took control of the rock beneath their feet to throw them into the abyss. Meanwhile, Liliana kept those coming from behind at bay with her taser pistol. It didn't cut through their tough skins or impenetrable helmets, but it kept them numb for about five seconds, enough to hinder their advance.
—We have the advantage over the bridge!— Erica observed.
She looked ahead. Since they were moving so fast, they had covered most of the span in a short time. They had barely a hundred meters to go.
—Almost there!— mumbled the brika.
—Watch out!— shouted Liliana.
Erica turned around for a moment, wondering what her friend meant. Then a rumble in front of her made her turn again to the front. There, in her path, a huge territi had fallen heavily. Its weight cracked the first layer of rock beneath their feet. It was at least three meters tall, had black horns, skeletal arms and long tentacles protruding from its back. It didn't take them long to recognize it, it was the same noni that had harassed them in the timitio lagoon several hours ago.
It was so wide that it blocked the entire bridge. Erica stopped.
—Arturo!— she called out to him.
But he had thought the same thing.
—We can't fly over it without distracting it. Look at those tentacles, it's going to grab us and pull us under easily.
Erica looked at the tentacles of the big territi. They lengthened and shortened like waves in the sea, so fluidly that it looked like it could encompass the entire chamber if it wanted to. She understood that the mage was right; they would have to face him.
—Behind me!— commanded the brika.
The girl put her friends on the floor, ran up to the monster and jumped straight at its face to slash at it with her anti-riti gauntlet. The monster blocked her with his huge hand and smashed her on the ground.
—Erica!— her friends cried.
She tried to shake it off, but the territi had all the power of the timitio on its side and it was too heavy for her. She was embedded against the floor, she couldn't even breathe.
Immediately Arturo used the rock on the bridge to push the territi's hand up and free Erica. She retreated as the monster shattered the rock columns. Liliana shot at it with her anti territi gun, but the bolts only seemed to make it angry, with no further effect. Arturo had the same result. Erica stood up, ready for the second round.
—You guys distract him while I....
—Erica!— Arturo called her.
She turned around. She saw the territi army approaching. There was no time: they were cornered. They had to get past the monster that very instant.
—I'll distract it, you go through!— Erica told them.
—It's too strong!— Liliana protested.
—Yes, that's why I'm the only one who can withstand his blows! Now go!
There was no time to argue or think, they could only run. Erica dashed back towards the monster, while Arturo formed two stone paths parallel to the bridge for Liliana and him to go around the monster to the exit. The territi attacked Erica with swipes, but she focused on dodging it instead of lunging. Since she didn't have to look for weak spots, or stomp hard to hit it, she found it easier to hold it off. She zigzagged to confuse him, then waited for him to attack her to dodge and jump over his arm. She intended to jump over his head, however as she approached his back, one of the many tentacles grabbed her ankle and whipped her to the ground. The impact was so hard that it made more cracks on the bridge.
—Erica!— her friends exclaimed.
The girl lost consciousness for moments, precious seconds in which the territi lifted one of its huge paws and stepped on her with force. Erica screamed, tried to squirm, but she was trapped. She realized that the monster was right on top of her and there was nothing she could do.
She couldn't get it off her by force, she couldn't think of anything clever either. She didn't even have a chance to distract it. The monster just wanted to kill her, as well as all the other territi around. She understood that, quite possibly, that would be the end of her.
Suddenly, two figures appeared from the sides. One pushed the foot of the territi with a large block of rock, while the other grabbed her and pulled her out of the hole where she had sunk.
—Erica, hold on!— Liliana told her.
The brika was exhausted, she did not understand how they could keep moving. Arturo should have fainted from using so much magic, Liliana would have had enough scares to cry, but they were both there, protecting her. She wanted to move. She wanted to help them, but her body barely responded. The blows of that territi were devastating and yet it was the weakest ones who were defending her.
—Come on, Erica!— she said to herself— Get up. Don't let them hurt your friends.
Then she began to regain control. Her muscles responded. With Liliana's help she stood up. However, the territi was too strong. When he had enough of Arturo's rocks, he lunged at the three of them and swept them away with a mighty swipe. He hit them with such force that they flew over the chasm, crashed into a wall and through it. The momentum carried them into the room behind.
Amid the dust of the rubble, the pain throughout her body and the taste of blood, Erica heard the voice again.
"You will know despair" it told her "Your friends will die. You will join me. You will hover in a sea of terror for the rest of eternity".
She stood up. Everything was spinning in her head, but she had had enough of doing nothing. She ignored the pain, the blood and the filth, and stood up. The words of the mysterious voice echoed painfully in her head, the territi on the bridge began to climb the walls towards them. From there she could see the exit clearly. They were close, so close.
But then she noticed an important detail; "your friends will die" and "you will join me". The mysterious voice had a different destiny in store for her. She wondered why, but she didn't have to think long to find the answer: it was the timitio. She was a forteme, she was connected to the timitio. That's why she could hear the voice, that's why the voice was looking for her. Her friends didn't matter in all that. After understanding, she looked at the territi on the bridge; they were only looking for her.
Then she turned to Liliana and Arturo, both of whom were beginning to stand up. Arturo had a dislocated shoulder and a twisted arm, barely bearing the pain. Liliana was bleeding profusely from a head wound and was struggling to stand upright, but they both got to their feet anyway and approached Erica.
—Come on!— Liliana shouted at them.
—They won't beat us!— growled Arturo between his teeth— we'll go out there, whatever it takes.
Liliana nodded, but Erica wasn't so sure. She stared at them, stunned. They were broken, they could no longer fight.
—No, we’re not— she told them— they're looking for me, only me. It's because of my timitio, that's why. You guys stay here, the territi will leave after a while.
She saw the faces of her friends getting ready to complain, so she continued.
—I know you don't want to, but there's no choice! Either you two go through the exit or no one goes through at all...
Her eyes teared up at the thought of dying, but it seemed not only the fairest thing to do, but the best thing to do. After so many moments of affection and loyalty, she could not bear to see them die, much less if she could avoid it.
Not wanting to wait any longer, she launched herself over the edge of the room towards the bridge, straight at the tentacle territi. The latter caught her in mid-air and whipped her again. The blow was as powerful as the previous ones, but she no longer cared.
—Come on, Abyss!— she roared.
Her timitio encircled her forearms and undid the territi's tentacle with a beam of violet light. Erica threw herself at the monster's face and managed to hit it, with such force that it knocked it back a few steps. At that moment, however, another territi came up behind her and slashed her in the back, knocking her to the ground. The rest of the beasts surrounded her and prepared to tear her to pieces with their sharp fingers and eat her alive with their powerful jaws. They jabbed her with their claws, kicked her, bit her and crushed her.
—I wonder what will become of those two after I die... And what about my dad?
For a moment she imagined her father receiving the news of her death, she imagined his grief. She would rather he didn't find out, that he thought she had stayed in Mother and had lived happily.
The territi were growing in number, yet none seemed intent on delivering the coup de grace. Perhaps that voice wanted her alive. No doubt they wanted to turn her into another territi.
Then she noticed the big monster approaching and raising a fist. She guessed that another one of his blows would be enough to finish it off. Then she would not wake up again, she would be a monster that feeds on hopes. However, before the towering fist could reach her, a car-sized chunk of rock struck him from the side and knocked him off balance. Then Liliana appeared, wielding Brontes as she had never wielded him before. Her slashes and spins were so fast Erica couldn't follow them with her eyes. Behind her was Arturo, holding his bad arm and guiding his magic with head movements. Between them they cleared a radius of a few meters from the territi and approached her. Erica looked at them, they could barely stand, but still they had found the strength to go save her again.
—Friends...— muttered the brika, her eyes watering— What are you doing...
The two of them had their backs to her, concentrating on the monsters around them.
—What do you think you're doing?!— Liliana pleaded, half her face red with blood— We'll never leave you!
—It's the three of us or none!— added Arturo, with his arm twisted— We'll be with you always, Erica!
The girl could stand it no longer and let out a few tears, she did not know whether of sorrow or joy. All her life she had hoped for friends half as good; people who would accompany her through thick and thin, who would care about her and let her care about them, people who would love her as she wanted to love. Yet there they were, both of them, giving their all, standing beside her in the face of death.
—Thank you!— she said between sobs— thank you.
With the help of her timitio she stood up, between the two of them. Then she put her arms around them to hold them in a tight embrace. She wanted to stay like that forever, feeling their bodies pressed against hers, but there was no more time. With a last effort she stood in front of them and faced them, drenched in tears. Then she bent down and punched them under their sternum. Liliana and Arturo stopped breathing, their bodies paralyzed, they fell into a crumpled state.
Erica took them in her arms, carefully. She took what little momentum she could and jumped with all her strength over the abyss towards the wall. Her legs were not enough, she soon began to fall, but then she stretched out one foot and lengthened her timitio to the maximum, embedding it at the end into the rock wall. From there she stuck her feet with her timitio and slid at full speed through the wall towards the exit. The big territi stretched its timitio tentacles to grab her, but she maneuvered deftly, dodging all the way to the edge of the room.
Without stopping, she slid down the wall next to the door, jumped and landed back on the bridge, on the other side of the big territi and right in front of the exit. In that moment she lunched outward, but then one of the tentacles caught her by the ankle. Erica stopped, hit the floor and realized she could go no further. Using all her strength for the last time, she lifted her friends and threw them over the threshold of the exit, to safety.
At the same time the tentacle holding her dragged her backwards, lifted her up and slammed her once more against the bridge.
The tremendous power of the impact, coupled with the deterioration of the structure finally caused it to collapse. The big territi, Erica and dozens of other monsters inevitably fell into the abyss, into a sea of timitio.
